What is the Church’s and Christian’s Primary Calling in the World?

O

Oracio Oct 9, 2012

In other words, when it comes to how we interact with the non-saved world around us, what is our number one purpose here on earth?

Is it the Great Commission as outlined in Matthew 28:19 and Mark 16:15, namely preaching the gospel and making disciples? Or is it relieving the suffering in the world experienced by poverty, illness, etc., and thereby letting our light shine before men as Matthew 5:16 exhorts. Or is it both? And what level of commitment should each of those tasks play a part in our churches and our Christian walk in this world?

It seems that this is an issue that has been at the forefront of much discussion within evangelicalism in recent times. It has been an issue that I have had to wrestle with quite a bit as a follower of Christ. On the one hand there is a clear, clarion call for the Church to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. And on the other hand we also see that God calls His Church and followers to be a channel of His love not just in word but in deed also.

When I was a new believer, I was involved in a church that emphasized strongly the need to reach out to the poor in the community with food, clothing, medical aid, etc. They did not emphasize at all preaching the gospel to them. That church definitely made a certain kind of strong impact in the community as it was known as a generous and kind church in the community. Many people came to the church as a result of that kind of outreach. But there was no sound or strong gospel proclamation so most of the people who came were left just as lost as before they came.

After that I started going to a church where there was an evangelism team which emphasized preaching the gospel in the community, apart from any giving away of any items. I joined this team and was blessed in sharing the gospel on a regular basis with them.

Then I became aware of some Christians who emphasized both, preaching the gospel and being generous toward the poor. It was as if they viewed both to be on the same level of importance in their outreach efforts. For a while I joined one such group on the streets of Skid Row Los Angeles. These believers seemed to believe that all Christians were called to minister in some way to the poor and homeless. In joining that group in outreaches I was blessed to see the Lord move mightily in the hearts and lives of some who were down and out.

So I found myself asking questions like, “Are all Christians really called to reach out to the poor in their area with the gospel and with relief items such as food and clothing?”; “Along with preaching the gospel, is social activism a primary calling of Christ’s Church?”

It wasn’t until a few months ago that I believe the Lord gave me more clarity on this topic. Just recently I came across a two-part article series on this topic which I thought was very biblical and helpful. So I thought I’d share the links to them here. I didn’t post the articles because they are a bit lengthy. So here are the links in case anyone is interested:

The Social Gospel, Yesterday and Today Part 1:
http://www.svchapel.org/resources/articles/21-church-trends/733-the-social-gospel-yesterday-and-today-part-1

The Social Gospel, Yesterday and Today Part 2:
http://www.svchapel.org/resources/articles/21-church-trends/746-the-social-gospel-yesterday-and-today-part-2

sermonindex Oct 9, 2012

The Christian's primary purpose in this life is to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul mind and their strength and to love their neighbour as themselves.

These words, though little, are very weighty. In these few words hang all the Law and the Prophets combined. Nothing is more important than this. This was the divine purpose before the foundation of the world that God loves His man and that man loves his God and that they would fellowship together without the interruption of sin.

This is more important than the great commission. If do not have this foundation our commission would be fruitless. We need that connection with God. Not just being born again as wonderful as that is, but we need to be in fellowship with our creator. To me, this is the great commission. The commission to know Him is the doing of His will. It's what Jesus did by spending all night in prayer getting direction from the Father as to what He would will for Him to do that day. Christ is our example that we should follow after. If all we have is form and duty and no relationship with God, all our attempts in ministry will be futile, a waste of time. When God gives us our daily bread of direction to go here, or go there, stay here, stop, go, sit, pick up clay and anoint the eyes of a blind man and go tell him to go and wash, these are the testimonies that Christ left for us to do. He said, "Do this in remembrance of Me". Do what? Do what you have seen and heard of my Father. What I am doing, I do because my Father told me to do it. Now you do the same thing. Not the same thing I just did, rather, you seek His will for you, your daily bread. Seek His instructions on what He would have you do today.

Any man that doesn't go about it this way is doing the whole ministry in his own strength and not in the strength of God. It looks good, it sounds good, it all looks good, but is it really that good and acceptable and perfect will of God?

O

Oracio Oct 9, 2012

Hi Approved, I would agree that to love the Lord above all else is our primary calling or purpose above all else. But with all due respect that was not intended to be the question posed and I apologize if I did not pose it correctly or clearly enough. The question was what is our primary calling in relation to how we interact on a regular basis with non-Christians. Is it not to be witnesses of Jesus Christ?

Jesus said He came to to this world to seek and to save that which was lost as a primary purpose for coming. And He interacted with the lost in such a way so as to show He was concerned more about their soul than anything else.

Jesus gave the apostles, and I would argue, the whole church, the great commission as His last marching orders. The book of Acts outlines how seriously the apostles and disciples all took that commission. They were seriously concerned with spreading the gospel wherever they went.

Many shy away from that commission and make all kinds of excuses for not being too concerned with it, thus disobeying God in that area and only giving Him lip service.

Nowadays many churches and Christians see social activism as a primary purpose in relating to the lost. They say that it is not needful to proclaim the gospel verbally but only to show the good news by demonstrating social concern in action. They are ashamed of the gospel in that they are ashamed of proclaiming it. They seek to gain the world's approval and honor through social activism.

Like Paul and the early church, we must not be ashamed of the gospel in these last days. Yes, we must draw near to the Lord in prayer and the Word daily as our primary devotion in our relationship with God. And we should seek to fellowship with other believers for mutual encouragement in the Lord. But we must also obey Him in sharing with the lost the life-saving message that has been entrusted to us as a Body and as individual believers.

J

jimur Oct 10, 2012

An interesting topic and while I agree with what has been stated here I do have perhaps a little different take or perspective in the matter. In and of himself there is nothing good in man prior to and after salvation. The "good" comes solely from the Holy Spirit which indwells after salvation rather from the man. The main goal of the Spirit is to glorify Jesus. As we are yielded to that Spirit his goal must lead, thus establishing our main goal. The great commission and other commands, etc. are responsibilities of which we are to adhere via the indwelling Spirit. All of which serve to accomplish the main goal of glorifying Jesus.