WHAT   IS  THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  CHURCH

Before proceeding with the sermon, I want to digress and relate a scene I saw In America. There was a memorial service in a large stadium paying tribute to a man named Charlie Kirk who was shot and killed by an opponent.

The guest speaker was the Vice President JD Vance, who spoke movingly about Charlie.  He paid thanks for Charlie’s Christian faith, but then said how listening to Charlie talk about Jesus, made him think more about Jesus.

Where would you find a politician, especially of equal position speak so graciously?

God bless JD Vance and God bless America.

The purpose of the Church involves teaching people to obey God and to make people to move from sin to purity.   God loves all people and wants them to love Him,. and to order their life. As followers of Jesus, they are known as Christians, and only those who have decided to follow and worship are entitled to call them

Christians.  The Church was born in Jerusalem two thousand years ago, after the Apostle Peter made the first sermon, and three thousand people responded to his words, and they met to worship together, singing praise to God, sharing fellowship and helping  other, partaking in Holy Communion to remember Jesus dying cruelly on the Cross to pay the penalty for the sins of all people, who accept His death was for God to forgive them, and He was their Savior.

The Church is a gathering community of people from diverse backgrounds, of either gender, any color, race, nationality, who will become brothers and sisters in Christ, who meet  on the first day of the week to worship their heavenly Father, to share in fellowship, be compassionate and helpful to each other.  The Church is the only organization, in which people can travel to any part of the world and find friends with the same belief as their own.

 The purpose of the church  is prayer. The church is to be a place that promotes  prayer, and practices prayer;  the Bible encourages us. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  The church is to both promote the gospel, and prepare its members to proclaim the gospel.  This we do by inviting friends and family to join us, or telling people of  your beliefs.  Church is called to be faithful in sharing the gospel through word and deed.

Another commission given to the church, is proclaiming the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ.  When we have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, God will give us Salvation. Which means an eternal life in heaven.

The church is to be a beacon of light in the community, pointing people toward our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Some final purposes of the church are  given.

   “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” The church is to be about the business of ministering to those in need.  The church is also to equip believers in Christ with the tools they need to overcome sin and remain free from the pollution of the world. This is done by biblical teaching and Christian fellowship.
Paul gave an excellent illustration to the believers in Corinth. The church is God’s hands, mouth, and feet in this world—the body of Christ. We are to be doing the things that Jesus Christ would do, if He were here physically on the earth. The church is to be “Christian,” “Christ-like,” and Christ-following. We are as ambassadors representing Christ in another Kingdom, as well as being in the Kingdom of God.

In the 4^th Chapter of Ephesians Paul writes forcibly on this theme.  He saw the Church as the family of brothers and sisters in Christ, and like earthly families wanting to meet together in their Father’s house. 

 Anyone who has been in the Church for some time, knows that no Church is perfect; there is usually one person who is a storm center.  The Church can be a place of joy, but also one of heartache and pain.  Paul always wanted the Church to be one that brought credit on Christianity.  Paul wanted us to act as he understood what Christ expected from the Church.  He would never have understood different denominations, each with their own theology, and would have bitterly condemned any Church which excluded people from sharing in the Eucharist.

 One of the greatest hindrances to the Christian gospel, is being accepted by people with the bitterness in which religion has been practised.  In Northern Ireland there has been disgraceful hostility, and much of it fostered by the Church.  Catholic priests have been supporters of armed conflict, and extreme Protestant Churches have called Catholics hateful names, among other activities.

There has been much discredit on both sides, and the troubles which have existed, leading to so many lives being lost, which could have all been avoided if the Church leaders had sat down together, and agreed to condemn all violence.  I say without intending to be biased, indeed with respect I have for the authority which Catholic Priests command, that if they had told their members to stop hostilities, such is the authority in which they are held, their word would have been listened to. Of Course, Protestant Ministers should have called for restraint.

Paul laid down some basics of the Christian faith.  Humility; which means setting one’s life beside the example of Christ Himself.  Gentleness; which means being angry for the right purposes, and not ever seeking to cause dissension.  Peace;    in that we seek to have good relationships with each other.  Love; which is not the emotional kind, but that of a caring person, and without bitterness. We are to hold one another up, to sustain and support each other, and to live according to the way God has spelled out in His Holy Word, holding to those principles.  All these virtues have been missing in religious disputes.  We may expect other faiths to  different from each other, but within Christianity, All one in Jesus.

Here, Paul is stressing the Church in its entirety must be as one.  We may conduct our services in different forms, but we should have the same doctrinal beliefs and not have the situation where one is teaching one thing, and is at variance with another.  I have often been struck by the hypocrisy of weeks of Christian unity and I stopped attending years ago.  I am happy, eager, and always ready to join in worship with any fellow Christians in any Church, but I think it a mockery to talk about unity and then refuse to share services together.

