Loyalty to Christ’s Church

Loyalty to Christ’s Church LOYALTY TO CHRIST’S CHURCH
J. D. Harvey

Thank you, Brother Adams. It is quite a pleasure to be back in Texas to enjoy the fellowship and asso-ciation of this Lecture Week as well as many other things enjoyable common to Texas. It has been about eight years since I attended this feast of good things, and I have been looking forward to it with eager anti-cipation. In the book of Hebrews, third chapter, verses 4, 5 and 6, we have these readings: “For every house is built by someone; but he that built all things is God. And Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were afterward to be spoken; but Christ as a son, over his house; whose house are we, if we hold fast our boldness and the glorying of our hope firm unto the end.” This text just about defines, as best as I can see, the subject of the hour—Loyalty to the church. The word loyal is not in our Bible, but the principle is there. What we call loyal, God calls faithful. What we style loyalty, God calls faithfulness. Now listen. And as Moses was faithfu or loyal to all of his house as a servant for a testimony of those things which were aft-erward to be spoken, so are we supposed to be loyal to-day. In Exodus 25:40, God commissioned Moses on this wise: “And see that thou make them after their pattern, which hath been showed thee in the mount.” When Moses carried out in detail the program according to that order, Paul styled him a loyal or a faithful servant. Now listen. “But Christ is the son over his house (that is the church) whose house are we, if we hold fast our boldness and glorifying of our hope firm unto the end.” In Ephesians 1:22-23 Paul says Christ is the head of the body, the church. “Then Christ is the son over his own house, which is the church, whose house are we, if we hold fast our faithfulness and re-joicing unto the end.” In talking and speaking about loyalty to the church, you notice that Christ is the son over his own house, whose house are ye if you are loyal. Then Christ could not have a church unless there is somebody loyal. There could not be a church on this earth today because the church is made up of loyal Christians. And Christ says you shall be my house in Abilene or anywhere else you come together if there is enough loyalty in your heart to maintain the orders from the King of kings and Lord of lords. Then, the existence of the church depends upon Christian loyalty to the church. The type of study; Loyalty makes the subject important as well as a very challenging situation that never does exist until we have persecution, until we have opposition, or, rather, it doesn’t show up. You don’t know whether you are loyal or not or faithful until opposition comes. I doubt if it even can show itself until the opposition arises and the circumstances

Let me suggest this morning that it takes persecution ; it takes opposition to bring out in us our loyalty, faithfulness, to God and the church. A very striking example is found in the book of Ruth. Whatever else you have learned from the book, you certainly learned one thing about Ruth—her loyalty to her mother-inlaw’s religion. When the test came, Naomi said, “Go on back to your people; I am going back to mine. You go back to your people, for I am a stranger in a foreign country.” But Ruth was so faithful to her mother-inlaw that she entreated her not to leave her for she said, “Whither thou goest, I will go, and whither thou lodgest, I will lodge. Thy people shall be my people and thy God shall be my God, and where thou diest, I will die.” Ruth here expressed her loyalty. In the book of Esther we see a woman who when called upon to face the king when he held out the royal invitation showed that degree of loyalty to her people which is comparable to that found in the book of Dan-iel. A lion’s den was prepared for Daniel to test his faithfulness to his God. In Daniel 6:10, “And when he knew that the writing was signed he entered into his house, raised the window, faced Jerusalem, and prayed to God three times a day just as he had before.” Loyalty in the face of a lion’s den is a great degree of faithful-ness. We have some boys today who are prisoners of a heathen world, but I believe we have some boys that were born in American homes who have the faith and loyalty to pray to their God and even be prisoners of war.

What I am trying to say this morning is that we should be loyal when opposition comes, in the face of opposition you will never know 'just how strong you are until persecution arises In John 19:25-27 when every disciple except John left the Lord while he was suspended there on the cross, John expressed in verse 25, “But there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary, and Mary Magdalene.” John’s faith didn’t cause him to stand there, but a mother’s love is always shown in all kinds of opposition; she stood by the cross of Christ. Young men and young ladies, older ones, that mother’s loyalty will always prove all right, and I think the most loyal group of citizens in America this morning are the mothers who offer to the armed forces their own blood. You can know very well that the mother will stand loyal, and I merely brought this out to suggest to you how Mary stood there by the cross of Christ in the days of opposition, In Acts 5:29 when Peter was charged to preach no more the gospel, he said: “We must obey God rather than men in the face of such opposition.

