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How to Identify the New
Testament Church
To identify the true New Testament church will determine where you will spend
eternity. Today there is much confusion because of the multiplicity of churches,
each claiming to be the Lord's church. Not only do people have a right to know
what the church is, it is the responsibility of everyone to know it. Who would
like to be a member of any organization without any knowledge about it?
The question therefore is: "How may I identify the New Testament church?"
Friend, only prayer, dedication, sincerity and thorough investigation can help
you to identify it. Identification is essential in every aspect of life, be
it in business or society. Manufacturers identify their products by means of
trademarks or emblems. This is to avoid duplication and falsification by people
who might try to produce the same kind of item but of poor quality.
In societies or in homes, we are known by names. Though our names are distinct,
there are other marks which help us to identify the individual we are after.
For example, two people may bear the name Smith. In order to avoid confusion,
one or both are identified by adding additional names, preferably the names
corresponding to their birth certificate. Hence, we hear Ralph Smith and Bob
Smith.
Identification helps the police to look for the lost child. At the police station,
the parents are expected to furnish the police with the full particulars of
the lost child; for example, his name, age (date of birth), height, complexion,
etc., and any other notable features that can help in quick identification.
If the police know only the name of the child, they may not track this child,
since many children may bear the same name. Hence, in our bid to help you identify
the true church of the Bible, we will not only be concerned with its name, but
with other notable features, so as to help you identify with ease the church
the Bible talks about. It is for this cause I have undertaken this assignment
to help you know the truth about what God says concerning His church.
There is a story about three blind men who had heard a lot about an elephant
and wanted to know the size, so they went out with all determination to find
out or identify the animal.
The first blind man got close to the elephant; held the tail and said, "Eh,
an elephant is like a rope." The second blind man held the body and said,
"An elephant is like a big building." The last one held the ear and
said, "An elephant is like a mat." These three blind men left with
different ideas about how an elephant really was. What they failed to do was
try to identify all the marks of the elephant. This is what is happening in
our Christian world today. We should, in our attempt to identify the church
of Christ, try to investigate all the teachings of the Bible that will help
us identify it.
Part 1
A PERSON SHOULD OBSERVE THE TIME AND PLACE OF ITS BEGINNING
God, through the prophets, spoke of the time and place for the beginning of
the New Testament church. In Isaiah 2.2,3 God said, "Now it will come about
that in the last days, The mountain of the house of the LORD will be established
as the chief of the mountains; And will be raised above the hills; And all the
nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, 'Come let us
go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He
may teach us concerning His ways. And that we may walk in His paths.' For the
law will go forth from Zion. And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem."
In this prophecy, three facts come out: (1) The time of the beginning; (2) God's
house was to be exalted above all nations; that all nations would flow into
it; and (3) the place.
According to Micah, Isaiah, and Jesus, it was to begin in Jerusalem. (Micah
4.1-2; Isaiah 22,3, Luke 24 47.) Paul also spoke of the "household of God
which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth."
Concerning the time, we know that every organization has its time of beginning.
The prophets foretold the beginning: the time. In Matthew 3.1 we read that in
the days of the Caesars and the Herods came John the Baptist. His preaching
was "the Kingdom was at hand." In Luke 10 the seventy were sent and
their message was "the Kingdom of God is nigh unto you." The statements
"at hand” and "nigh unto you" are indications that the
kingdom or the church was to be established even during the lifetime of the
apostles. Mark 9.1 tells that some (apostles) that stand here shall in no wise
taste of death till they see the kingdom of God come with power. On the day
of Pentecost in Acts 2, we read of the coming kingdom coming with power. Christ
told the disciples in Acts 1.8 to tarry in the city of Jerusalem until they
receive power. This, my dear reader, shows and teaches that the New Testament
church began in Jerusalem and the time was the day of Pentecost in about AD
33.
Part 2
A PERSON MAY IDENTIFY THE CHURCH BY OBSERVING THE FOUNDER
Every organization has its founder: political parties, benevolent societies
and many religious sects. What we want to identify now is the Founder of the
New Testament church.
In Matthew 16.15-18 Jesus in Caesarea Philippi asked his disciples, "But
who do you say that l am?” Wrong answers were given from among them, but
Peter made a most noble confession, that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the
living God. Following this truth, Jesus said, "Blessed are you Simon Barjona,
because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but My Father who is in heaven.
