Articles
Is This A Good Argument? Really?
(April Theme: Authority...In The Church Work/Worship)
A couple years ago I was watching a heated debate about whether abortion should be legal or not. Each side gave their arguments (though, not all of equal caliber). Then, the pro-abortion advocates caught my attention with one off-the-wall question: “You spend so much time on this, but if you really care about human life -and women’s lives in particular- why don’t you donate to or spend more time on issues like breast-cancer.”
Interesting… I didn’t know breast cancer had anything to do with abortion. Frankly, it doesn’t, and using this flawed logic hurt their (already crippled) case. Seriously, couldn’t this argument be used in any discussion? It sure could, but that doesn’t make it fair or sensible!.
If someone donated to a breast cancer clinic but didn’t donate to a diabetes research facility, does this mean they don’t care about those who suffer from diabetes? Using this poor rationality would mean that this had to be the case! By extension, this would condemn those who worked in the same breast cancer clinic (who should be honored for their work) as uncaring, selfish, and prejudiced. Does this even make sense?
No fair or honest person would suggest this! This argument wasn’t given to progress the search for truth at all, but was merely a smokescreen.
So Why Are So Many Using This Logic With The Bible?
People constantly do this when it comes to discussions on the work of the Church! If we want to know what the scope of the work of any institution, organization, or group is we must go to the head/top/boss. It’s the same with the Church (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18). Christ decides what the work is, what it should look like, what its focus is, etc.
God has made it clear what the work of the church is! And that is to “further the administration of God” (1 Tim. 1:4) and to “make known the manifold wisdom of God” (Eph. 3:10). The scope of this work is NOT for political function, social justice, recreation, entertainment, corporate gain, or any other thing man might come up with. It is specifically for evangelism — seeking and saving the lost through the same Gospel message we were saved by (Matt. 28:18-20; Rom. 1:16; 1 Cor. 1:18, 24).
- “So you don’t care about the poor out on the streets?” If I didn’t that would certainly be a heart problem, but God didn’t say the Church was to act as a food pantry! And, frankly, this would be a shameful argument to make! Would we say that animal shelters don’t care about the homeless because their means and expenses are designated for another purpose? So how is it fair to say this about the Church?
- “You don’t believe in providing support to the underprivileged in our community?” Of course I do, but can I just use the church’s funds for any reason I want? No more than an employee could use company funds on their own personal vacation! So how is it reasonable to think this way about the Church?
- “Why not invest that money so that you can gain more? Businesses do that all the time!” Is the Church a business? There’s value in seeing how even the world does not question the need for authority in corporate life. There are examples above proving just that, but we can’t learn the wrong lesson and turn the Church into a secular organization with secular motives, rules, and practices! The Church doesn’t profit off of the stock market, investments, raffles, basketball tournaments, or anything of that nature. Instead of finding roundabout ways for the church to prosper, God wants one to give “as he may prosper” (1 Cor. 16:2). He doesn’t want one to give of another accord but “of their own accord” (2 Cor. 8:3). This is to be a personal, direct, cheerful, and willing investment that we’re “giving.” So how is it to be any of those things if we’re treating the Church like an corporation?
