The Primary Mission of the Church

• Latest in the REDS series

• Spiritual vs social responsibilities of the church

• Primary mission of the church is spiritual

Today we hear that silence in the church on certain social issues is equivalent to complicity in social evils in culture. Estelle argues this claim is too binary. Rather, the corporate church of the Lord Jesus Christ is given a very specific job description. A third way may exist in which the corporate church pursues her God–given duties while individual Christians in their civic capacities and duties may address the social evils of the common kingdom. Not recognizing this specific God–given biblical, historical, and theological mission of the church may create confusing fuzzy boundaries in the minds of Christians.

About the Author

Bryan D. Estelle (PhD. Catholic University of America) is professor of Old Testament at Westminster Seminary California, where he has served since 2000. He was ordained as a minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in 1996.