THE CHURCH, WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES
MATTHEW 16:18
Introduction:
There are few doctrines about which there is more confusion than that of the doctrine of the church. Even among Baptist there is great confusion due to those who have chosen to disregard the clear teachings of the Word of God.
I. DELUSIONS ABOUT THE CHURCH.
A. The church is its buildings.
1. Many look at the church plant or buildings and think that they make what the church is.
2. The function of these buildings is to provide shelter from the elements in order to preach and teach the Gospel.
3. For hundreds of years churches had no buildings.
4. They provide space for the fellowship of God’s people, but are not dedicated solely to that end, but rather the to the teaching of God’s Word.
B. The church is universal and invisible.
1. The confusion:
a. The Family of God includes everyone who had trusted Jesus Christ as Savior since the time of Adam, Ephesians 2:19.
b. The Kingdom of God is Jesus Christ ruling over us, first in our hearts and eventually in our presence, Matthew 6:33. See also Mark 1:145-15; Luke 4:43; Matthew 13:41.
a. The Church of God…
(1) Is a local organization of baptized believers in Christ, 1 Corinthians 1:2.
(2) Has an address, Galatians 1:1-2.
2. The truth is that people do not make the distinction in the Scriptures. They listen to their teachers without examining the Word of God for themselves.
C. All churches are the same and equally scriptural.
1. Even though they do not have the same founder.
2. Even though they do not agree doctrinally.
D. The church disappeared during the Middle Ages.
1. This is the claim of the Protestants, who do not want to accept the Catholic Church is a true church.
2. This allows organizations, claiming to be true churches, which did not come out of the Reformation movement in Europe nor did Christ found them.
a. The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints = Mormons: Joseph Smith.
b. Seventh Day Adventists, Mary Baker Eddy.
c. Jehovah’s Witnesses, Charles Russell.
E. A person can be a good Christian without being an active member in a church, Hebrews 10:25.
1. If this is true, why did Christ organize His Church?
2. The Bible gives a high and holy place to the church of Jesus Christ.
II. DISTINCTIVES OF THE CHURCH.
There is a wide spectrum of belief and opinion concerning what constitutes a church. By and large many beliefs are based on human speculations and reasoning not founded in the Scriptures.
A. The New Testament Church is Divine in origin, Matthew 16:18.
1. The Lord himself founded and built His Church.
“The church whose charter is not issued by Christ, and whose credentials are not in Christ’s handwriting, must, sooner or later, see the handwriting on the wall. Every man-made church must share the fate of man, and since it has been appointed unto all men once to die, so shall it be with the work of their hands” (John William Porter, The Baptist Debt to the World, Baptist Heritage Press, p. 40).
2. For a church to be a true New Testament church, it must have been founded…
? At the Right Time: 30 AD.
? In the Right Place: Palestine.
? By the Right Person: Jesus Christ.
3. The first members were the Apostles, 1 Corinthians 12:28, “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.” Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16.
B. The New Testament Church is Local and Visible in its Manifestation.
The word “church” comes from a Greek word meaning “called out assembly.” The word appears 115 times in the New Testament:
98 – it refers to a local, visible congregation.
11 – No specific congregation, but in a generic or institutional sense.
4 – Non-Christian assemblies, Acts 19:32. See also, vs. 39, 41.
2 – Prophetic sense, Ephesians 5:27. See also Hebrews 12:23.
C. The New Testament Church should be Independent in its association. There is no scriptural evidence to support the existence of modern day conventions, fellowships or associations.
D. The New Testament Church is Autonomous, i.e., Self-governing, in its operation.
1. In Acts 6 the Church in Jerusalem acted thus in choosing men to serve as the first deacons.
a. Their qualifications are laid out in 1 Timothy 3:8-12.
b. Their duties were under the direction of the pastor, Acts 6:3.
2. In Acts 13 the Church in Antioch sent out Paul and Barnabas as Missionaries.
3. In 1 Corinthians 5 the Church in Corinth dealt with a morals problem.
E. A New Testament Church is restrictive in membership.
1. They baptized only those that received Christ as Saviour, Acts 2:41, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.”
2. God added those folks to the church, Acts 2:47.
3. The Lord has perpetuated His church. True churches which are the offspring of the Church that Jesus built, have always been in existence, Ephesians 3:21. See Matthew 16:18 also. They have been known by various names during the ages: Montanists, Novatians, Donatists, Paulicians, Albegenses, Waldenses, and Anabaptists.
F. New Testament Churches are Missionary in their outreach, Acts 1:8.
1. We have been commissioned to preach the gospel to every creature, Mark 16:15, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
a. Local or Home missions include your city (Jerusalem), your state (Judaea) and other states (Samaria).
b. Foreign missions include all other countries besides your country (unto the uttermost part of the earth).
2. We, as a church, have been empowered to accomplish what God commanded us to do, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you:”
a. That happened on the day of Pentecost.
b. God’s power was manifested in the fact of men preaching the gospel in languages other than their own that they had not learned.
c. This power was manifested in the zeal of God’s people also.
CONCLUSION
Having studied the truth about the Lord’s church, every born-again Christian should be a member of a true church. They should attend regularly all of the services, Hebrew 10:25, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” It is a simple and sensible responsibility and an area where so many fail the Lord.
We should support the Lord’s church with our tithes and offerings in order to reach the lost. Someone did that so that you could hear the Gospel and be saved. Can we do any less? 1 Corinthians 16:2, “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.”
We should be ready to defend the Lord’s church…
? against unfounded criticism and attacks
? and respect the pastor, the man that the Lord has put in front of His work,
? as well as others in places of leadership.