May 19
26
THE
LOCAL CHURCH: A FELLOWSHIP OF BELIEVERS IN CHRIST
Luke sets before us an example of what every
local church should be, by
showing us what that early church at Jerusalem
was. “They continued
steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and
fellowship, and breaking of
bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). That
early assembly was a blessed
fellowship of believers in Christ. When the
Bible talks about the
fellowship of believers, it is not talking about
social gatherings or
church dinners; it is talking about a genuine
oneness of heart among
God’s people. Fellowship is unity of heart and
purpose. It is good to
get together physically in one place. We all
enjoy that. But it is
better to be united in heart. That is
fellowship.
Our fellowship as a church is fourfold, We enjoy
A DOCTRINAL FELLOWSHIP.
Like the early church, we continue steadfastly
in the apostles’
doctrine, the gospel of God’s sovereign, saving
grace in Christ. Nothing
is of greater importance to the local church
than our doctrinal
foundation. What we do and what we are as a
church is determined by what
we believe. If our fellowship with one another
is not built upon the
gospel, then we have no real fellowship. The one
thing that binds our
hearts together is the gospel of Christ. God has
also given us A
FRATERNAL FELLOWSHIP. We are brothers and
sisters in the family of God.
Few churches have been so blessed of God as we
are. I do not think I am
being presumptuous, when I say that we are one.
God has given us a sweet
fellowship of love, sympathy, understanding and
care. The Lord
graciously grants us FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRIST. The
Son of God himself
meets with us and makes himself known (Matt.
18:20). And in this place
we have been granted FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD. In our
songs of praise and our
prayers together, we draw near to the living
God, our Father, in true
fellowship! (I John 1:1-3). How we ought to
cherish, carefully guard,
and eagerly promote this fellowship:
Don fortner.
Doctrine and Doctrines
Clay Curtis
Doctrine means teaching or instruction.
Concerning Christ Jesus we read,
“And they were astonished at his
[DOCTRINE]: for he [TAUGHT] them as one
that had authority, and not as the scribes”
(Mar 1:22.)
Throughout scripture, the word
“doctrine” is almost always in the
singular when it describes God’s doctrine (Joh
7: 16, 17; 2 Joh 1: 9;
Rom 16: 17.) Usually, when the scriptures refer
to man’s teachings the
word is in the plural (Mat. 15:9; Mar 7: 7; Col
2: 22; I Tim 4: 1; Heb
13: 9.)
The doctrine of Christ is singular because no
matter the subject (or
where it is found in scripture) it is concerning
Christ Jesus the Son of
God whose person and office never changes. God’s
doctrine feeds the
appetite Christ gives. The appetite he gives in
spirit is for Christ
Jesus the same yesterday and today and forever.
The doctrines of men are
many because they feed only the flesh of men.
The appetites of men
change and vary from one moment to the next. So
do their doctrines.
Divers Doctrines
Divers doctrines are teachings invented by men
which offer a variety so
as to please men.
The pack of snacks mom brings home with all
different kinds of goodies
in it is called a—”variety” pack. It
has “various” flavors and colors
for whatever appeals to your taste or your eye
at the moment. Those are
“divers” snacks.
Man has invented a “variety” of
teachings concerning God, concerning
man’s condition and concerning salvation. Such
teachings are designed by
man to appeal to whatever men’s taste may be at
the moment because men
change. God’s doctrine is one. It does not
change. The teaching of God
is always, continually the same because it is
concerning Jesus Christ
the same yesterday and today and forever (Heb
13: 7-9.)
Strange Doctrines
Strange doctrines are teachings not found in God’s
word.
If you were lost and your father sent someone to
teach you the way to
get home that would be true doctrine. Yet,
someone else comes along
teaching a way which will carry you about from
the way your father
taught you. You know their teaching is “strange”
because it does not
agree with the word–the teaching or
doctrine–of your father.
God’s word is his doctrine sent down from
heaven. Any time you are
taught by men, compare what men teach to what
God teaches in his written
word. If what they instruct agrees with God it
is true doctrine; if what
they teach does not agree with God’s word, if it
is not in agreement
with the person and work of Christ Jesus, or if
it is foreign to the
teaching that salvation is by grace, then you
can be sure they are
teaching strange doctrines–be not carried about
(Heb 13: 9.)
