Part 3
Identifying the New Testament Church is an exercise with which every godly individual needs to concern themselves. How do you know if you’re in a proper relationship with God if you never ask? Many people go through their lives believing they are in a proper relationship with God, simply because that’s what they wish. But wishing will make nothing either true, or false: it’s just wishing. Paul told the Corinthians, "Try your own selves, whether ye are in the faith; prove your own selves. Or know ye not as to your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you? unless indeed ye be reprobate" (2 Corinthians 13:5). The charge to "Try your own selves, whether ye are in the faith" requires a standard by which something can be proven. If you are called upon in a court of law to prove something, you will have to have enough evidence to substantiate your case. It has been said, "if Christianity were a crime, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" The same is true with identifying the church that belongs to Christ. Jesus said, "I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18). The question is, "how can we know we’re a part of it?" If an individual presents a painting and claims it was a Van Gogh, would it be accepted at the word of the owner? Certainly not; there would be a series of investigations, authorities would be brought in to determine the truth. It would not be labeled authentic based upon the word of the owner, but upon the merits of the painting itself. The same is true with the church of Christ. If an individual is truly in the kingdom, truly a part of the church that Jesus built, and that will be delivered up to the Father, then there are specific indicators that will authenticate the claim. Those indicators are a consistency in doctrine, worship, work and mission. We considered doctrine and worship in our last article. In this article we will consider the work and mission of the church.
In work: Work is defined as, "that which one undertakes to do" (Thayer’s Greek Definitions). Paul told the brethren in Corinth, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labor is not vain in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58). The "work of the Lord" would be any undertaking that the Lord authorized. If it’s something man devised, then it is not of the Lord. Paul told Timothy, "Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness: that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Religious groups of our era build and run hospitals, daycare centers, nursing homes, recreational facilities, food distribution centers, and now some are getting involved in the political arena. Although these areas are "good" and authorized because of our humanity, they are not authorized by God for the "church" to build, maintain and run. Let’s say you’re a member of the Cancer Society. You are devoted to the development and research of cancer-fighting methods. How would you respond if the Cancer Society took your contributions and built, maintained, and supported basketball, or baseball teams? In our society we see religious groups supporting "church league" softball teams and then set rules that before an individual can play, they must attend a certain amount of "church functions" on a monthly basis. Recently, a big to-do was held in our community that provided all sorts of entertainment, all in the name of Jesus. The apostle Paul said to Timothy, "thou mayest war the good warfare" (1 Timothy 1:18). The battles the church has to fight are spiritual in nature. We fight against the lust of the flesh, lust of eyes, and the vainglory of life. Paul warned about a time to come when "men shall be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof" (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
The work of the church is best described by its mission of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ in a manner approved of in the sacred writings: "For from you hath sounded forth the word of the Lord in every place your faith to God-ward is gone forth" (1 Thessalonians 1:8). The responsibility of the church and its teachers is to "preach the word; be urgent in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching" (2 Timothy 4:2). All of the devices that "seemeth" right unto man, will not save one soul from death. Only the word of God has the power to do that. The church cannot compete with the social, recreational, humanitarian, or political organizations of our time, but there is not a one of them that can do better what the Lord has commissioned the church to do: "preach the word," and then keep the saved ‘saved’ by exhorting "one another day by day, so long as it is called To-day; lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin" (Hebrews 3:13), and through the edification provided by singing, teaching, and praying (1 Corinthians 14:1-27). Godliness is not fun and games. From Genesis to Revelation you cannot find one notion, either suggested or hinted at, where God utilized the pleasures of this world to bring the lost to Him. If the church is involved in any activity that was not expressly commanded or practiced by the first century churches, then it is the product of man and nullifies any claim of the practitioners of being the church which Christ built.
Ross Triplett