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What The Church Of Christ Must Be? - 11/11/2008 1:12:35 PM
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ezerfi
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The Church must be right in What aspect?
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RE: What The Church Of Christ Must Be? - 11/11/2008 1:17:20 PM
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earthless
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This is a question I am asked of so much.. This question has taken on added significance in recent years because of the massive impact televangelism has had on our culture.
In all too many cases, worship has been replaced with entertainment, and fellowship has been transformed into individualism.
In view of these cultural developments it is ever so important for Christians to find themselves in a healthy, well-balanced church. One were the core essentials are not compromised.
The first sign of a healthy well-balanced church is a pastor who is committed to leading the community of faith in the worship of God through prayer, praise and proclamation.
Prayer is so inextricably woven into the fabric of worship that it would be unthinkable to have a church service without it.
From the very inception of the early Christian church, prayers has been a primary means of worshipping God. Through prayer, we have the privilege of expressing adoration and thanksgiving to the One who saved us, sanctifies us, and one day will glorify us.
In fact, our Lord Himself set the pattern by teaching his disciples the Prayer of Jesus (Matthew 6:9-13).
Praise is another key ingredient of worship. Scripture urges us to "speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs" (Ephesians 5:19). Singing psalms is a magnificent means for intercession, instruction, and the internalization of Scripture.
In addition, great hymns of the faith have stood the test of time and are rich in theological tradition and truth.
Spiritual songs, in turn, communicate the freshness of our faith. Thus, it is crucial that we preserve both a respect for our spiritual heritage and a regard for contemporary compositions.
Along with prayer and praise, proclamation is axiomatic to experiencing vibrant worship. Paul urged his protege' Timothy to "preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear" (2 Timothy 4:2-3).
Church leaders must once again produce in their people a holy hunger for the Word of God. For it is through the proclamation of God's Word that believers are edified, exhorted, encouraged, and equipped.
Furthermore, a healthy well-balanced church is evidenced through its oneness. Christ breaks the barriers of gender, race, and background and united us as one under the banner of His love. Such oneness is tangibly manifested through community, confession and contribution.
Community is visible in baptism, which symbolizes our entrance into a body of believers who are one in Jesus. It is a sign and a seal that we have been buried to our old life and raised to newness of life through His resurrection power.
In like fashion, holy communion is an expression of oneness. As we all partake of the same elements, we partake of that which the elements symbolize - Christ, through whom we are one.
Our fellowship on earth, celebrated through communion, is a foretaste of the heavenly fellowship we will share when symbol gives away to substance.
A further expression of our oneness in Jesus is our common confession of faith - a core set of beliefs which have been rightly referred to as "essential Christianity." These beliefs, which have been codified in the creeds of the Christian church, form the basis of our unity as the body of Christ.
The well-known maxim bears repeating: "In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, and in all things, charity."
As with community and confession, we experience oneness through the contribution of our time, talent and treasure. The question we should be asking is not "What can the church do for me?" but, "What can I do for the church?"
The tragedy of modern Christianity is that when members of the body hurt, too often we relegate them to finding resources outside the walls of the church. That is precisely why the apostle Paul exhorts us to "share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality" (Romans 12:13).
Finally, a healthy well-balanced church is one that is committed to equipping believers to be effective witnesses to what they believe, why they believe, and Who they believe. In the Great Commission, Christ called believers not to make mere converts but to make disciples (Matthew 28:19).
A disciple is a learner or follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, we must be prepared to communicate what we believe. In other words, we must be equipped to communicate the Gospel.
If Christians do not know how to share their faith, they have never been through basic training. The gospel of Jesus should become such a part of our vocabulary that presenting it becomes second nature.
We also must be equipped to share why we believe what we believe. As Peter put it, we must "always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15).
Too many today believe that the task of apologetics is the exclusive domain of scholars and theologians. Not so! The defense of the faith is not optional; it is basic training for every Christian.
In addition to being prepared to communicate the what and why of our faith, we must be empowered to communicate the Who of our faith.
Virtually every theological heresy begins with a misconception of the nature of God. Thus, in a healthy well-balanced church believers are equipped to communicate glorious doctrines of the faith such as the Trinity and the deity of Jesus Christ. It is crucial that we, like the early Christian church, come to understand more fully the biblical concept of the priesthood of all believers.
Clearly, it is not the pastor's calling to do the work of ministry single-handedly. Rather, the pastor is called "to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature" (Ephesians 4:12-13).
In short, we know we have discovered a good church if God is worshipped in Spirit and in truth through prayer, praise and the proclamation of the Word; if the oneness we share in Christ is tangibly manifested through community, confession, and contribution; and if the church is equipping its members as witnesses who can communicate what they believe, why they believe and Who they believe.
