RFBC New Member Class

Joseph Duerr

New Member Class • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

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SECTION ONE: HISTORY AND CHURCH OVERVIEW

History of Reedy Fork Baptist Church

Reedy Fork Baptist Church, probably so named for the small stream that flows southward a few hundred yards beyond the church property, is ten miles south of Greenville, just off of Highway 25.

Worship services began here in about 1868 in a brush arbor built almost on the very spot of land where the present church is located. The land was given by Mr. James Ashmore and Mr. William Linderman. Services were held once a month, the fourth Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. The early services were conducted by William Ballard, Terry Nelson, and Rev. H.L. Henderson as moderator.

The group moved into the Reedy Fork schoolhouse where the first church was formally organized. The first deacons were W.H. Ashmore and J.H. Pinson. W.A. Bayne was the first clerk. A complete list of charter members is not available because some early records were destroyed by fire.

In the 1870’s the congregation outgrew the one-room schoolhouse, and during the pastorate of Rev J.T. Singleton, the church voted to build a larger house of worship just west of the schoolhouse. The material for this church building was given by the members and labor was done by men of the church and community.Their building soon became crowded again, and plans were made to sell the old building but reserve the seats, windows, doors, organ, pulpit-stand and lamps.

As before, the members furnished material and labor for a larger building. This time new names were among the members who gave lumber. They were W.T. Riddle, J.Q. Cox, Robert Holcombe, J.H. Whitten, James Davenport, John Davenport, G.W. Hawkins, J.R. Henderson, J.P. Bayne, J.S. Scott, and others.The first record of Sunday School, although it was said one was in progress before, was in the minutes of 1898 when Mr. J.M. Riddle was Superintendent, with an enrollment of 80, and an average attendance of 60. Literature was listed as costing $1.20.

The membership continued to grow, and in minutes of the early 1890’s, names shown to be active in church were Hendersons, Blakelys, Carrs, Rays, and Clarks. The growth in membership made it necessary to enlarge the church building once again. This small building was sold and proceeds used for helping with a new auditorium. Rev. A.E. Howard was called as pastor and work on the new building was begun in the fall of 1903.

On May 20, 1904, the new auditorium was dedicated.In the year 1911, the church called Rev. John N. wren as pastor. Rev. Wren was a half-brother of one of the most faithful members of the church, Mrs. Jennie Wren Carr. The report was sent to the Association in 1912 was the best that had heretofore been sent. When Rev. Wren resigned, Rev. R.G. Lee serves as pastor for six months.Reve J.G. Wilsom was pastor from 1921 to 1923. He was Reedy Fork’s first pastor to receive an indefinite call, with a set salary of $300 per year.

In 1922 the church voted to have services two Sundays a month. By 1925 the membership had grown and the need for more Sunday School room was evident. Six Sunday School rooms were added to the auditorium. Mr. J.H. carr and Mr. J.P. Bayne supervised the work.Dr. S.H. Jones came as the pastor in 1925. He was a ministerial student at Furman when he was called, and in 1928 left to enroll in New Orleans Seminary.

On December 12, 1937, immediately following the worship service, the entire church was burned to the ground. Members at once made plans to rebuild. Rev. G.Glenn Bolch was the pastor at the time. The building was started in late December and completed in April. Meanwhile, services were held at the St. Albans schoolhouse. The first service was held in the new building on April 24, 1938. At that time, there were 230 enrolled in Sunday School, 350 on the resident church roll, and 105 enrolled in Training Union.

The WMU was A-1, with Mrs. Nellie Blakely Ashmore as its president. The church had grown so large now that the pastor, Rev. P.J. Mabry, moved on the field where he could better serve his people. It was in 1941, while Rev. Mabry was here that the new debt-free, well-equipped auditorium and Sunday School plant were dedicated.Next the church voted to build a parsonage on the church property, and in 1945, Rev. A.A. Young moved into the new pastor’s home.

In January 1947, the church voted to build an Educational Building and renovate the auditorium. Mr. Young was the last pastor to use the baptistery down the path from the church to the stream near Mr. F.D. Taylor’s home. Where baptismal services had been held for many years.The next pastor was Rev. R.C. Eustace who served for almost a quarter of a century. He came December, 1948 and retired February 1, 1970. While serving as pastor of Reedy Fork, Rev. Eustace performed more than 100 weddings, and more than 150 funerals. His ministry was characterized by concern, and he and his beloved wife always on hand to comfort, encourage, or rejoice with all those who were concerned.

In July 1959, when the Sunday School average attendance was 225, Training Union 75, and church membership 375, the church voted to build a new sanctuary and make more classrooms for Sunday School. On Easter Sunday 1960, the first service was held in the new building. On May 7, 1961, Homecoming and Dedication for this new building was held.

The church entered its second century under the leadership of Rev. C. Dillard Alexander, who became pastor August 1, 1970. During his pastorate the church bought 21 acres of land across from the church, and a new pastorium was completed. Also, the church called Jim Garrison as minister of music and he remained in this position until May 1985. During his years of service he led three active choirs.

In January 1975, Rev. James Holston, Jr. became pastor. The church voted to move the old parsonage and build a new educational building and gymnasium. This work was begun in 1979, with the following men serving on the building committee: Buford Landers, Bobby Campbell, Joe Hayes, M.O. Howard, Jr., and Bill Tadlock. The first Sunday in December 1979, the new building was dedicated which housed a pastor’s study, five Sunday School rooms including a well-equipped nursery, a Family Life Center, kitchen, and a gymnasium.The auditorium was redecorated with carpet, pew cushions, and a new sound system installed. A paved parking lot was added.

In April 1975, a Young-at-Heart group for senior citizens was organized and has grown to be one of the most active organizations in the church. They hold a luncheon meeting once a month at the church.Rev. Holston resigned in September 1983 and Rev. Harry Lee Thomas served as interim pastor until July 1984 when Rev. Ike N. Patterson began his ministry at Reedy Fork. There were 46 additions to our membership in his first year: 33 by letter and 13 by baptism.Scott Ferrell was called as music director May 1985 and ran three active choirs. Reedy Fork has a rich and glorious history of serving God. Her members have maintained the conviction that God was in the establishment of the church and that her foundations are both safe and secure. To those who come after us, may this history serve as a reminder of enduring values which must be preserved if our Lord’s church at Reedy Fork is to fulfill the destiny for which she was called into being.

Mission and Purpose

We exist to glorify God by making disciples in our community and around the world.

Our Mission is to follow the Great Commandment () and to fulfill the Great Commission ().

Our Purposes: Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry and Evangelism.

Our Vision: Loving God and loving people both locally and globally.

Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry and Evangelism.Our Vision: Loving God and loving people both locally and globally.

Current Leadership

Dr. Bob Whaley, Senior Pastor

Rev. Barry Agnew, Minister of Children and Youth

Mr. Tony Legere, Interim Minister of Music

Ms. Meg Patton, Ministry Assistant

Mr. Otis Forrest, Pianist

Mr. Pat Cannon, Organist

Ms. Mandy Agnew, Minister of Media

Deacons

Joe Duerr, Chair

Doug Rice, Vice Chair

Mike Pair, Secretary/Treasurer

Hank Brown

Wenifredo Daguimol

Richard Daniels

Ron Ferguson

Jeff Garrison

• Jeff Garrison

Mark Holcombe

Mike Morgan

Tim Owings

Dennis Poole

• Dennis Poole

Service Times

Adult

Sunday School | 10:00am

Sunday Morning Worship | 11:00am

Wednesday Night Meal | 5:45pm

Wednesday Night Services | 6:30pm

Children (through grade 5)

Sunday Mornings: Nursery, Preschool and Grades 1-5 meet at 10:00AM for Sunday School.

