"Church Buildings" (1)

Solomon built a house "for the name of Jehovah" (1 Kings 8:17-20), but knew at the time that God "dwelleth not in temples made with hands." (Vss. 27-30, Acts 7:47-f) The tabernacle, and later the temple, was God's house only in keeping with the typology of the Old Covenant. No amount of "dedication" could make it any more God's house than the truth of God allowed.

Today the people of God are His house, "dedicated" to Him, and built upon the true foundation. (Eph. 2:20-f.; 1 Pet. 2:5; 1 Cor. 3:9-11). No amount of  "dedication" can make a pile of bricks, mortar and laminated beams the "house of God."

Then, what are these places where saints meet to worship? That's what they are---places, locations, enclosures of space. In order for Jesus and his disciples to keep the Passover it was necessary that they have a place, and that accompaniments be made ready, (Lk. 22:7-14). They may have paid for this from the "bag" (Jn. 13:29), but if so, no permanent "holiness" was imparted to the room or equipment. They used these ordinary things for their purposes (including feet-washing) and then others apparently used them for other purposes.

With "neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem" (Jn. 4:21) Jesus loosed the location of worship. Our "holy Place" is in heaven (Heb. 9:24) and our sanctuary is "not made with hands" (Heb. 8:2; 9:11). There is nothing about a "church building that can be "desecrated" for there is nothing holy there to "profane." It IS a "common thing" to be used by saints.

Then how is a "church building" justified? The scriptures offer very little information on the subject other than the principle of collective support of things purposed and done by divine approval. The church is to "sound out the word" (1 Thess. 1:8) so the church at Philippi "communicated" with Paul (Phil. 4:15). Paul asked churches to assist the poor saints at Jerusalem (Rom. 14:25-f), to which end he instructed them re. a "gathering" and its use. (1 Cor. 16:1-f) As saints are authorized to assemble (Heb. 10:25; 1 Cor. 14:23) and worship (1 Cor. 11:20; Acts 20:7) we believe it is in keeping with the above principle for them to pool funds to provide a place and accompaniments for this and all other assigned works.

A church that is governed by divine authority does not build a basketball gymnasium, because basketball is not an authorized function of the church. This does not mean that the church has been "defiled" if someone bounces a ball in the parking lot. It does mean we should not purpose and finance unauthorized functions. If a visitor becomes ill and we put a "church" towel upon his head and lay him upon a pew until a doctor arrives, we have not agreed to a church-financed First-Aid Clinic. Incidental uses of church property do not invalidate the basic scriptural principle by which the church remains a spiritual institution to administer to spiritual needs. Further, what "we do" or "have done" justifies nothing. Many things about "buildings" are fruits of human judgement and are subject to revision. Better to be inconsistent than to deny God's rule.

Robert F. Turner

Plain Talk, vol. 11, no. 3, p. 4---May, 1974