And I also say to you that you are Peter [Petros - Greek word meaning stone],
and upon this rock [Petra - Greek word meaning bed rock, a massive great ledge
- See 1 Corinthians 10.4) I will build My church." I will emphasize here
that the church was not built upon Peter as some people think, but rather upon
Peter's confession that "Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God."
The statement of Jesus that He will build His church was future tense. Neither
Abraham, Noah, Moses, nor John the Baptist built the church. It was Jesus who
said, "I will build My church." Dear friend, the church is Christ's
because (a) He promised to build it; (b) He purchased it with His blood. (Acts
20.28.) (c) He is the foundation of the church. (1 Corinthians 3.11) In fact,
from the day of Pentecost we read of the church as being in existence, and that
the saved were added to it (Acts 2.47), and persecution came upon it. (Acts
8.1.)
Let me take a few minutes to illustrate my point that Jesus is the founder or
the builder of the church. In case you read from the paper in 1970 that Mr.
Brown will build a house, and later on you read in 1970 that people lived in
Mr. Brown's house, would you agree that he has built the house? The answer would
be "Yes," because if the house had not been built, how could the people
live in it?
So also it is true with the church. Jesus said in Matthew 16.18, "I will
build my church," and in Acts 2.47 "the saved were added to the church."
Therefore, the church was built by no one else but by Christ Himself. He never
said He would build churches, as of many, but “one church.”
Part 3
A PERSON MAY IDENTIFY THE CHURCH BY THE NAME IT IS CALLED
The devil has deceived many people to believe that there is nothing in a name.
If it is true, why should God command Adam to name things? (Genesis 2.19,20.)
God changed Jacob's name to Israel. (Genesis 35.10.)
Friend, here are several scriptural names by which you can identify the church:
a. The church of the Lord. (Acts 20.28.)
b. The church of God. (1Corinthians1.2.)
c. The house of God; the church of the living God. (1 Timothy 3.15.)
d. The church. (Acts 11.22.)
e. The church of Christ. (Romans 16.16.)
The New Testament church does not wear any man-made name or names. Any church
which does not wear a name that signifies the founder could not be the New Testament
church.
Part 4
A PERSON MAY IDENTIFY THE CHURCH BY THE WORSHIP
In the New Testament church, Christians met on every first day of the week to
worship God. The worship consisted of five items:
1. Singing. Ephesians 5.19; Colossians 3.16. The singing was vocal without any
instrument accompanying it. Someone might ask, "What about Psalm 150?"
ThoseJews were not Christians. They were under a different dispensation. We
are therefore to do all that the Lord Jesus has commanded us to observe. (Matthew
28.19.) The early Christians were steadfast in the apostles' doctrine, but not
the doctrine of the Jews. (Acts 2.42.) It is therefore wrong for anybody to
worship with instruments in the church today. (2 John 9.)
2. Praying. Acts 2.42. Christians are to pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians
5.17.) We need to pray according to His will and our prayer should be definite.
Ask for what you really need. God always rewards true prayer and His blessings
are abundant. We should also realize that perfect prayer is the outpouring of
a strong intense desire, but with the humble resignation "Not my will but
thy will be done."
3. Giving. 1 Corinthians 16.1,2; 2 Corinthians 9.6-8. The scripture references
given above show that Christians were commanded to give according to plan. They
were to give weekly (1 Corinthians 16.1,2), voluntarily (2 Corinthians 8.12),
purposely, (2 Corinthians 9.7), and proportionately. (1 Corinthians 16.2.) This
giving was done weekly. How much you are to give depends upon how much you have
been prospered. In the New Testament church we do not read of any church giving
on the basis of necessity, pledging, tithing or payment of monthly dues and
harvest. Even in their deep poverty, they were willing to give liberally to
support the work. (1 Corinthians 8.1-5.)
4. The Lord's Supper. Acts 20.7; 1 Corinthians 1.20-26; Matthew 26.26-29. Reading
from 1 Corinthians 11.20-26, the scripture underlines some facts: (a) It tells
of His death for the sins of the world; (b) It proclaims His coming soon. The
early Christians upon every first day of the week practiced partaking of the
Lord's Supper. The Bible says, "as often as ye meet" and it was their
practice of meeting on every Sunday or the first day of the week (Acts 2O.7.)