Children's Church is offered during the 11:00AM Morning Worship service.

Wednesday Nights: During the school year we offer AWANA for Pre-K - Grade 5. These classes meet at 6:30pm in our children's area. During the summer we have various activities offered for these age groups.

Youth (grade 6-12)

Sunday mornings at 10:00am for Bible study.

Wednesday Nights after dinner(5:45pm) at 6:30pm for Youth Worship Service and Small Groups.

Section Two: Doctrines, part 1

Section Two: Doctrines

What Is God Like?

Just as Scripture is the highest source of information about itself, God is the highest source of information about himself. That makes sense, for if there was a higher source of information about God, then God wouldn’t be God.

God Is Knowable

We will never fully know God. He is infinite and we are finite. “His greatness is unsearchable,” too great to ever be fully known (). “His understanding is beyond measure” (). God’s knowledge is “too wonderful” for us; it is so high, we “cannot attain it” (), and if we could count God’s thoughts, we would find them greater in number than the sands of the earth ( ).

Psalm 145:3 NIV

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.

Psalm 147:5 NIV

Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.

Psalm 139:6 NIV

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Psalm 139:17–18 NIV

How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you.

Psalm 147:5 ESVGreat is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.

Psalm 139:6 ESVSuch knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

Psalm 139:17–18 ESVHow precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.

While we will never fully know God, we can personally know God. Jesus said eternal life was found in knowing him and knowing “the only true God” who sent him (). This is far better than simply knowing about God. In fact, in , God says, “Let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me.”

John 17:3 NIV

Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

Jeremiah 9:24 NIV

but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 9:24 ESVbut let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

God Is Independent of Creation

God’s independence means he doesn’t actually need us or anything else in creation for anything. He did not create us because he was lonely or needed fellowship with other people. Look at .

Acts 17:24–25 NIV

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.

God always was. He was not created; he never came into being. The psalmist writes, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God” ().

Psalm 90:2 NIV

Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

God Is Unchangeable

God is unchangeable in his being, attributes, purposes, and promises. The psalmist praises God for being the same (; ). When God stays the same in his being and attributes it is in direct contrast to us: Our beings will change and our attributes will change. God, on the other hand, will stay the same forever.

God Is Eternal

God, being eternal, has no beginning or end or succession of events in his own being. He has always existed. He is the first and last, the beginning and the end (). Jude tells us that “glory, majesty, dominion, and authority” were God’s “before all time” as well as “now and forever” ().

Revelation 1:8 NIV

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Jude 25 NIV

to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Jude 25 ESVto the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

God Is Omnipresent

Just as God is unlimited with regard to time, he is also present in every point of space with his whole being. He cannot be limited by material space because he created it (; ).

Genesis 1:1 NIV

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Psalm 139:7–10 NIV

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

God is present to keep the universe existing and functioning the way he intended it to. In Christ, “all things hold together” (). Christ is continually upholding “the universe by the word of his power” ().

Psalm 139:7–10 ESVWhere shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

Colossians 1:17 NIV

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Hebrews 1:3 NIV

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

Hebrews 1:3 ESVHe is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

God Is Spirit

Jesus affirmed that God is in no way limited to a spatial location when he said, “God is spirit” (). God exists in such a way that his being is not made of any matter. He has no parts, no size, and no dimensions.

John 4:24 NIV

God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

Paul tells us those who are “joined to the Lord” become “one spirit with him” (). As one spirit with God, his Holy Spirit within us bears witness to our status as his adopted children (). When we die, if we are joined with him, our spirit will return “to God who gave it” ( ).

1 Corinthians 6:17 NIV

But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

Romans 8:16 NIV

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 NIV

and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Romans 8:16 ESVThe Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

Ecclesiastes 12:7 ESVand the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

God Is Invisible

Because God is spirit, God is also invisible. “No one has ever seen God” (John 1:18). Nor will anyone ever be able to see God’s total essence or all of his spiritual being.

Although no one can ever see God’s total essence, which is invisible, God has at times chosen to show something of himself to people through visible, created things, and especially through the person of Jesus Christ.

God Is Omniscient

God “knows everything” (). In one simple and eternal act, he fully knows himself and all actual and possible things. He knows all things that exist and all that happens.

1 John 3:20 NIV

If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

God is always, at all times, fully aware of everything. His knowledge never changes or grows. Nothing surprises him; nothing is hidden from him. From all eternity God has known all things that would happen and all things that he would do.

God Is Holy

“The Lord our God is holy” (). That means he is separated from sin and devoted to seeking his own honor. God is often called the “Holy One of Israel” (, for example). God’s holiness provides the pattern his children are to imitate. As he says in , “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”

Psalm 99:9 NIV

Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy.

Psalm 71:22 NIV

I will praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, my God; I will sing praise to you with the lyre, Holy One of Israel.

Leviticus 19:2 NIV

“Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

Psalm 71:22 ESVI will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.

Leviticus 19:2 ESV“Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are to “strive … for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (). The author of Hebrews tells us that God disciplines his children so that they “may share his holiness” ().

Hebrews 12:14 NIV

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

Hebrews 12:10 NIV

They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.

As we are being made holy, individually and as members of the church (), we anticipate the day when all things in heaven and on earth will be separated from evil, purified from sin, and devoted solely to seeking God’s honor with true moral purity ( ).

Ephesians 5:26–27 NIV

to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

Zechariah 14:20–21 NIV

On that day holy to the Lord will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar. Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the Lord Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord Almighty.

God Is Omnipotent

God is omnipotent. He is all powerful. He is able to do all his holy will. There are no limits on what he decides to do. He “is able,” Paul tells us, “to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (). As Jesus says, “With God all things are possible” ().

Ephesians 3:20 NIV

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

Matthew 19:26 NIV

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

God’s power is infinite. But there are some things God cannot do. He can neither will nor do anything that denies his own character. For example, he cannot lie (), he cannot be tempted with evil (), and he cannot deny himself (). Therefore, God’s use of his infinite power is qualified by his other attributes.

Titus 1:2 NIV

in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,

James 1:13 NIV

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;

2 Timothy 2:13 NIV

if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

As we imitate God by utilizing the limited power he has given us to accomplish the things he desires us to do, we show a faint reflection of his infinite power, and thus we bring him glory.

Matthew 19:26 ESVBut Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Titus 1:2 ESVin hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began

James 1:13 ESVLet no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.

Each of God’s attributes represents one aspect of his character; they each provide us with a perspective on who he is. And they also provide us with some perspective on who he has made us to be.

2 Timothy 2:13 ESVif we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.

As we imitate God by utilizing the limited power he has given us to accomplish the things he desires us to do, we show a faint reflection of his infinite power, and thus we bring him glory.Each of God’s attributes represents one aspect of his character; they each provide us with a perspective on who he is. And they also provide us with some perspective on who he has made us to be.

Questions for Review and Application

What are some attributes that God most clearly shares with us? What are some attributes he doesn’t share very much with us? Name one attribute of God that you would like to imitate more fully in your daily life and tell why.

