Contemporary Christianity is well known for its tendency to confuse the primary [word and sacrament] and secondary functions [charity] with each other. What happens is that the secondary functions, which are only indirectly associated with what the church is, are placed first. They assume the major role in the church as her most important responsibilities. There is no doubt that this reversal of roles comes form the church’s sense of inferiority in the face of what the worlds thinks about the church. The church wants to prove to the world that she is really nice and beautiful, an institution which is useful to the world and whose purpose and value are quite clear to everyone, whether Christian or not.
A closer look at this accommodating posture, in which the church apologizes for what she is, reveals a kind of unbelief lying beneath the surface. For the modern Christian, as for the world outside of the church, preaching God’s word and administering the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are distasteful to the point of being offensive. The modern Christian knows no more what the church’s real responsibilities are than what they really mean. The world makes fun of the church because its only task is preaching. To this we answer that the world does not know the power of the divine word. It does not recognize that behind the feeble words of human beings is the almighty word of the Almighty God, which “is like a fire,” the “living and active” word, which “is sharper than any two edged sword,” which “pierces through to the division of the soul and spirit, of joints and marrow and is the judge of thoughts and intentions of the heart (Heb. 4:12).” How could the world have known, how can it know, that God created and still maintains the world through this word? Quite literally all mankind lives because of this Word! How can the world understand the prophets’ message that God places His Word in the mouth: “Behold, today I am setting you over peoples and kingdoms, so that you tear up, break down and destroy, then build and plant.” Christians can easily understand what these words mean. Those caught in apostasy and unbelief think that the church has “to do” something and not simply “talk.” Soon the world tires of letting the church preach. It is as if it has no awareness that the speaking of God’s word is the greatest of all acts and the most effective of all the deeds in the world.[1] Consider that already in the days of the apostles the world forbad them to preach.
In looking at Baptism and the ceremonies of the Lord’s Supper, the world can see rites which are not completely unattractive and without meaning. A similar problem exists within Christianity. If Christianity cannot comprehend that in this Sacrament the most magnificent thing that can ever happen on earth is taking place, that is, in this Sacrament, which in its outwardly unpretentious form, Jesus, the Lord of all majesty is Himself present, then that Christianity no longer takes the actual presence of Christ seriously and has apostatized from the faith.
In the face of all the misunderstandings on the part of the world and all the errors which have arisen within Christendom, let us make this point absolutely clear: The task of the church in the world consists uniquely and alone in the preaching of the word of God and in administering the Sacrament. All other functions, which the church as a living organism develops and uses, serve only to fulfill this task. All activities, which the church can legitimately exercise in the world, are bi-products of preaching and the sacraments. Christ had no other purpose in sending his church into the world than preaching and distributing the Sacraments. Only in accomplishing this task is the church recognizable as the church. The Reformation in addressing this issue of identifying the basic church functions claimed that the marks of the church were the Word and the Sacraments. In these signs the church could be recognized. To be sure brotherly love, providing for the poor and the sick, moral discipline, prayer and worship will be present wherever the church is, but a fellowship (congregation) with only these marks is clearly not recognizable as the church. Brotherly love can be found in the synagogue. The poor and the sick are provided for by modern secular governments. Moral discipline is a part of Buddhist monasteries. Prayer and worship are features of all religions in the world. The Gospel, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper can be found only in the church. They are the indelible marks of the church (notae ecclesiae).
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"The task of the church in the world consists uniquely and alone in the preaching of the word of God and in administering the Sacrament. All other functions, which the church as a living organism develops and uses, serve only to fulfill this task. All activities, which the church can legitimately exercise in the world, are bi-products of preaching and the sacraments."
This is why it is vital that Lutherans schools be arms of the church and not separate entities of themselves.
Very helpful in working through some thoughts at the moment on how the church relates to the world.
Thanks!
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