In Matthew 16:18, Jesus emphatically stated that He would build His "Church and the gates of Hades would not overpower it." Indeed, following His resurrection and ascension, we find His establishing the Church on Pentecost in ACTS 2. Throughout the remainder of the Book of ACTS, we see it "having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the Chief Cornerstone. (Eph.2:20)"
But, why did Christ establish His Church? For what purpose did He establish this spiritual organization on the Earth? What is its mission?
Let us take some time and look into the Scriptures to discover the missions of the Church; that is, of the Church universal and the local congregation of the Lord’s Church. We, who are members of both, need to - as Paul puts it - "prove what the Will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."
I.EVANGELIZE THE LOST WORLD
Jesus Christ told His disciples, in Luke 19:10, "the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." As His Body on this Earth, the Church’s top priority is what was and is Christ’s top priority - saving lost souls.
We have got to understand that there are many organizations and agencies in this world that can and do feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, provide association for the lonely and even comfort and protect widows and orphans. But in the whole entire world, there is not another organization that can bring the message of Salvation to lost souls than the Lord’s Church. For, claims 1 Tim. 3:15, only the "church of the living God" is "the pillar and support of the truth."
It is the Lord’s "eternal purpose", as it is stated in Ephesians 3:10-11, "that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church."
No other work or ministry, regardless of how benevolent or charitable it might be, should get in the way of this most critical of tasks - preaching the Word of Salvation to lost souls.
Jesus’ last words to those who would help build the Church, found in Mark 16:16, were: Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature." Now, what does He mean by "every creature".
Obviously, Jesus is not referring to the members of the animal kingdom. In fact, Jesus is not even referring to every human being.
Turning to Matthew 28:19, we see that "preaching the Gospel" is the process of "making disciples of all the nations". Thus, we learn that the "creatures" that we are to be taking the Gospel to are those who have the ability or capacity to become "disciples"; that is, individuals who can understand the message of salvation and take upon themselves the yoke of responsibility of being a follower of Christ.
Not all have the capacity to become a disciple. We do not encourage or mandate infants or little children to obey the Gospel because they do not have the capacity to fully understand the teachings of the New Covenant, let alone ’observe all that Christ commands us’. Even some older individuals do not have the mental capacity to truly repent, learn Christ’s teachings, and obey all the commandments of the Lord. Individuals in these classes are already under God’s grace and need not to obey the Gospel. There is no need for us to use our time and energies in evangelizing such.
That is fine, for there are multitudes of individuals who need salvation from sin, individuals who can and should call upon Christ and become His disciples.
But, as Paul questions in Romans 10, "How then shall they call upon Him Whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him Whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?"
The Church or local congregation must send out those to preach the Gospel. Every congregation has, at least, one person who has enough knowledge of God’s Word to make it their primary focus - their primary ministry - to reach the lost in their local community.
But let us not think that the responsibility for evangelism is to fall exclusively upon the shoulders of the preacher or ordained evangelist. Peter tells us we all should be able and ready to share the Good News, in 1 Peter 3:15, "sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence,"
Brothers and sisters, if the Church doesn’t take the Gospel to the lost, what or who will? The answer is: Nobody! If the Church - that is, the local congregation - is not putting evangelism first in its priorities, it is failing in its chief purpose for its existence.
II. PRODUCING MATURE DISCIPLES.
The second most important task of the Church is to help those who decide to become disciples of Christ become complete disciples or mature Christians.
Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4 and 1 Peter 4 all teach that each individual receives from God one or more spiritual gifts when they first become a disciple of Christ. These gifts, according to 1Corinthians 12:5, are to be used "for the common good" of the congregation. These gifts, says Ephesians 4:12, are "for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the Body of Christ." When each individual uses their gifts it, says Verse 16, "causes the growth of the Body".
2 Peter 3:18 teaches us that we, as individuals and a congregation, are to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." To grow in knowledge means that we come to know more and more about our Lord and His Will. To grow in grace means that we more and more take on the character traits of Jesus Christ in our own daily lives.
The second most important purpose or mission of the Church is to promote and sustain the development of spiritually mature Christians. We all must be involved in carrying out that mission to the best of our abilities.
We all should practice the charge found in Hebrews 10:24, "let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds." That is, we need to encourage and motivate each other to grow and do what is right.
Let’s turn to 1 Thessalonians 5:14 and receive some further direction in this regard. This passage is primarily speaking of the responsibility of a congregation’s leadership but it good if we all make it part of our "work of service".