I have in these few moments just about defined to you what I mean this morning by the. term faithfulness or loyalty, but the next part of my subject is loyalty to the church—Christ’s church. You will be loyal to the church if you understand what the church is. Disloyalty is a result of misconception of the church. When you see people disloyal to the church, it is more or less due to the fact that they do not have, a proper conception of that institution. People who are not loyal to Abilene Christian College usually are people who do not understand it. Then, before you can be faithful to the church, you would have to have a clear conception of what the church is. It „s impossible for any one to prove faithful to any Institution if that institution is not clear in their mind.

Therefore, I think it is time here to discuss to you that institution to which you must be loyal as a mem ber of it. Occasionally in my visiting I have this point thoroughly brought out. About five, days ago I called on a young soldier and his wife, and I said, “What church do you belong to?” and they said, “To the church of Christ, but we attend services at the Methodist Church.” That wasn’t any shock to me because they had just got through saying that one. church is just as good as another. The reason they feel that way is that they do not understand. I was called on not long ago to visit a young lady who had been a member of the church and who had left the church for a denomination, but upon my sympathetic investigation I found that she did not know anything about the church; therefore, she could not be loyal to it.

Before I can seat in your heart this morning that loyalty to the church, I must get before you the picture of the New Testament church. “Well,” you say, “I don’t think you can find it. It has been so long ago since that church existed.” I wonder if we can really identify it. In Acts 21:4 we have this little historical statement: “And having found the disciples, we tarried there seven days; and these said to Paul through the Spirit that he should not set foot in Jerusalem.” There are three points in this:

(1) True disciples to the church must have existed, because you can’t find something which did not exist.
(2) Evidently the church had earmarks or an identity by which these seekers could identify it.
(3) They knew what they were looking for.

Some Christians write me, stating, “Brother Harvey, we can’t find a church in this town.” There might be a dozen there; they don’t know what they are looking for.

First of all, friends, before you can be loyal to the church, you must know what you are seeking for, be-cause you can’t find what you know nothing about. In this statement first, there was a church; and second, it had definite markings; and third, these men knew the picture wrhen they saw it. But somebody said, “Brother Harvey, I still don’t see where I can go to find that picture.” In 1 Corinthians 4:6 Paul says: “Now these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that in us ye might learn not to go beyond the things which are written; that no one of you be puffed up for the one against the other.” What is a figure ? It is a picture; it is a photograph. I hold in my hand this morning a book that pictures unto us a perfect photograph of the New Testament church and there you can read and see a perfect picture, pictorial, of the church.

I never shall forget one of our colored preachers, Brother Bowser. I attended his debate with a sectarian preacher, and they were debating that usual subject that the church to which I belong is scriptural in doctrine. About the first shout that Brother Bowser made, he said, “Now, I’ve got the catalog here, and I don’t find your church listed in it.” So the debate was over. So now, this is the catalog, and that is the one in which it is listed, and there is a clear picture of it. As wre begin, you find the original church in the New Testament to which I am asking you to be loyal orig-inated in the word of God. On the day of Pentecost the gospel was preached, and it had its beginning with the apostles in Jerusalem. A church that did not origi-nate in God’s word is not the New Testament church. In Luke 8:11 we have, “The seed is the word of God.” And from that seed we had a production of the church, and when I ask you to be loyal to the church, I am ask-ing you to be loyal to a spiritual instition that comes as a result of gospel preaching. I couldn’t ask anyone to be faithful to an institution that didn’t be~gin from that seed.

