The Purpose Of The Church
By David J. Stewart
"For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment." —Ezekiel 34:11-16
- TO SEEK THAT WHICH WAS LOST
This is soulwinning. It is the churches' duty to aggressively preach the Gospel. We cannot save anyone, nor does God expect us to save anyone. Salvation is of the Lord. All we can do is present the Gospel to lost sinners and then allow the Holy Spirit to convict them.
- TO BRING BACK THAT WHICH WAS DRIVEN AWAY
This is the ministry of reconciliation. So many people feel unloved and unwanted. There are former church members, many of whom are born again Christians, who don't attend church simply because no ones cares enough about them to befriend them. Every church ought to reach out to the local community and express genuine care and concern for all people. The average church nowadays functions as an elite social club, or religious cult, where the truth is not preached.
People in general, myself included, have much contempt for churches today. The average so-called "church" in America is a disgrace, nothing more than an incorporated entity of the State, hardly resemblant of the New Testament Church in Acts. As hard as it is to believe, people have been DRIVEN AWAY from God and the Bible by false prophets such as Joel Osteen, Pat Robertson, Benny Hinn, Jimmy Swaggart, Creflo Dollar, T.D. Jakes, Peter Popoff, Mike Murdock, Don Stewart, Melissa Scott and other greedy televangelists. The same holds true of greedy pastors all across America who continually beg for money from the pulpit. Sadly, these charlatans saturate America's churches today. They ought to be exposed as wolves in sheep's clothing.
The true church ought to show the public that money is not an issue; but rather, getting the truth out. Shame on pastors who hound their congregations for money, twisting the Scriptures to manipulate people out of their money. We need ministries today that don't beg like dogs for money... "Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter" (Isaiah 56:11). The truth has few friends these days. Churches ought to be doing everything they can to BRING BACK those who have been driven away from God by bad churches.
- TO BIND THAT WHICH WAS BROKEN
Churches ought to aggressively work to restore marriages and thwart divorce. It is apostasy for Christian leaders to teach that divorce is acceptable in cases of adultery. That is not what Jesus meant, which is clearly evidenced by Christ's command to forgive 7 times 70. Divorce is hypocritical unforgiveness. A church ought to be a Haven of Rest for families; not a threat to break up marriages when a husband decides he doesn't want his wife to attend church anymore. I know pastors that would rather see a marriage break up than for a wife to stop coming to church because her husband orders her to stay home. This is wrong. Before God ever made a Church, He instituted the marriage. No pastor, pastor's wife or church member has any business meddling in other people's marriages.
We are living in a messed up society of broken homes, broken marriages, broken relationships and broken hearts. The Church ought to bind up (i.e., to mend) that which is broken. Religious cults, such as Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses, aim to break apart families by secluding members, alienating family members who don't support the organization, et cetera. Sadly, many Baptist churches behave like cults when they encourage and partake in the sin of divorce. Every pastor ought to consider it taboo to stand between a husband and his wife... "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder" (Mark 10:9). Churches ought to help restore marriages; not twist the Scriptures in order to justify a divorce.
Genuine Biblical churches work to reconcile Christian marriages, families and friendships.
- TO STRENGTHEN THAT WHICH WAS SICK
One of the functions of the Church is to visit and care for the sick, which includes the elderly and disabled. Society today has become so selfish and the disabled are often shunned and forgotten about. God said He has chosen the poor of this world rich in faith. I've seen many people, who wasted their youth living in sin, get saved later in life and commit their life to serving the Lord. There are many people like this today. They have nothing to offer God but leftovers. Yet, God loves them and they are welcomed into God's family. They need our encouragement and plenty of Biblical teaching. Many of them are mentally and spiritually sick, having their minds filled with the filth of the world, they need the mind of Christ.
Churches ought to strengthen the sick, whether it be helping those who are physically sick or spiritually sick. If you'll notice carefully, all 4 of the things we've looked at from Ezekiel 34:16 involve helping others. People need our help, i.e., Christian help. It peeves me to see the Devil's crowd helping others, because the Gospel is not being preached and souls are going to Hell. Big deal if Oprah spends millions of dollars to help the poor in Africa, what about their eternal destiny? What good is it if a man gain the whole world, yet lose his own soul?
What is your church doing to help others, besides helping itself?