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Social Reform
Modern Controversies #11
Is this a work of the Church Belonging to Christ Jesus?
Bible students that believe in the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures understand
the principle of interpretation that accepts God's wisdom over man's. 1
Corinthians 2:1-3
God has spoken through the prophet Isaiah, "My ways are not your ways, My
thoughts are not your thoughts,.." (Isaiah 55:8.9)
We hear the rebuke of the Lord Jesus to those individuals that went to great
lengths to seek Him out, "... verily, verily I say unto you, you follow Me not
because of the signs you saw, but because of the loaves and the fishes you did
eat," (John 6:26).
Jesus told His disciples, "...the poor you have with you always," Matthew 26:11.
Bible students that are seeking Jesus according to His commandments will search
the scriptures with the attitude Samuel had, " ... speak Lord thy servant hearth
..."
Keeping all these scriptures in mind will help the Bible student to recognize
the false concepts that have been taught in religious circles over the
centuries. Humanistic concepts have been perverting religious thought since the
establishment of the Church belonging to Christ.
The devil has always had a plan to misdirect the energy of the Church belonging
to Christ in order to thwart the preaching of the gospel to all people on earth.
We will be discussing the direction the Church belonging to Christ Jesus is to
take in reference to "Social Reform."
Jesus revealed through His apostles, by the Holy Spirit the concept of
Individual Responsibility. The Bible student will find it difficult to locate
scriptures supporting an organization on earth that is to meet all the needs,
for all the people, all of the time!
When we speak of the Church belonging to Christ Jesus, we will be considering
the New Testament Church of the first century. The Bible reveals only one kind
of Church, (Ephesians 4:4-6), and this Church Jesus claimed He would build which
death itself would not prevail against it. Matthew 16:13-18. Bible students can
see this to be the only church revealed in the New Testament text.
Paul referred to this one kind of Church in his epistle to the Romans as, "the
Churches of Christ." It would be a fair observation for the Bible student to
draw the conclusion that the Church of the New Testament was called the Church
of Christ. Luke reveals a basic truth by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit
concerning the true nature of the New Testament Church which is recorded in the
Acts of the Apostles. Acts 2:40-47; 4:32-37, reveals to the Bible student an
accurate history
of the early Church belonging to Christ. The practice of the early Church was to
supply the physical needs for those Christians that were truly in need of
physical necessities. Yet, we can see the apostle Paul later write to the
Christians at Thessalonica, "..he that will not work, neither let him eat...,"
(2 Thessalonians 3:10).
We can see in the balance of the scriptures a pattern that confirms the early
New Testament church as being an organization no larger than a group of
Christians meeting in a local place.
We don't read of an organization that was to oversee the local Churches
belonging to Christ. Jesus is the King in His Kingdom the Church. (Colossians
1:13-18)
All of this evidence points to a local church meeting by the authority of Christ
in which individual Christians do the good their hands find to do! (Galatians
6:9,10)
We can read of the individual responsibility found in James 1:27, "... to help
the fatherless and widows in their distress, and to keep himself unspotted from
the world." Paul wrote to Timothy " ... Let not the church be burdened," (1
Timothy 5:8,16).
Bible students must understand that the Church belonging to Jesus Christ was
never established to bring about a "Heaven on Earth." The work ethic of the Old
and New Testament confirms clearly that God expects all people to work and
supply their own needs. (Leviticus 19:9,10; 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12)
The grand assumption by many people is that God is responsible for the pain and
suffering that is in the world today - starvation, poverty, mental illness, and
all physical illness. It is true, "Be not deceived, God is not mocked, what a
man sows this he will also reap" (Galatians 6:7), but no one should come to the
conclusion that God is to be blamed for the consequences of men's sins.
Most of the social problems, poverty, and political unrest found in the world
today is a direct result of men's sins. People that do not believe in God or the
power found in His word find Christianity an easy target for their abuse and
ridicule when attributing the problems of the world to Bible teaching.
It is true that God's word has brought about powerful changes in the lives of
many people, but for the most part men have ignored the power of God's word and
believed the lies spoken by the devil.
We can read of many men in the history of the world that have twisted the
scriptures to their own ends. The influence of their kind of false teaching has
shaped the concepts of many Bible students. We hope that a clearer understanding
of God's word will lead the student to abandon the false concepts of the past.
Bible students must ignore the false concepts of feigned humility, self
righteous motivation, and self satisfying altruism. Quoting the Apostle Paul, "
... Which things have indeed a
show of wisdom in will-worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body,"
(Colossians 2:18-23).
Do not be thrown off the your search for the truth by feelings and emotions that
are based in empty subjective faith. It is extreme indeed to lay the sins of the
world at the feet of God, or any one individual. We can lay the consequences of
men's sins at the feet of the devil, but this will not help the world become a
better place to live. Men must individually change in order for society to
change. We may strive to change men through the preaching of the gospel of Jesus
Christ, but we must
not give up our belief in the effective power of God's word to change men's
lives for a human concept of cheap shows involving quick meals and cheap
entertainment.
We can see much truth in the saying, "God so loved the world that He didn't send
a committee." One can observer many different churches today devoting large
amounts of money to the relief of human suffering, which on the surface seems to
be doing some temporary good, but in the end are just momentary "quick fixes!"
We must ask the question, do the ends really justify the means? Please notice
how quickly one can find themselves in trouble with organized religions of our
day if they were to even suggest that these "wonderful works" according to men
have no Bible basis whatsoever! Remember Matthew 7:21-23!
People want to serve God in their own way. Cain did offer a grain offering
(Genesis 4), Nadab and Abihu did offer something to God (Leviticus 10:1,2), King
Saul did go according to God's will (1 Samuel 15), and many other Bible
characters found in the Old and New Testaments started on the road of doing
God's will, but were destroyed.
God has always condemned the things men have given to Him, which He has not
asked for in His word. Paul made this very clear to those men of Athens who did
not know the God of the New Testament found in Acts 17:21-23, "The God that made
the world and all things in it does not dwell in temples made with men's hands,
neither is He served by men's hands, as though He needed anything seeing that He
gives life and breath to all men."
We can see many churches today that claim to be the "churches of Christ." They
have established practices that date back hundreds of years in Church tradition
based in the commandments of men. Jesus did not accept such things when He was
upon the earth. We need to consider Matthew 7:21-23; 15:7-9, if we would
understand the true teaching of the Lord Jesus. Please consider all the
scriptures that have been presented.
We must not approach the Bible with the concept of establishing what we think is
right, but rather what the Bible teaches to be right in the sight of the Lord
Jesus. God has never left man to his own devices when giving him instructions
concerning His righteousness. We must not be like the Jews of old striving to
establish our own righteousness, thereby disregarding the will of God today. We
must obey His will. (Romans 10:1-3)
By Dennis Scroggins
From Expository Files 3.11; November 1996
