By Roy Mason
(Originally published in 1965.)
Many people look upon a church as just another welfare agency. A man who didn’t attend church, and had paid no attention to churches through the years, stopped by the home of the caretaker of our church. He was looking for financial aid, and in course of conversation he said to the caretaker, “You know it’s the business of a church to look out for people in my shape.” He was a child of the Devil, and it was his opinion that the children of God were obligated to take care of the needs of the children of the Devil. The truth is, it is not the obligation of a church to help the children of the Devil. Speaking to Christians, Paul says (Galatians 6:10): “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” He means that as opportunity presents itself, do good to all we come in contact with, but he says that we have a special duty toward Christians–“the household of faith.” Our church has many times helped unsaved people, but that is not our particular duty. That duty is to render aid to those who are God’s people.
What Does The Church Owe The World?
It owes it the gospel (see Romans 1:14). Each church owes it to the world to give it the gospel–which is the good news of salvation and eternal life. Other things that a church can engage in are trivial in comparison with the giving of the gospel. The good news of eternal life is the most revolutionary news that people can ever hear. It turns life from failure to success. It turns death into victory. It has the power to change lives in a way that nothing else can or does. So often churches try to take over functions that can better be performed by other agencies, while neglecting to magnify the one great mission given of God. We Christians have the Word of eternal life. We can tell people how to live forever. No agency of this world has anything like that. Every church ought to lay itself out full length in spreading the news of eternal life just as far out into the darkness of the world as possible.
SHARING
