by Tom
Wacaster
Paul told
Titus, "And let our people also learn to maintain good works for necessary
purposes, that they be not unfruitful" (Titus 3:14), "in all things
showing thyself an ensample of good works" (2:6). Christ, our
example, "went about doing good....and healing all that were oppressed of
the devil" (Acts 10:38). While good works are both
"necessary" and beneficial it is important that our good works be
kept in proper perspective. Luke informed us that Jesus "came to
seek and save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Our Lord never lost
sight of that purpose. His miracles of compassion in which He provided
bread to the multitudes, restored sight to the blind, and gave physical health
to the infirm, were never isolated from the purpose for which He came.
His was a ministry of reconciliation; not social reformation. He did not
come to clean up the slums, but to cleanse our soul from sin.
This is not
to say that social benefits will not derive from a wide scale application of
godly principles to the whole of any civilization. Where the gospel has gone,
been embraced and applied by the majority of any people, the standard of living
has generally improved. In view of the fact that the church is the body
of Christ, it is only reasonable that our purpose is closely identified with
His purpose. In fact Paul informs us that God has given unto us "the
ministry of reconciliation" (2 Cor. 5:18). The charge to
"go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark
16:15) is a commission, not simply permission. Here is the purpose,
the end, the reason if you will, for our very existence as the church of Jesus
Christ. Lose sight of this truth, and we start down the road that leads
to eventual self destruction.
Let history
teach us a lesson here. The 18th and 19th century witnessed a dramatic
impact on the western world with the advent of the "great
awakening." Spiritual revival swept our own nation as a wild fire
from the east coast to the west. But with the beginning of the 20th
century, the liberal Protestant churches began to turn away from the
proclamation of the gospel (however limited their concept may have been of that
gospel), and turned their attention instead to finding a solution to the social
ills of society. Instead of preaching the spiritual truths of the Bible
they turned their attention to meeting the material needs of physical
man. Thus the birth of the "social emphasis" in religious
circles. With this new ideology the human race would enter a new era, and
this earth (so they claimed) would become a utopia. A century has
demonstrated the utter failure of such emphasis. Those
denominations who accepted this new emphasis upon the physical to the neglect
of the spiritual, had the very life choked out of them. They ceased to be
evangelistic. Any awareness of lost souls about them gradually
disappeared, missionaries were brought home, and the physical took precedence
over the spiritual. As a result, worship became ritualistic and
attendance declined in many of the main line denominations.
All the
while these "churches" were doing great works. Some of those
main line denominations have learned the lesson, and are retracing their
steps. Unfortunately, some of our brethren have yet to learn the
lessons of history and holy writ. It disturbs me when we hear of brethren
having some sort of a public program to wash windows, or mow lawns of their
neighbors. The cry goes forth that there should be some sort of a joint
effort among the area congregations to have a "house painting"
campaign, and reach out to our needy neighbors and scrape and paint their old
worn out, neglected houses. Rather than glory in the cross, we
glory in our good works. One congregation bragged about their sponsorship
of a young man on a campaign to some foreign country. When the young man
returned did he tell of souls baptized into Christ? Was another
congregation started in some remote part of the world? Nothing was said
with regard to the spiritual success of that "missionary journey."
Instead we hear how this young man taught a bunch of would-be sport stars how
to play basketball. We hear of bread lines, soup kitchens, and
"impact" churches marching forward with those things necessary to
improve the physical and temporal lot of man while here on the
earth. Now, before you brand me as radical, hard-hearted, cruel and
unloving, please hear me out.
Good works
are "necessary," as Paul commanded Titus. But beloved, we could
wash every window in town, mow all the yards of every shut in, and provide taxi
service for the elderly and impoverished, feed the needy, and yet eventually
see every single one of them lost in eternity, unless the gospel is preached to
their starving soul. When I was growing up, congregations emphasized
Bible study, personal work, cottage classes, and gospel meetings. When we
would visit a sister congregation, we would find tracts in the foyer, and hear
of souls baptized. The emphasis was most definitely on the spiritual
man. And when some good work was done, it was usually done in secret, as
a gesture of love and kindness from one who has learned to love his fellow man.
Our generation has seen a gradual abandonment of gospel meetings for
specialized "workshops" that deal with marriage relationships, child
rearing, and/or other personal needs. All of these are good, and
admittedly they are needed, but they must not become the focus of our work, as
if they accomplish the purpose for which we have been called into the body of
Christ. The appeal to the physical by "entertainment oriented"
programs has gained popularity. We are not here to entertain, we are here to bring
men to their knees, to prick the hearts of men, and bring about a reform of the
inner man so that men will bow at the feet of Jesus and cry out, "What
must we do to be saved?" This is our sole purpose while
sojourning in this wilderness. Those who have cast their lot toward
"Sodom" where the physical is emphasized will, like Lot, find
themselves living with the wicked and reaping the consequences. May we
never fail to hold forth the word of light to a lost and dying world. This
is the ONLY POWER that will successfully draw men to the cross of Christ.