You are a priceless treasure of God, far more precious than jewels and a daily reminder of the glory of Christ and his bride—the church. She is living proof of - and example of - the truth of the gospel, and this project would certainly not have been possible without her sacrifice and service.
INTRODUCTION
Therefore, Christians need a healthy understanding of the formal, but also family, existence of the local church. Jesus founded the Church as God's covenant community, based on a true confession of the Christ.
The church is not a kingdom, but a living expression of the kingdom or rule of God. The keys of the kingdom mark the church from the world in a reflection of God's holiness. They teach and guide the church in using the keys of the kingdom.
As Charles Bridges says, “The church is a mirror that reflects all the splendor of God's character. Let those without Christ hear and see the power of the gospel through the church. John Stott says, “The church lies at the very center of God's eternal purpose.
To be a Christian was to be deeply devoted to God through the authority of the church.
Assess
2 I use the terms statements and questions synonymously in relation to survey content. However, the lowest-scoring question in the practice section (and near the lowest overall) was the statement about whether respondents had provided intentional care to at least three other members in the past week (T32). Christians who are not members of a local church should still be able to partake of the Lord's Supper.
In the area of the ordinances, many expressed that: "Children of all ages who constantly express a desire to be baptized should be baptized" (Q24). The rest of the lowest scoring questions were in the practice area, both in the home and in the church.
Develop Curriculum
Reviewers also challenged me to apply the material more carefully and pastorally with illustrations and interactive questions. The theology of the material was highly praised, but the approach to teaching the material was of great concern to many. Reviewers noted that the sections on Baptism and the Lord's Supper were particularly helpful, and two reviewers very encouragingly requested permission to include some of the material in their own church's membership class.
I am very grateful for these and many other helpful comments that addressed both overall perceptions of the material. I made a large number of these revisions in my personal notes and refined my approach to teaching the material.
Change Displayed in Assessment
Six of the 46 participants completed the pre- and post-survey correctly, but missed hearing one message in the series. Ironically, one of the question categories that saw the greatest increase in the knowledge section was missions (Q17, 22). However, one of the categories with the least changes in the section on practice was evangelization (V36, 37).
In the future, depending on the context, I would consider taking 15 to 20 minutes to complete the survey. There was confusion in the pre-survey on question 3, regarding the respondent's children, but it has been edited for more clarity on the post-survey.
Please answer the following questions by marking the appropriate space provided
The local church has the authority to affirm or deny a person’s profession of faith
The church should regularly allow non-members to become involved and serve in its ministries.
The church should frequently allow non-members to get involved and serve in its ministries
The main purpose of the church is to reach and care for other people. What specific aspects of the church do you need more knowledge or better practice for? For the past year and a half I have been teaching through Ephesians (with the messages in Matthew 16 and Heb 10), so I see this series as a summary of our study of the church with a view to possibly adapting it for a new member class in the future.
We have studied various aspects of the church over the past year and a half as we have seen our lives affected by the quality of health in the local church. Anyone is welcome to participate in the class (even those who are not believers, but who are checking Christianity); attendance does not oblige one to join the church.
SURVEY KEY
Using the following scale, circle the answer that best corresponds to your opinion
You should consider using your regularly designated financial gifts to help other ministries in need instead of giving it to your own local church. If a person is not actively serving in their local church, they are breaking the covenant they have made with the church. It is useful to practice baptism and the Lord's Supper outside the main local assembly.
They were made available to both members and potential members prior to the start of the series. The doctrine of the church as central to God's plan of redemption (scriptural references from the ESV).
What Is the Church?
Common Misunderstandings of the Church
David Wells argues, "The gospel cannot be a product that the church sells because there are no consumers for it." (Wells, Courage to be Protestant, 53). But the success of the biblical church is in direct proportion to its faithfulness to the truth of God's word and conformity to Christ through the ministry of the word, ordinances, prayer, disciplining and disciple-making, which may or may not include numerical increase. Further clarification: Instead of supplementing the ministry of the local church, parachurch ministries sometimes (with good intentions) replace the local church, assuming an authority and a promise ("to build my church," Matt 16:13-20) God gave to the church.
Biblical Constitution of the Church
However, as Millard Erikson wrote, "Christianity is a communal affair, and the Christian life can only be fully realized in relationship with others" (Erikson, Christian Theology 1058). The Apostles' Creed affirms the "holy catholic [universal] church" and the "communion of saints." In the Nicene-Constantinople Creed (381 AD), the early church confessed. The Belgic Confession (1561) said: “The true church can be known if it has the following signs: The church engages in the pure preaching of the gospel; he uses the pure administration of the sacraments as Christ created them; she practices church discipline for correcting wrongs.
