In The Master's Service

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FOR WHAT PURPOSE IS THE CHURCH?

Elder Rufus Blackshear - From "Good Will" Nov. 1956

When Jesus was in the world He said to Peter, "And I say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matt. 16:18.

Then again Jesus said unto Nicodemus, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3.

These two expressions of Jesus Himself serve to teach us two things: first, that Jesus built His church Himself, and then gave the assurance that the gates of hell should not prevail against it to overthrow it; second, that a person had to be born again, regenerated and given spiritual life, before he could see the kingdom. We conclude, therefore, that if a person must be born again before they can see the kingdom, then it was not set up in the world for the purpose of helping save sinners. We know that this IS NOT what it is for, and now if we can only learn what it is for we will accomplish something in our reasoning.

We know that the Lord had a purpose in everything He did, and He knew beforehand what would be accomplished by His purpose. The church serves a wise purpose in the world, and it is worth more to God's children than they realize, but Jesus Himself is the Saviour of sinners. To Him was given all power, that He should give eternal life to as many as the Father gave Him. John 17:2. It was the purpose of God that Jesus should die for His chosen people, and that His death should completely satisfy the demands of an outraged justice. This was done, and the sins of God's people were borne in the body of Christ when He went to the cross; borne to a land of forgetfulness, never to be remembered against them anymore forever. They have been redeemed by His blood, they have been and will be regenerated at the appointed time of God, and after regeneration they can see the kingdom and have a need for it.

God placed everything in the kingdom that His people would need that the world could not supply, and He did not put anything in the kingdom that is not for their benefit. When the work of regeneration takes place in an individual a change in his desires and affections also takes place, and the world, with all its riches and pleasures, cannot satisfy these desires and affections. The work of grace in the heart is something real, something felt, something that cannot be destroyed, and this grace calls for the association of the things of grace. It calls for spiritual meditations, spiritual conversation, spiritual associations. The very desire of the heart that is actuated by grace is to live in an atmosphere of holiness and righteousness, and the association of sin and corruption is repulsive to that heart. Hence the Church. Many of God's children are in other institutions of the world, many are out in the world, trying to find peace and satisfaction there, but the church our Lord established here on earth contains all the elements so sorely needed by the sinner who has been killed to the love of sin and made alive to the love of righteousness, and this is the only place these things can be found. But our Lord has so fixed it that the child cannot find these things until he has denied himself and taken up his cross, which is to deny everything the natural mind points out as the way of peace. Hence the command to be baptized. Why must he be baptized in order to find peace? Because Jesus was baptized and the child of God cannot follow Him without also being baptized, and he cannot find peace without following Christ.

In this church the very doctrine preached by Christ and His apostles is found. The practical things taught by Jesus, to a great extent, are also found. There is no boasting of self-righteousness, no contention of individual worthiness here, but an humble confession of sin and a great feeling of unworthiness. There is also a conscience that has been a wakened to know sin and to feel its awful effects, with the consequent desire to try to walk worthy of the commandments of Christ that they might escape condemnation. This is why many of the children of God ask for a home in the Old Baptist Church when they could unite with a more popular order.

The purpose of the church in the world is to furnish a home for homeless people, and those who are deprived of everything they once depended upon for their needs in this life and in the life to come. They find themselves to be strangers to their old associates, and to realize that the pleasures that once thrilled them no longer satisfy. This is not according to their own decision, nor is it something they seek after, but something that comes upon them that cannot be ignored and forgotten. This is the work of God's Spirit, and it never fails to work a change in the hearts of those it comes to. They don't have to ACCEPT it, but they have it before they know it. These strange feelings are sure evidences of the work of grace, and prayer, faith, hope and belief are the result.

Jesus Himself has promised to meet with His children in the church, and He has gloriously fulfilled this promise many times in the past. And what does His meeting with them mean? It means the difference between joy and sadness, happiness and sorrow, peace and trouble. Oh, what a sweet privilege to feel the sweet presence of Jesus in our services! It is so easy to forgive one another and to overlook our brother for good and not evil when He is present in Spirit. It is easy to hope for tomorrow, and to feel that some way will be provided when everything else has failed. It is easy to love the brethren, and to even pray for our enemies. It is sometimes easy to sing, to pray, and easy to preach. But we must remember that Jesus does not come to the church because we do. We are not that important, but we go because He is there. There are NONE of us so greatly needed that the church could not travel if we were taken away, but the church could not move one inch in the right direction if He was not there.

The purpose of the church is to gather those who are ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt. Isa. 27:13. These are the only people who are interested in the church, and the only people who need it. We thank God that He gave us this wonderful home to live in while we remain here, and that He makes manifest His power to the extent that He sometimes makes the great men of earth willing to seek peace and rest in this quiet habitation. The church cannot prosper in an unclean atmosphere, and for that reason - we should strive to keep it as the Lord has commanded us to keep it - clean and righteous in practical godliness.