The Church is Plan A. There Is No Plan B.



By Dr. George Grant - Posted at Florilegium:

Nearly four decades ago I wrote a foreword to a new book written by a friend about the centrality of the Church to the purposes of God’s Kingdom. It was then that I coined a phrase that has become axiomatic for me ever since: “The Church is Plan A. And there is no Plan B.”

While that phrase may have been original with me, the idea it expresses certainly is not. Indeed, it is as old and as rich as the Gospel of Christ. The Church is the means by which the Lord has purposed to demonstrate His grace, His mercy, and His providential rule in the world. The orthodox Christian faith cannot be reduced to personal experiences, academic discussions, dogmatic formulations, philosophical revelations, or culture-building activities—as important as all these are in varying degrees. The essence of Biblical faith is the worship of the sovereign, living God—in the manner which He has prescribed: in and through His Bride, His Body, His Church. A true Christian restoration of life and culture is far from being simply a matter of passing Law X and electing Congressman Y. Christianity is not a political cult. It is the divinely ordained worship of the Most High God.

According to Abraham Kuyper: “Jesus set apart and sent out His Church among the nations to influence society in three ways. The first and most important influence was through the ministry of the Word. . . The Church’s second influence was through an organized ministry of charity. . . Third, the Church influenced society by instituting the equality of brotherhood--in contrast to differences in rank and station…Indeed, as a direct consequence of Christ’s appearing and the extension of His Church among the nations, society has been remarkably changed.”

Leo Pecci said, “No practical solutions to our problems will be found apart from the intervention of religion and of the Church.” And again, “All the striving of men will be vain if they leave out the Church.” Henry Cabot Lodge concurred saying: “Of all the institutions ordained of God upon this earth, this one has the force of integration: the Church. We cannot hope to help the helpless apart from the Church’s ministrations of grace which transform the giver, the receiver, and even the gift itself.”

Each of these heroes of the faith from bygone days believed that social reform should be, as Alexander Stuart said, “guided, defined, managed, and provoked in, through, and by the Church.”

Alas, in our day the Church has become the spurned and neglected stepchild of the modern era. It is perceived as being moss-backed and archaic. Or awkward and irrelevant. And the Church’s reputation continues to diminish with time. Today, it is regarded as little more than a water-boy to the game of life. Sad, but all too true.

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