The Local Church

Every word must have a meaning and when reading the Bible, we can’t take modern usage or our assumptions and read them back into the Bible. The word translated church meant in New Testament times, “a called assembly”. The English word church, defined by context, tells me the Lord’s churches are local bodies. Indeed, the use of the plural “churches” is enough to teach the local, not universal and invisible, church (e.g., “churches in Asia” or “churches in Galatia”). Almost 90% of the usage of the word church in the Bible refers explicitly to local churches.

Jesus started a local church with called, baptized disciples. For several years, there was only one church on Earth. One local assembly of believers. When you eventually get to more than one church in the book of Acts (cf. Acts 11:20-30; 13:1) you find separate, independent bodies, conducting business and acting as separate bodies. You have to travel a couple hundred years past the book of Revelation, and the 7 churches of Asia, to find a “universal invisible” church ever mentioned by men. The Lord started and still has local and visible churches.

Some use passages in Ephesians and Colossians to prove the existence of this universal invisible assembly, but there, Paul uses singular word “church” to talk about the institution of the church. I have a book called “The Theology of the Family.” Notice, the title, the family, in the singular. The book doesn’t suggest that we are all one big giant universal family, but the author used the singular to teach on the institution. In Ephesians, Paul likewise speaks of “the church” as an institution, but not one universal body. There are requirements, blessings, boundaries, duties, and responsibilities each local church has in common, if it is a church of Christ. Paul, speaking of the institution, speaks of these universal characteristics of every local church.

All application in Scripture concerning the church teaches the local church. The only way to obey the commands concerning the church, to fulfill one's duty in the church, to bless and be blessing in the church is through a local assembly. Church discipline, praying, preaching, baptizing, Lord’s Supper, giving, receiving -- all point to and applies only in a local body. Confusing and confounding the family of God, the kingdom of God, and the church of God has caused a great many people to accept false teaching about the church, about baptism, and about church government. The teaching on the church is important because Christ is glorified in his church. He died for his church. We serve him in his church. We should love what Jesus loved, and hold as important what Jesus views as important. Error never leads to edification and blessing, but it does lead to more error. It breaks down the necessity of Scriptural baptism, the reality of a Scriptural church, blurs the lines of Christian responsibility, diminishes the authority of the local church, and will always lifts up individuals to lord over men.

Marks of a Church

Lots of Marks

I was looking for a book on my shelves a while back and found, among the Baptist books, a Louis L'amour Hopalong Cassidy novel. I don't know what Hopalong's religious affiliation was, or his stance on the church, so I took it off the shelf and when I removed the Western, I joined two other books together in the process.

The one was JR Graves book, Old Landmarkism and a newer book by Mark Dever, 9 Marks of a Healthy Church. Since it had been a while since I read either of them, I took the pair down and started to skim. Dever's book talks about church health, and while I don't agree with all his marks, his concern is whether or not a church is healthy, is an important topic.

The Bible makes clear that scriptural churches can be unhealthy. Revelation 3:1-2, “And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.” Being on the verge of death is very unhealthy. And, it appears the issue at Sardis didn’t have anything to do with a particular doctrinal error, but practice. How they were living was killing the church.

I turned to Graves and noticed, he also had “marks” of the church, only his were 7 marks of a scriptural church. Is the church local and independent, does the church practice scriptural baptize, etc.

I chuckled at first, thinking about how unlikely a pair Graves and Dever would be and how they both had the “marks” in their book and now would have to dwell side by side on my shelf. I continued to consider the juxtaposition of their views on the church. Dever's book assumes that all assemblies and groups that claim to be a church, are a church, and the most important thing is to be in a healthy church. I know this because men of various denominations have blurbs on the back of my edition of the book. Graves makes no such assumption because there are clear identifying marks or requirements that an organization must have to be a church to start with.

