No fireworks! No Elvis impersonators! No antique car shows! No gimmicks!

All of these have been sponsored by churches in our area, but the church of Christ at 516 Rocky Point Road just wants to be a church after the New Testament order. All we offer is the gospel, without addition or subtraction. Our goal is to specialize in just being a church, not a club. Sometimes men mix the social gospel with the true, thereby diluting it. There is a difference between the pure gospel and the modern social gospel, which is really another gospel (Gal.1:6-10).

The Lord's church was given a three-fold work to do. 1. Its primary mission is to evangelize. It is the "pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Tim.3:15; 1 Thess. 1:8). 2. It also has the responsibility to teach and train its own members so they may grow to maturity (Eph. 4:12). 3. And it was given the work of benevolence (Acts 6:1-6).

Christ's mission was to save souls for eternity. He made a clear distinction between the sacred (what came from heaven) and the secular (what came from men). If it came from men, it had no heavenly authority (Mark 11:30). The responsibility of recreation and entertainment was never given to the church. Men have so blended the sacred and the secular that it is difficult to distinguish them. Inspiration cautions us "not to go beyond what is written" (1 Cor. 4:6).

Do you feel insulted if a church thinks the only way they can keep you faithful to God is with food, entertainment and recreation? Do you desire to associate with those who simply want to worship God because they love him and Jesus died for them?

It is refreshing to meet folks who want to go back to the Bible and just be the church Jesus built. That is our goal. We hope you will make it yours! Won't you come and investigate?

Guardian of Truth XL: No. 21, p. 12
November 7, 1996