The Church is a Hospital
Perhaps you have heard the title of this article before. It is meant to illustrate the function of the church. A hospital is a place where people who are physically sick or injured go to get better. The church is also such a place, but in a spiritual way. People who are spiritually sick or injured should find healing through the efforts of the church. Sometimes people criticize the church as being a place of hypocrites precisely because there are spiritually sick or injured people in the church. That would be a valid criticism if the church were not doing anything to heal these spiritually damaged people. However, the goal is for spiritually sick people to become well through the work and teaching of Jesus. He said, “I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32).
We should be careful, though, that the church does not become a spiritual hospice care facility, where the sick go, not to be cured, but to die from their illness. Jesus expects members of his church to put away their sins, not remain in them. Forgiveness is a path to holiness, not a path to ongoing sinfulness. That is why Jesus also said, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). We are to “put away” all the sins of the flesh (Ephesians 4:22, Colossians 3:8). We are to be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). John wrote, “My little children, let no man lead you astray: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous” (1 John 3:7). We must make a serious effort to obey the teachings of Jesus Christ.