Do We Love Our Church Or The Lord's
In the Scriptures we read of a compassion for souls that filled the hearts of Christians. We read of a love for the Lord's cause that was so great that when Christians were scattered abroad, they went everywhere preaching. All evidence indicates that their main concern was for the saving of souls, not for material things. There are signs today that we are not following their pattern. And one of the crucial points of departure, it seems to me, is that we love our church and not the Lord's. By that I mean that we want to see our home congregation in a building that we can point to with pride, complete with padded seats, carpets, air conditioning, etc. before we think of those in the Lord's church who have to meet on a cold dirt floor. In our church we pay or demand to be paid $500 for a Gospel meeting without caring that in many lands in the Lord's church preachers hold meetings for nothing and often have to pay their own travel expenses to get there. In our church we pay the janitor, secretary, song leader, etc. to do jobs that dedicated Christians would be glad to do for nothing. Do we not realize that this money would preach the Gospel to millions who have not heard by radio or newspaper in some distant land where the Lord wants His church to grow? In our church when we are in financial strain, the last thing we take out of the budget is the brother who preaches to us, though there are many other men in the congregation who could be doing this work. And the first thing we take out of the budget, if indeed it was ever put in, is the preacher in a foreign country who has made so many sacrifices and who works where the cause is new, where laborers are fewest, and where millions have never heard of the true church.
My brother, could I ask you to sit down and figure how much of the contribution where you worship is used for a comfortable place for you to sit and listen and someone to listen to as compared to that which is spent for preaching to the world's millions who have never heard. Then think about how much effort you are making in giving of your time and energy to save the lost. From this little inventory does it look like you love your church or the Lord's church? Remember, beloved, there is salvation only in the Lord's church.
-Clasificador 1154, Santiago, Chile