The Bible is God's inspired and perfect revelation
(or plan) for mankind. We are to accept the Lord at
His Word. There isn't any authority over God, nor
His Word. So when we open up the Bible for
information and inspiration, we shouldn't take one
verse and make a lifestyle from it. That would be
like signing a mortgage and looking at the really
good rate you'd be receiving that day, but ignoring
the rest of the contract (including the fine print)
and finding out that your interest rate would soon
soar. The Bible is to be taken as a whole, and not
just a verse, paragraph, or author's letter. God
lays out in detail how we can choose to seek Him out
within the Word. Our very faith comes from the
words He has laid on the hearts of men (Romans
10:17).
How does one become a member of the
Church?
In order to answer this, we have to know
what the Bible says the Church is. Many
today look at the worship facility they go
to and label it their church. But the
Church isn't glued down to the ground on a
concrete foundation, it is a living, moving
entity that is comprised of the very people
who wear the name of Christ (Acts 2:47). We
do not have a group of individuals telling
us how to operate, as we are completely
autonomous, functioning under the local
leadership of elders, and seeking to build
up the kingdom got the only Head of the
Church--Jesus Christ. So the next question
we have is how does one seek to be a part of
such a vibrant body? By following the plan
of salvation that is illustrated throughout
the New Testament. Some would like to argue
with the necessity of some parts over
others, but in Christ's teachings and those
of the apostles, each of these were
implemented so that people could seek to
obey the Lord.
Believe in Jesus Christ. Hebrews
11:6, John 8:24, Acts 16:31
Repent of your sins. Luke 13:3, Acts
2:38, 3:19, 17:30
Confess faith in Jesus. Matt. 10:32,
Acts 8:37, Romans 10:9-10
Be baptized. Matt. 28:19, Mark 16:16,
Acts 2:38, 10:48, 22:16, Colossians 2:12,
Titus 3:5
Once one has become a born-again child
of the Lord, they seek to follow the
Father's instructions on proper living (II
Tim 2:15). The Church helps the new
Christian by answering questions, lending an
ear for listening, and a heart of
understanding.
Is Baptism more important than belief?
As mentioned above, there are some that like
to take out what they feel is simply not
necessary in order to be saved. Generally,
the number one target is Baptism. Baptism,
defined as the complete immersion of a
believing individual in water, is looked at
by many as a symbol, rather than a means
toward salvation. Many ministers are nervous
about preaching about it, saying that they
don't feel comfortable saying baptism is
essential (although I Peter 3:21 states that
very truth). Some contend that is a work of
man, others say that the water has no power
to save. First off, both of these last
points show that an individual or group has
some biblical knowledge. No, man's works
cannot save anyone, and no, the water cannot
save in and of itself. But what else does
the Bible say about the subject.
1) Man doesn't do the work, God does.
Colossians 2:12 states that just as God
raised from the dead, He does the same in us
through baptism. Romans 6:3 asks us if we
knew that when we were baptized we were
buried with Christ in His death, burial, and
resurrection.
2) Going back to the water, I Peter 3:21
also says that the water isn't for washing
away
dirt, but our crying out to God for a clean
conscious--not that we already had one, but
that we were looking forward to the point
where we were saved. Acts 2:38 says once we
are baptized, the Holy Spirit resides within
us, and aids us in the application of God's
Word. In short, obedience is key to
following God and living for Him.
So is baptism more important than belief.
ABSOLUTELY NOT! It is just AS
important--just as important as repenting
and confessing Christ. All parts of the plan
of salvation move us toward obedient faith
in Christ.
What is the Lord's Supper? Why take it
weekly?
The Lord's Supper is the centerpiece of the
weekly worship service. It is a sobering
reminder of the price that was paid for our
sins, through the body and blood of Jesus
Christ. It was first instituted by our
Savior the night before his crucifixion, and
was observed by the 12 disciples. The bread
is representative of His broken body, the
cup representative of His life blood. After
Jesus' resurrection, the act was repeated by
the remaining disciples on the first day of
the week (the New Testament Church was
started on Pentecost, which took place on a
Sunday, see Acts 2:1-42). Paul, in his
travels throughout the regions of Europe and
Asia Minor, took timeout to observe the
Lord's Supper (Acts 20:7). Likewise, we too
take the time to remember all that Christ
has done for us.
Today, the majority of
"churchgoers" feel that the once
a week observance takes away
from the reverence. So they
proceed to do it quarterly,
sometimes only once or twice a
year. The question we have to
ask ourselves is simply If the
Bible indicates that it took
place weekly, and that as
Christians we need to look back
and remember Jesus' sacrifice
with reverence, how can we not
practice it? We have to
maintain the same amount of
attention to worship in our
observance of the Lord's Supper
as we do to singing praises to
Him and leading others to
Christ.
The Bible is God's inspired and perfect revelation
(or plan) for mankind. We are to accept the Lord at
His Word. There isn't any authority over God, nor
His Word. So when we open up the Bible for
information and inspiration, we shouldn't take one
verse and make a lifestyle from it. That would be
like signing a mortgage and looking at the really
good rate you'd be receiving that day, but ignoring
the rest of the contract (including the fine print)
and finding out that your interest rate would soon
soar. The Bible is to be taken as a whole, and not
just a verse, paragraph, or author's letter. God
lays out in detail how we can choose to seek Him out
within the Word. Our very faith comes from the
words He has laid on the hearts of men (Romans
10:17).
In order to answer this, we have to know
what the Bible says the Church is. Many
today look at the worship facility they go
to and label it their church. But the
Church isn't glued down to the ground on a
concrete foundation, it is a living, moving
entity that is comprised of the very people
who wear the name of Christ (Acts 2:47). We
do not have a group of individuals telling
us how to operate, as we are completely
autonomous, functioning under the local
leadership of elders, and seeking to build
up the kingdom got the only Head of the
Church--Jesus Christ. So the next question
we have is how does one seek to be a part of
such a vibrant body? By following the plan
of salvation that is illustrated throughout
the New Testament. Some would like to argue
with the necessity of some parts over
others, but in Christ's teachings and those
of the apostles, each of these were
implemented so that people could seek to
obey the Lord.
As mentioned above, there are some that like
to take out what they feel is simply not
necessary in order to be saved. Generally,
the number one target is Baptism. Baptism,
defined as the complete immersion of a
believing individual in water, is looked at
by many as a symbol, rather than a means
toward salvation. Many ministers are nervous
about preaching about it, saying that they
don't feel comfortable saying baptism is
essential (although I Peter 3:21 states that
very truth). Some contend that is a work of
man, others say that the water has no power
to save. First off, both of these last
points show that an individual or group has
some biblical knowledge. No, man's works
cannot save anyone, and no, the water cannot
save in and of itself. But what else does
the Bible say about the subject.
The Lord's Supper is the centerpiece of the
weekly worship service. It is a sobering
reminder of the price that was paid for our
sins, through the body and blood of Jesus
Christ. It was first instituted by our
Savior the night before his crucifixion, and
was observed by the 12 disciples. The bread
is representative of His broken body, the
cup representative of His life blood. After
Jesus' resurrection, the act was repeated by
the remaining disciples on the first day of
the week (the New Testament Church was
started on Pentecost, which took place on a
Sunday, see Acts 2:1-42). Paul, in his
travels throughout the regions of Europe and
Asia Minor, took timeout to observe the
Lord's Supper (Acts 20:7). Likewise, we too
take the time to remember all that Christ
has done for us.