Chapter VIII: Charity and Missionary Work

And then, finally, the Bible teaches that God’s church should be active in beneficent and missionary work. It is the duty of the church to feed the poor and to preach the gospel unto the entire world. I have a long list of Scriptures here which authorize this statement (Acts 11:27-30; 12:25; 24:17; 1 Cor. 16:1-4; Acts 11:19-21; 11:22-26; 13:1-4; etc.). Even though a church may be right in every other way, including Christian living, including the name, and including the organization, if it doesn’t do what it can to take care of the poor, and if it doesn’t make a scriptural effort to preach the gospel to all the world, it lacks that much being right, and cannot justify its claims to be known as the church of Christ!

Now, friends, let me repeat again that here’s what the Bible teaches. The church which does these things is right, because the Bible is right; but the church which deviates from these, leaves off some of them or adds something to them, lacks that much being right. And even though a church followed this plan in every item except one, it would still be wrong.