Yes, a scriptural church can be unhealthy, but an unscriptural church will never be a healthy church. Sprinkling will never be baptism. Sacraments will never confer grace. And no matter how well functioning the assembly, no matter how good the preaching, or the style of preaching, or how concerned the assembly is for souls, if you are not scriptural, you are not healthy. Many organizations that call themselves churches of the Lord Jesus Christ do not bear the marks of a scriptural church.

Actually, I don't think it is one or the other. I think you should first desire to be a scriptural church and then work towards being a "healthy" church.

Dirty Skunk

Charles Spurgeon, commenting on Psalm 120, tries to describe what would be a fitting punishment for the person who slanders another. He writes on how the slanderer often gets away with the crime.

“Or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue?” How shalt thou be visited? The law of retaliation can hardly meet the case, since none can slander the slanderer, he is too black to be blackened; neither would any of us blacken him if we could. Wretched being! He fights with weapons which true men cannot touch. Like the cuttlefish, he surrounds himself with an inky blackness into which honest men cannot penetrate. Like the foul skunk, he emits an odour of falsehood which cannot be endured by the true; and therefore he often escapes, unchastised by those whom he has most injured. His crime, in a certain sense, becomes his shield; men do not care to encounter so base a foe. But what will God do with lying tongues? He has uttered his most terrible threats against them, and he will terribly execute them in due time."

Ashamed of the Testimony

“Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner...” 2 Timothy 1:8.

Shame, according to Merriam-Webster’s is a “painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety. A condition of humiliating disgrace or disrepute. Something that brings censure or reproach.” Timothy was tempted to feel ashamed, but not for doing wrong, but rather the pain of disgrace, impropriety, and reproach that comes from following Christ. This is directly tied to the fear in the previous verse. Fearing man, rather than God, will cause us to care more about what men think of us than what God thinks of us. To bear the testimony of our Lord is not a popular opinion held by the world. You’ll be thought of as a fanatic, a zealot, or a “fundamentalist”.

Preachers love to speak of Paul as if they would have been fast friends - but I’m not so sure. A lot of men didn’t like Paul. A lot of preachers didn’t like Paul because he took the things of God seriously. That rubs people the wrong way. And friendship with Paul wasn’t a badge of honor with the elite. It wasn’t exactly the fast-track to fame and popularity to be the buddy of an old, fervent, preacher in chains, especially with the unbeliever. To preach the gospel, and to be associated with that old man in prison was disgraceful and maybe a little embarrassing to the highbrow, and those that would like to be. But only a disgrace to those who didn’t know the Lord. Paul was no disgrace to God.

You don’t have to be part of the elite class to be tempted by the desire to fit in. Just the desire to be among them is enough to watch what you say and how you say it. Preachers and churches face the temptation of carrying what the world thinks of us. Those in New York City don’t care what we think or believe here in West Virginia, but oh how many desperately care what they think of us! Catch phrases, ministry strategies, acceptable speech and behavior is set by worldly men, and those who want to fit in must adapt.

The only way to be ashamed of Christ and the gospel is to put more stock in what men think of you than what God thinks of you. To be ashamed of the gospel of Christ is to care more about men thinking well of you than caring for their soul. Christ is my judge. Jesus saved my soul and that is a fact. The blood of Christ does indeed wash away sin. There is a Hell as sure as there is a Charleston. Why should I be ashamed at believing and declaring the truth? People who are duped by con men are ashamed when it comes to light, because they feel the disgrace of believing and trusting in a lie. Why be ashamed of the truthful reality described in God’s Word?

Are these things true or not? What things? The things of Christ. The things of doctrine. The things of the church. The things of living a holy and separated life.

Then don’t be ashamed of the truth and don’t be ashamed to associate with those who believe it. Nothing would make the wolves happier than to convince the sheep it's a disgrace to stick close to the Shepherd. I'm sure the wolf would be glad to give all sorts of advice to the sheep. And nothing is more perilous to the soul than for a sheep to care if the wolves think they are nice and friendly.

