We are God’s children, heirs according to the promise (Gal. 3:29), and as such we love our Lord and desire to do His will in all areas of our lives. Therefore, as members of His kingdom we purposed in our hearts to obey Christ (John 14:21), and to be sanctified by the word, which is truth from the mouth of God (John 17:17; 2 Tim. 3:16-17). The Lord is our sacrifice, our Redeemer and King. We seek to be of one spirit as Jesus and the Father were one as Jesus prayed: “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me”(John 17:20-21).
God’s Word leaves no doubt that the Lord’s blood bought church must be unified, not divided (Acts 20:28; Matt. 16:18). Paul wrote: , “let there be no divisions among you” (1Cor 1:10), and therefore as disciples of Christ Jesus we seek to be united in the one spirit through the written word so that all who are in the world may, by seeing our united faith, believe that Jesus is the Son of God, sent by God to build His church by one Spirit and one faith (Eph. 4:1-5). We are members of Christ’s everlasting church and we live to serve Him. He is the only Head of the church which is His body (Acts 2; Col. 1:24). We are not part of any denomination of which all have been established after Pentecost, and have heads / founders other than Christ. Search your Bible, look for another church named after someone other than Christ. You won’t find one!
As Christians only, it is our aim to do the work, God intended the church to do without addition or subtraction. The church is the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15) and its work is divine, great and glorious because the church is divine, great and glorious. Therefore, as blessed children we focus on the three works as ascribed in the Bible the pattern for the church.
(1) Evangelism: Mankind is lost in sin (Rom. 3:23) and the gospel is the only power to save (Rom. 1:16) therefore God wants the only gospel preached, and has given the obligation to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the church only. (Matt. 28:18-20; Mk. 16:15; 1 Cor. 1:21)
(2) Edification: Along with evangelism the apostles and prophets revealed the truth (Eph. 3:5), the evangelists are to proclaim the truth (2 Tim. 4:2) and the pastors (elders) are to see to it that the truth is taught in the church (Acts 20:28-31). It is the business of the church to ground and stabilize itself to prevent false doctrine from leading it astray (Col https://ed-hrvatski.com/kamagra/. 2:6-7). Paul wrote: “Let all things be done for edification” (1 Cor. 14:26). We must continually “add to our faith” (2 Peter 1:5) strengthening each other that may teach others (Heb. 5:12), and resist the Devil in all of his devices (Jas. 4:7; 1 Pet. 5: 9; 2 Cor. 2:11).
(3) Benevolence: God limits the saints concerning whom “the church“ may help. Listen to Paul: “If any believing man or woman has widows, let them relieve them, and do not let the church be burdened, that it may relieve those who are really widows” (1 Tim. 5:16). God says we are to take care of our own, and not burden “the church”, so that “the church” can relieve those saints who have no one to care for them. If we do not provide for our own, we are worse than an infidel (1 Tim. 5:8). The reason “the church” is in quotes is because there is here a clear difference between “the church” and the individual “man or woman“. We see example of the church at Jerusalem which relieved the needs of its destitute members who remained in Jerusalem after their conversion to the Lord (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-35). At another time, when the saints of the Jerusalem church became destitute and in want, churches in Macedonia, Achaia and Galatia sent money to alleviate the need at Jerusalem. We read, “For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem” (Rom. 15:26). We can clearly see that when a need arose among the people of God, the church rallied to their aid. Brethren were concerned for one another and they demonstrated their love by giving to help their physical wants. We reflect the same interest for each other.
As His church we are Christians only, and we come together to worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24) according to the Scriptures. Our desire is to be the church according to the pattern He gives, as record in the New Testament (2 Tim. 1:13). We are members of the church Jesus built which is His body of which He is the only head (Eph. 1:22-23). It is our desire to respect the body of Christ by living soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world according to His commands. We desire to give honor and glory to His holy name by loving one another and being a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but to be holy and without blame (Eph. 5:27).
Please accept our invitation to learn and worship with us. We offer Bible only sound doctrine of Christ, the only way which leads us on the path to eternal life. [Our Meeting Times]
In Christian Love
Evangelist Dave Scarpino