Can you tell what some of the dangers would be in considering one of God’s attributes more important than all the others?

Which of God’s attributes seem most amazing to you? What have you learned about God through this attribute?

Who Is Jesus Christ?

In the person of Jesus God physically entered into our world. An infinite God came to live in a finite world. In Jesus God and man became one person, a person unlike anyone else the world has ever seen or will ever see. Jesus Christ was, and forever will be, fully God and fully man in one person. And that one person changed the course of history forever.

Jesus—Fully Man

Jesus was fully and completely human. He was conceived in the womb of his mother by a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit. This is made clear in . Jesus was born of a human mother. His ordinary human birth affirms his humanity.

Matthew 1:18 NIV

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

Just as we have a human body, so did Jesus. As a child, he “grew and became strong” (), and as he grew older, he “increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (). He became “wearied” from a journey (); after a fast, “he was hungry” (); and while on the cross, he said, “I thirst” (). His body was, in every respect, just like ours.

Luke 2:40 NIV

And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.

Luke 2:52 NIV

And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

John 4:6 NIV

Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

Just as we have a human body, so did Jesus. As a child, he “grew and became strong” (Luke 2:40), and as he grew older, he “increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). He became “wearied” from a journey (John 4:6); after a fast, “he was hungry” (Matt. 4:2); and while on the cross, he said, “I thirst” (John 19:28). His body was, in every respect, just like ours.

Matthew 4:2 NIV

After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

John 19:28 NIV

Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”

Jesus rose from the dead in a physical, human body that was no longer subject to weakness, disease, or death.

Luke 2:52 ESVAnd Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

John 4:6 ESVJacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.

Refer to ). Jesus continues to reside in this perfect but human body in heaven.

Matthew 4:2 ESVAnd after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

John 19:28 ESVAfter this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.”

Jesus rose from the dead in a physical, human body that was no longer subject to weakness, disease, or death. As he told his disciples, who were astonished at the risen Christ, “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (). Jesus continues to reside in this perfect but human body in heaven.

Luke 24:39 NIV

Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

Jesus was like us in every respect but one: he was without sin. That is why at the end of his life he could say, “I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love” (). That is why Paul refers to Jesus as “him … who knew no sin” (). Peter tells us that Jesus “committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth” (). John tells us that “in him there is no sin” (). Clearly, Jesus is “one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” ().

John 15:10 NIV

If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

1 Peter 2:22 NIV

“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

Jesus was like us in every respect but one: he was without sin. That is why at the end of his life he could say, “I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love” (John 15:10). That is why Paul refers to Jesus as “him … who knew no sin” (2 Cor. 5:21). Peter tells us that Jesus “committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth” (1 Peter 2:22). John tells us that “in him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). Clearly, Jesus is “one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15).

1 John 3:5 NIV

But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.

Hebrews 4:15 NIV

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

Jesus had to be fully human to serve as our perfectly obedient representative. His representative obedience as a man is in contrast to Adam’s representative disobedience. Paul says that “as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (). If Jesus wasn’t fully human, his obedience in our place would be meaningless.

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESVFor our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

1 Peter 2:22 ESVHe committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.

1 John 3:5 ESVYou know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

Romans 5:19 NIV

For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

Hebrews 4:15 ESVFor we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Jesus had to be fully human to serve as our perfectly obedient representative. His representative obedience as a man is in contrast to Adam’s representative disobedience. Paul says that “as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (Rom. 5:19). If Jesus wasn’t fully human, his obedience in our place would be meaningless.

Just as Jesus had to be human to live in our place, he also had to be human to die in our place. This was necessary because of our humanity. As tells us, “He had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” If Jesus weren’t fully human, his death in our place would be meaningless.

Hebrews 2:17 NIV

For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

Just as Jesus had to be human to live in our place, he also had to be human to die in our place. This was necessary because of our humanity. As Hebrews 2:17 tells us, “He had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” If Jesus weren’t fully human, his death in our place would be meaningless.

In addition, Jesus’ humanity (as well as his deity) allows him to serve as the “one mediator between God and men” (). It also means that as a man, he was “in every respect … tempted as we are” and so is able to “sympathize with our weaknesses” (). “Because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” ().

1 Timothy 2:5 NIV

For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,

Hebrews 4:15 NIV

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

In addition, Jesus’ humanity (as well as his deity) allows him to serve as the “one mediator between God and men” (1 Tim. 2:5). It also means that as a man, he was “in every respect … tempted as we are” and so is able to “sympathize with our weaknesses” (Heb. 4:15). “Because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (Heb. 2:18).

Hebrews 2:18 NIV

Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Hebrews 4:15 ESVFor we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Hebrews 2:18 ESVFor because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Jesus—Fully God

As we stated earlier, Jesus was conceived in the womb of his mother by a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit. Again, this is made clear in . Jesus’ virgin birth was a supernatural work of God. Through the work of the Holy Spirit inside Jesus’ mother, Mary, the human and the divine were united in a way they never will be in any other person.

Matthew 1:18 NIV

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

When asked if he had seen Abraham, Jesus responded by saying, “Before Abraham was, I am” (). Those who heard him say this “picked up stones to throw at him” (), which is what any self-respecting religious leader would have done if someone claimed to be God. They understood that Jesus was claiming the same title God claimed for himself in —“I am who I am.”

John 8:57–58 NIV

“You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!” “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

John 8:59 NIV

At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Exodus 3:14 NIV

God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”

In , Jesus says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” This is very similar to what God the Father said at the beginning of the same book: “ ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty’ ” ().

John 8:59 ESVSo they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

Revelation 22:13 NIV

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

Exodus 3:14 ESVGod said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”

Revelation 1:8 NIV

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

In Revelation 22:13, Jesus says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” This is very similar to what God the Father said at the beginning of the same book: “ ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty’ ” (Rev. 1:8).

Revelation 1:8 ESV“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Questions for Review and Application

Jesus is fully God. What are some ways that this encourages you?

Jesus is fully man. What are some ways that this encourages you?

Who is the Holy Spirit?

The fact that the Holy Spirit is a person is seen in a multitude of ways in Scripture. One of the primary evidences is that the Bible repeatedly and consistently uses personal pronouns to refer to Him. He is called “He,” “Him,” and so on, not “it.” Also, He does things that we associate with personality.

He teaches, He inspires, He guides, He leads, He grieves, He convicts us of sin, and more. Impersonal objects do not behave in this manner. Only a person can do these things.

Acts 13:2 NIV

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

Acts 13:2 NIVWhile they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

But the Holy Spirit is seen in Scripture not merely as personal but also as fully divine. We see this in a curious story from the book of

But the Holy Spirit is seen in Scripture not merely as personal but also as fully divine. We see this in a curious story from the book of Acts 5:1-4

Acts 5:1–4 NIV

Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”

The sin of Ananias and Sapphira was that they pretended that their donation to the church was greater than it was. Peter concluded by saying, “You have not lied to man but to God.” So, the lie that Ananias told to the Holy Spirit was actually told to God. The clear implication is that the Holy Spirit is God.

ATTRIBUTES AND WORKS OF GOD

Furthermore, the New Testament often describes the Holy Spirit as having attributes that are clearly divine. For instance, the Holy Spirit is eternal () and omniscient (). These are both attributes of God. Moreover, they are incommunicable attributes, attributes of God that cannot be shared by man.

