Views: 0<\/p>
[Note<\/strong>:\u00a0 <\/strong>This MS is available in larger font on our Brief Articles 3<\/strong>\u00a0 page.<\/span><\/p>\n While speaking of the local church, the preacher said, \u201cWe are commanded to grow.\u201d He immediately quoted Mark 16:15 as his proof text: \u201cGo ye into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.\u201d His use of this text is a misapplication of Jesus\u2019 words. In fact, there is not a scintilla of the commanded-to-grow <\/em>notion in the New Testament that applies to congregations. This church growth <\/em>mania among brethren began in the 1980s and was borrowed from denominational sources.<\/span><\/p>\n Some brethren have made a career of it with their \u201cchurch growth seminars.\u201d In their wake we have seen the rise of such inanities as \u201cJuggling for Jesus,\u201d \u201cMagic for the Master,\u201d \u201cGymnastics to the Glory of God,\u201d classes in everything from auto mechanics to money management, gymnasiums, a host of \u201csocial services,\u201d and toning down the pulpit to present a non-offensive \u201cgospel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Many have swallowed the devil\u2019s lie that, if a church is growing in numbers, \u201cit must be doing something right.\u201d This grow-at-any-price <\/em>dictum has blossomed into full-fledged apostasy in hundreds of churches.<\/span><\/p>\n We are not denying that the Lord is pleased with congregational growth that comes from souls who obey the Gospel. Surely, none will doubt that the Lord was pleased with the Jerusalem church\u2019s growth when 3,000 obeyed the Gospel in one day (Acts 2:41). He continued (and continues) to be pleased when sincere souls obey Him, whom He adds to the church \u201cday by day\u201d (v. 47). This, however, is quite different from stating, concerning any one church or the church as a whole, that we have a mandate to make it grow<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n Our mandate in Mark 16:15 is to preach the Gospel and give people an opportunity to obey it. Sometimes\u2014and in some places\u2014conditions are \u201cjust right\u201d for many to obey the Gospel\u2014as in Jerusalem. However, one reasons falsely to suppose that the dramatic Jerusalem growth is a pattern we are obligated (or even able) to duplicate. Those events\/results cannot and will not be duplicated. God had for centuries been providentially preparing the circumstances that produced the exceptional growth on Pentecost and immediately thereafter (Acts 2:41, 47; 4:4; 5:14; 6:7).<\/span><\/p>\n Paul understood that his duty was to preach the Gospel, not to see how many he could baptize to produce \u201cgrowth\u201d (1 Cor. 1:17). We are thankful that \u201cmany of the Corinthians hearing believed and were baptized\u201d at his preaching (Acts 18:8b). However, he would have been faithful had only a few been baptized there, as in Athens\u2014a church about which we never hear another word in the Sacred history (Acts 17:34).<\/span><\/p>\n Unlike many brethren, Paul did not believe in \u201cgrowth for the sake of growth.\u201d He rather understood (and followed) the Scriptural principle: \u201cI planted; Apollos watered; but God gave the increase\u201d (1 Cor. 3:6). Men ought to learn from Sarah (Gen. 16:1\u20133) the futility of trying to \u201chelp God out,\u201d of which placing growth before Gospel smacks.<\/span><\/p>\n The Lord\u2019s growth <\/em>mandate is to individual saints: \u201cBut grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ\u201d (1 Pet. 3:18). Let us faithfully and zealously preach and teach the Word and leave the growth up to the Lord. The Lord did not say, \u201cGo and make the church grow,\u201d but \u201cGo and preach the Gospel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n [<\/strong>Note: <\/strong>This article appeared in The Lighthouse, <\/em>weekly bulletin of Northpoint Church of Christ, Denton, TX, July 15, 2012.]<\/span><\/p>\n Attribution:<\/strong> From www.thescripturecache.com<\/em>; Dub McClish, proprietor, curator, and administrator.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Views: 0[Note:\u00a0 This MS is available in larger font on our Brief Articles 3\u00a0 page. While speaking of the local church, the preacher said, \u201cWe are commanded to grow.\u201d He immediately quoted Mark 16:15 as his proof text: \u201cGo ye into all the world and…<\/p>\n