Sullivan church of Christ – Sullivan, MO
Date: October 3, 2004
REPAIRING THE HOUSE OF THE LORD
Ben Justice
Josiah began to reign over Judah as king at the young and tender age of eight (2 Kings 22:1). Josiah is known
as the restoration king. 2 Kings 22-23 clearly reveals why. Many, even in the church, can certainly learn
something from this account.
Even before Josiah discovered the book of the law, in which he learned the despicable condition of Judah, he
set out to do some work to the house of the Lord. It was in the eighteenth year that Josiah did this. The
record states, “And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the son of
Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of the Lord, saying, Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he
may sum the silver which is brought into the house of the Lord, which the keepers of the door have gathered of the
people: And let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the work, that have the oversight of the house of the Lord:
and let them give it to the doers of the work which is in the house of the Lord, to repair the breaches of the house,
Unto carpenters, and builders, and masons, and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house, Howbeit there
was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully” (2
Kings 22:3-7). What a noble undertaken this was by Josiah. Evidently, the house of the Lord (which was the
temple) was in shambles. It had been neglected across the years. According to the parallel record given in 2
Chr. 34:11, the kings of Judah before Josiah “had destroyed” the house of the Lord. What a shame! I believe
we can take this principle of repairing the house of the Lord and apply it two different ways.
PHYSICAL REPAIR
The house of the Lord today is the church (I Tim. 3:15). Under the Mosaical dispensation, the house of the
Lord was a type of the church — the church being the antitype. Now, the reason why the OT temple needed
such repairs was so that proper spiritual service could be rendered to Jehovah. With the temple having been
destroyed and in shambles, there was really no way to carry out spiritual service. Did you notice that it took
money to make these repairs? Yes, it cost money back then to make repairs to the house of the Lord. The
same is true today.
One thing that really bothers me is having seen church buildings of the church of Christ run down and not
having a very good appearance. Just recently, before I accepted the position at Sullivan, I went to look at a
congregation and its location. I found the church building. I saw on the vinyl siding, mold growing a ways up
from the ground. I was like, “Do these people not know how to take care of the church building?” The rest of
the outside didn’t look that great either. True, the congregation was small, but that is no excuse, as far as I
am concerned.
Now, someone may say, “The building is not the church.” This is true — the people are. However, when
people look at a building that says “church of Christ” on it, they understand that this is where the church
assembles together regularly to worship and pay homage to God. It does mean something. It is a shame
that many congregations have went years upon years without keeping the church building up to date. A little
cleaning on the outside, some landscaping, and other things can help the looks of the church building. I
believe that church members ought to take a little more pride in the place that they come to worship God and
where people of the world recognize and associate that such takes place. Now, lest someone get the wrong
impression, I certainly do not believe in being poor stewards of the Lord’s money in erecting elaborate and
gaudy dwelling places. This is not about keeping up with the denominational church buildings. What is
wrong with the church building surroundings being modest and appealing to those who drive by? I believe it
can very well send a message either way. These are my thoughts.
SPIRITUAL REPAIR
Certainly, the most important repair that needs to be made to some who still call themselves “church of
Christ” is spiritual repair. Now, we are directly speaking about the people.
Perhaps, spiritual repair can be summed up like this: Removing the sin and restoring righteousness. If you
read what Josiah did (2 Kings 22-23), this is exactly what you will find. There was true spiritual repair to
Israel. In spiritual Israel today, many congregations have allowed sin to run rampant, with unqualified
leaders being appointed, and unauthorized acts of worship and works having been implemented. The Law of
Christ is no longer regarded as the sole standard of authority (cf. Col. 3:17). Jeremiah pleaded with Israel in
the long ago to “Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk
therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls” The people of Israel responded to Jeremiah’s plea like many today
respond, “We will not walk therein” (Jer. 6:16). Just as Josiah undertook a physical and a spiritual house
cleaning, so it needs to be in some congregations!
IS THE TRIP TO HEAVEN A FREE RIDE?
Ben Justice
The other day I drove by a denominational church building. Out in front on the church sign were the words:
“Free ride to heaven — details inside.”
The word “free” is certainly a biblical word. It is quite frequently used to refer to being free from sin and
having the salvation that is in Christ, which comes about by knowing and obeying the truth (cf. John 8:32; I
Pet. 1:22).
The expression “free gift” is used in Rom. 5:15-16. In this context, it clearly refers to what Christ did and
accomplished on our behalf. Christ died for the sins of mankind (Rom. 5:8-9) and to give mankind the hope of
eternal life (Titus 1:2). Later, in Rom. 6:23, Paul stated, “. . . the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ
our Lord.” According to Eph. 2:8, salvation “is the gift of God.”
Usually, when people start saying things like, “Salvation is free” or “Salvation is a gift,” they mean that
salvation and eternal life are without any conditions. However, the trip to heaven is not without conditions.
Hebrews 5:9 states, “And being made perfect, he (Christ) became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that
obey him.” Does this sound like the trip to heaven is without any conditions. Note the two following
scriptures:
In Heb. 6:4, the inspired writer spoke of those who had “tasted of the heavenly gift.” There is no doubt that
this refers to salvation and the forgiveness of sins. The question is, “How did they taste this gift?” If you
will note the word “tasted” is used again in v. 5, in which the writer spoke of those having “tasted the good
word of God.” So, salvation is referred to as a gift, but one must meet the condition of tasting it. It should
be obvious that a person tastes of salvation when they submit themselves to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The next passage is 2 Cor. 8:4 — “Praying us with much entreated that we would receive the gift, and take upon us
the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.” This is connection with the great contribution that was taken up
for the poor in Jerusalem. Paul was speaking of those of Macedonian who gave to help out (refer back to v. 1-
3). The “gift” refers to giving of funds. However, they prayed that Paul (and those traveling with him) “would
receive the gift.” “Praying” comes from a term denoting an urging or a pleading. The point I want to make is
this: The gift had to be “received.” Yes, it was a gift from the churches of Macedonia (v. 1), but it still had to
be “received.” Therefore, the receiving of the gift was based upon the condition of Paul having to take it. If
Paul had not took it, then the gift would not have benefited those in Jerusalem. Likewise, we must receive
the gift of salvation offered by Christ. We do so by obedience to his word (cf. Matt. 7:21; 2 Thess. 1:7-9). The
gift of salvation is no good until we do.