Foulest Whelp of Sin

"Slander occasions distress of the most grievous kind. Those who have felt the edge of a cruel tongue know assuredly that it is sharper than the sword. Calumny rouses our indignation by a sense of injustice, and yet we find ourselves helpless to fight with the evil, or to act in our own defence. We could ward off the strokes of a cutlass, but we have no shield against a liar's tongue. We do not know who was the father of the falsehood, nor where it was born, nor where it has gone, nor how to follow it, nor how to stay its withering influence. We are perplexed, and know not which way to turn. Like the plague of flies in Egypt, it baffles opposition, and few can stand before it. Detraction touches us in the most tender point, cuts to the quick, and leaves a venom behind which it is difficult to extract. In all ways it is a sore distress to come under the power of "slander, the foulest whelp of sin." Even in such distress we need not hesitate to cry unto the Lord. Silence to man and prayer to God are the best cures for the evil of slander."

C.H. Spurgeon

Maybe I'm Wrong

Years ago, I had a theological debate with a man over a vital doctrine. He pleaded with me to open my mind up to his unorthodox teaching. I told him I would I not open my mind, but it would, God willing, remain firmly and finally shut on the matter. He told me I was arrogant because I didn’t believe I could be wrong, and I should live with the idea that I could be wrong about everything. Granted, I could be wrong about a lot of things, but on this particular matter, I wasn’t and it would be the height of folly to walk around persuading myself not to believe. It isn’t humility to convince yourself not to believe any divine truth with all your heart and soul. False teachers always want their people to doubt and to question everything, except their allegiance to their mystic, mushy, pliable uncertainty.  

Understanding and true knowledge is a gift of God (Ephesians 1:7). One of the purposes of the church and the role of the pastor is to teach and declare the Word with the goal of "the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God," (Ephesians 4:13). Paul prayed the church in Colossae would be "filled with the knowledge of [God's] will" and increase in the "knowledge of God," (Colossians 1:9-10). Paul wanted the people of God to be comforted and "knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ," (Col 2:2). Not only is knowing the truth possible, the Bible stresses the importance of coming to the knowledge of the truth and provides the way for it to happen. 

Yes, it’s possible to become proud in what you know. I read an article where the author quoted from Jeremiah 9:23-24, “Thus said the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might…” Very powerful and on point. Don’t be proud and lifted up with your “doctrine” warned the author. But what was left out of the verse after the ellipses? “But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord.” This verse wasn’t condemning theological knowledge, but condemning the pride of wisdom of men. Jeremiah tells us to know and understand the Lord. 

It is certainly possible to be deceived. It’s not only possible, but common for a person to deceive themselves, and become proud and hard-hearted refusing to be corrected, insisting they are right when all the evidence points to the contrary. With the Spirit's help, we can know the truth and be settled in what God has given us in His Word. Pray that He would open your heart to the truth, examine your heart and motives for any wrong, any pride, and then cling to His inerrant word (Psalm 139:23-24). 

All we need in trial

"All that we need in trial, is the simple promise of God that he will sustain us; all that we need in the hour of death, is the assurance of our God that we I shall be happy forever. What would this world be without a “promise?” How impossible to penetrate the future! How dark that which is to come would be! How bereft we should be of consolation! The past has gone, and its departed joys and hopes can never be recalled to cheer us again; the present may be an hour of pain, and sadness, and disappointment, and gloom, with perhaps not a ray of comfort; the future only opens fields of happiness to our vision, and everything there depends on the will of God, and all that we can know of it is from his promises. Cut off from these we have no way either of obtaining the blessings which we desire, or of ascertaining that they can be ours. For the promises of God, therefore, we should be in the highest degree grateful, and in the trials of life we should cling to them with unwavering confidence as the only things which can be an anchor to the soul."

Albert Barnes Notes on the Bible from Second Peter 1