Hebrews 9:14 NIV

How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

1 Corinthians 2:10–11 NIV

these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

But none of these things avail for our benefit until they are applied to us personally.

1 Corinthians 2:10–11 NIVthese are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

But none of these things avail for our benefit until they are applied to us personally.

The Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit into the world to apply salvation to us (; ). The role of the Holy Spirit chiefly and principally in the New Testament is to apply the work of Christ to believers.

John 15:26 NIV

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.

Galatians 4:6 NIV

Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”

Galatians 4:6 NIVBecause you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”

FROM SPIRITUAL DEATH TO LIFE

It is very important that we have an accurate understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit in spiritual rebirth. One of the best places to gain such an understanding is in . We read there:

Ephesians 2:1–6 NIV

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

He declares that Christians have been “made alive.” But if they are now alive, what were they previously? They were “dead in trespasses and sins.” So, Paul is talking about some kind or resurrection, a transformation of people who are dead to new life.We need to understand what kind of death is in view here. Paul is not talking about physical resurrection because he is not talking about physical death. In His conversation with Nicodemus, after He explained that no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit, Jesus said in John 3:6-8

We need to understand what kind of death is in view here. Paul is not talking about physical resurrection because he is not talking about physical death. In His conversation with Nicodemus, after He explained that no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit, Jesus said in

John 3:6–8 NIV

Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

We are dead on arrival spiritually—not just weak, ailing, critically ill, or comatose. There is no spiritual heartbeat, no spiritual breathing, no spiritual brain-wave activity. We are spiritually stillborn, and so we remain—unless God the Holy Spirit makes us alive.

“ANOTHER HELPER”

In the upper room on the night before His crucifixion, Jesus gave His disciples some important promises regarding the Spirit. He told them that He was about to depart and that they could not go with Him. Look at

John 14:16 NIV

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—

Some translations use the word “Comforter” instead of “Helper.” The Greek word that is translated as “Helper” or “Comforter” is parakletos; it is the source of the English word paraclete. This word includes a prefix, para-, that means “alongside,” and a root that is a form of the verb kletos, which means “to call.” So, a parakletos was someone who was called to stand alongside another. That is the way it is in our relationship with the Holy Spirit. We are part of the family of God, and the family attorney is the Holy Spirit Himself. He is always present to come alongside us and help in times of troubles.Consider what the Disciples were facing: They were going to be without Him in the midst of a hostile world, where they would be hated as He had been hated. Every moment of their lives would be filled with pressure, hostility, and persecution from the world. No one wants to enter that kind of scenario without help.The Holy Spirit comes to empower and strengthen Christians, to ensure victory or conquest.

That is the way it is in our relationship with the Holy Spirit. We are part of the family of God, and the family attorney is the Holy Spirit Himself. He is always present to come alongside us and help in times of troubles.

Consider what the Disciples were facing: They were going to be without Him in the midst of a hostile world, where they would be hated as He had been hated. Every moment of their lives would be filled with pressure, hostility, and persecution from the world. No one wants to enter that kind of scenario without help.

The Holy Spirit comes to empower and strengthen Christians, to ensure victory or conquest.

The Sanctifier

Among the persons of the Trinity, the Spirit is the principal actor who works for our sanctification, enabling the process by which we are conformed to the image of Christ and made holy. Look at ; ;

Romans 15:16 NIV

to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:5 NIV

For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope.

1 Peter 1:2 NIV

who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

The primary leading of the Spirit, as set forth in Scripture, is to holiness. It is His power working in us that helps us grow in holiness.

We need to be very careful to go to the pages of the Scripture to learn about God’s will and the leading of the Spirit, and not simply to listen to the popular teachings of the Christian subculture in which we live. So, a primary reason why the Holy Spirit is called the Holy Spirit is because it is His specific task to enable followers of Christ in their quest for sanctification.

Galatians 5:5 NIVFor through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope.

1 Peter 1:2 NIVwho have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Questions for Review and Application

What are three things the Holy Spirit provides for us?

What Is the Trinity?

Sometimes people use three different names when referring to God: God or Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. But these are more than simply different names for one person; they are, in fact, the names of three very distinct persons.

But even though God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit have eternally existed as three distinct persons, there is only one God.

This is called the doctrine of the Trinity. The idea of three persons and only one God is difficult to understand completely. Even so, it is one of the most important ideas of the Christian faith.

The Bible’s View of the Trinity

The word “trinity” is never found in the Bible, but the idea represented by the word is affirmed in many places. Look at :

Matthew 3:16–17 NIV

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

At this moment, all three members of the Trinity were performing three distinct activities: God the Father was speaking, God the Son was being baptized, and God the Holy Spirit was resting on the Son.

Similarly, when Jesus sent his disciples out to do their work, he commanded them to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” ().

Matthew 28:19 NIV

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

In saying this, Jesus is affirming that all three members of the Trinity are distinct in their personhood (the Father can’t be the Son, for example). also affirms the three distinct persons in the Trinity: “Pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Jude 20–21 NIV

But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Jude 20–21 ESVBut you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

The Meaning of the Trinity

Because God is three distinct persons, the Father is not the Son or the Holy Spirit, the Son is not the Father or the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father or the Son. This was demonstrated through a number of passages above.

Each of the persons of the Trinity is fully God. God the Father’s deity is shown from the first verse of the Bible—“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” ()—and throughout the pages of Scripture. When the Bible refers simply to God, more often than not it is referring to God the Father.

Genesis 1:1 NIV

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

But God the Son, who came to earth as Jesus Christ, is also fully God. Look at , and Jesus’ disciple Thomas’ response in . In fact, John said he wrote his gospel so that people would “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” ().

Colossians 2:9 NIV

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,

John 20:28 NIV

Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

John 20:31 NIV

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Finally, God the Holy Spirit is also fully God. Peter confirms this view when he accuses someone of lying “to the Holy Spirit” () and then further explains that this man has “not lied to men but to God” (). The Spirit, Paul says, is omniscient like God the Father when he writes, “No one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” ().

Acts 5:3 NIV

Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?

John 20:28 ESVThomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

John 20:31 ESVbut these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Acts 5:4 NIV

Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”

Finally, God the Holy Spirit is also fully God. Peter confirms this view when he accuses someone of lying “to the Holy Spirit” (Acts 5:3) and then further explains that this man has “not lied to men but to God” (Acts 5:4). The Spirit, Paul says, is omniscient like God the Father when he writes, “No one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 2:11).

1 Corinthians 2:11 NIV

For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

Acts 5:4 ESVWhile it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.”

1 Corinthians 2:11 ESVFor who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

But the Bible is also clear that there is only one God and not three. The Bible says that God is only one essence or one being. Look at ; ; ; ; and

Deuteronomy 6:4 NIV

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Isaiah 45:5 NIV

I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me,

Romans 3:30 NIV

since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.

1 Timothy 2:5 NIV

For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,

James 2:19 NIV

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

The Trinity is one of those mysteries we can only describe in part. Nothing in creation is exactly like God’s being. Attempts to simplify or fully explain this mystery all fail and often lead to beliefs that are contrary to the Bible’s teachings. In short, the doctrine of the Trinity is something we will never fully understand, for parts of it are beyond our comprehension.

