Lessons from the Heart
What debate?
By Pastor Jim Franklin

Franklin

It is very easy to start a church fight. The place of music in the church is an excellent place to begin. Does a church sing or chant? Should it use musical instruments or sing a cappella without accompaniment? Does the church use an organ or a piano? Is there a choir?

Should there be a song leader or a worship group? And heaven help us if the band has drums! Should the church sing hymns or "praise songs?" Does it utilize hymnals, an overhead projector, or power point?

In the not-so-distant past the word "worship" was a verb: "The church worships God." Now "worship" is an adjective, as in "worship band" or "worship music."

Many people hold strong opinions concerning the versions of the Bible. Those opinions usually center on the place of the King James Version (KJV) in the church. Some churches go so far as to write into their constitutions that the KJV is the only Bible that may be used in church.

It is very easy to throw one of these stink bombs off in a church and then watch everyone run for the door.

But whose church is it anyway? Jesus Christ answers that question in Matthew 16:18 both succinctly and directly: "I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." This statement is his clear promise to the church.

Christ gives two promises here. The first is "I will build my church." "I will" is a sure promise that only Christ can fulfill. "My church" is a possessive. The church, both local and universal, belongs to him and him alone.

"The Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it" is also a promise. The statement assumes that there will be attacks against the church. Christ's promise assures us that when the battle for the church is over, the church will be the one standing, and not Satan's kingdom.

According to the scriptures the debate is over. There is no longer any argument concerning the ownership and guarantee of the church. Jesus Christ owns the church and it will prevail.

Jim Franklin is pastor at Flora Grace Brethren Church.