“Making the church larger than it was meant to be”

Sunday, December 03, 2017

There is an ongoing movement in churches of Christ to engage in all kinds of unlawful activities by putting it under the umbrella of “good works.” This is nothing new, nor is it unique. Most religious sects are also expanding their definition of “good works”. The influence is so strong that Christians look around and start to think, “Since everyone is doing it, it must be okay.”

This manner of thinking is shown in Israel’s desire to be led by a king rather than by God directly (I Sam. 8:5-6). Desiring to follow what is popular on the earth often results in forsaking the creator. What is wrong with expanding the mission of the church though? The church was founded by Christ (Matt. 16:18) for a specific purpose – to serve as the pillar and ground for God’s truth (1 Tim. 3:15). If we expand the mission of the church, we disregard Christ’s purpose for it.

Many local congregations follow the Biblical pattern of only governing themselves and having Christ as their head (Col. 1:18, Eph. 1:22-23). Still, a local church can be guilty of over-stepping its bounds by engaging in activities beyond what God has sanctioned. For example, the apostle Paul told Timothy to preach that Christians should take care of their own family members rather than burdening the church with that work (I Tim. 5:16). Even though helping needy people is a good work, there are still Biblical limitations on what the church should do. Having established that there are Biblical limitations on what a church should do, let us examine some other ways churches can go beyond their Christ-sanctioned purpose:

Raising our children

Some churches want to have a hand in child rearing, so they provide camps, parties, “trunk or treat” events, gyms and playgrounds.  However, parents are responsible for raising their children, not the church (Eph. 6:3; Titus 2:4). These activities have no direct spiritual application, so why should churches engage in them?

Providing meals

The brethren at Corinth were rebuked for mixing what they could do on an individual level with what the church can do collectively by trying to make feasts a spiritual event (I Cor. 11:22). They were told that they should eat at home as feasting is not a church work!  Until people can see that there is a difference between what the church can do collectively and was can be done individually, we will continue to see more and more local churches taking on unnecessary responsibility at the expense of their Christ-given purpose.

Loving our spouses

Husbands do not love their wives as a “church work”. But that is what happens when a church organizes a date night for couples and supplies babysitters. Husbands can and do handle these things without the oversight of any church!

It is tempting to look at these examples and ask what is the harm? Instead, God’s children should ask if God has authorized these activities. The purpose of the church is specific and spiritual, so it makes logical sense that its authorized activities will also be specific and spiritually grounded. Many people would refuse to go to a church that is doing something obviously sinful. Let us not ignore God’s purposes for the church though. The church is Christ’s (Acts 20:28), and no one has the right to presume to think for the Lord.

Chuck

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