The Chief End of the Church is to carry on the work which brought
Christ into the world (Luke 19:10; 17:33; 15:1-24; 24:48; Acts
1:8). All things should be made to serve this purpose.
The Activities and methods of work have a wide range. What is highly
successful in one community may prove, however, a failure in
another. The means, which produce large results at one time, tried
again in the same place, at another time, sometimes show small or no
results.
The problem of each church and community needs to be studied, that
means may be properly adjusted and adapted to the ends sought to be
accomplished. It is remarkable how Jesus adapted Himself to the times
and circumstances. He said to Peter and Andrew, "Follow Me and I will
make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19); He spoke to them in a
language they were able to comprehend; to fish for fish meant care,
understanding of their habits and much toil to accomplish the desired
results. In the conversations with Nicodemus and the women of Samaria
Jesus arrives at the same end but uses entirely different means. The
letters of Paul fit exactly the needs of the churches to which they
are addressed.
It is the really earnest spirit desiring to bring men to Christ which
will produce the largest results; this spirit appeals to men and
compels them to listen; hence it is the cultivation of this spirit
which is most earnestly commended. Mere machinery of effort is doomed
to failure, but when the living spirit is in the wheels and is
adequate to the moving of them, the results are sure to be large. The
disciples of Christ knew all the facts about Christ's life, death and
resurrection, but they were not equipped for their great work until
after they had spent much time in prayer and the Holy Spirit had come
in power; then they became mighty men in the upbuilding of the church.
Worship.--"Men not only need to be urged to be true to their
consciences, but their consciences need to be informed." One of the
great functions of the church is to teach men how to worship God
aright; to do this they must have right thoughts about God. Jesus
said, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in
spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). Men must be led in their worship by
a proper exposition of the Scriptures, by prayer and by praise. The
place of the church in this matter is clearly defined in the New
Testament, it can be taken by no other institution; and no other
organization has so high a mission as this, to bring man into harmony
with God.
Fellowship.--Man is a social being and he seeks contact with his
fellow men. Many of the worldly ways in which this fellowship is
sought are ways which lead to the wrecking of man, body and soul, or
to the obliteration of all the finer feelings. The mission of the
Christian Church is to strengthen the social bond by seeking to
cultivate all the better impulses and finer feelings in man, and to
place society on a firmer footing in love, purity and righteousness (1
John 1:3; 1:5; Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 1:9).
Bible Study.--Christianity is a book religion as well as one in which
God enters into spiritual communion with man. The Church has ever
acknowledged its duty to teach the Scriptures, for in them it finds
the truths which it desires to inculcate (John 5:39).
Evangelization.--Beyond the bounds of the Church there are those, near
and far away, who need to be taught about the gospel of Jesus
Christ. More and more the church is feeling the responsibility for the
welfare of individuals and of society and of the state. If there are
great evils and giant wrongs which need to be remedied, they have
their origin in the evil in men's hearts. For the cure of bad hearts
there is no remedy in all the world save that given by Jesus
Christ. Hence the activity of the church in seeking to evangelize men
not only at home but throughout the world.
There are three things which every church needs to realize in order
that this work may be prosecuted with the utmost vigour and
enthusiasm.
1. A clear conception of what the church is and its relations to God
and man.
2. The opening of the eyes to the fact of sin in the world and its
destructive power upon the soul of man, here and hereafter (1 John
1:8; Romans 5:12; John 8:34; Matthew 18:7-11).
3. That the only real help or salvation of man's soul is through our
Divine Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. "Neither is there salvation in
any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men,
whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12; 16:30,31; Philippians 2:10; 1
John 2:12; Romans 10:13; 1 John 1:7,9; Matthew 9:6).
The Equipment for the carrying on and extension of this work cannot be
too good. The cause frequently lags from making it one of the
interests of life and not the chief care. Every church building should
express in usefulness and beauty, in all its appointments, man's
thought of a temple erected to the great and living God.