Are church owned schools and hospitals good works?
Question:
Good day, minister.
In a Bible study, we were talking about Christianity and good works. The teacher emphasized that good works do not leave out the church building, schools, and hospitals. I’ve heard a contrasting teaching elsewhere. But the way the teacher put it just offers a new perspective. He mentions that the church can build a school to support brethren who cannot afford the burden. (It is not an uncommon thing here in this country). He calls it benevolence (part of the works of the church). He also hinted that there is nothing wrong with the church making profits from something like that. But the general idea is to help brethren.
There’s also the problem of collecting multiple times on Sunday. He states that there is nothing wrong with making collections for different purposes on the Lord’s day. For example, after the general collection has been made and there’s news that a brother or sister needs financial assistance to maybe cover hospital bills, another collection can be made for that purpose. All these sound new and strange to me, and I will need some clarification.
Thank you very much.
Answer:
Your Bible teacher wants to avoid God's permission for the things he likes to do. Thus, he'll label something as a "good work." Who would oppose a good work? In this way, he never has to open a Bible to prove whether he is right. However, as "But It's a Good Work" points out, "good" in men's eyes does not prove that it is good in God's eyes. Nor does "good" mean it is good for everyone to do.
The church has a specific mission. Just because I can do something as an individual, it does not mean that God wants His church to do the same. See "Individual Duty or Local Church Duty?"
The fact that he wants to do these things and make a profit at it is a strong warning sign. "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep" (II Peter 2:1-3).
Regarding multiple collections, see "Are special contributions scriptural?"