Isaiah 45:5 ESVI am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me,

Romans 3:30 ESVsince God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

1 Timothy 2:5 ESVFor there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

James 2:19 ESVYou believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

The Distinct Roles of the Trinity

All three members of the Trinity have different roles. For example, in creation we know that God spoke the earth into being (). But tells us that God the Son carried out those words. And, as tells us, the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters, sustaining and manifesting God’s presence in creation.

Genesis 1:9–10 NIV

And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

John 1:3 NIV

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

Genesis 1:2 NIV

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Different roles within the Trinity can also be seen in our salvation. God the Father sent His Son in order that the world might be saved through him through His death, burial, and resurrection (). It was the Father’s will that Jesus die for our sins so that we didn’t have to ().

John 3:16–17 NIV

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Hebrews 10:10 NIV

And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

When Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, he and the Father sent the Holy Spirit to bring completion to the work the Father and the Son had started ( and ).

John 14:26 NIV

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

John 16:7 NIV

But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

Hebrews 10:10 ESVAnd by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

John 14:26 ESVBut the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

John 16:7 ESVNevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

Questions for Review and Application

Can you name three or four key passages of Scripture that tell us about the Trinity? What exactly do these passages tell us about the Trinity?

Why do all analogies fail in their ability to fully explain the Trinity? Does this mean we should try to come up with an analogy that works? Why or why not?

How do the different ways the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit relate to each other provide us with a model for the ways we are to relate to each other?

Why do all analogies fail in their ability to fully explain the Trinity? Does this mean we should try to come up with an analogy that works? Why or why not?

How do the different ways the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit relate to each other provide us with a model for the ways we are to relate to each other?

BREAK - 15 MINUTES

What Is the Bible?

Any responsible look at a single Christian belief should be based on what God says about that subject. Therefore, as we begin to look at a series of basic Christian beliefs, it makes sense to start with the basis for these beliefs—God’s words, or the Bible. God’s opinion of his words can be broken down into four general categories: authority, clarity, necessity, and sufficiency.

The Authority of the Bible

All the words in the Bible are God’s words. Therefore, to disbelieve or disobey them is to disbelieve or disobey God himself.

Oftentimes, passages in the Old Testament are introduced with the phrase, “Thus says the Lord” . This phrase, understood to be like the command of a king, indicated that what followed was to be obeyed without challenge or question.

Even the words in the Old Testament not attributed as direct quotes from God are considered to be God’s words. Paul, in , makes this clear when he writes that “all Scripture is breathed out by God.”

2 Timothy 3:16 NIV

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

The New Testament also affirms that its words are the very words of God. In , Peter refers to all of Paul’s letters as one part of the “Scriptures.” This means that Peter, and the early church, considered Paul’s writings to be in the same category as the Old Testament writings. Therefore, they considered Paul’s writings to be the very words of God.

2 Peter 3:16 NIV

He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

The Bible says there are “many ways” () in which the actual words of the Bible were written. Sometimes God spoke directly to the author, who simply recorded what he heard (, , ).

Hebrews 1:1 NIV

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways,

Revelation 2:1 NIV

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.

Revelation 2:8 NIV

“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.

Revelation 2:12 NIV

“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.

At other times the author based much of his writings on interviews and research (). And at other times, the Holy Spirit brought to mind things that Jesus taught ().

Luke 1:1–3 NIV

Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,

John 14:26 NIV

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Regardless of the way the words came to the authors, the words they put down were an extension of them—their personalities, skills, backgrounds, and training. But they were also exactly the words God wanted them to write—the very words that God claims as his own.

Revelation 2:1 ESV“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

Revelation 2:8 ESV“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.

Revelation 2:12 ESV“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.

Luke 1:1–3 ESVInasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,

John 14:26 ESVBut the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

If God claims that the words of Scripture are his own, then there is ultimately no higher authority one can appeal to for proof of this claim than Scripture itself. For what authority could be higher than God?

So, Scripture ultimately gains its authority from itself. But the claims of Scripture only become our personal convictions through the work of the Holy Spirit in an individual’s heart.

As God’s very words, the words of Scripture are more than simply true; they are truth itself (). They are the final measure by which all supposed truth is to be gauged. Therefore, that which conforms to Scripture is true; that which doesn’t conform to Scripture is not true.

John 17:17 NIV

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

New scientific or historical facts may cause us to reexamine our interpretation of Scripture, but they will never directly contradict Scripture.

The truth of Scripture does not demand that the Bible report events with exact, scientific detail (though all the details it does report are true). Nor does it demand that the Bible tell us everything we need to know or ever could know about a subject. It never makes either of these claims.

In addition, because it was written by ordinary men in an ordinary language with an ordinary style, it does contain loose or free quotations and some uncommon and unusual forms of grammar or spelling. But these are not matters of truthfulness. The Bible does not, in its original form, affirm anything contrary to fact.

If the Bible does affirm something contrary to fact, then it cannot be trusted. And if the Bible cannot be trusted, then God himself cannot be trusted. To believe that the Bible affirms something false would be to disbelieve God himself. To disbelieve God himself is to place yourself as a higher authority with a deeper, more developed understanding on a topic or topics than God himself.

Therefore, since the Bible affirms that it is the very words of God, we are to seek to understand those words, for in doing so, we are seeking to understand God himself. We are to seek to trust the words of Scripture, for in doing so, we are seeking to trust God himself. And we are to seek to obey the words of Scripture, for in doing so, we are seeking to obey God himself.

The Clarity of Scripture

As we read Scripture and seek to understand it, we discover that some passages are easier to understand than others. Although some passages may at first seem difficult to grasp, the Bible is written in such a way that all things necessary to become a Christian, live as a Christian, and grow as a Christian are clear.

There are some mysteries in Scripture, but they should not overwhelm us in our reading. For “the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple” (). And “the unfolding” of God’s “words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple” (). God’s Word is so understandable and clear that even the simple (people who lack sound judgment) can be made wise by it.

Psalm 19:7 NIV

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

Psalm 119:130 NIV

The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.

Since the things of God are “spiritually discerned” (), a proper understanding of Scripture is often more the result of an individual’s spiritual condition than his or her intellectual ability. Often the truth of Scripture will appear to be “folly” to those who have rejected the claims of Jesus.

1 Corinthians 2:14 NIV

The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.

Often the disciples misunderstood what Jesus was talking about (see , for example). Sometimes this was due to their hardened hearts (); at other times it was because they needed to wait for further events and understanding (). In addition, members of the early church did not always agree on the meaning of what was written in Scripture (see and for examples of this).

This does not mean, however, that every Bible-related misunderstanding is due to a person’s spiritual condition. There are many people—many godly, Christian people—who have greatly misunderstood some part of Scripture. Often the disciples misunderstood what Jesus was talking about (see Matt. 15:16, for example). Sometimes this was due to their hardened hearts (Luke 24:25); at other times it was because they needed to wait for further events and understanding (John 12:16). In addition, members of the early church did not always agree on the meaning of what was written in Scripture (see Acts 15 and Gal. 2:11–15 for examples of this).

Matthew 15:16 NIV

“Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them.

Luke 24:25 NIV

He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken!

John 12:16 NIV

At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.

Acts 15 NIV

Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them. Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.” The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: “ ‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’— things known from long ago. “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.” Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers. With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul—men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell. So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord. Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Galatians 2:11–15 NIV

When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles

Luke 24:25 ESVAnd he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!

John 12:16 ESVHis disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.