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Probing Today's Religious Movements | Promoting Doctrinal Discernment & Critical Thinking | Providing Reasons for Christian Faith & Ethics
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RE: What The Church Of Christ Must Be? - 11/11/2008 2:41:48 PM
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rcjames
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(Eph 4:13) Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
The Churcch shold be the statue of the fulness of Christ.
thanks
RC
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RE: What The Church Of Christ Must Be? - 11/11/2008 9:26:24 PM
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dbark
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quote:
ORIGINAL: ezerfi
The Church must be right in What aspect?
It's accurate portrayal of Christ. We in the West have been guilty many times of adding our culture to the image of Jesus and turned him into a white, middle class North American.
We need to cut through our cultural baggage and learn to show the world who Christ really was/is and what is really important to Him.
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"In seeking wisdom thou art wise; in imagining that thou hast attained it, thou art a fool." ~ Rabbi Ben Azai
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RE: What The Church Of Christ Must Be? - 11/11/2008 10:26:49 PM
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FolkSingerBlues
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It's simple really:
"Jesus is the Christ, The Son of the Living God."
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Proof texting is a very dangerous thing...If we were given the Scriptures it was to humble us into realizing God is right and the rest of us are just guessing.
-Rich Mullins
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RE: What The Church Of Christ Must Be? - 11/12/2008 4:04:25 AM
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tomhillbilly
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I have heard alot of animosity towards christians many times in the past. The main problem people seemed to express was the seemingly great deal of hypocrisy among those claiming they are christians.
I was talking with a very nice lady in the chat recently who said something that really struck me as true. She was talking of the difference between a "believer" and a "follower".
this reminded me of a particular scripture that i hope i can quote properly here.
"be not merely a hearer of the word,do what it says"
would all here agree that christians could set a better example?
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RE: What The Church Of Christ Must Be? - 11/12/2008 2:12:57 PM
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URForgiven
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The Church of Christ is the body of Christ...a body is only right when it is totally available to the head for its use. Ask anyone who has had a stroke, or who is paralyzed, what it is like to live in a body that is not available to respond to them, and you will get an idea of what it is like for Christ to deal with His body, the Church.
Christ is the head of the body which is the Church, and we are only right when we are totally available for Him to work in and through us.
Peace
< Message edited by URForgiven -- 11/12/2008 2:20:26 PM >
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"Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit,
are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" Galatians 3:3
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RE: What The Church Of Christ Must Be? - 11/12/2008 4:19:06 PM
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rwe2156
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Earthless -
Everything you mentioned is consistent with the carnal/secular church we know today.
Very little to no doctrine is taught.
As for "fellowship transformed into individualism" I understand what you mean,
but at the same time our fellowship is simply a Jesus club if we arent'
individually responsible for our own spiritual growth, agree?
Discipleship and sanctification are not considered part of the Gospel for the most part,
and worse, it is not a guarantee for the believer, which is heresy.
I noticed in your critique no mention of our dismal and often heretical evangelism
The root of the problem of why we need to "draw a crowd" and have a charismatic
pastor/CEO is because we are dealing with unregenerate people, plain an simple.
We are deluded. We have boiled the radical gospel of Jesus Christ into a prayer,
a raise of hands, a "profession of faith" and we have deceived people into thinking
the sincerity of a decision made in the past is what gives them assurance.
So in answer to your question, "A church must be right in what aspect" I will
simply say "A church WILL be right in all aspects if it is the true church."
Want to know why our church looks like the world and we need secular
techniques to draw a crowd? Look to the Gospel (or what we call the Gospel)
and you'll have your answer.
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The Truth is between the tensions. The "contradictions"only reflect our lack of understanding.
So we choose sides. God help us.
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RE: What The Church Of Christ Must Be? - 11/12/2008 6:22:12 PM
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earthless
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rwe,
Where did I promote secular values?
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RE: What The Church Of Christ Must Be? - 11/13/2008 4:14:12 AM
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ezerfi
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quote:
ORIGINAL: ezerfi
The Church must be right in What aspect?
Did the Church Of Christ really started or has originated in the day of Pentecost or Prior?
Is Church history important in looking for the Right Church aside from Right Doctrine and Practices?
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RE: What The Church Of Christ Must Be? - 11/13/2008 7:19:12 PM
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tomhillbilly
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ezerfi i would say it started immediately when jesus started his ministry and grew with the original disciples and others even before jesus was crucified
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RE: What The Church Of Christ Must Be? - 11/14/2008 2:45:26 AM
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ezerfi
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Will you please share us including references of those truth regarding the origin of the church?
We would like to learn more on this area.
