The Church and Individual Action

I. Some problems that develop within the religious world result from a failure to understand the distinction between the church and the individual in relationship to God’s work. This failure will cause us to transfer some individual responsibilities to the church. We can do many things as individuals that God has not commanded the church to do. When we do this, we burden the church with work that takes it away from its primary responsibility of teaching the lost and edifying the members.

II. What is the church? The church is simply a body of believers called by the gospel and sanctified by God, Acts 2:47. We sometimes use the terms universal and local church to distinguish the two ways that the New Testament uses the word church. We do not find the designations “universal church” and “local church” in the scriptures but the concept exists in the New Testament.

III. The local church is a church that meets in a particular locality. The church in Jerusalem (Acts 11:22), the seven churches of Asia from Revelation 2 and 3 are biblical examples of this use. The universal church comprises all believers in Christ. Hebrews 12:22-23 addresses “the general assembly of the firstborn whose names are listed in heaven.” In a general sense, Jesus died for the church to purify it, Ephesians 5:25-27. In the Catholic system (chapter 2), and other religious organizations, the universal church is made up of many local churches. In the New Testament, the universal church is comprised of people, not churches, 1 Corinthians 12:20-27. This distinction is important when we consider the differences between the universal and local church. It is in this local sense that we will consider the church in this lesson.

IV. Sometimes people say, “The church is the people and the people are the church.” This is true in the sense that the church is comprised of individuals, 1 Corinthians 2:18. The church is not the building holy building made up of Christians. The strength of the local church depends on the strength of its members, 1 Timothy 3:5. If the individual members are weak in knowledge, unconcerned about the lost, and carnally minded, that local church will be ineffective.

V. However, the above statement is false in the sense that the Bible makes a distinction between the individual and the church. The church acts as a collectivity, 1 Corinthians 12:14. Even within this collectivity, there are things that individuals can do that the church cannot. An example of this is the care of widows in 1 Timothy 5:3-16. The church could care for certain widows; put them on the roll for financial support, but not all widows. The primary responsibility for the widows must first rest with the children and grandchildren. They cannot shift their responsibility to the church for they would burden the church and violate God’s law. An individual could financially support a widow under 60 years old, who was not hospitable or a good worker, but the church cannot. Paul closed with the admonition not to burden the church. We cannot give the church a responsibility that is ours individually.

VI. Some want to take an individual responsibility of the parents to provide entertainment for their children and shift it to the church. The church has no authority to manage such worldly matters and shift its money and time from the spiritual growth of its members and rescuing sinners from the world.

VII. Some reason that if it is good for the individual to do, it is good for the church to do. Though the church is comprised of individuals, they have different duties and responsibilities. The church has no authority to decide where I will work, how to discipline my children, when and where I will go on vacation, or other personal matters. We would be offended if the church intruded into our personal affairs in this way. We should likewise be offended when people want to intrude into the work of the church and introduce unauthorized practices. An individual can start a business, invest his money in any venture for profit but the church is limited in the way it can use its money.

VIII. The difference in the way the church and the individual can use their money is evident in Acts 5:1-4. When Ananias and Sapphira sold their land, they kept back part of the proceeds and gave the rest to the apostles to help their needy brethren. Their intentions, for the most part, were good. Peter does not fault them for keeping part of the money; he condemned them for lying to God. Peter told them that when they had the land it was in their control. When they sold the land, the money was still under their control. Only when they gave the money to the apostles did it leave their realm of control and come under the oversight of the church.

IX. Some will try to take individual commands and apply them to the church. For example, in James 2:17 we read, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” This is clearly an individual command, particularly the final admonition to keep oneself pure. The first part of the sentence, regarding the widows and orphans, also applies to the individual. As we have already studied, the church has the authority to care for some widows but not all widows. The individual, however, is not limited in the care he can show to those in need.

X. When studying the commandments of God, remember the distinction between what the can do and what you can do. Do not confuse them.