Galatians 2:11–15 ESVBut when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?” We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners;

When individuals disagree on the proper interpretation of a passage of Scripture, the problem does not lie with the Scriptures, for God guided its composition so that it could be understood. Rather, the problem lies with us.

Sometimes, as a result of our shortcomings, we fail to properly understand what the Bible is specifically teaching. Even so, we should prayerfully read the Bible, asking the Lord to reveal the truth of his words to us.

The Necessity of Scripture

The necessity of Scripture means that it is necessary to read the Bible or have someone tell us what is in the Bible if we are going to know God personally, have our sins forgiven, and know with certainty what God wants us to do.

Paul hints at this when in and . If there is no one preaching the word of Christ, Paul says, people won’t be saved. And that word comes from the Scriptures.

Romans 10:14 NIV

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

Romans 10:17 NIV

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

Just as our physical lives are maintained by physical food, so our spiritual lives are maintained by daily nourishment with the Word of God. To neglect regular reading of the Bible is detrimental to the health of our souls. Look at

Romans 10:17 ESVSo faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Matthew 4:4 NIV

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

While the Bible is necessary for many things, it is not needed for knowing some things about God, his character, and his moral laws. See ; . Not only do the wicked know of God and about God, but they also have in their minds and consciences some understanding of God’s moral laws (; ).

Psalm 19:1 NIV

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Romans 1:19 NIV

since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.

While the Bible is necessary for many things, it is not needed for knowing some things about God, his character, and his moral laws. See Ps. 19:1; Rom. 1:19. Not only do the wicked know of God and about God, but they also have in their minds and consciences some understanding of God’s moral laws (Rom. 1:32; 2:14–15).

Romans 1:32 NIV

Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Romans 2:14–15 NIV

(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.)

General Revelation vs. Special Revelation

Romans 1:19 ESVFor what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.

Romans 1:32 ESVThough they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Romans 2:14–15 ESVFor when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them

Therefore, this “general revelation” about God’s existence, character, and moral law is given to all people; it is seen through nature, God’s historical works, and an inner sense that God has placed in everyone.

By contrast, “special revelation” is God’s revelation to specific people. The entire Bible is special revelation and so are the direct messages from God to the prophets and others as recorded in the Bible’s historical stories.

The Sufficiency of Scripture

Although those alive during the Old Testament period didn’t have the benefit of God’s complete revelation, which is found in the New Testament, they had access to all the words of God that he intended them to have during their lives. Today, the Bible contains all the words of God that a person needs to become a Christian, live as a Christian, and grow as a Christian.

In the Bible, God has given us instructions that equip us for “every good work” that he wants us to do (). This is what it means to say that Scripture is “sufficient.”

2 Timothy 3:16–17 NIV

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

While the Bible might not directly answer every question we can think up—for “the secret things belong to the Lord our God” ()—it will provide us with the guidance we need “for every good work” ().

Deuteronomy 29:29 NIV

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.

2 Timothy 3:17 NIV

so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

When we don’t find the specific answer to a specific question in the Bible, we are not free to add to the commands of Scripture what we have found to be pragmatically correct. It is certainly possible that God will give us specific guidance in particular day-to-day situations, but we do not have license to place on par with Scripture any modern revelations, leadings, or other forms of guidance that we believe to be from God. Look at ; ; ;

Proverbs 30:5–6 NIV

“Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.

Deuteronomy 4:2 NIV

Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.

1 Peter 1:20–21 NIV

He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

Revelation 22:18 NIV

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll.

Nor should we ever seek to impose such guidance on other Christians generally or on other people in our churches, since we can be wrong about such guidance and God never wants us to give it the status of his words in the Bible.There are issues and situations for which God has not provided the precise direction or rules that we sometimes desire.

From time to time, for example, there may be situations where it is inappropriate for a Christian to engage in certain behaviors that isn’t specifically addressed in Scripture (see ). But since there isn’t any specific teaching or some general principle of Scripture that forbids these actions by all Christians at all times, these activities are not in themselves sinful.

1 Corinthians 10 NIV

For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he? “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience. I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for? So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God—even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

1 Corinthians 8–10 NIV

Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. But whoever loves God is known by God. So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall. Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. Don’t we have the right to food and drink? Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? Or is it only I and Barnabas who lack the right to not work for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink the milk? Do I say this merely on human authority? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me, for I would rather die than allow anyone to deprive me of this boast. For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make full use of my rights as a preacher of the gospel. Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he? “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience. I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for? So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God—even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

1 Corinthians 8–10 NIV

1 Corinthians 8:9–10 NIV

Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols?

Therefore, in our doctrinal, ethical, and moral teachings and beliefs, we should be content with what God has told us in Scripture. God has revealed exactly what he knows is right for us. Many differences that have divided churches and denominations are issues that the Bible places little emphasis on.

Many individual conclusions on issues like the proper form of church government, the exact nature of Christ’s presence in the Lord’s Supper, or the exact nature and order of the events surrounding Christ’s return are drawn more from skillful inference than from direct biblical statements. One should, therefore, exhibit a humble hesitancy in placing more emphasis on many of these issues than the Bible does.

Questions for Review and Application

Why is it important that the Bible be the basis for our beliefs?

Will the Bible definitively answer every question we bring to it? Why or why not?

What is one issue that the Bible speaks clearly on? What is one issue that the Bible does not speak clearly on? How does this affect the emphasis you should place on these issues?

The Ordinances

An ordinance is a practice that pictures some aspect of our relationship with Christ and the completeness of His atoning work in our lives.

While participation in an ordinance does not save, it does present an outward expression of an inward reality.

Baptism and the Lord's Supper are the only two practices which clearly have: 1) the specific command of Christ that they are to be observed, and 2) the clear evidence in the New Testament that they were subsequently practiced in the churches.

These two ordinances are pictures of past, present, and future realities associated with our faith in Christ, His atoning work, resurrection, and promised return.

Sequential Emphasis

Southern Baptists have affirmed that membership in our churches is a responsibility to be exercised by those who observe the ordinances in a manner befitting the concept of "like faith and practice (or order)." We believe that according to Scripture, salvation precedes baptism () and baptism precedes both the membership in a local fellowship () and the observance of the Lord's Supper ().

Matthew 28:18–19 NIV

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Colossians 2:11–12 NIV

In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

1 Corinthians 10:16–17 NIV

Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.

Colossians 2:11–12 ESVIn him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

1 Corinthians 10:16–17 ESVThe cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

When is Baptism Properly Administered?

Using the Scripture as a guide, we find that the ordinance of baptism is properly observed when five issues are satisfactorily addressed:

1. The proper candidate. This would be someone who has already experienced the grace of God unto salvation and now desires to make that a matter of open confession (See ; ).

Acts 8:36–38 NIV

As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.

Acts 10:47–48 NIV

“Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

2. The proper mode. This is clearly immersion. The word itself is a transliteration of the Greek word baptizo, which means to immerse or plunge into. This is the manner in which Christ was baptized (). It was the manner of the disciples' baptism (). In fact, the picture of death, burial, and resurrection demands immersion ().

Matthew 3:16 NIV

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.

Acts 10:47–48 ESV“Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.

John 3:22–23 NIV

After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized.

2. The proper mode. This is clearly immersion. The word itself is a transliteration of the Greek word baptizo, which means to immerse or plunge into. This is the manner in which Christ was baptized (Matthew 3:16). It was the manner of the disciples' baptism (John 3:22-23). In fact, the picture of death, burial, and resurrection demands immersion (Romans 6:4).

