Articles
What Are You Looking For In A Church?
What do you consider the purpose of a church? There are various ideas in the world. It has been jokingly said that the only thing most people expect of a church is, that it hatch ˜em, match ˜em, and dispatch ˜em; that is, provide christening for a baby, a place for a wedding, and in the end, a funeral.
Others think of the church as a place to get material help. They never attend the services, but when they give out of food or give out of clothing, or need money for rent, then they look up the nearest church. Still others think that the church exists to provide education for their children, recreation for young people and entertainment for everybody.
If the church belongs to men, of course they can make it do what they want it to do. But if a church belongs to Christ, He must assign it its work. Jesus Christ is the head of the church. Col. 1:18 says, "He is the head of the body, the church..." According to Jesus, as He spoke through the apostle Paul, the church is the pillar and ground of the truth. In others words, the work of the church is to see that the truth is taught and obeyed.
The church has no right to involve itself in anything the head has not authorized. And if you are looking for a church that does anything more than teach the truth and encourage you in obedience to it, you are looking for the wrong church.