A denomination tends to stay together, and there is a refusal by some to have full Communion with other Christians.  If we are really sincere about unity, we have to be prepared to let it happen without reservation or conditions, which is not always practised.  Jesus would never have questioned a person seeking forgiveness.

Even within my own denomination, (the Church of England) there were bitter divisions over the question of women bishops and homosexual clergy.  A quick reference to Scripture (and tradition) would resolve the questions in a matter of minutes, but that would not produce the answer that some seek.  Yet by prolonging any public debate, to the delight of the press and non- Christians, enormous damage is being done to the wider Church.  True faith would say if I am harming the Church I will not pursue my personal desires.  Real Christianity is being ready to make personal sacrifices for the wider good.    

Paul laid out the ground rules for unity.  There is one body, Jesus being the head of the body.  Individual presentations may vary, but all should lead to the one purpose of spreading the good news of Jesus Christ.     There is one Lord and one faith, by which all Christians are bound to one another in complete surrender to Jesus Christ.

Paul wanted to see a world turning to Christ, with one baptism as acceptance of repentance and the confession of Jesus as Lord in the one faith.  .  The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ, on which the Church is built, consisting of those who confess Him.   If there is to be complete unity, there must also be an acceptance of the gospel truths laid down in the Bible. We now have a situation in which some teachers are giving false teaching, and we should all be prepared to test what is taught by searching the Scriptures, for false teaching will destroy the Church.

There are now those ready, to deny the very Word that God gave.  Some preachers are now extending teaching so that it is in line with society’s belief that the 21^st century, justifies an amended gospel to embrace current thinking.   God however was not just a God for the first century, and experience combined with general intelligence, teaches that a copy is never as good as the original.   The importance of authoritative teaching is that that all may properly play their part in the work God meant us to do.

Paul finally warned that there will always be those who need to be entertained with novelty.  This is so often extended to practices, which frankly make the faith look and sound ridiculous.  God wants you to come to a place where there is stability and reverence, combined with intelligent, sympathetic and pleasing presentation, without being presented with every trendy gimmick.  Too many Christians are unstable, because they have had no solid basis of doctrine and just don’t know what to believe or why. 

Sound doctrine is essential, so that people will know the truth, and observe thepromises and vows made to God to respect His Word.  This is not being done

In all churches, for some are preaching contrary to the Word of God and misleading people who are not fully literate in Scripture,  Pal reminds all preachers that they will answer to God and the Lord Jesus, who fail their responsibility to preach the Word and only the Word.

Paul thanked God for the Church, and that is something we should all do.  Our calling is to follow the example given by Paul so that we stand out in our communities.  Let us all seek to have a Church, even if it just be our own local one, where the true gospel is taught as God intended when He inspired those 40 men to write the Bible; filled with men and women who care for each other, ready to support each other in times of trouble, ready to welcome strangers who come into our midst, and who are never reluctant to confess they are Christians.

Christ is head of the Church and loved the Church and He is the Savior of the body. He gave His life for it, so can we do anything less?

There is an urgent need at the present time, for sound doctrine.  God must be shocked and disappointed, with some of the loose talk being passed as sermons. A necessary belief in the Church is fundamental, and the doctrine an essential part of teaching. The fact that the Church is now preaching false doctrine is shameful..

It is upon he Church that there is a responsibility  to make  through the divine Ministry of the Word, the supreme authority of The Scriptures.

We are living in an evil world, where there are no moral boundaries, it is a general case that people believe something is good, that is fair enough. Immorality and brutality are commonplace happenings.. The illiteracy of the Bible is high, more so with young people, whereby Easter and Christmas festivals are taken to mean not a time for worship and celebration of the supernatural, but rather a time for orgies of drinking, over feeding and disgusting behavior.

The Church was made before the Bible, and sacred writing of The Prophets related to the world. All authority is contained within its pages.  Guidance, help, and the way to obtain salvation, are explained in most modern Bibles, especially the New Living Translation.

A high priority is in the Letter of Jude, the message being that the teaching of the Apostles was given once for all time, and should be guarded and accepted without any addition, submission, or amendment. To paraphrase a famous saying, do not ask what can God do for me, say what can I do for God.

In closing, I quote the words of John Wesley, I want to know one thing, the way to heaven; how to land safe on that happy shore. God Himself has condescended to teach the way; for this end He came from heaven. He hath written it down in a book. Give me that book! At any price give me the Book of God!

Praise God for His Holy Gospel and may His Name be ever Glorified.