Romans 6:4 NIV

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

John 3:22–23 ESVAfter this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized

Romans 6:4 ESVWe were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

3. The proper understanding. Baptism is a picture of our total identification with Christ in His atoning work and glorious resurrection. It is an expression of our belief that salvation is His work and, like His resurrected life, complete and eternal in nature. It does not affect or secure our salvation.

4. The proper authority. The ordinance of baptism is a public expression; it preaches a message. The message is one consistent with the beliefs of the church authorizing the baptism.

If a local church does not feel that a candidate's beliefs are in concert with its own, it should resolve that issue before granting participation. It is obvious in the Scripture that, in addition to the profession of the candidate, there is an obligation on the part of the church. Otherwise Paul was overstepping his bounds in his instructions to the Corinthian church ().

1 Corinthians 11 NIV

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the traditions just as I passed them on to you. But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved. For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head. A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. It is for this reason that a woman ought to have authority over her own head, because of the angels. Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering. If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice—nor do the churches of God. In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter! For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world. So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together. Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further directions.

5. The proper life. Baptism is to be observed by individuals who portray an appreciation of grace and a willingness to adhere to the Scriptures. When the eunuch asked Philip if he could be baptized, Philip responded by clarifying the eunuch's confession of faith ().

Acts 8:36–37 NIV

As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”

What Does The Baptist Faith and Message Say About Baptism?

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord's Supper.

What is the Lord's Supper?

The sacrament was called the Lord’s Supper because it made reference to the last supper that Jesus had with His disciples in the Upper Room on the night before His death. In the early church and later, the Lord’s Supper was called the “Eucharist,” taking its definition from the Greek verb eucharisto, which is the Greek verb that means “to thank.” Thus, one facet of the Lord’s Supper has been the gathering of the people of God to express their gratitude for what Christ accomplished in their behalf in His death.

When Jesus celebrated His final Passover with His disciples, He added a new meaning to the Passover celebration as He took the unleavened bread, attaching a new significance to it when He said, “This is My body which is broken for you.” Then, after the supper had been completed, He took the wine and he said, in effect, “I’m attaching a new significance to this element as you celebrate the Passover because this wine is my blood.

In essence, Jesus was saying, “I am the Passover; I am the Pascal Lamb; I am the one who will be sacrificed for you. It is by My blood being marked over the door of your life that you will escape the wrath of God.”

So He said: “From now on, this is My blood, which is shed for you for the remission of your sins. This is the blood of a new covenant.” This new covenant that He instituted that very night fulfills the old covenant, giving it its fullest and most meaningful expression.

In a sense, what Christ said is that “I know that I’ve been your teacher for three years. I’ve done many things, some of which you’re going to forget; but whatever else, please don’t forget this because what you are going to experience in the next twenty-four hours is the most important thing that I will ever do for you. Don’t ever forget it. You are remembering me. You are remembering My death, the pouring out of My blood, the breaking of My body, which will occur on the morrow. Please don’t ever forget it.” And so, for two thousand years, the church has remembered the death of Christ in this sacred memorial of the Lord’s Supper.

And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” (vv. 7–22).

In this description of the institution of the Lord’s Supper, we see that Jesus refers specifically to two dimensions of time—the present and the future. In our culture, we generally measure the passing of time by referring to the past, the present, and the future. When we look at the meaning and significance of the Lord’s Supper in the life of the Christian community, we see that it has significance and application to all three dimensions of time.

I’m sure our Lord understood this human need to recapitulate and recollect important moments. When He gathered with His disciples in the Upper Room, one of the elements of this institution was His command to repeat this supper in remembrance. “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19 ). In a sense, what Christ said is that “I know that I’ve been your teacher for three years. I’ve done many things, some of which you’re going to forget; but whatever else, please don’t forget this because what you are going to experience in the next twenty-four hours is the most important thing that I will ever do for you. Don’t ever forget it. You are remembering me. You are remembering My death, the pouring out of My blood, the breaking of My body, which will occur on the morrow. Please don’t ever forget it.” And so, for two thousand years, the church has remembered the death of Christ in this sacred memorial of the Lord’s Supper.

In what way is Christ present at the Lord’s Table?

Throughout church history, most people have favored the view that the real presence of Christ is present at the Lord’s Supper. In other words, we are in a real communion with Him at the table. Of course, not everybody believes that there’s any special way in which He’s present at the Lord’s Supper, but that’s clearly the minority report. In any case, the controversy regarding the presence of the Christ in the Supper goes even deeper. The majority has agreed that Jesus is really present; the point of contention surrounds the mode of that presence. Christians have not agreed on the answer to this question: In what way is Christ present at the Lord’s Table?

Think of the “I am” statements of Jesus that are found in the Gospel of John. Jesus says, “I am the Vine, you are the branches. I am the Good Shepherd. I am the Door through which men must enter. I am the Way; I am the Truth; I am the Life.” It’s clear from any reading of those texts that Jesus is using the representative sense of the verb to be in a metaphorical way. When He says, “I am the Door,” He is not crassly saying that where we have skin, He has some kind of wooden veneer and hinges. He means that, “I am,” metaphorically, “the entrance point into the kingdom of God. When you enter a room, you have to go through the door. In the same way, if you want to enter God’s kingdom, you’ve got to come through me.”

In first-century Rome, Christians were accused of the crime of cannibalism. There were rumors that the Christians were meeting in secret places such as the catacombs to devour somebody’s body and to drink that person’s blood.

The Roman Catholic Church’s view then and now is what is known as transubstantiation. This is the view that the substance of the bread and wine are transformed supernaturally into the actual body and blood of Jesus when one participates in the Lord’s Supper.

But there was a simple objection to this view. When partaking of the Lord’s Supper, the bread and wine still looked like, tasted, felt, smelled, and sounded like bread and wine.

The medieval Western church borrowed from Aristotle’s philosophical attempt to define the difference between surface perception and depth reality for the doctrine of transubstantiation. They said that in the Mass, a double miracle takes place. On the one hand, the substance of the bread and wine changes into the substance of the body and blood of Christ, while on the other hand, the bread and wine remain the same.

Aristotle was concerned with the nature of reality and he made a distinction between the substance of an object and the accidents of an object. The term “accident” referred to an external, perceivable quality of a thing. If you were to describe me, you would describe me in terms of my weight, height, the clothes that I’m wearing, my hairstyle, the color of my face, or the color of my eyes. In all of these descriptions, you are restricted to my external, perceivable qualities. You don’t know what I am in my personal essence. I don’t know the true essence of a piece of chalk. I only see a cylindrical shape, hardness, and the color white. Those are all the outward perceivable qualities of chalk.

Aristotle believed that every object had its own substance and every substance had its corresponding accidents. If you had the substance of an elephant, you would also have the accidents of an elephant. For Aristotle, if it looked like a duck, walked like a duck, and quacked like a duck, it was a duck. The essence of duckness always produces the accidents of duckness. Any time you see the accidents of duckness, you know that what you can’t see beneath the surface is the essence of duckness.

The Reformed, such as John Calvin and many others, rejected Luther’s view, though not on sacramental grounds but on Christological grounds. We’ll seek to understand this rejection in the next chapter as we unpack the dual nature of Christ.

