Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20041212.htm

APPLYING OUR CHURCH'S STATEMENT OF BIBLICAL FAITH
Article III, Part VII Of The Nepaug Bible Church Bylaws: The Church
B. Holding To The True Function Of The Biblical Local Church
(1 Tim. 3:15-16 with 4:13 and 2 Tim. 3:16-4:2; Matthew 28:19-20 with 1 Cor. 11:23-26; 2 Cor. 9:6-10 with 1 Cor. 16:1-3 and 3 John 5-8; Eph. 5:19-21 with Acts 2:42, Eph. 2:10 and Romans 12:3-8)
  1. Introduction
    1. Many local churches in Evangelicalism today are changing to make everything about them "appeal to the community" as a "seeker friendly" body. The belief behind this movement holds that the "traditional" Church is out-of-touch with the unsaved, so it must change to appeal to the lost in order to reach them.
    2. Yet, Article III, Part VII of our Church's Statement of Faith reflects the Scriptural purpose God has for local churches is different from that of a "seeker friendly" one as follows: "Until the return of Christ, we believe the local church should edify itself by fellowship with Christ and each other through the preaching and teaching of God's Word, singing, giving of testimonies, praying, the public reading of Scripture, doing good works, and supporting the work of God." We view the Biblical bases for this belief as follows:
  2. Holding To The True Function Of The Biblical Local Church, 1 Timothy 3:15-16 with 4:13, et al.
    1. Paul noted the local church as to its purpose was the "pillar and ground of the truth" that truth centers about the Person and Work of Christ, 1 Tim. 3:15-16 KJV. Thus, ALL that a LOCAL CHURCH should BE and DO must REVOLVE AROUND its upholding God's TRUTH as centered in CHRIST!
    2. Various New Testament passages show just how this purpose is to be realized (as follows):
      1. At the CORE of the local church's ministry must be the public reading of Scripture (anagnosei) with its preaching (paraklaysei) and teaching (didaskalia ), for Christ will judge the living and the dead at His appearing based on man's response to the ministry of His Word, 1 Tim. 4:13 with 2 Tim. 4:1-2.
      2. This ministry of the Word must be done with a "low key style" on the part of the speaker, an effort where he employs great patience and careful instruction (2 Tim. 3:16-4:2); only as he serves this way can there be peace in the hearer so that God's Spirit can effectively disciple the hearer (Jas. 3:1-17, 18).
      3. There are two ordinances to be practiced in the local church along with the ministry of the Word -- believer's baptism (Matthew 28:19-20 with Acts 8:35-36, 38) and the Lord's Table (1 Cor. 11:23-26).
      4. The local church is to support its own ministries by prayer and supplying materially through freewill offerings for the livelihood of its ministers of the Word, but only as those making the contributors are not pressured to give, 1 Cor. 9:9-10, 13-14 with 2 Cor. 9:6-10 and 1 Cor. 16:1-3; Eph. 6:18-19.
      5. This support is to be given also to credible missionaries and traveling evangelists, 3 John 5-8.
      6. In concert with the main focus on the Word named in 1 Tim. 3:15-16, the local church is to minister God's Word to edify its members through the means of music to God's glory, Eph. 5:19 with Col. 3:16.
      7. Then, church programs are to rise from its members who heed the ministry of the Word so that fellowship, worship and outreach result from such heeding, Acts 2:42-47; Ephesians 4:11-12, 13-16.
      8. Accordingly, each member of the local assembly is to serve the Lord (Ephesians 2:10), using his own spiritual gift (1 Pet. 4:10-11) to edify others in the body, Rom. 12:3-8. In this way, those who are gifted evangelists will reach the lost outside the local church, witnessing more effectively than those not thus specially gifted, and God will add to the local body such as should be saved, cf. Acts 2:46-47.
      9. This way, the lost can truly be discipled by a healthy, maturing local church, and the ministry of truly effective evangelism will then be effectively entrenched in that local church's secular community!
Lesson: (1) Truly effective local church ministry is found by the CHURCH'S RETAINING its SAVOR as the SALT of God's RIGHTEOUSNESS and the LIGHT of God's TRUTH in a savor less, dark world of sin and error (Matthew 5:13-16). (2) The local church must NOT then sacrifice it hold on God's righteousness and truth by becoming LIKE the world in its sin and error so as to try to reach the world in the futile carnal effort of "seeker friendlyism"; rather, it must RETAIN God's SAVOR and LIGHT!

Application: May we RESIST adopting a "seeker friendly" goal for our church, for that comes only as we SACRIFICE what makes our body TRULY effective in GOD'S might; rather, may we retain a "God friendly" FERVENCY that the LOST may have a WITNESS of the TRUTH to heed to be saved!