What We Believe (Part 4 - The Church)

The modern usage of the word "church" is as elastic as a giant rubber band or as flexible as my one-year-old (who, just so you know, is shockingly flexible). Notice how all of these "church" statements carry a slightly different meaning.

"Was the church damaged in the storm?" (church=building)

"How was church this morning?" (church=Sunday's service)

"Church, hear God's Word this morning." (church=the local group of believers)

"Christ died for the church." (church=all believers)

On top of these usages, we could add an abundance of church-y language (i.e. church-home, church-gathering, church-hurt, church-history). So, we all are left wondering, what exactly is the church? How are we supposed to love and serve the church if we don't even know who or what it is?

Because of all of this uncertainty, we want to follow up our discussion on Scripture, God, and Salvation, by discussing our statement of faith on Article 6 - the church. We intentionally chose to write on the church today, because this coming Sunday we are starting a new sermon series on the local church. Also, during that 7-week series, our blogs will address specific topics related to the church (ex. Discipleship, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper). We hope that the sermon series and the blogs will shape our understanding, stir our affection, and help us to serve the local church.

[Article 6 of our statement of faith is in bold, my explanatory comments are in blue, and the scriptural support is at the end.]

A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Let me unpack that very dense statement!

A New Testament Chruch is:

• A Congregation - The church is a specific group or gathering of people. It is impossible to fulfill the commands of Scripture for the church if that group is an ambiguous or unidentifiable group of people. (Mt18:15-20; 1 Cor. 5:4-5; and 1 Pt 5:1-4 imply a knowledge of who is and isn't a part of the church)

• Of Baptized Believers - The group of people are baptized believers. It should not be a mix of believers and unbelievers. That is why Paul addresses churches as saints or as those who are in Christ (Eph. 1:22-23; Philippians 1:1)

• Covenanted Together - These believers are bound together by a covenant of faith and fellowship in the gospel. Meaning they believe the same gospel and have committed to live in gospel fellowship and community together.

• Autonomous - No outside organization, board, or man governs the church. Scripture points to this because the most import decision are made by the congregation itself (Mt18:15-20; 1 Cor. 5:4-5; Acts 3:1-3).

• Active - Some of the key and unique activities of the local church are the practice of baptism and the Lord's Supper. They also extend the gospel both locally and globally. Each member uses their spiritual gift for the good of the church as a whole.

Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord.

The democratic processes are mentioned to show that the church as a whole makes the significant decisions, and each member has a voice and responsibility in these decisions. All of this must be done under the Lordship of Christ and as he has commanded in his Word.

Its two scriptural offices are that of pastor/elder/overseer and deacon. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.

The offices or titles of pastor, elder, and overseer are used interchangeably within Scripture (see 1 Peter 5:1-4) and within our church. See this resource for more details on why the office of pastor is limited to biblically qualified men.

The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.

Some of the confusion over the term "church" is because scripture does use the term in two ways. First and primarily, it uses it as the local gathering of believers who have covenanted together but second, the Bible occasionally uses "church" to refer to believers in Christ around the world and throughout time. I believe the same term is used to show how the global church is most clearly seen by looking at local churches. There we see a tangible and specific section of the global church that will gather together from every nation to worship Christ for all eternity. So, the local church should be the closest taste to heaven that we have on earth.

Matthew 16:15-19; 18:15-20; Acts 2:41-42,47; 5:11-14; 6:3-6; 13:1-3; 14:23,27; 15:1-30; 16:5; 20:28; Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 3:16; 5:4-5; 7:17; 9:13-14; 12; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 3:8-11,21; 5:22-32; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:18; 1 Timothy 2:9-14; 3:1-15; 4:14; Hebrews 11:39-40; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Revelation 2-3; 21:2-3.

In light of all that scripture says, take time to thank God for the gift of the local church. Get to know the members that you have covenanted together with and use your gifts for their good!