See Jonathan Leeman, Don't Fire Your Church Members, 77. He calls this the "what" and the "who" of the gospel). Central to a true church is the gathering of believers for worship and the uniting of one another's lives based on biblical truth for global disciple-making.
How is the Church Ordered?
Regenerate Church Membership
John Hammett, "The dominant New Testament idea of the church is a concrete assembly, one with a recognizable membership, characterized by a distinctive, disciplined way of life". He said, "The church is supposed to be God's new society, the living embodiment of the gospel, a sign of the kingdom of God, a demonstration of what human society looks like when it comes under his gracious rule" (Stott, Living Church, 66 ). If Christ then hands over aspects of his rule to the church to act as his vicar, ... the convert is immediately ushered under the authority of the church” (Leeman, Surprising Offense, 199).
Kuiper states, “The biblical rule is that, although church membership is not a prerequisite for salvation, it is a necessary consequence of salvation. Membership of the regenerated church includes church members who provide a fundamental understanding of the gospel, an authentic profession of faith expressed through personal holiness and demonstrated in believer's baptism, and a willingness to enter into covenant as a Christian with other designated Christians.
Qualified Leadership
Why Does the Church Exist?
Purpose of the Church
The church exists to disciple one another as believers – as lifelong students and lovers of Jesus Christ. The common means of grace are the biblical means of nurturing health and growth in the church toward Christ-likeness. The Church exists to witness to the world of God's glory - the spread of true worship to the world.
The church preaches the gospel, portrays the gospel. through the ordinances and church discipline), and adorn the gospel in holy lives. Charles Bridges explains, “The Church is the mirror, reflecting the whole splendor of the Divine character.
Distinctives of a True Church (part 1 of 2)
Right Administration of the Ordinances (Baptism and Lord's Supper) Baptism signifies the initial identification of a Christian with Christ and the church. Wayne Grudem explains: “Baptism and the Lord's Supper also serve as a 'membership check' for the church. Baptism is the means of admitting people into the church and the Lord's Supper is the means of allowing people to give a sign of continued membership in the church - the church means that it considers those who receive baptism and the Lord's Supper to save you" (Grudem, Systematic Theology, 865-866).
The local church is the authorized context for baptism, which as an assembled assembly holds the keys of the kingdom and exercises them through baptism and discipline. The ecclesia, or local church, of the New Testament is the fulfillment of Christ's commission.
Distinctives of a True Church (part 2 of 2)
Baptists have historically disciplined members for violating the Bible both in doctrine and in life as expressed in the church's confession and covenant. The result is the loss of the biblical pattern for the church—and the impending collapse of authentic Christianity in this generation. For the Glory of God in Christ - Lev 19:2 - Mark Dever, “Discipline draws a circle around the membership of the church.
Careful practices of membership and discipline are designed to separate the church from the world, thereby defining and displaying the gospel” (Dever, Church, xiii). The Church says it can no longer affirm the person's creed, and so it refuses to celebrate the Lord's Supper.
Distinctives of a Healthy Church and a Baptist Church?
The measure of the church's health is its unity in the truth, maturity in ministry and conformity to Christ. The purpose of ministry is to help all believers grow in a knowledge of Christ and of the core teachings of the faith, to mature into a greater Christ-likeness, and to show love for each other in the life of the church community" ( Arnold, Ephesians , 242). But he has graciously allowed us to participate in the building process, and it is therefore according to his biblical blueprint that we must build the structure and life of the church” (Dever, Deliberate Church, 26).
The only way to do biblical missions is through a biblical church, and the only way to be a biblical church is by faithfully pursuing God's mission for the church as revealed in Holy Scripture" (Ashford and Akin, Missional Implications in Hammett and Merkle, De Hvem shalt affligt, 189.) The church exists to worship God, to make disciples of one another and to witness the gospel to the world.
Reformation Baptist Church: Covenant Service
A Compendium of Church Discipline.” In Polity: Biblical Arguments on How to Conduct Church Life, edited by Mark E. Conclusion: Preserving the Integrity of the Church. In Restoring Integrity in Baptist Churches, edited by Thomas White, Jason G. Corrective Church Discipline.” In Polity: Biblical Arguments on How to Conduct Church Life, edited by Mark E.
From Biblical Faithfulness to Organizational Effectiveness: The Gospel Ministry of English Separatism from the Late Sixteenth Century to the Southern Baptist Convention of the Early Twentieth Century.” Ph.D. In Perspectives on Church Government: Five Views of Church Polity, edited by Chad Owen Brand and R.
