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What Is the Church?
F. L. PAISLEY
What is that thing of which Paul wrote, "Unto God be glory in the church . . . throughout all ages, world without end"? What is that thing which he called "the whole family in heaven and earth" and is named for Christ? What is that which brought from the same pen the declaration "Christ ... loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might . . . present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing: but that it should be holy and without blemish"?
The world says the church is full of hypocrites. This is not true, but we have given the occasion for such a charge. If there were no hypocrites among us the charge would not likely be made. The denominations say that there is nothing to the church at all, so far as salvation goes. One can by-pass the church entirely, and everybody on earth can do the same thing all their days, and go to heaven just the same. And some of us seem to believe it. The statement, a cardinal doctrine of denominational churches, is not true of the church referred to in the readings, but it is true of the denominations, themselves.
We are told that the word the Lord used, from which we get the word "church," has two meanings the called out ones, and the called together ones called out of the worldly sort of living, and called together, assembled, to worship God. Too many are not willing to be called out far enough to be free from the world and its fatal temptations. Too many are unmindful of the called together idea, and they constantly neglect all assemblies with others for worship, or combined service. A fair and honest consideration of these two meanings of the word church would bring us further away from some evils that harm the church, and would make the assemblies much larger and more profitable to all.
What is the church? It is a kingdom the kingdom of heaven the kingdom of Christ. Let no one tell you Christ does not have his kingdom now, but that it is yet to come. Of Christians Paul said they had been translated out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of God's dear Son. That could not be true if that kingdom is only yet to be. Kingdom is the divine realm of government. It is God's absolute monarchy. He has given the Son, the King, absolute authority and government. The church is that kingdom, that realm of expression of divine authority. We cannot treat the church as we may please, neglect her interests and services, and the King even casually rule in our hearts. Mere moral, upright living is not submission to the King of glory. He will eventually cast out of the kingdom all that offend.
What is the church? It is the Lord's vineyard There are two ideas quickly suggested in the word vineyard The first is fruitage borne. The second is a place of labor for the fruit. Good, righteous living is not the prime fruitage of the Lord's vineyard. That living is the inherent quality of the branches individual Christians. That is the healthy nature of the branch so that it can bear fruit. The fruit heaven has right tu expect if the branches is divinely assigned service the greatest of all being the spread of the gospel to all the world. The congregation that has no part in that outside its own little borders is seriously barren. Every assembly is required to have part in the spread of the knowledge of the Lord. This takes combined efforts, and much work is needed. We cannot withhold our money and the congregation be able to have part in the task assigned to the church on earth. It takes constant effort to maintain the growth and power of the church the Lord will require of us in final accounting.
What is the church? It is the family of God. It bears such relationship to Christ that the whole family in heaven and earth is named for him bears, wears, his name. The church has no right to wear any name except the family name. Men of honor have no children outside their own family. The church is God's family he has no children outside that family. Any doctrine that by-passes the church in any way is an insult to the wisdom and authority of the Lord; it denies his direct word in some place. There is something wrong with that son in the family who prefers seldom or never to meet with the rest of the family at assembly time. The happiest families are those who meet together in common fellowship as one. There is something lacking in the attitude of any member of the church who finds it convenient and pleasant to miss the assembly the called together feature of the church. Such neglect is in open violation to a divine injunction not to forsake the assembly as the manner of some was in New Testament days, the open threat to the church's very life today. That threat will not be fatal to the church in our day, but it is fatal to the individual who tries, knowingly or not, to end all assemblies for worship.
Just here let me insert a poem, the author of which is not known to me. If we forsake the worship of the church, so might
THE LITTLE FELLOW WHO follows ME
I go through life most carefully.
For a little fellow follows me.
I do not dare to go astray,
For fear he ll go the self-same way.Not once can I escape his eyes,
Whatever he sees me do, he tries.
And says like me he's going to be
That little chap who follows me.He thinks that I am good and fine,
Believes in every word of mine.
He must not see the bad in me that little chap who follows me.I must remember as I go
Through summer sun and winter snow I'm building for the years to be
That little chap who follows me."Building boys is better than mending men," besides, in course of time, the mending just cannot be done!
"Our strength is shown in the things we stand for; our weakness is shown in the things we fall for."
"Our spiritual enemies would not be so strong Were we not so spiritually weak."
The above poem, and these short quotations taken from the same church bulletin, should cause many church members to examine closely their assumed relationship to the church, and often to drop it quickly.