Last time we began to look at what it would mean for the Church (and a church) to have a terminal purpose assigned to it by God. We looked at Ephesians 3:8-11: “To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; 10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord.” There is no doubt whatsoever that God has created all things and that He has a purpose for all things. He has an eternal purpose for the Church and anything that it does that is not in accordance with that purpose is simply not doing what it is supposed to do.
If the purposes that we set out for the church are from the Bible, we think we are being biblical. However, if the terminal end is not biblical, then the other purposes that we set out are at odds with Scripture. If the terminal or chief end is not from Scripture and is not what God has set out for the Church, then even if the stated purposes are biblical they will be used in an unbiblical way. We can see this by way of illustration in preaching. A sermon may be biblical and orthodox in its content and theology. However, if the preacher’s terminal desire is to impress people or to gain fame for his preaching, the sermon is not out of love for God. In fact, to the preacher it is an act of idolatry in that his terminal desire is himself and not God.
If a church or minister desire to grow in numbers, that is not in and of itself bad. However, if the church or minister desires to grow in numbers apart from the biblical terminal end, then the desire to grow in numbers is bad. If the church desires to grow apart from a biblical terminal end, it will choose methods and goals that are not according to the biblical terminal end. In doing that, though outwardly noble and good, it is nothing less than the practice of idolatry. Let us examine this according to some purposes that are biblical. We have looked at worship in a previous BLOG in this light and so we will not look at it again.
First, we will look at evangelism. Within the SBC this is a hallowed purpose. It is given primary importance and is thought to be why the Church is on earth. However, even a superficial look at Ephesians 3:8-11 should dispel that myth. The Church has a greater purpose than evangelism on earth. It is not the terminal end or primary purpose of the Church. But surely it is obvious that if we begin to plan evangelism and do evangelism in a way that is not in accordance with the terminal end or primary purpose of the Church that it will lead to great problems. If we view evangelism as the greatest purpose of the Church and in fact it is not, then all that the Church does will be pointed to evangelism and evangelism itself will be an idol. Not only that, but evangelism might also be viewed from a business model and be seen as a way to fill a church with people.
We should also note the dangers of having churches where evangelism is seen as the greatest purpose within a local church. People would be trained to do evangelism apart from spiritual growth and apart from a biblical evangelism which can only happen within the framework of a church that is committed to the terminal purpose that God gave it. Let me repeat that thought with different words. True evangelism can only happen within a church that is committed to its terminal purpose or chief end as set out by God. This is why it is so vital to gain an understanding of the Church (and each church) and what it does and for it to be in accordance to God’s purpose.
God Loves... Himself 
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