Herald of the Hills

January 27th, 2008                                Leakey church of Christ                                         Weekly Bulletin

IT'S NOT THE PIZZA by John Moore- SWSBS

    For any organized group, business, or institution to be successful, it must have a goal and objectives by which to achieve that goal. The church of our Lord is a divine institution, established by Christ in Jerusalem around A.D. 33. It has a heavenly goal with divinely authorized objectives by which it can achieve that goal. Those objectives are to evangelize the lost, edify the saints, and practice benevolence. The following comments will focus on the church's responsibility to edify its members.
    Edification Defined. Edification (Gk. oikodome) is the act of building up, strengthening, or developing. The word oikodome and its verb form are used often in the New Testament with reference to the actual construction of a building, house, etc. (e.g. Mt. 7:24; Mk. 12:1). It is also used in a figurative sense regarding the building up of an individual or the church as a whole (e.g. I Cor. 14:4; Acts 9:31, respectively). On at least twenty-four occasions, edification (or its English equivalent) is spoken of in reference to what a Christian receives for aid in spiritual growth and stabilization.
    Edification is Essential. Christians must grow (II Pet. 3:18). They are to desire the sincere milk of the Word (I Pet. 2:2). They must not be children who are easily swayed by the various fads and passing schemes of false teachers (Eph. 4:14), nor deceived by the adversary (I Pet. 5:8) and his lies. They must be able to distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil (Heb. 5:12). They must continue steadfast in what they have learned (Acts 2:42) and persevere in the midst of suffering (I Pet. 5:10). They must be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (Eph. 6:10). However, these objectives can never be realized unless one receives edification. Edification is essential. Without it, both the church and the home will never be what it ought to be. False teachers will deceive us, and Satan will weaken us. We will never be motivated to evangelize, think pure, act pure, worship regularly, or fulfill our roles in the home, if we are not edified.
    Source of Edification. Edification is received by means of a variety of avenues or human instruments (e.g. the elders, preacher, teachers, parents, faithful children of God, the assembly, etc.; see Ephesians 4 and Hebrews 10:23f). However, the source of our edification is God and His Word. Notice the Bible passages that tell us what God's Word will do:

    The Church and Edification. The church must edify its members (Eph. 4:11-16). It has the divine mandate and apostolic example to build up its members. The elders of the church must feed the flock (Acts 20:28) and take care of the church of God (I Tim. 3:5). This edification is to be done through a proper, systematic, and continual process of Bible study and through fulfilling the commands ascertained through that study. Hot dogs, pizzas, baseball, volleyball, etc. will not produce spiritual edification. It is certainly proper and good for Christians to come together for social events, but these things in and of themselves will not produce Christian growth. It is possible, and even likely, that edification could take place at a social gathering of Christians, but it is not the pizza or pecan pie (my favorite) that produces it. The church, therefore, must edify the saints with God's Word, as well as with singing, prayers, etc., which reflect the truth and practice of that Word.
Every congregation should expect, demand, and receive spiritual edification. Every member must know what it is, understand its necessity, and know that it is a work of the church. We must keep the saved saved by means of edification