by Bill Hall<\/p>\n
What is the purpose of the Lord’s church? Is it to eradicate poverty, disease, social injustice, illiteracy from among men? Is it to bring about a cessation of war and conflict? Is it to campaign for a temptation-free society for Christians to live in?<\/p>\n
If the church had as one of its great goals the eradication of disease, the Lord could have easily equipped it to accomplish that goal. Could not the same power that enabled one blind man to see have enabled all blind man to see; that enabled one lame man to walk have enabled all lame people to walk; that cured many people of varied diseases have cured all people of all diseases? And could not this same power have been given to the church in all generations?<\/p>\n
If the church has as one of its great goals the eradication of poverty, the Lord could have easily equipped it to accomplish this purpose. After all, He fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fishes. He similarly fed four thousand on another occasion. Could not He who did these marvelous works have enabled His church in all generations to feed, clothe, and shelter the impoverished masses of the world through miraculous powers?<\/p>\n
If the Lord had wanted His church to become a lobbyist group to apply political pressure toward a temptation and persecution free society in which to live, He would have given instructions in that direction. He did not even lead His church into a direct effort to destroy slavery but taught the Christian slave to be a better slave and the Christian master to treat his slaves as he would have his heavenly Master treat him (Colossians 3:22-4:1).<\/p>\n
The church’s purpose is to save souls and prepare people for eternity — It holds out to the impoverished the hope of someday walking a street of gold; to the suffering a time when there will be no pain; to the sorrowing a moment when “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes<\/em>.” It tells the tempted and persecuted that there is value in these afflictions, that the testing of their faith is “more precious than of gold<\/em>,” and to rejoice – It tells all to live godly lives in whatever environment they find themselves. It seeks to change people through the power of the gospel, not society through the coercion of legislators – Its weapons “are not carnal, but are mighty through God<\/em>.” Its motivating theme: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?<\/em>“<\/p>\n When churches become involved in hospital and health clinic work, or when they build schools for the education of their children, or when they see as one of their great missions to provide for the world’s poverty, or when they feel obligated to create social upheaval and campaign for human rights, or when they feel called upon to express their views on the government’s use of nuclear armaments or whatever, they have a distorted view of the purpose of the church.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Bill Hall What is the purpose of the Lord’s church? Is it to eradicate poverty, disease, social injustice, illiteracy from among men? Is it to bring about a cessation of war and conflict? Is it to campaign for a temptation-free society for Christians to live in? If the church had as one of its…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[448,1508,192],"class_list":["post-29547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-church","tag-institutionalism","tag-liberalism"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":88966,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/they-helped\/","url_meta":{"origin":29547,"position":0},"title":"They Helped","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Author Unknown The prophet Isaiah, declared by the inspiration of God, \"They helped everyone his neighbor: and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage\" (Isaiah 41:6). In times of crisis, especially, cries for help are frequently heard from every corner of the earth. Victims of floods, hurricanes,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34255,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-god-in-bible-days-not-let-disease-and-disability-affect-people-in-his-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":29547,"position":1},"title":"Did God in Bible days not let disease and disability affect people in His church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Did God in Bible days not let disease and disability affect people in His church? Answer: I believe you are referring to: \"And the LORD will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54562,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/miracles-then-versus-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":29547,"position":2},"title":"Miracles Then Versus Now","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry W. Benton When Jesus worked miracles, nobody could deny it. Unbelievers tried to explain them away, but they could not deny a miracle happened. 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Can you provide\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38154,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-my-sins-cause-my-pain-if-i-stop-will-my-disease-go-away\/","url_meta":{"origin":29547,"position":4},"title":"Did my sins cause my pain? If I stop, will my disease go away?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear preacher, I am 25 years old. For the past six years, I have been walking with severe heel pain in both legs. I have consulted many doctors, and I have taken many pain killers, steroids, and anti-inflammatory medications but I am unable to walk properly. 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