A. ADMONISH THE UNRULY.
The word translated "unruly" is a military term in the Greek. It referred to a soldier who was insubordinate and broke ranks. They were not obedient to orders and were AWOL from their appointed duties.
There may be a disciple in the congregation who may become headstrong and contentious. They may decide not to abide by the commands of the Lord and the appropriate direction of the congregation’s leadership.
Such individuals are sinning and need to be admonished or warned. They need to be shown the error of their ways, warned of the danger that they do to their souls and the hurt they may do to others. Then, they must be told what they should do and reproved for doing otherwise.
If we see a brother or sister in this situation, before we admonish them, we should remember Paul’s words found in 2 Timothy 2:24-26, "And the Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will."
B. ENCOURAGE THE FAINTHEARTED (KJV - "comfort the feebleminded")
The words translated "encourage" and "fainthearted" have two different meanings in the Greek. Each is compatible with the other.
The first describes the action of comforting one who is full of grief and sorrow. As we suffer when one of our brethren suffer, we ought to feel compelled to comfort those who sorrow. We can best comfort by pointing them to the grace of the "God of all mercy and comfort" and His loving promises.
The second describes the action of encouraging one who is lacking in courage in the face of great temptation and trials. Sometimes a person feels that they cannot be victorious over temptation. They may feel that they cannot do the Will of God. Others begin to shrink from the persecution that comes with godly living or the chastening of the Lord.
Such brethren need to understand that they do not face temptation and trial alone. They need to be reminded that greater is He that is in them than he or that which is in this world. By putting on the full armor of God they can stand against and be victorious over all enemies.
C. HELP THE WEAK (KJV - "support the weak")
The term translated "support" or "help" is a Greek word that means ’to be at one’s side’, ’to lay hold of so as to support or sustain’.
The word translated "weak" carries a couple different meanings in the Greek. Both are important for us to know and consider.
The first definition is one who is physically sick. Christ tells us in Matthew 25, that He expects us to visit and care for our sick brethren. James 5 tells us that we ought to visit and pray for the sick.
The second and more frequent definition of the term "weak" refers to spiritual weakness; especially, to those who are young in the Faith. New disciples’ lack of knowledge of the Truth means that they do not understand the big picture. Moreover, they lack the wisdom of knowing how to apply the Word to life’s daily situations. This wisdom, says Hebrews 5:13-14, comes by practice or experience in Christian living. Lacking knowledge and wisdom makes new disciples vulnerable to the devices of the Devil.
To protect them during this stage of great vulnerability, they need a lot of attention and association. They need to be mentored. This is "helping the weak".
D. BE PATIENT WITH ALL MEN.
The "unruly", "the fainthearted" and "the weak" will exercise our patience and try our temper. It takes skill to deal with brethren who fall into these catagories. But much of that skill is showing loving forbearance.
We can plant and we can water but, in the end, it is God Who causes the growth. We just do what we can. It is important for us to make sure that the Church is a place where the need for growth is acknowledged and promoted.
III.TENDING TO THE NON-SPIRITUAL NEEDS OF PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY BRETHREN
The two top priorities of the Church pertain to spiritual matters - evangelizing the lost and spiritual growth of disciples. These two priorities belong exclusively to the Lord’s Church. That is, the Church is the only organization that can accomplish these two missions.
But that does not mean that the Church is unconcerned about the non-spiritual needs of its membership or of those in the world. We are to be concerned that all people have the necessities of life and are shown love.
Whereas, the Scriptures indicate that the use of the Church Treasury is to be confined to the spiritual work of the Church and meeting the needs of its own members.... we all, AS INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIANS, are obligated to "do good to ALL men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." (Galatian 6:10)
As individual Christians, in our private lives, we are to "love our neighbor". Who is our neighbor? The Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 teaches us that our neighbor is anyone who has need of our mercy and compassion.
In accordance with our ability, we need to make sure that the hungry have food, the naked have clothing, the stranger or homeless have shelter, the sick and imprisoned are visited and that the widows and orphans are cared for.
Titus 3:14, "Let our people also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, that they may not be unfruitful."
Hebrews 13:16, "Do not neglect doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God is pleased."
And, finally, Matthew 5:16, "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father Who is in Heaven."
God has blessed us in allowing us to be members of His Church which He purchased with His Own blood. It is a privilege to be part of a Divine Institution that has been established to further His most important works in this world.
May each of our congregations be zealous to perform their missions, aligning our priorities with those of the Lord.
And to the Lord belongs all the praise and glory and honor, Amen.
