Tag Archives: Church

Being the Church of the First Century

Posted on by under Evangelism
Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Pexels.com

In the book of Acts there are several principles of church growth that we can study to see just how the church of the first century expanded.  They faced persecution, yet they grew.  They encouraged one another by their perseverance and actions.  They went to where the people were both physically and spiritually.  They preached Jesus to all they encountered.  What was the result?  The church continued to grow and multiply.

            If we want the church to grow now, could we not simply utilize these principles in our evangelism?  Rather than trying to mimic what denominational groups are doing to lure others into their building, would we not be better served in doing what these early disciples did to expand the church?

            We need to not let persecution, or the fear of it, stop us from getting the job done.  Does the fear of persecution keep us from opening our mouths to be a witness for Jesus?  Just because we may one day face imprisonment for speaking God’s word, does not give us an excuse to keep our mouth shut.

            We can all do something to encourage one another during our stay here.  Whether it is a call, a letter, an email, or a hug, we can all be a Barnabas to help others in their labor for Christ.  We may never know the impact that we have on others through our encouragement.  The work of ministry can be draining.  When we reach out and encourage those who are laboring with us, it makes a big difference.

            We need to meet people where they are, both physically and spiritually.  Just as Paul began at different places in his teaching of people from different backgrounds, we need to start where they are in the learning process.  Also, we must go where the people are.  We need to get out in the community to where the people are if we are going to have a chance to interact and influence them.

            We need to preach Jesus.  It does not matter the size of our building, nor the number of our congregation, nor the popularity of our preacher.  Those are not the things that endure.  What endures is Christ and His message.  We need to be witnesses of that.

How Many Are There?

Posted on by under Article

one-finger    Have you ever looked around and wondered why there are so many different religious organizations or churches in the world?  It seems that there are new religions popping up everyday in most places around our country.  What is even more confusing is that most of these religious groups are all teaching and preaching a different message.  In many ways the message of one group is a directly opposed to the message of another.  Can all of these be true to the directions of God?  Is God’s message to man really full of oppositions and contradictions?  Is truth relative?

     Consider what we find written in God’s word in Ephesians 4:4-6, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all (NKJV).”  Notice in this passage that there are many faiths (one) and as many bodies (one) as there are Lords and Gods (also just one).  We can also see that the body is the church by reading further in the Ephesian letter (Ephesians 5:23) and in the book of Colossians (Colossians 1:18, 24).

     Since we see in God’s word that there is just one body – just one church – then we should do all that we can to make sure that we are in that one church.  This is the church that Jesus promised to establish (Matthew 16:16-19).  This is the church that was established on that day of Pentecost in Jerusalem (Acts 2).  Back in the first century there was only one church that the believers were a part of.  There were not different denominations on every corner or on every street.  Let us strive to belong to that church that was built by God!

Kingdom Come?

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Left Behind CageMany of us are looking forward to Jesus’ return with great anticipation. Regarding that return, there are many who expect Christ to set up an earthly kingdom and reign from Jerusalem for 1,000 years. Indeed, later this week a new movie based on the popular “Left Behind” series opens in theaters, which espouses this idea of Jesus’ coming kingdom. Is this really what the Bible teaches, or is it just good fiction?  Let us look at just a few scriptures to ascertain the answer to that question.

Long ago Joel prophesied that in the last days God would pour His Spirit upon mankind (Joel 2:28ff). In Acts 2, Peter makes mention of Joel’s prophecy and says that they were living in those last days that Joel was referring to (Acts 2:16-21).  So we know from this that the last days began some 2,000 years ago on that day of Pentecost.  Additionally, we see that Jesus told those who were listening to Him that some of them would not experience death until they had seen the kingdom come with power (Mark 9:1).  Just prior to Jesus’ ascension He told His disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until they received power from the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5).  About a week later, they received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2.  Therefore, they received the power when the Spirit fell upon them.  When the power came the kingdom came.

Furthermore, in reviewing Daniel 2, and the explanation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, Daniel describes four earthly kingdoms. The first of these is Babylon, followed by the Medes and the Persians.  Later would be the Greeks and then the Roman Empire. Then Daniel states that in the days of those kings God would set up a kingdom that would never be destroyed (Dan. 2:44).  This is further confirmation that the kingdom would be established during the days of the Roman Empire and was also fulfilled on the day of Pentecost as described in Acts 2.  Just as Jesus told Pilot, His kingdom was not of this earth but that it was a spiritual kingdom (John 18:36).

So then, what do we learn by putting some of these scriptures together? We see that there were some who lived 2,000 years ago that were not going to die before the kingdom came with power.  We see that power came when the kingdom was established on the day of Pentecost, and we see that the kingdom is a spiritual kingdom which is the church.  Christ came to seek and save the lost and to add them to His kingdom, the church, and He was successful in that mission.  Therefore, the kingdom that we are to seek entry into has been established for the past 2,000 years, and it is the church which Jesus built (Mat.16:18).