What is within the purview of the church?

The influence the church is responsible to wield can be conceived in three aspects or levels. In the first sense, the primacy of root causes lends authority to the church for every aspect of life and society. Then again in the sense that the kingdom of God consists of the invisible church the prerogative of the church ends at the figurative doors of the church. Finally, if each decision for Christ is an individual decision, individual development is the extent of church rule.

A tree can be cut back to the root but if the root remains it may grow up again. The problems of men and societies can be attacked from many angles by philosophies, governments and endless isms. These may be more or less successful at trimming back the branches but, the central or root problem facing man is sin. Man is unable to fix this problem without Christ. Since the work of Christ on Earth is accomplished by the church, the church has a responsibility to address every sin and accompanying ill. The havoc sin plays is found in every nook and cranny of lives and in every strata of society. Every place the rot exists is in the purview of the church.

The law never made anyone righteous. In fact the law only puts into high relief the depth of depravity all are in apart from Christ. The Lord does not expect right behavior from pagans. Rather, He told us to teach the world to obey His commands thus bringing them into the Kingdom. The law of any land extends only as far as its borders. The rule of the church is active only in those souls that belong to the Kingdom of God.

The activity of the Kingdom of God is to bring men into right relationship with the Father. The one on one relationship is the whole purview of the church’s writ. The value of an eternal soul cannot be calculated in familiar, earthly terms. Each soul is the whole work of the church because each soul is the whole point of the cross.

In the Kingdom of God there is one authority which has commissioned everyone in the church. As the body of which Christ is the head, the church cares for and by compassion assumes responsibility for all of creation in its fallen state. The bride of Christ bears an onus of chastity to her betrothed. The depravity of the world must not be found in her members. The whole Kingdom of God is present in the Spirit given to every believer and the maintenance of the Kingdom is the maintenance of a clean conscience toward God by each believer.