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Lesson 2 - The marks of the church
Question 1
What are the marks of a church ?
Truth cannot be sacrificed on the altar of inclusiveness (tolerance)
An example of a less pure church is the Corinthian Church and a pure church is the Thessalonean Church.
Galatians 1:6-9
No Other Gospel
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel – 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again:If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
Answer
The Lutheran statement of faith, which is called the Augsburg Confession(1530), defined the church as
"the congregation of saints in which the gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments rightly administered"(Article 7).
John Calvin said, "Wherever we see the Word of God purely preached , and the sacraments
administered according to Christ's institution, there, it is not to be doubted, a church of God exists."
The two marks of a church according to both the Luther and Calvin are:
(i) Right preaching of the Word of God/Right teaching of the gospel
(ii) Right administration of the sacraments.
Who are false prophets? They have the false gospel. There were Gnostic churches which has their gnostic gospels. A false church has a false gospel.
1 John 4:1-3
Test the Spirits
1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God:Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
A cult is on doctrinal error, not on character flaw. False churches do not build up overnight. Nobody wants to be a false prophet. They start well but along the way led to error.
Right preaching of the Word of God/Right teaching of the gospel
Two important doctrines that need to be rightly taught are the doctrine of salvation and the doctrine of
the Trinity.
The doctrine of salvation
1. Explanation of the facts concerning salvation
The good news (gospel) must include the following basic spiritual truths.
(i) Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
All people have sinned
(ii) Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The penalty for our sin is death.
(iii) Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ
died for us.
Jesus Christ died to pay the penalty for our sins.
(iv) 1 Corinthians 15:4
That he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead.
2. A promise of forgiveness and eternal life
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Ephesians 1:7
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace...
3. Invitation to respond to Christ personally in repentance and faith
There must be a personal invitation to each person to accept Jesus into their life as their
Lord and Savior in repentance and faith.
Matthew 11:28
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
Acts 20:21
I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Conversion
Conversion is our willing response to the gospel call, in which we sincerely repent of sins and place our faith (trust) in Christ for salvation.
Repentance is a heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, and a sincere commitment to forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ.
Luke 24:46-47
He told them, 'That is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem.
Acts 2:37-38
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles,
"Brothers, what shall we do ?" Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of
Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 3:19
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come
from the Lord,
Acts 17:30
In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
Saving faith is trust in Jesus Christ as a living person for forgiveness of sins and for eternal life with God.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life.
Acts 16:31
They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved- you and your household.
Romans 10:9
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Ephesians 2:8-9
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God
- not by works, so that no one can boast.
Scripture puts repentance and faith together as different aspects of the one act of coming to Christ for
salvation. Conversion is therefore that one act of turning from sin in repentance and turning to Christ in
faith.
Acts 20:21
I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Heb 6:1
Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,
At conversion a person must have that one act of repentance and faith. With that one act he steps from
darkness to light and he becomes a child of God, receiving forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
Nonetheless this heart attitude of repentance and faith must continue throughout the course of our Christian lives.
The doctrine of the Trinity
God eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and Each person is fully God, and there is one God.
A. The Oneness of God
(Ex 3:13-15) There is one God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
(Deut 6:4-5) There is only one God.
(Ex 15:11) God is clearly one God. There is no one like him
(James 2:19) James commends belief in one God.
(1 Tim 2:5-6) Paul affirms that there is only one God.
(Rom 3:30) Paul affirms that God is one.
There is one God.
B. The Deity of Three
1. God is Three Persons
(John 1:1-2) The fact that the "Word" (Christ) is with God shows that he is distinct from the Father.
(John 17:24) Jesus speaks to God the Father about the sharing of glory and a relationship of love between the Father and the Son before the world was created. Jesus is distinct from God the Father.
(Heb 7:25) Christ intercedes for us before God the Father. Jesus is distinct from God the Father.
(John 14:26) Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit sent by the Father. The Father is not the Holy Spirit. The Son is not the Holy Spirit.
(John 16:7) Christ went back to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to the church. Jesus is distinct from the Holy Spirit.
2. Each Person is Fully God
God the Father is clearly God
This is evident from the first verse of the Bible, where God created the heaven and the earth. It is evident through the Old and New Testaments, where God the Father is clearly viewed as sovereign Lord over all and where Jesus prays to his Father in heaven.
The Son is fully God
(John 1:1-4) John affirms the full deity of Christ. Christ is referred to as the "Word" and John says both that he was "with God" and that he "was God".
(John 20:28) Here Thomas calls Jesus "my God." The narrative shows that both John In writing his gospel and Jesus himself approve of what Thomas has said and
encourages everyone who hears about Thomas to believe the same things that Thomas did.
(Heb 1:3) The author says that Christ is the exact representation of the nature or being of God.
(Heb 1:10) The creation of the heavens is attributed to Christ.
(Titus 2:13) Paul affirms "our great God and Savior Jesus Christ."
(2 Pet 1:1) Peter speaks of "the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ."
(Rom 9:5) Paul writes of Christ as the "God over all."
The Holy Spirit is fully God
(Acts 5:3-4) According to Peter's words, to lie to the Holy Spirit is to lie to God.