Man has changed this practice and substituted with his man-made doctrines. This
has brought the practice of partaking the Lord's Supper quarterly, yearly or
at times daily. These are wrong. If you are identifying the New Testament church,
ask yourself whether the church you belong to takes the Lord's Supper every
first day of the week. The unfortunate practice we see today is the fact that
some members of the church are only given the bread, but the wine is drunk by
the officiator. Ask the question "Why?" and the answer would be that
the bread and the wine change into the literal body of Christ. If that argument
is accepted, they why should the officiator, after eating the bread as others
did, not only stop there, but go on to drink the wine? My reader, I love you
and want you to be able to identify the true church so that you may be a member
of it to be saved. I am not interested in adding false teachings that we already
have in the world. We want to be free and it is only the truth that shall make
us free. (John 8.32.)
5. Preaching or Bible Teaching. This also is a part of the Christian worship.
It is during this time that God speaks to us. It is also through studies that
we are able to divide the truth and to handle it rightly. It was the practice
of Paul to preach to churches. (Acts 2O.7, 17-21.) The church is commanded to
preach and teach. (Mark 16.15: Matthew 18.18-19.)
Part 5
A PERSON MAY IDENTIFY THE CHURCH BY THE TERM OF MEMBERSHIP
People that become members of the Lord's church did not just write their names
on papers, but rather obeyed or did the will of God as required. The scriptures
testify that for one to be a member of the church, they must
1. Hear the word (Romans 10.14,17),
2. Believe the word (John 8.24; Hebrews 11.6),
3. Repent of past sins (Luke 13.3),
4. Confess faith in Christ (Romans 10.10), and
5. Be baptized to put on Christ and also to be added to the church (Mark 16.15:
Acts 2:38-47; Galatians 3.27.) This baptism is not sprinkling or pouring, but
immersion or burial. (Romans 6.3-5; Colossians 2.12.)
Part 6
A PERSON MAY IDENTIFY THE CHURCH BY ITS ORGANIZATION
Councils, synods or conferences do not govern the New Testament church. The
organization is as follows:
1. Christ is the head of the church. No man on earth should claim to be the
head of the church.
2. Elders are appointed to take the oversight of each (not more than one) church.
(Acts 20.17,28; Acts 11.30.) The reason is that each church or congregation
is autonomous. We do not read of moderators or bishops or any other officer
taking charge of more than one church. Paul admonished Titus to remain in Crete
to set in order the things that were wanting and to ordain elders in every city.
(Titus 1.5-9.) These elders were not appointed because of their scholastic achievement
or their wealth, but rather on qualifications. (1 Timothy 3.1-7.) Let me remind
you also that the titles (if you want to call it like that) bishop, elder, pastor,
presbyter, overseer, and shepherd refer to the same person or offices.
3. Deacons are special qualified members to serve the church. They serve under
the elders. (Acts 6.1-6; 1 Timothy 3.8-13.)
4. Preachers or evangelists are men who went out preaching or telling the good
news of Jesus Christ. Preachers were never called pastors or reverend. The word
"reverend" is used only one time in the Bible and is found in Psalm
111.9 referring to God. Read the preceding verses. It is therefore wrong for
any other man to use the title reverend (Rev.). There were no distinctions such
as "clergy" and "laity."
5. Members. The congregation or the body of Christ which is the church (Colossians
1.18) is composed of people called out of the world and put into the church
through obedience. Each member contributes to the unity and function of the
church to accomplish its great mission of winning souls. These members were
called Christians or disciples. (Acts 11.26.)
My dear reader, I know I have taken much of your precious time to read this
tract. I know why I did that. I wanted you to know the true New Testament church
so that you may reject any church that comes or exists in the form of the New
Testament church, while in actual fact it is the Old Devil's church. It was
also my heart's desire that this might help you to go back to the Bible and
be only a Bible Christian and nothing else. I believe that if you will sincerely
accept the seed which is the word of God in your heart and let it germinate
to let it get hold of your being, you will only be a Christian. (Acts 2.41.)
Lastly, I wanted to call your attention to the fact that Paul said in Acts 20.20-30
that from among your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things to
draw away disciples after them.
The many churches we see today should not marvel us. What we should do is to
know false churches from the true church.
Author Unknown
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