THINGS THAT DO NOT BELONG IN CHRIST'S CHURCH

The Church of Christ is a divine institution composed of human beings. This last factor means that all the weaknesses of humanity have the potential of showing up in a congregation of people. To offset the possibility of sinful human thinking adversely affecting the church, Christ put his Holy Word in our hands to regulate and control our faith, service and behavior. We are expected to "observe all things whatsoever he commanded" (Matt. 28:20). To make sure that disciples follow that Word, he gave us preachers to teach us (II Tim. 4:2) and elders to guide and oversee us (Acts 20:28).

In Christ's church there is no royalty. We are all brothers and sisters (Matt. 23:8) or "one man (Gal. 3:28). Rather than rule as lords, we are to serve as servants if we would please our Lord (Matt. 20:26). Conversely, there are no serfs, waifs or peons in His church. All share the dignity and honor of being children of the King (Gal. 3:26), thus deserving of respect and equitable treatment. Education, wealth, status and worldly honor are left at the door of the church just as the Oriental leaves his shoes at the door of his temple.

There are no CEOs, executives, presidents or board chairmen in the Church of Christ. The church is a monarchy, with Christ as king (I Tim. 6:14-15) and its only head (Eph. 1:22). He has all authority and is fully capable of directing the affairs of his people (Matt. 28:18). He has recorded that will for us in his Testament and he expects us to follow it. That one has been successful in the world of business, finance or education does not guarantee him a place of leadership in the church. He stands on equal footing with the farmer, the carpenter, and the factory worker. Pride of office must also be left at the door, exchanged for a robe of humility that counts others better than self (Phil. 2:3). Over the ages those who sought to follow Christ have been scorned by worldly folks as "levelers" because they would not give deference to those whom the world considered important. Paul reminds us that not many of the world's wise, mighty and noble people are called into the kingdom (I Cor. 1:26) and those that are must come in as servants bowing before their Master (Phil. 2:10-11).

There is no special place in the Lord's church for beauty queens, or popularity contest winners. In school there are those whose beauty, handsomeness or popularity bring them special recognition, honor and privileges. But schools are of this world and those who garner those trophies may or not be Christians. Beauty is a gift from God as is athletic skill or a charming personality, but those things have no redeeming value. Paul counted all such worldly prizes as dung (Phil. 3:8 KJV). In fact they sometime cause their recipients to be vain and arrogant (Prov. 11:22). All of these worldly trophies must also be left at the door. Physical beauty counts nothing in Christ's kingdom, it is the inner beauty of the soul that counts (I Pet. 3:4-5). In Christ, the disfigured leper is as lovely as the beauty queen. Those who despise the poor, or unfortunate in life prove themselves unqualified for the heavenly realm (Jas. 2:1-6).

In the Savior's church there are no second class citizens with limited privileges. God has no stepchildren who like Cinderella must sit in the corner and do the chore work. The most miserable sinner can be washed clean by the blood of Jesus and made to sit with him in the heavenly places (Eph. 2:4-6). Those who by their raising or good circumstances have never tasted the bitter dregs of sin, must not be proud or act superior to those who have not been so blest. The father greeted with a joyful heart his prodigal son and gave him a homecoming feast without recrimination. The clean-living elder brother revealed the littleness of his heart by refusing to join the celebration (Luke 15:20-32). There is a great lesson for Christians in this story.

To be the Christians God expects us to be and the church he wants us to be, let's all remember just what it means to be a child of God through faith in Christ Jesus. It is faith and service that counts.