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RE: What The Church Of Christ Must Be? - 11/14/2008 7:07:49 AM
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tomhillbilly
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my personal favorite book of the bible is matthew. After jesus was baptized of john (chapter 3), and was tempted of the devil; (chpt 4 vs 17) jesus began to preach,and to say."repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand".
Following this jesus chooses his first four disciples-peter,andrew,james and john.
(verse 23) And jesus went about all galilee,teaching in their synagogues,and preaching the gospel of the kingdom,and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
the next couple verses and several chapters documents alot more, including some of jesus' more famous teachings,particularly the beatitudes and sermon on the mount.
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RE: What The Church Of Christ Must Be? - 11/14/2008 8:23:09 AM
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earthless
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quote:
ORIGINAL: ezerfi
Will you please share us including references of those truth regarding the origin of the church?
We would like to learn more on this area.
Not sure who you're asking your question to...
But the origin of the Christian church is seen in the New Testament. Do you have a Bible? If you do not please let me know and I can get one sent to you or send you a link to an online Bible.
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RE: What The Church Of Christ Must Be? - 11/19/2008 8:50:55 AM
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ezerfi
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quote:
ORIGINAL: earthless
Not sure who you're asking your question to...
But the origin of the Christian church is seen in the New Testament. Do you have a Bible? If you do not please let me know and I can get one sent to you or send you a link to an online Bible.
I have my Bible and Thanks so much!
Am I right to believe that the Church started before crucifixion?
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RE: What The Church Of Christ Must Be? - 11/19/2008 9:39:20 AM
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earthless
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quote:
ORIGINAL: ezerfi
quote:
ORIGINAL: earthless
Not sure who you're asking your question to...
But the origin of the Christian church is seen in the New Testament. Do you have a Bible? If you do not please let me know and I can get one sent to you or send you a link to an online Bible.
I have my Bible and Thanks so much!
Am I right to believe that the Church started before crucifixion?
Since the fall of man, the basis of salvation has always been the death of Christ.
No one, either prior to the cross or since the cross, would ever be saved without that one pivotal event in the history of the world - Jesus' death paid the penalty for past sins of Old Testament saints and future sins of New Testament saints.
The requirement for salvation has always been faith.
The object of one's faith for salvation has always been God.
The psalmist wrote, "Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him" (Psalm 2:12).
Genesis 15:6 tells us that Abraham believed God and that was enough for God to account it to him for righteousness (see also Romans 4:3-8).
The Old Testament sacrificial system did not take away sin, as Hebrews 9:1-10:4 clearly teaches. It did, however, point to the day when the Son of God would shed His blood for the sinful human race.
What has changed through the ages is the content of a believer's faith.
God's requirement of what must be believed is based on the amount of revelation He has given mankind up to that time. This is called progressive revelation. Adam believed the promise God gave in Genesis 3:15 that the Seed of the woman would conquer Satan. Adam believed Him, demonstrated by the name he gave Eve (v.20) and the Lord indicated His acceptance immediately by covering them with coats of skin (v.21). At that point that is all Adam knew, but he believed it.
Abraham believed God according to the promises and new revelation God gave him in Genesis 12 and 15.
Prior to Moses, no Scripture was written, but mankind was responsible for what God had revealed.
Throughout the Old Testament, believers came to salvation because they believed that God would someday take care of their sin problem.
Today, we look back, believing that He has already taken care of our sins on Calvary (John 3:16; Hebrews 9:28).
Today, we have more revelation than did people living before the resurrection of Christ, we know the full picture.
"God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son" (Hebrews 1:1-2).
Our salvation is still based on the death of Christ, our faith is still the requirement for salvation, and the object of our faith is still God.
Today for us the content of our faith is that Christ died for our sins, that He was buried, and that He rose the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
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Probing Today's Religious Movements | Promoting Doctrinal Discernment & Critical Thinking | Providing Reasons for Christian Faith & Ethics
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RE: What The Church Of Christ Must Be? - 11/20/2008 10:26:28 AM
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ezerfi
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quote:
ORIGINAL: earthless
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Are Salvation and Church synonymous?
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RE: What The Church Of Christ Must Be? - 11/20/2008 11:27:28 PM
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earthless
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quote:
ORIGINAL: ezerfi
quote:
ORIGINAL: earthless
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Are Salvation and Church synonymous?
What are exactly are you asking? Sorry, I want to make sure I know what you're asking and not me guessing what that might be.
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RE: What The Church Of Christ Must Be? - 11/21/2008 2:57:27 PM
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loco79
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The church should be one just as Jesus and the Lord are one, in perfect harmony with each other.
Jn 17:17-23
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
That they all may be one; as thou, Father, [art] in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
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