Furthermore, I want to say this morning that because the church was produced by the seed, it is advanced and promoted by the same process. In Acts 2:42 of that early church that began from that seed, the Bible said: “There they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine.” It is the apostles’ doctrine, but you notice there is no s on that doctrine. It is the apostles’ doctrine. In places where I have preached, they have said, “Brother Harvey, you are mighty good at taking the s’s off of things.” I would like to take the s off the church; I would like to take the s off of doctrine. Now listen, friends. There are doctrines with s’s on them. The kind we read about in 1 Timothy 4:1 in which Paul said: “The Spirit said that in latter times shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of the devil.” In Colossians 2:22-23 Paul said: “All which things are to perish with the using, after the precepts and doctrines of men; which things have indeed a show of wisdom.” The doctrines of men will have the s on the church also. In Hebrews 13 :S Paul says: “Be not carried about by divers and strange doctrines,” for it is good that the heart be established hy grace.” If you know not what I am talking about, take your Bible and turn for a while to see if you can find any other doctrine than the apostles’ doctrine. I am asking you this morning to continue steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine, and that is what I mean by loyalty to the church. But again another thmp; that identifies the church of the Bible is the complete program. In Colossians 2:10 Paul says: “And in him you are made full, who is the head of all principality and power.” And in him we are made full. In Php_4:9, “And my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches m glory in Chiist Jesus.” The church of the Bible is big enough and large enough to include every spiritual blessing in the world. And that is the picture of the church. When you hear somebody say, “Well, you don’t have to be a member of my church to be saved”; you can just say, “It is not big enough for you to be faithful to.” But the New Testament church is big enough to hold every blessing that God gives to man. I don’t like for anyone to call me narrow, but I am glad that I belong to the church that gives every blessing that God offers to us. That is the institution that I am asking you to be loyal to this morning. The New Testament church had a government in Fhilippians 1:1, elders to rule over, deacons to serve, and saints to come, That is all of it; that is the New Testament church. I am not asking you to be loyal to a church that has a presiding elder and the bishop and ail such types of modern denominationalism.

But, again, the New Testament church had a name in Romans 16:16, “The churches of Christ greet you.” I am not asking you to be faithful to something with a human handle. I am asking ycu to be loyal to the church—the church of Christ. A new thing has been suggested in my town; I think it must be all over the country. “The church of Christ is an offspring of some denomination.” The church of Christ originated in the Bible; therefore, it couldn’t have originated from anything else. The church of Christ is not all mouth; it is not like a hippopotamus. It had a work, and that work was to edify the members to care for the less fortunate and, mainly, to preach the gospel. The church of the Bible talks about a worshio, Revelation 22:8 woship God, with these acts (Acts 2:42). How? John 4:24 says, “in spirit and truth.” Then, that is something of what I mean this morning by loyalty to the church. But I would like to suggest before I leave this particular phase, that the larger and main reason why the church of Christ exists in this world is to preach the gospel. Every school, every building, every service, every dollar spent is just a means to preach the word. In 1 Timothy 3:15 this passage says, “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” May I suggest that this passage states the truth supports the church, and the church supports the truth. Everything else that we do in life should be an outgrowth of teaching the Bible. The church is the pillar of the truth. Then, young preachers, if you are here, you can rest assured that when you preach the truth, there is not much competition from denominations, and when you preach the gospel, you don’t have much competition from those who espouse the priests.

There is something about the church that we need to build up. To have progress, we must have faithfulness. In 1 Thessalonians 1:3 Paul said something about the work of faith. Friends, it must be a work described in this book. We get an idea sometimes that, “Well, we just work.” We will work miracles and healings, but that is not a work of faith. To be a work of faith, it must be a work outlined in God’s word. There is a work of faith in every Christian’s being faithful and loyal to the church. If you are not, you will soon be disloyal.

About nine o’clock one Sunday morning the old fam-ily clock was striking about as lazy as usual on Sunday morning. The Father of the house said, “Son, I think Mother needs to wind up the striking of the clock.” The boy said nothing. About ten o’clock the church bell began to ring, and the Mother said, “Aren’t you going to church today, husband?” He answered, “No, I don’t think I will go.” The little boy said, “I think your re-ligion needs to be wound up, Father.” My friends, there is a work of faith that winds up your religion, and you must be loyal to it, but the rest is a labor of love. What is a labor of love ? What is the difference in a work of faith and a labor of love? Well, I don’t know how to describe it to you other than there is a closer tie in that labor of love. I stayed in Kentucky six years—a long time in Texas, but a short time in Kentucky. I learned one *hing about Kentucky that I admire and that was the great bird family there. There are more' pretty birds thare than I have ever seen at any other place. The state bird is the cardinal —a beautiful, proud-winged affair. While sitting in my study, I noticed two cardinals; it must have been a Mr. and Mrs. They had contemplated a little family. She was working all that she could. I can see her yet as she put the feathers and the string and the grass in the nest. He was concerned but not much. He just sat by and watched mostly. Oh, occasionally he would come around. As that love affair developed and she began to look for the little family, the last thing she did was to put in there her feathers from her own breast to line that nest. That was a work of love, and those things that will make you loyal are a work of faith, a labor of love, and a patience of hope.

