Sunday Morning Sermon

Preached by John Gaines at Leonard Street Church of Christ

August 17, 2003

1. The title of this study asks an interesting question -- "Is there something wrong with the church?"

2. That question can always be answered with a resounding "No!"

a. The church is the most expensive single thing which has ever existed in the world. All the money in the world couldn't begin to pay the price for it. Only the blood of the sinless Son of God was enough to purchase the church [Acts 20:28 (NKJV) "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.]

b. The church had the best Builder any institution could ever have. It was built by Jesus Christ [Matthew 16:18]. There are no flaws in its construction.

c. The church has the strongest foundation possible. There are several Bible verses which present different views of the church's foundation.

(1) Matthew 16:18 says the church was to be built on "this rock" (i.e., Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God).

(2) 1 Corinthians 3:11 says the foundation is Christ: "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."

(3) Ephesians 2:20 says the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ being the corner stone.

(4) There is no conflict between these statements of Scripture because each stresses that the church upon the foundation of God's truth . . . that it is exactly what God wants it to be.

d. The church was built according to the best plan. We recognize the importance of a good architect in the constructing of any building. The plans have to be top-quality if the finished product is to be any good. The church was purposed in the mind of God from eternity [Ephesians 3:10-11].

3. Let's face facts, however. Our question "Is there something wrong with the church?" can often be answered honestly, "Yes, it's obvious that there is!"

a. There is no conflict between these two answers. From God's standpoint, the church is absolutely perfect. He has done everything exactly right and doesn't need to change even the tiniest detail. However, from the human standpoint, there is always room for improvement.

b. Human beings have a way of messing up things that God made perfect.

(1) Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. . . God made a paradise world where everything was "very good" [Genesis 1:31]. Human sin ruined that perfect environment.

(2) The family is God's perfectly-designed institution for human relationships. Marriage provides for companionship [Genesis 2:18], intimacy [Genesis 2:24], and sexual fulfillment [1 Corinthians 7:2-4]. Because human beings fall short of the standards God set, we have marital discord, divorce, and sexual abuse.

(3) It shouldn't surprise us that a similar fall from perfection can be seen even in the church.

c. We should be concerned with how to make the church better -- not improving on God's divine plan for His church, but how we can encourage one another as human beings in the church to better fulfill the function that God has designed for us as members of the body of Christ.

I. SOME PROBLEMS IN THE CHURCH REQUIRE DRASTIC ACTION.

A. Tornado illustration. If a tornado comes through an area and severely damages a house, but leaves a shell standing. . . roof blown away . . . windows blown out . . . water damage throughout. . . . The best thing to do is demolish what's left and start over.

B. Some churches face heavy duty reconstruction to get themselves back to where God wants them to be.

1. Churches which have tolerated immorality have to make a drastic change.

a. Look at the Corinthian church described in 1 Corinthians 5 [1 Corinthians 5:1-2 (NKJV) It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles; that a man has his father's wife! 2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you.] Paul demanded that they deliver that wicked sinner unto Satan [1 Corinthians 5:5 (NKJV) deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.]

b. We live in a very worldly world and the church must not allow itself to be conformed to that environment. Churches which have accommodated themselves to immorality must make a drastic break [1 Corinthians 5:11 (NKJV) But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; not even to eat with such a person.]

2. Churches which have compromised with religious error must make a sharp correction and get back to the truth. The church in Pergamos tolerated the "doctrine of Balaam" and the "doctrine of the Nicolaitans." The Lord told them, "Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth" [Revelation 2:16 (NKJV)]. It is surely true today that some churches which used to be faithful to the cause of Christ have moved away from the truth. They have lifted their anchors and drifted into error. In most cases, these kind of changes are gradual . . . so much so that many members don't notice what is happening. However, when the error is detected, the church must act quickly to get things right or lose their status as a church of God.

II. MOST CHURCH PROBLEMS, HOWEVER, ARE BETTER DEALT WITH BY GENTLE CORRECTION.

A. You might tear down your house and start over after a devastating tornado, but you don't tear the whole house down if you have a leaky roof or if a neighborhood kid knocks a baseball through your window.

1. Those kind of problems have to be fixed. They can't be ignored. A broken window won't fix itself. Immediate attention is required before rain blows in and ruins your carpet.

2. Still you keep it in perspective. You know that you still have a good house worth a great deal of money even if it does have the temporary problem of a broken window. So you fix the window and go on with your life.

B. Every congregation has "leaky roofs" and "broken windows" -- areas that need attention and improvement.

1. We can improve our worship.

a. Our singing can be better and we ought to work on that.

b. We can try to make the observance of the Lord's Supper more meaningful.

c. We can do a better job emphasizing the importance of prayer and our prayer leaders can lead more appropriate prayers.

d. The quality of the preaching can always be ratcheted up a notch or two.

2. Our Bible school classes can always be made better.

a. Better curriculum . . . better meeting the needs of our students

b. Better trained teachers, etc.

3. We can do better in the way we deal with people who aren't members of this congregation.

a. Greet and be friendlier to visitors. Do better follow-up with cards, calls, and visits to neighborhood visitors.

b. We can all develop a greater consciousness for souls. Look at every person we know as a soul needing the gospel of Christ. Talk with people about Christ. Invite people to services. Set up Bible studies with them. There is certainly room for improvement in the way we do evangelism.

4. We can develop more effective ways of ministering to the sick and shut-in. There are surely ways we can do a better job meeting the needs of people we can help.

5. Our leadership can always improve. Our elders can do a better job of shepherding the flock and our deacons can do their work better.

6. The bottom line is that there is always room for improvement in the church. But these are "broken window" problems . . . matters which need attention (maybe even urgent attention) but the right tools need to be used in the right way. The "sledgehammer approach" usually isn't the best way. We improve the church by fine-tuning things . . . doing this job a little better today than we've done it before and doing that job a little better tomorrow.

CONCLUSION

1. It is my firmly held conviction that Leonard Street is a good church. If the Lord were writing a letter to us as He did to the seven churches in Asia [Revelation 2-3], I believe He would find many good things to say.

2. That does not mean, however, that we have no "broken windows" which need repair. We need to build our attendance. We need to work hard to restore members who have fallen away. We need to be more evangelistic in reaching souls for Christ. We have more and more older people who have special needs which the church can help meet. So there is lots for us to do. Every one of us needs to be committed to doing what he or she can to make the church better.

3. Invitation