(1 Cor 3:16) God's temple is the place where God himself dwells, which Paul explains by the fact that "God's Spirit" dwells in it, thus equating God's Spirit with God Himself.
(Ps 139:7-8) This passage attributes the divine characteristic of omnipresence to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God.
(1 Cor 2:10-11) Paul attributes the divine characteristic of omniscience to the Holy Spirit.
(John 3:5-7) The work of giving new spiritual life is attributed to the Holy Spirit. This work is the work of God. The Holy Spirit is God.
C. New Testament passages mentioning all three persons of the Trinity
(Mat 3:16-17) (Mat 28:19) (1 Cor 12:4-6) (2 Cor 13:14)
(Eph 4:4-6) (1 Pet 1:2) (Jude 20-21)
D. Old Testament passages partially revealing the Trinity
(Gen 1:26-27) The plural verb "let us' in v.26 suggests a plurality of persons in God himself. The
singular form used in v.27 suggests there is one God.
(Ps 33:6) Here we have the involvement of all three
persons of the Trinity in the work of creation: the Father decrees, the Son as the Word brings the Father's decree into operation, and the Spirit imparts His Ife-giving dynamic to the whole process.
(Is 48:16) Here we have the Son speaking. He says that He has been sent by the Lord Yahweh(God the Father) and also by His Spirit.
Several Old Testament passages about the "angel of the Lord' suggest a plurality of persons in
God.
(Gen 22:11) (Gen 31:11,13) (Ex 3:2) (Judg 13:20)_
E. Summary of the biblical teaching on the Trinity
In one sense the doctrine of the Trinity is a mystery that we will never be able to understand fully. However, we can understand something of its truth by these three statements.
1. God is three persons
2. Each person is fully God
3. There is one God
We can say that God is one undivided being, yet that in this one being there are three persons.
A summary of the basic truths of the Christian faith can be deduced from the Apostles' Creed.
I believe in God
The Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth:
And in Jesus Christ
His only Son our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
Born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified, dead, and buried;
He descended into hell;
The third day he rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in
The Holy Ghost;
The Holy Catholic Church;
The Communion of Saints;
The forgiveness of sins;
The resurrection of the body;
And the life everlasting.
Right administration of the sacraments
Mat 28:19
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Luke 11: 23-26
For I received from the Lord what I passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me/' In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." For whenever you eat
this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
The marks of the church
Biblical
Theological
Philosophical
---
Historical
Apostles - AD30 - AD90
Church Fathers AD90 - 4th Century (Gnostics)
Roman Catholic - From 4th Century (There is only one world-wide church)
The reformation period, Luther and Calvin
Protestant - 16th Century to Now (Denominational churches - Pentecostals etc)
Modern Age (Non-denominational churches)
The Apostles Creed
A statement of faith (doctrine). A creed is not the bible, it can be wrong but it serve to give is the mark of a true church.
Apostles' Creed
1. I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:
2. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:
3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:
4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell:
5. The third day he rose again from the dead:
6. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:
7. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:
8. I believe in the Holy Ghost:
9. I believe in the holy catholic church: the communion of saints:
10. The forgiveness of sins:
1l. The resurrection of the body:
12. And the life everlasting. Amen.
Wikipedia:
The Apostles' Creed (Latin: Symbolum Apostolorum or Symbolum Apostolicum), sometimes titled Symbol of the Apostles, is an early statement of Christian belief, a creed or "symbol".[1] It is widely used by a number of Christian denominations for both liturgical and catechetical purposes, most visibly by liturgical Churches of Western tradition, including the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, Lutheranism, Anglicanism, and Western Orthodoxy. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists.
The Apostles' Creed was based on Christian theological understanding of the Canonical gospels, the letters of the New Testament and to a lesser extent the Old Testament. Its basis appears to be the old Roman Creed. Because of the early origin of its original form, it does not address some Christological issues defined in the Nicene and other Christian Creeds. It thus says nothing explicitly about the divinity of either Jesus or of the Holy Spirit. This makes it acceptable to many Arians and Unitarians. Nor does it address many other theological questions that became objects of dispute centuries later.
The name of the Creed may come from the probably 5th-century tradition that, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit after Pentecost, each of the Twelve Apostles dictated part of it.[2] It is traditionally divided into twelve articles. However, Ambrose refers to the "Apostles' Creed" in 390.
Question 2
An example of a false church is the Jehovah's Witnesses. What are some of the beliefs of the JW that are contrary to the truth?
Answer
Some of the wrong beliefs of the JW are:
- The Trinity is not a true doctrine
- Trinitarians believe in three gods
- The Christian doctrine of the Trinity was borrowed from ancient paganism.
- Satan originated the doctrine of the Trinity.
- Jesus Christ, before becoming a man, was Michael the Archangel, the first and greatest creation
of Jehovah God.
- While on earth, Jesus was not God, only a perfect man.
- After Jesus died, He was resurrected with His original identity as Michael the Archangel restored.
- Jesus is not the almighty God.
- Jesus is "a god", a lesser God than Jehovah God.
- The holy Spirit is God's active force, not a personal being.
- Jesus' death paid only for Adam's sin, not for the sins of all humanity.
- By clearing away the penalty of Adam's sin, Christ opened the way for us to work for salvation.
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