The Nature of the Church: Practices Overburdening the Church I. Introduction A. 1 Timothy 5:16 1. From this verse we gain an important lesson: "let not the church be burdened" 2. There are times, then, when the church can be burdened with tasks that God has not meant for it to bear B. There have been significant controversies within churches of Christ regarding certain practices because they overburden the church 1. The New Testament establishes that the church was not burdened with many things, and yet now many churches engage in such practices 2. Such practices include church benevolence to non-saints, church support of centers of education, fellowship halls, gymnasiums, hospitals, and the like C. Let us spend some time examining the Scriptures and see what they have to say about these matters II. Church Benevolence to Non-Saints A. Perhaps the most contentious issue involves whether the church can give benevolence to non-saints 1. Within churches of Christ this matter caused significant divisions in the 1940s and 1950s 2. Does the church have the authority to give benevolence to orphans' homes, have food pantries, and the like? B. The Scriptures do not authorize these practices, for there is no New Testament command, example, or necessary inference that demonstrates that the church has been burdened with supporting those not within the Body 1. The church has been burdened with the support of saints in need-- Acts 11:28-30, 2 Corinthians 8-9, 1 Corinthians 16:1-3 2. While one not in the body may be assisted incidentally by assisting saints in need, the church has not been burdened anywhere in directly assisting those out of the Body C. This is consistent with the purpose of the church 1. The church is present for the edification and encouragement of itself-- the encouragement and building up of the saints and the multiplying of the saints (1 Corinthians 14:12, 26; Hebrews 10:24-25) 2. The church's focus, then, is inward-- its own self-promotion 3. The burden of assisting those outside, then, falls upon the individual, not the church D. Those who advocate such things, of course, do cite certain Scriptures-- but do those Scriptures really establish what they want them to establish? E. 2 Corinthians 9:13 is often cited 1. The idea of their generosity "for them and for all others" is believed to show that the church gave not only to the saints in Jerusalem, but also to those not in the Body 2. Yet in the very next verse, Paul speaks of how "they" (i.e., those receiving the benevolence) are "longing for you" and "praying for you" 3. Surely, if "all others" referred to non-saints, they would not be spoken of as longing for and praying for the brethren in Corinth 4. "All others", then, most probably refers to all Christians who have received benevolence from the hands of the Corinthians F. James 1:27 is also often cited 1. "Pure and undefiled religion in the eyes of God the Father is to visit widows and orphans in their distress..." 2. This part of the verse, then, is applied to the church-- the church is to "help" widows and orphans in distress! 3. Yet what does the rest of the verse say? "...and to keep oneself unstained from the world" 4. Who, then, is to practice these tenets of pure and undefiled religion? "oneself"! 5. It is manifest that James does not have the collective in view, but the task of the individual Christian G. Perhaps the most cited verse for this is Galatians 6:10 1. "We are to do good to all men, especially those of the household of faith" 2. It would seem to settle it-- Paul writes to the churches of Galatia that they are to do good to all men 3. Yet we must ask: is Paul's intention here in Galatians 6 to speak to the church as a collective or to each individual Christian in the churches of Galatia? 4. Understanding this idea is simple-- it is a function of normal conversation a. we, as humans, intuitively know when we are being referred to as a corporate collective versus when we are being each spoken to as individuals in a collective b. this is also fairly clear from the Bible also... c. ...yet, since there is such disputation about these matters, we must spend some time making explicit what we understand intuitively 5. The context of Galatians 6 demonstrates clearly that Paul is speaking to the Christians in Galatia individually and not in terms of the corporate collective a. it is simple to see: read the passage, substitute "one/you/we" for "church", and see how much sense it makes! b. is Paul commanding the church to bear other churches' burdens? c. can a church sow to its own flesh, or can a church reap? d. it is fairly manifest, then, that Paul is not referring to the church as a collective, but to each individual Christian 6. It is often objected that since Paul is writing to the churches of Galatia, that somehow that requires everything said to refer to the church a. this objection is fairly senseless and against natural forms of communication b. does the fact that one is writing to a collective require that only the collective is ever in view? Likewise, does the fact that one is writing to an individual require that only the individual is in view? c. We have seen in 1 Timothy 5 that Paul wrote to Timothy regarding matters of whom the church was to support and not to support d. in almost every letter Paul writes to the churches, he at some point provides explicit messages to individuals (cf. Philippians 4:2) e. it is fallacious, then, to argue that merely because Paul is writing to an individual or a church, that such fixes every context in the entire letter to refer to the individual or the church 7. It is clear, then, that Paul refers to individuals, and not the collective, in Galatians 6:10 H. We have seen, then, that the Scriptures do not burden the church with the support of those who are outside the Body 1. The Scriptures do, however, burden the individual with the assistance of those outside the Body, both in the Scriptures we have previously examined and many others! 2. We must not allow the fact that the church is not so burdened to mean that we feel that no one is so burdened! 