Guest Post: "The Church and the Lost"

[Today’s post is written by Matthew Morine. Matthew preaches for the Castle Rock church of Christ in Colorado. Formerly, Matthew was in Waynesboro, Tennessee. You may enjoy his blog here. Matthew is a great writer, and you will enjoy his brief but well-thought-out posts. We appreciate him “kicking off” this series on the church. Or, since he is a hockey fan, we appreciate him “dropping the puck” for us!]

Churches will continue to struggle as long as there is discontinuity between the mission of man and the mission of God.  The average church is structured around the purposes of fending and tending to the existing flock of God.  The majority of resources are directed towards the avenues of fellowship and teaching within the local churches.  The time and attention of the leadership is given to the concerns and the needs of the local members.  Often, the membership rules the agenda of the local Body of Christ. 

Why would we expect differently?  The loudest voices are from the insiders of the congregation.  People have certain expectations of a congregation which the leadership naturally deals with on a continued basis.  Immature Christians threaten the leadership with ultimatums of leaving the congregation for another church if the particular needs are not met.  Leadership is swamped with the urgent problems of the members.  There seems to be little time, attention, or desire to engage in the outside world of the church because of the ever-increasing needs of the existing sheep.  The cries of the sheep in the pen are overwhelming compared with the faint echoes of the distant sheep captured in the snares of Satan.

The Priority of God

The church succumbs to the mission of man while pushing the mission of God to the side.  But if the church is to thrive, the mission of God must be exalted to the forefront once again.  The mission of man focuses on the insiders; the mission of God focuses on the outsiders.  The needs of the lost outweigh the demands of the saved.  This is the perspective of Jesus during his ministry on earth.  In chapter 15 of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells three parables: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost boy.  In the first illustration of the mission of God for the lost, He highlights the value structure of God.  “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’  I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:4-7).  In this parable the priority is toward the lost sheep.  The lost sheep took precedence over the ninety-nine safe sheep.  The text is not stating that God does not care about the ninety-nine saved sheep, but rather the need of the lost sheep demanded the shepherd’s attention more than the needs of the safe sheep.  God places an emphasis on reaching out to those outside of Christ.

The Priority of Jesus

Often the mission of man usurps the mission of God in localized religion.  A classic example of people mixing up the priorities of God with the priorities of man is found in Matthew 9:10-13.

And it happened that as He was reclining at the table in the house, behold many tax-gatherers and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax-gatherers and sinners?”  But when He heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.  But go and learn what this means, ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.  

In this context the Pharisees are appalled that Jesus is dining with sinners.  To a good Pharisee, there was no room within the religious manual for contact with an unclean sinner.  The number one objective for a Pharisee was holiness.  This meant that complete separation from the profane sinners was mandatory.  Holiness is an important objective for a Christian, but Jesus had a different value scale.  Jesus in no way compromised His holiness, but he also understood the mission of God over the mission of man.  Man desired holiness above outreach.  In no way did the Pharisees want to corrupt themselves by having contact with an unclean sinner.  But this was the agenda of man; the agenda for Jesus was to be a spiritual doctor to these people.  The Pharisees were like the doctor who diagnosed the illness but refused to provide the remedy.  Jesus identified the illness but also helped with the cure.  The Pharisees were blinded by the internal demand of sacrifice over the outward need for compassion.  To Jesus, the spiritually sick were more important than the spiritually healthy.

The Priority of the Church

Therefore, if a congregation is to be faithful to the pattern of Jesus, the congregation must be functioning with non-Christians in mind.  A congregation must not be internally-driven by the needs and demands of the saved.  A congregation must have the same perspective of Jesus by placing the priority on the lost.  Not that God is overlooking the concerns and needs of the saved, but the needs of the saved must not drown out or replace the mission of God to the lost.  The voice that leaders must be most in tune with is the distant cries of those without Christ.  Individual members must be willing to give up certain traditions that interfere with reaching the lost.  Of course, never compromising on doctrine, but always conceding those elements of opinion that hinder the lost from coming into a saving relationship with Christ.  Members of the Body of Christ must forsake one’s own desires for the welfare of those outside the Church.  All Christians must practice the difficult command of Romans 15:1-3:

Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.  Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.  For even Christ did not please Himself.