Presented June 14, 2009 Return to Community Church Main Page LISTEN TO THIS SERMON
THE COMMUNITY CHURCH (4)
The Church and the Social Gospel
Today we conclude our study on the Community Church movement (CCM).
We have identified this movement and noted some reasons why this
movement is wrong and also some reasons why we should be concerned,
including the desire to be like everyone else.
Today, I want to present a lesson at the foundation of the
problem. We want to talk
about the Social Gospel and God’s word.
I.
What is the work of the Church?
a.
What is the church.
The term church in the New Testament is from the Greek word, ekklesia, a
compound word which means “a calling out of”.
Thayer defines it as, “a gathering of citizens called out of
their homes into some public place; an assembly.”
Obviously, when we speak of the church there is more to it than
that, but that is the foundation of what the church is.
There are 2 different uses of the term church: 1) IN its universal sense
it describes the body of all who are saved.
The important thing to remember about this is in this sense it
simply describes a relationship.
If you are saved, you are part of this body.
Cf. Matthew 16:18, Eph. 1:22-23, 3:10, etc.
2) IN its local sense it describes: A group of saints (Christians) who
join together to do the work of the Lord in a given location.”
Cf. 1 Cor. 1:2, Gal. 1:2, Acts 14:23, etc.
b.
The works of the church include:
i.
Evangelism
– our primary goal is to preach the word of God.
The church is instrumental in that.
We find in churches as they assembled there was preaching, cf.
Acts 20:7
1 Timothy 3:15 – pillar and ground of truth.
Phil. 4:15-18 - supported the preaching of the gospel.
1 Thess. 1:7-8 – instrumental in helping to spread the gospel.
ii.
Edification
– a word that means to build up.
This work deals with strengthening the saints.
In scripture that strengthening is done through the preaching of the
gospel and teaching God’s word.
1 Cor. 14:26, 12; Ephesians 4:16 notes that when every part does
its share the body grows
It is also enhanced when we as brethren treat each other as family –
exhorting one another and prefer one another over the world.
iii.
Worship
– which is sometimes described as a work of edification is another work
of the church. One of the
points we have emphasized in this series is the need for proper worship
directed TOWARD God and not to please man.
When we assemble to partake of the Lord’s Supper we are
worshipping God, cf. Acts 20:7, 1 Cor. 11:23-26, (cf. 17-22); Col. 3:16,
etc.
iv.
Benevolence
– the church of the first century DID engage in benevolence.
In fact it do so often.
BUT, you find the focus of benevolence was ALWAYS directed
toward the saints and it was temporary (to fulfill a specific need).
See Acts 2:44-45, 11:29-30, 2 Cor. 8:1-4, etc.
Our concern with the CCM is that they overstepped the boundaries of
God’s word and made benevolence of the world their work instead of it
being limited to brethren.
NEVER do you find benevolence among churches used as a tool to preach
the gospel to the lost.
II.
The Social Gospel
a.
What is the Social Gospel?
i.
Defined – A movement that began in the late 1800s which believes that
the work of God’s church is to eliminate human suffering through social
reform, to oppose social injustice (become involved in political
advocacy) and to cater to “the whole man”.
This was done in response to political corruption.
The theory behind the movement was that if religion could resolve
the social issues of the day, a sort of utopian society would result.
(NOTE: Possibly a truth, but the IF is impossible)
ii.
It is the adaption of some or all of the tenants of
the social gospel that explains
the entertaining appeals, churches whose primary focus is benevolent
works (CCM, Salvation Army, etc.), political reforms, recreational
opportunities and other social programs.
And even some churches of Christ have adopted at least PART of
the social gospel philosophy.
iii.
The Problem with the social gospel movement is that it is NOT what God
intended the church to be, and as described above.
It is NOT the church that Jesus built.
This will become even more clear as we examine some other
problems with the social gospel.
b.
Misunderstands the nature of the kingdom/church.
i.
As you study the New Testament you will see that the church and kingdom
are one and the same (cf. Matt. 16:18-19).
