Church of Christ (12th & Laurel Street) Mishawaka IN. 46544
THE LOCAL CHURCH IS NO SHAM
THE LOCAL CHURCH IS NO SHAM
Paul wanted to "join himself to the disciples" in Jerusalem. (Acts 9:26) What does this mean? It means he "wanted to
be accepted and known among the saints in Jerusalem as being a true disciple and to enjoy all the blessings of
fellowship and common togetherness enjoyed by the disciples." That is the explanation one brother makes of it, as he,
of all things, ridicules the existence of the local church with its functions.
And what is a local church, but that relationship which he has described? Note, (1) Paul WAS a saint in Jerusalem,
whether they accepted and recognized him or not. That relationship was established with God when he obeyed the
gospel. But now he wanted something else---and rightly so. He wanted to be accepted and recognized by fellow
saints. And to what end? (2) To enjoy the blessings of fellowship, etc. Does this mean he wished to worship with
them? Who will deny it? Did he wish to work with them, as he encouraged saints to work together in Phil. 4:15; 1
Thess. 5:12, and elsewhere? Consistency demands it. And (3) what is this "common togetherness" of which our
iconoclast speaks? Could it include such things as "had all things common" (Acts 2:44-f), selling possessions and
making a pooled fund available for specified purposes? (Acts 5:32-f) If so (and I affirm it is), this is collective action
by every fair standard of definition.
Paul's early rejection, then later reception by the Jerusalem disciples shows they exercised their will in this matter.
(Acts 9:26-f) (Remember, Paul WAS a saint before acceptance.) So, put it all together. Paul "held membership" (which
in a scriptural sense means nothing more than being one of the group of saints who worked and worshipped together)
in Jerusalem.
When someone seeks to prejudice his readers with sectarian terms, and denies the very existence of the organized
local church----apparently because he doesn't like the word "organization," although he admits every element
legitimately demanded by such a word---that fellow is getting close to being a true "iconoclast." Don't let the old
meaning "breaker of images" fool you. Today an iconoclast is "One who attacks cherished beliefs as shams; a radical."
Webster's Unabridged. The first or historical definition does not fit today's ridiculer of the local church.
If there are those who have an erroneous conception of "church" (and I do not doubt they exist, and have written many
articles on this theme) then meet their actual error. Positively set forth the scriptures on the subject. And get out of the
local church (saints in---who enjoy all the blessings of fellowship and common togetherness) that supports you from
a common treasury. Consistency would surely demand this.
Certainly "church" has been abused, as has many other words long used. If "ecclesia" had never been translated, usage
would have abused it (Witness "ecclesiastical"). Changing the word will be of little help today unless we teach the
N.T. meaning of whatever word we use; and an iconoclast never builds anything.
--Robert F. Turner
Some additional comments by Lanny: As we have been studying the New Testament church, I thought it would be
good to consider this excellent article from one of my favorite writers. Over the years, there have been those who deny
the existence of the local church, as well as the need to "join" a local church. As you can see, those who so argue often
make short-sighted and inconsistent arguments to support their cause. Short-sighted arguments are those which fail to
"think through" the logical conclusions of their position. This, in turn, leads to inconsistent application in practice.
For example, if there is no such thing as a local church, then why do those who affirm this position always seem to
associate themselves with a local church??? Seems kind of strange to me! Further, what are we to make of one who
affirms the existence of the local church, but then refuses to become a member based on some "technicality?" He will
admit that local saints should meet together regularly (Hb.10:25), select elders (Ac.14:23), submit to those elders
(Hb.13:17), pool their resources into a common treasury (1Cor.16:2), and work together as a team (Ph.4:15); but then
turn right around and affirm that membership in such a group is not required! Now THAT'S confusing!
--Lanny Smith