God's Provision Through the Local Church

- we're studying Basic Bible truths
- so far we've completed 4 studies (assurance, growth,
God's Word, prayer)

- today we're moving into a fifth topic - "God's Provision
Through the Local Church"

Introduction:

- I'd like us to begin this morning by thinking about some
of the things being "said out there" about the concept of
the church.

I. Why This Study Is Important

A. The local church is God's primary provision for our
growth and service

- Matt. 16:18

- when the Jews had officially rejected Jesus Christ
(Matt. 12), the Lord began revealing His plan for
the coming age
- its critical that we note that Jesus began talking
about the church

- the church in general and local churches in
particular are the central focus of God's plan and
program for this age
- when you think about what our Lord is doing today--
it's right to think about the local church as plan
A, B, and C
- I'm sure if we could speak directly to the Lord
about what is on His mind today--it wouldn't be long
before He was talking about what's happening in the
church
- more important than the American economy
- more important than the political events around
our world
- surely more important than whether Purdue is
going to finish in the upper division of the
Big Ten!

- the local church is God's primary provision for our
growth and service

- that’s why the Bible places such a heavy emphasis on
being a part of one
- cf. Heb. 10:25

- now we're not saying this (like some do)
- that salvation comes through the church
- or that you come to church to get your "zap", or
your infusion of grace

- salvation is a personal relationship with God through
trusting Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord
- it is an individual, personal relationship
- but once a person is saved - the organism that
Jesus has provided to foster and nurture that
relationship is the local church

B. The Bulk of the NT is Written to Local Churches

- Because of what we said under point "A", its not
surprising that much of the NT is written to NT
churches
- the book of Corinthians is written to the church at
Corinth - I Cor. 1:1
- the book of Ephesians... - Eph. 1:1

- even the book of Revelation is written to seven
local churches - Rev. 1:4

- point is - a person is not going to be able to
understand and appreciate (and certainly apply)
God's Word if they're not a part of a church
- a person who tries to do that is like the
person who reads someone else's mail

C. Even when the church had problems - the Lord didn't
discard the church

- Acts 6 describes some of the first problems in the
church
- read 6:1-4

- point is - the Lord could have easily ordained
another group/organization/something to take the
place of the church

- but the Lord didn't do that
- instead they found a solution to the problem
that helped the church run smoother

- we said earlier in the introduction that some
folks have declared the church to be a failure
- as a result, they've concluded that there must
be better ways to get God's work done than the
church

- this passage shows that's not true

- I want to be sure that we've said here that we're not
necessarily opposed to other groups that service the church
in one way or another

- I'm talking about mission boards, colleges, children's
homes, etc.
- but those groups must be in submission to local
churches
- they must have a high view of the local church
- its wrong for a college to think they can adequately
train young people without a strong emphasis on the
church
- its wrong for a mission board to send missionaries out
who don't have any accountability to local churches, or
who aren't seeking to establish NT churches on the
field (following the example of Paul in the book of
Acts)
- its wrong for groups to try to win people to Christ and
disciple them if they're not going to encourage those
disciples to become faithful members of a local church

- the concept of the church hasn't outlived its
usefulness, and one of the reasons we know that is
because of the way the Lord solved the problem in Acts
6

(another reason we need to study this subject is because:)

D. To be effective, a church must be organized and
administered biblically

- today and in the next few weeks, we're going to
study what the NT says about:
- how churches are organized
- who can be a member
- what the church should be trying to accomplish
- who does what and why

- we need to study this topic, because we can only
expect God's blessing if we're committed to doing
things His way

II. What Is The Church?

A. Common uses today

- people talk about the "church" in several different
ways
- not all these ways are legitimate biblically,
but let's mention them quickly

1. a local congregation of professed believers

2. a denominational group of congregations (cf. the
Brethren church, the Baptist church, etc)

3. the universal body of true Christian believers

4. a building used for religious uses

INPUT - biblically speaking, which of these
legitimate? (2 and 4)

B. Biblical uses

- word church literally means "called out ones"
- from ek (out) and kalew (to call)
- cf. ecclesiology, ecclesiastical

- in the Bible, the word is used primarily in one of
two ways
1. "universal" church

a. definition - the spiritual body of all
Christians from the Day of Pentecost to the
rapture

b. biblical evidence

- predicted by Jesus - John 17:21

- fulfilled even in imperfect churches -
I Cor. 12:12, 13

- secured by the Holy Spirit - Eph. 1:3

- perpetuated by biblical living - Eph. 4:3
(keep, not make)

c. limitations

- there are two important things to remember
about the NT teaching regarding the
universal church
- 1) most of the uses of the word church speak
of the local church (which we'll study in
a moment), not the universal church
- therefore, don't take this doctrine
"to seed"
- 2) there are real limitations to the
universal church

1. it never meets in this age

2. it never makes decisions

3. it never administers ordinances

4. it never preaches or sends missionaries

2. the "local" church

a. this is the primary usage of the word "church"
in the NT (word used 115 times, refers to
local churches over 90 times)

b. definition - "a body of baptized believers
convening together for worship, growth,
fellowship, service, and to carry out the
commission given by its Head, Jesus Christ."

c. missions - as taught in the NT, is the making
of disciples and the organization of churches
for the above purpose

- now let's stop and think about some applications from what
we've been studying
- we're talking about a major Bible doctrine
- we're talking about the central focus of God's plan and
program in this age
- we're talking about a concept the Lord discussed over 90
times in the NT
INPUT - What kind of response should that produce in us?
(there are so many things clamoring for your time,
for your family's time
- does the local church have the same central
focus in your mind as it does in the mind of
God?

- is it apparent by your worship habits,
thinking habits, attendance habits, serving
habits, giving habits,
- the way you live - that the local
church has the proper place in
your life?

- men - does it have the proper place in the way
you're leading your family?
- some men have led their family into such
materialism that the family is too exhausted
to effectively serve and get involved.

- wives - does it have the proper place in the way
you function in the family?
- some wives will not develop the discipline
necessary to get up in the morning and get
things done so they are free to serve and get
involved.

- how about the goals you have for your kids?
- how important is to you that they have the right
view of the church?
- of the church leaders and programs?

- how are you going to handle it when your kids
get into youth group and decide they don't want
to be involved in this or that?
- what are you going to do if they have little
league games on Sundays that conflict with
service times?
- what are you going to do when they want to get a
job that will prevent them from attending or
being involved in church?