Salvation Essay Research Paper The Mission of

Salvation Essay, Research Paper

The Mission of the Church

What is the mission of the church. What is its reason or purpose for

being in the world. Just as the church had a divine beginning, even so

it has a divine mission. The mission of the church is altogether

spiritual. First, I want to state what the mission of the church is not.

What Its Mission Is Not

The mission of the church is not to be a political institution. It was

never the mission of the church to try to direct and control the affairs of

state. Jesus taught that there is to be a separation of church and state. He

said, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and

unto God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21). There is no

justification for the church or any other religious organization seizing the

reins of government and attempting to exercise control over men in

government.

The mission of the church is not to become a social institution. There

are some who evidently feel that the mission of the church is to entertain

people and please men. This has led some churches to build mammoth

recreational programs, complete with kitchens and fellowship halls.

Some have built gymnasiums and athletic facilities in the hope of luring

people to become interested in Christianity. One church that I know

about has a place of worship, which will seat about 400 and a fellowship

hall, which will seat 3500. Are we able to see where the emphasis is

being placed.

One preacher said it was getting so that when he heard the word

“fellowship” he could smell the coffee! Well, if you use the word

“fellowship” in a biblical sense, you will “smell no coffee.” The

recreation business should have no connection with the church. It may

be the business of parents, mothers and fathers, to provide recreation, but

it is not the duty or the mission of the church. When people feel they

must provide recreation halls, kitchens, fellowship halls, gymnasiums,

athletic facilities and what have you to induce people to come to church,

they are telling the world that they do not believe that Christianity has

the merit to attract the attention of serious-minded people. All of these

circus-like attractions which are used to woo large numbers of people is

only bribery. It is not a cut above the denominational group which

recently initiated the practice of giving “trading stamps” to those who

could secure the most new members for the congregation. Such is

bribery! Such is not the mission of the church! What is the mission of

the church.

The primary mission of the church is to preach the gospel. This is our

paramount objective. Sometimes people say: “What about the poor and

the unfortunate. Doesn’t the church have an obligation to them.” Yes, it

is necessary to do good and relieve the afflicted, the needy and poor, but

that is not the primary mission of the church.

Perhaps you remember that one of the first problems that the church

faced in the first century was the complaint that the Grecian widows were

being neglected, and that they were not being fed. What did the apostles

do. Did they give up the preaching of the gospel and say, “Our first

duty is to take care of these poor folks and feed them.” They did not.

They told the disciples to choose seven men to be appointed over the

business of caring for the poor. They continued with their primary

mission – preaching the gospel. They said, “It is not reason that we

should leave the word of God, and serve tables” (Acts 6:2). It is a

worthy thing to give a poor beggar a bath and a new suit of clothes, but

how much more important that he receive the bath of regeneration and

put on Christ. After all, what profit is it if you are able to relieve a man’s

physical needs momentarily at the expense of letting him die without

having heard and obeyed the gospel, and letting him go to an endless

and Christless eternity. How much better to preach the gospel to him,

and fit him and prepare him to live forever with Christ and all the

redeemed.

To Preach The Gospel

Preaching the gospel is the primary mission of the church because the

church is God’s agency to evangelize the world. Jesus compared the

church to a householder who went out into the marketplace to hire

laborers into his vineyard, Matthew 20:1-16. Jesus also compared the

nature of the kingdom of heaven to a sower who went forth to sow. The

seed the sower was sowing was the word of God, Matthew 13:3-23. In

early days, the church was God’s agency to send preachers out to preach

the word and do the work of God. The Bible says of the church at

Antioch, “And when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on

them, they sent them away” (Acts 13:1-3).

The apostle Paul said in I Timothy 3:15 that the church is the pillar and

ground of the tr

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