The Gospel In Person – The Doctrine Of God
Tommy Robbins
“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be
an apostle, separated
unto the gospel of God, (Which He had promised
afore by His prophets in
the holy scriptures,) Concerning His Son Jesus
Christ our Lord …” Romans
1:1-3
Before the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ in
the flesh the gospel of
God was in promise by oath, or covenant, Christ
being the Surety and
Substance of that promise – “Who hath saved us,
and called us with an
holy calling, not according to our works, but
according to His own
purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ
Jesus before the world
began” 2Timothy 1:9.
HE IS THE PROMISE of the gospel. The gospel and
Christ are synonymous.
He is the mystery of the gospel revealed to His
people – “But we speak
the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden
wisdom, which God
ordained before the world unto our glory”
1Corinthians 2:7. The
preaching of the gospel is the declaration of
Christ, Who has come into
the world and effectually put away the sin of
His people by the
sacrifice of Himself.
The Lord Jesus Christ IS the Good News. Make no
mistake, if the message
which we preach is not saturated, permeated,
with the person of Christ,
we have not preached THE GOSPEL. He is our
doctrine! The Lord Jesus
Christ is not revealed in the doctrine of God,
the doctrine of God is
revealed in HIM! If we preach the Lord Jesus
Christ as He is revealed in
the scriptures our doctrine will be correct.
Confused? Let me simplify
it; “We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a
stumbling block, and
unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which
are called, both Jews
and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom
of God” 1Co 1:23-24.
The gospel is concerned with the Lord Jesus
Christ, all He is, all He
has done, and all He is doing. He has
preeminence in all things. It is
vital to be doctrinally correct. However, there
is no correct doctrine
apart from Christ our Lord. Whether one labels
me as a Calvinist or not,
is of no concern to me. I pray that it may be
said of all who hear me,
“He determined not to know any thing among you,
save Jesus Christ, and
Him crucified” 1Corinthians 2:2.
Beware Of False Prophets
“Beware of false prophets which come to you in
sheep’s clothing, but
inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know
them by their fruits.”
— Matthew 7:15-16
The Lord Jesus Christ, being the faithful
Shepherd that He is, warns us
much about ‘false prophets.’ Though a
frightening and uncomfortable
subject, yet it is so very needful. How did He
say these false prophets
would come? It is always in ‘sheep’s clothing’,
as ‘false brethren,
crept in unawares.’ It is not as out and out
imposters, but as one of
us. Judas was suspected by none. And how did our
Lord say these false
prophets would be known? “By their fruits.” They
will be found out and
exposed, not by out and out false doctrine, but
by that which their
so-called ministry produces . . . their fruit.
Apparently Judas’
preaching was doctrinally correct or else one of
the apostles would have
exposed him.
So, as for trying the spirits, are they
gathering or scattering the
sheep? Are the saints united by them or divided
over them? Are they
building up or tearing down. It behooves us to
try them for there are
many in these last days. And since ‘smooth words
and fair speeches
deceive the hearts of the simple’, let us not be
simple but wise in our
judgments. Remember, this dire warning is from
the Lord our Shepherd,
that we be not led away with the error of the
wicked. This will not
produce in us a suspicion of others but only
make manifest (clear) those
which are approved and those who are not.
Paul Mahan.
By the Prophets
Hebrews 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in
divers manners spake in time
past unto the fathers by the prophets . . .
The word prophet in the OT means, “spokesman,”
and is from a root word
which means “to speak under divine influence.”
Interesting that this
root word would come to be used for God’s
spokesmen and it is because if
a sinner is going to speak for God, God must
bless that sinner and
specially enable him to do so. 2Peter 1:21 For
the prophecy came not in
old time by the will of man: but holy men of God
spake [as they were]
moved by the Holy Ghost. In Hebrews 1:1 the
prophets are mentioned, but
it is God Who spoke. We see this same wording in
Luke 1:68 Blessed [be]
the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and
redeemed his people, 69
And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us
in the house of his
servant David; 70 As he spake by the mouth of
his holy prophets, which
have been since the world began.
No man has ever truly spoken for God, then or
now, that has not had a
message directly from God, and it has always
been the same message.