3. Let us, as individuals, do the work of the Lord by assisting those in need who are not in the Body! III. Centers of Education A. A similar controversy, and the real issue behind the matter in the 40s and the 50s, is whether the church can support institutions of learning B. Is there authority in the New Testament for the church to give money to colleges? C. There is no indication from any command, example, or necessary inference that would show such to be the case 1. In the New Testament, there were secular centers of learning, but no church supported those 2. The prevailing example of the New Testament can be seen with Paul and Timothy/Titus: an older preacher training younger preachers (cf. 1 Timothy 1:2, Titus 1:2) D. We can see, then, that the idea of churches supporting colleges and whatnot is foreign to the New Testament E. The church has not been so burdened! IV. Fellowship Halls A. Another matter is the presence of fellowship halls-- the church building a structure to facilitate common meals B. Such things are done, it is said, because the church is commanded to have fellowship and the fellowship hall is an expedient C. Let us look into this matter D. The idea that the church is "commanded" to "have fellowship" in these terms demonstrates a confused understanding of what fellowship is in the New Testament 1. koinonia is "fellowship, association, community, joint participation" 2. In a verb form, the word just means "to have the state of fellowship, association, community, joint participation" 3. The verb, then, does not denote actively doing something, but simply the state of having association 4. One has association, therefore, with another, and that association is demonstrated by communal actions-- but the communal actions are not, in and of themselves, "to fellowship" or any such idea 5. The church is not "commanded to have fellowship"; the church, by its very nature, is a collective of persons having association with one another 6. Association is inherent in the idea of the church as ekklesia, the assembly! 7. Therefore, it is not right to say that the New Testament "commands us to have fellowship," for such a statement is confusing the nature of association in the New Testament E. The New Testament does provide examples of brethren eating together... 1. Acts 2:47, Acts 20:11, and many other places demonstrate that brethren did frequently eat together 2. There is certainly nothing wrong with the church getting together and sharing a common meal! F. ...but does the church have the right to expedite such? 1. An expedient is something that gives the opportunity for a given practice to be done 2. Expediences, in and of themselves, are not wrong: a church building, for example, is an expedient to assist the brethren in having a place to assemble as they have been commanded (Hebrews 10:25) 3. We do see plenty of commands expedited in the New Testament-- use of vehicles to transport persons to preach the Gospel (Acts 8:34-39), etc... 4. ...but is there authority to expedite an example? 5. The church is never commanded to have common meals! 6. I do not find authority in the New Testament for the church to expedite an example! G. The church, then, has not been burdened with expediting brethren eating together H. Such is, however, the responsibility of individuals! 1. 1 Peter 4:9 2. The individual is to show hospitality to his brethren 3. Too often a fellowship hall, while perhaps expediting brethren eating common meals together, is a hindrance for brethren, leading to the mentality that they do not have to show hospitality since they eat together at the fellowship hall! I. In the end, therefore, the church has not been burdened in providing a fellowship hall (or a kitchen) to facilitate brethren eating together V. Gymnasiums A. It is now popular for churches to erect gymnasiums to give brethren the opportunity to better their physical bodies and as a tool for evangelism B. The church has never been burdened with the task of facilitating brethren working out C. While the church's means of supporting evangelism are not specifically legislated, it is certainly not profitable to spend the multitudes of funds that would be necessary to create such a facility! 1. Furthermore, does such means of "evangelism" really serve spiritual ends or carnal ends? 2. From John 6 we can see how "successful" it is to try to convert souls through physical enticements-- it is not the way to go about such things! D. The church, therefore, has not been burdened with the need to create gymnasiums to serve physical ends VI. Hospitals A. It is also popular for churches, mostly in denominations, to pool their resources and erect hospitals for physical care B. While the impulse to help people in physical duress is certainly admirable, and we as individuals should do what we can to help the sick (cf. Matthew 25:36), has the church been so burdened? C. The New Testament provides no command, example, or necessary inference to establish that the church has been burdened to provide a hospital for the care of ill persons 1. Individuals are to help care for the sick 2. But the mission of the church is not physical betterment of people-- the mission of the church is spiritual betterment 3. The time is too short and resources too few for the church to adequately care for both body and soul of everyone-- the church's focus is on the soul! D. Let us do what we can as individuals, but we must recognize that the church has not been burdened with these physical concerns of all people! VII. Conclusion A. We have examined many practices by which people have overburdened the church B. While they vary in nature-- benevolence to non-saints, support of educational institutions, fellowship halls, gymnasiums, hospitals-- all of them would detract from the church's primary work C. The church is here for spiritual purposes, to encourage and edify those within it and to bring others in D. Such practices as we have mentioned burden the church in ways that distract from the essential spiritual purpose of the church, and that is why God did not so burden the church E. It is imperative for us to recognize, however, that individuals certainly have been burdened with helping the poor, showing hospitality, caring for the sick, and so forth F. Let us not, then, burden the church in ways God has not burdened the church... G. ...and let us as individuals strive to take up the burdens we must bear and help those who are in need! H. Songbook/invitation I. If you are not a part of the church, you cannot receive the spiritual benefits it can provide 1. As we have said today, the concern of the church is the soul 2. We would wish that your soul would be saved 3. Obey Christ today! J. Or perhaps you are a Christian and require the encouragement of this body; that is why we are here! K. Whatever you may need, please let us know now; come to the front as we stand and sing