But, you know, Christ never did say to me, that you are the loyal of the earth. I have taken out a little time this morning in proving it. I will now use a few minutes in applying loyalty. I don’t think we have used too much time in proving it; but I don’t think we have used enough time in applying faithfulness. In Matthew 5:13 Christ said to his disciples, “Ye are the salt of the earth.” Why didn’t he say, “You are the loyal of the earth”? Salt is loyalty applied. What do you think about going down the street and saying, “I am the salt of the town” ? What do you think about going into a community and saying, “We are the loyal”? He said that you are the salt of the earth. It is a wonderful compliment and an obligation when the Lord said that you are the salt of the earth. I meant to say when you have genuine loyalty to the church, you will be a big force wherever you go. You don’t have to say, “Does this have salt in it?” If the salt gets in there, you can find it. If it is not in there, you will miss it.

I was out to dinner not long ago. We had a nice lunch, and I heard the old family freezer turning. That is the best sound in the world. We had lunch over, and it came time for the ice cream. We waited for the hostess to take the first bite. She did, and she screamed and said, “Oh, it ruined/’ Just a little salt, that was all. Salt is positive, and you don’t have to go down the streets saying, “I am the salt of the earth.” People will find out.. That is loyalty applied. The teaching started at the beginning in the home, in the school, in the church. I don’t know whether you read the Abilene Reporter or not, but when Stephen Bodine, that young American from Mitchell county, wrote his mother the letter that she did not get until he was already killed, he said, “Mother, don’t pray for me to come home; pray that I might do my duty.” She read that letter after Stephen had lost his life in the Coral battle. My friend, that spark of state loyalty was in that youth’s heart from the home, and this great group of young men who go to our soldier camp any even attend prayer meetings have a bit of loyalty to the church that was put there by the mother.

Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.” “Me?” “Why,” Somebody said, “I hope my light will shine.” You needn’t hope that; if it is there at all, it will shine. You could not keep from it. Somebody said, “When I get to heaven, I am going to shine.” You are supposed to shine where you are. You are then the salt of the earth, the light of the world. Old Brother Shrygley said a little while before he died, “If a man is a fisherman, he will fish.” If he is the light of the world, he will shine. This is loyalty applied. But before I close, I wish I could develop a genuine case of what I am talking about. Loyalty, faithfulness —how can I get it? Somebody said, “Nobody expects to live until he develops something in him for which he is willing to die.” Let me tell you this morning how you get this loyalty. In 2 Corinthians 8:5 Paul commented on the liberality of the people, and you are not very loyal if you can’t give. Whenever the members of the church get to the place where they will give themselves, then they are being loyal to the church and to Christ. In Romans 12:1, “I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Until there is something in you for which you are willing to die, and give yourself, there will never be loyalty.

I have always thought a great deal of John T. Hinds, The best book that he wrote was the “Comments on Revelation,” and his complete consecration to that account. He said,

“Until you develop in your heart willingness to die for the church
and the gospel, it will always be just a mere insincerity.”

I am told that the Chinese country, and I love the Chinese better than I ever did before, used to manufacture some beautiful bells. They were regular bell pealers. A certain king ordered a man to build a bell out of certain materials. When the bell was finished, it would not ring right. He told the man to build another bell, and still it did not ring. “If you build a third bell, and it doesn’t ring, you will die,” the king told the man. The man’s daughter heard about this and threw herself into .the third bell, and became a part of the bell. When that third bell began to ring, it was the great bell of the world. You will never be loyal to the church until you give the church yourself. Are there some people today who will give themselves to the great cause? If there are, will you come while together we sing?