Everyone who is not preaching Christ and Him
crucified is just
pretending to speak for God. If the Holy Ghost
has anything to do with
it, it will be Christ alone. Let religious
zealots speak of “a message
for our day,” all they want. There has never
been but one message for
any day, and that is Christ Jesus, the
sovereign, effectual Redeemer of
sinners. While others are “sharing”
sensationalism under the misnomer of
“end time prophecy,” and rambling about what
sinners need to do for God,
His spokesmen will be doing what our Lord
Himself did while He was here:
Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the
prophets, he expounded
unto them in all the scriptures the things
concerning himself.
Chris Cunningham
If ever it could come to pass
That sheep of Christ might fall away,
My fickle, feeble soul, alas!
Would fall a thousand times a day;
I on Thy promises depend,
That Thou will love me to the end.
Joseph Hart
“And there appeared a great wonder in
heaven, a woman clothed with the
sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her
head a crown of twelve
stars.”—Rev. xii. 1.
My soul! as the beloved apostle was invited to
see those precious
visions, which the Lord favoured him with, for
the church’s good, so do
thou, this evening, attend his ministry, and
gather, under divine
teaching, instruction from this great wonder,
which John saw. Surely,
the woman here spoken of, means the church, the
Lamb’s wife, clothed in
her husband’s righteousness; and the moon, like
that planet which
ministers to our world, under her feet: and the
crown, with which her
head was adorned, sets forth how the church is
made glorious by the
ministry of the twelve apostles in the gospel of
salvation: for what can
be more suitable for the church to be crowned
with, than the blessed
truths contained in their writings? Now, my
soul, as every
representation of the church not only sets forth
the whole body at
large, but every individual member of that body,
ask thyself, hath this
wonder been wrought on thee, which John saw? Art
thou clothed with the
sun, even with Jesus, the sun of righteousness,
in his garment of
salvation? Hast thou mounted up, not in airy
speculations, not in any
fancied attainments of thine own, but in
heavenly mindedness after
Jesus, and devout communion with him; so that
the earth, with all its
perishing beauties, is got under thy feet? Hast
thou such views of the
blessedness and preciousness of the word of God,
the gospel of thy
salvation, that it is dearer to thee than gold,
yea, than all the crowns
of the earth? Pause, while these inquiries pass
over thy mind; and
surely, if the Lord, by the sovereignty of his
grace, hath wrought such
blessed effects upon thee, a great wonder is
indeed wrought in earth,
like that which John saw in heaven, and well
mayest thou stand amazed at
the greatness and the distinguishing nature of
salvation. “Lord! what am
I; and what is my father’s house?”
Robert Hawker The Poor Man’s Morning and Evening
Portions.
WHAT IS THE CHURCH?
From the Scriptures we know the church is
His body, His bride, the
people He loved and purchased with His own blood
that He sees as
glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such
thing. It is the church
of Christ, the church of God, the house of God,
the pillar and ground of
the Truth. It is that which He built and of
which He is the Head. It is
the ones He feeds, and walks in their midst, and
promises His presence.
It is the place from whose midst He sings. It is
the general assembly
and church of the firstborn whose names are
written in heaven. It is
that group of people of whom Christ said,“In as
much as ye have done it
to the least of these My brethren, you have done
it to Me.”We see how
important church is to Him. How important is it
to you?
Todd Nibert.
There are two vital things the Holy Spirit
reveals to all whom He brings
to faith in Christ Jesus.
1. He will reveal our NEED OF CHRIST! I need
Thee, precious Jesus, for I
am full of sin, my soul is dark and gloomy, my
heart is dead within; I
need the cleansing fountain where I can always
flee, the blood of Christ
most precious, the sinner’s perfect plea.
2. He will reveal that CHRIST IS ALL WE NEED!
“In Him dwelleth ALL the
fullness of the Godhead bodily and ye are
COMPLETE in Him.” He, of God,
is made unto me all I need. The more quickly we
learn that Christ is,
indeed, ALL we need to make us righteous and
accepted before God, the
sooner we will enjoy the rest, peace, and
assurance promised to His own.
Most of God’s elect are brought to Christ
earlier in life than the dying
thief, but all are redeemed and made righteous
EXACTLY AS HE WAS – by
the free grace of God, plus nothing, minus
nothing. ~Henry Mahan