A study of the terms in the New Testament can be put side by side
and you will find them to be parallel, including their beginning (cf.
Mark 9:1).
ii.
The premise of the social gospel
is that the church/kingdom is a social organization designed to help
alleviate social ills. It
is NOT!
iii.
The spiritual nature of the kingdom
In describing the Kingdom, Jesus told Pilate, “My
kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36) Luke 17:20-21 finds
Jesus answering a question about when the kingdom of God would come.
He responded, “The kingdom
of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or
‘See there!’ For the kingdom of God is within you.”
iv.
Rom. 14:17 says it clearly, “for
the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and
peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
c.
Perverts the mission of Christ – to save the lost
i.
Since it is not the mission of the church to engage in social affairs,
what IS the mission of the church?
Let us let the scriptures speak:
ii.
Luke 19:10, “And Jesus said to
him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son
of Abraham; for the Son of man has come to seek and save that which was
lost.”
Paul realized this in 1 Tim. 1:15 where he said, “This
is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.”
iii.
HOW did HE come to save sinners?
Mark 16:15-16, “Go into all the
world and preach the gospel to every creature…”
2 Tim. 2:2, “And
the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit
these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
1 Tim. 3:15 describes the church
as, “the pillar and ground of
truth.” In other words,
the church is designed to support the truth.
iv.
The social gospel makes the church into the support of social
organizations.
d.
It underestimates the power of the gospel to accomplish that goal.
i.
The purpose of the gospel was to proclaim all Jesus Christ did for us to
give us salvation. THAT
message is the only thing that will truly convert the soul.
1 Cor. 15:1-4, notice how Paul declared to them the gospel “which I
preached to you.”
Romans 1:16-17 finds Paul describing the gospel as the power of God unto
salvation.
1 Thess. 2:4, “But as we have
been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak,
not as pleasing men, but God who tests the hearts.”
ii.
The social gospel implies that preaching the gospel is inadequate to
reach the lost.
That is why it caters to the needs of man – which is WHY it is so
successful. It gives
man what he wants instead of what he needs.
But here is a fact:
Anytime it takes something other than the gospel to reach someone, it is
going to take more of the same to keep them.
Consider John 6:26-29 – Jesus rebuked the people because they only
followed Him for the meal (and the miracles).
It was self-centered needs.
He rebuked them for that and it resulted in many of them walking
no longer with Him.
e.
It clouds the distinction between the church and the individual
i.
Much of the justification for the SG and CCM is found by appealing to
passages that are directed toward individuals and not the church.
They will cite the good works of Jesus and passages such as Gal.
6:10, Jas. 1:27, etc.
ii.
But as you study the life of Jesus, you find His compassion and
benevolence NOT to be the premise of His church BUT of His disciples.
He expected each and every disciple to be servants.
That is something we do not deny!
But is that what the church was established for?
NO! We have already
seen the work of the church and its limitations.
iii.
Galatians 6:10 is speaking to Christians.
So is James 1:27.
Look at the verses and put them in their proper context.
iv.
ALSO notice 1 Tim 5:16 which makes a distinction between the benevolent
work of the church AND the individual.
It says, “Do NOT let the church be burdened.”
Brethren, we need to study the Bible and make that distinction.
v.
ALSO notice 1 Cor. 11:22, 34 which in dealing with the assembly to
worship makes a distinction between what we do as individuals AND as the
church. Paul told them to
eat their meals at home
vi.
We need to careful to separate what Christians can do and the church can
do. They are NOT the same.
Conclusion: The gospel IS
about changing lives. But the way that happens is by converting the lost
with the gospel. WHEN more
people are converted, the world is a better place.
Let that be our emphasis.
And thus we can see why the Community Church movement and other similar
movements ought to be rejected. They are dangerous and do not fulfill
the expectations of our Lord concerning His church.
If you measure success by the size of the crowds, these churches
are successful, but if you put their works to the test of scripture –
they fall short in one key area – OBEYING all the teachings of God.
Let us put our trust not in the ways of man but in God’s word.
Think about it.