The Lutherans answered that objection by developing a novel understanding of the communicatio idiomatum—the “communication of attributes”—in reference to their doctrine of ubiquity. Ubiquity means “present here, there, and everywhere at the same time.” It’s a synonym for omnipresence. The Lutherans argue that if the divine nature has the ability to be present at more than one place at the same time, then that power and attribute of the divine nature is communicated to the human nature in the Supper. This made it possible for the human nature, including the human body of Christ, to be present everywhere at the same time. The human nature was endowed with a divine attribute. In contrast, the Reformed churches said that this violates Chalcedon by confusing the natures of Christ so that each nature does not retain its own attributes. This is why Calvin and others categorically rejected the Lutheran view of the Lord’s Supper. Luther insisted on the corporeal presence of Jesus at more than one place at the same time. Our core beliefs concerning the nature of Christ are at stake in this, which is why the Reformed have affirmed the real presence of Jesus in the sacrament, but not in the same manner as Lutherans and Roman Catholics.

Remember that when you are in communion with the divine nature, you are in communion with the person of the Son of God and all that He is. When I meet Him here in the divine nature and enter into communion with the person of Jesus, this divine nature remains connected and united to the human nature.

It is important to see the difference between this view and the Roman Catholic view. The Roman Catholic view empowers the human nature to come down to earth in all these different places at once. In this way, you can find the human body of Christ in as many Roman Catholic parishes as there are in the world.

We’re rejecting this idea because Christ’s body is in heaven as per Scriptures (; ; ;

Luke 24:51 NIV

While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.

Mark 16:19 NIV

After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.

John 8:21 NIV

Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”

Jesus also makes it clear that it is nothing more than wine that is being drank at the Last Supper - look at

Matthew 26:27–29 NIV

Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

In the sacrament we partake not only outwardly the visible elements, but also inwardly by faith, really and indeed, but not carnally or corporally, but spiritually, receive and feed upon Christ crucified, all the benefits of His death: the body and blood of Christ being then not corporally or carnally in, under, or with the bread and wine; but really, as spiritually, present to the faith of believers, as the elements themselves are to the outward senses.”

To worship the human nature of Jesus apart from its union with the divine Son of God would be to commit idolatry because it would be to ascribe to the created aspect of Jesus a divine element.

Because of the omnipresence of the Son of God in His deity, we really meet the whole Christ in the Lord’s Supper and are nurtured by the Bread of Heaven.

One final note with respect to the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching on the Lord’s Supper. They believe that the Mass represents a repetition of the sacrificial death of Christ every single time it is celebrated. Christ is, as it were, crucified anew. Of course, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that there’s a difference between the original sacrifice that Jesus made at Calvary and the way the sacrifice is rendered in the Mass. The difference is this: At Calvary, the sacrificial death of Jesus was one that involved real blood. It was a bloody sacrifice. The sacrifice that is made today is a sacrifice without blood. Nevertheless, it is a true and real sacrifice. It was that aspect, as well as the doctrine of transubstantiation, that caused so much of the controversy in the sixteenth century because it seemed to the Reformers that the idea of a repetition of any kind does violence to the biblical concept that Christ was offered once and for all. So in the Roman Catholic view of the sacrificial nature of the Mass, the Reformers saw a repudiation of the once-for-all character of the sacrificial offering that was made by Christ in His atonement (John 19:28–30 ; Heb. 10:1–18 ).

Chapter Seven

Blessing and Judgment

To worship the human nature of Jesus apart from its union with the divine Son of God would be to commit idolatry because it would be to ascribe to the created aspect of Jesus a divine element.

Consider 1 Corinthians 10:14–22 :

Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? (1 Cor. 10:14–22 ).

Here Paul gives some strong warnings concerning the mixing of the Lord’s Supper with idolatrous practices. Apparently, some of the Christians of Corinth participated in the Christian services as well as pagan feasts and festivals. This provoked Paul to address questions about eating meat that was offered to idols. Oftentimes after these pagan services were over, the meat they used for sacrifice was sold in the marketplace. Some Christians had scruples about this, saying, “I’m not going to have anything to do with any meat that participated in any way in a pagan ceremony.” They believed that it was sinful to eat meat that had been offered to idols. Paul answered by saying that there’s nothing inherently sinful about the meat. How it was used before it went on sale in the marketplace shouldn’t cause any great concern for the Christians (1 Cor. 8 ).

From very early on, the church has had to struggle with the intrusion of idolatry into the practice of the liturgy, particularly with respect to the Lord’s Supper. Returning to the question of transubstantiation, we remember that the problem that Calvin saw involved the deification of the human nature of Christ. Calvin said that this would be the most subtle form of idolatry possible. Because Christ is the God-man, He is the Son of God, and the New Testament calls us to worship Him. We worship the person, but we do not extrapolate the human nature from the divine and worship the human nature apart from its union with the Second Person of the Trinity. To worship the human nature of Jesus apart from its union with the divine Son of God would be to commit idolatry because it would be to ascribe to the created aspect of Jesus a divine element.

If you walk into a Roman Catholic Church today you will notice that they genuflect. They bow one knee and then sit down. If you watch during the process of the Mass, the priest frequently genuflects in the middle of his activity as well. Why the genuflection? The object of the genuflection is the tabernacle. The tabernacle is usually a golden box that is prominently featured at the top of the altar, and in that golden tabernacle is contained the bread that has been consecrated. Roman Catholics believe that bread becomes the actual body of Christ. So the reason for the bowing and the genuflecting is to genuflect towards the consecrated host. Roman Catholics view that consecrated bread as an object of worship, and the Reformers greatly objected to this. They’d say, “Why would people be bowing before consecrated bread? Even if it became the human nature of Jesus, it would not be appropriate to be bowing down before human nature.”

Taken in an Unworthy Manner

In the Westminster Confession of Faith 29.4, there is this statement:

Private masses or receiving the sacrament by a priest or any other alone, as likewise the denial of the cup to the people, worshiping the elements, the lifting them up or carrying them about for adoration, and the reserving them for any pretended religious use are all contrary to the nature of this sacrament and to the institution of Christ.”

Paul gives warnings with respect to the abuse of the Lord’s Supper. Look at :

1 Corinthians 11:27–32 NIV

So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.

In participating in the Lord’s Supper, we meet with the living Christ, receive the benefits of communing with the Bread of Heaven, and yet at the same time we must keep ourselves from any form of behavior or distortion of this sacrament that would cause the displeasure of God to fall upon us.

We see again that the Protestants reacted very strongly to the theology of the Mass, following Paul’s warnings in 1 Corinthians 10 . But 1 Corinthians 10 is not the only place where Paul gives warnings. He gives even stronger warnings in 1 Corinthians 11 with respect to the abuse of the Lord’s Supper. Paul writes:

But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

Questions for Review and Application

In what ways are the Baptist celebration of the Lord’s Supper different than the Roman Catholic’s celebration?

So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another—if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come (vv. 17–34).

Why is it important to examine one’s own heart prior to receiving the Lord’s Supper?

It’s obvious what’s going on here. The memorial agape feast, which was celebrated in conjunction with the Lord’s Supper in the early church and that which was to show forth Christ’s death and the repetition of the Passover, became an occasion for unbridled gluttony and selfishness in the Corinthian community. People were pushing each other out of the way to get to the table to gorge themselves with food while others were left hungry. In other words, the whole point of celebrating the Lord’s Supper was being destroyed by this behavior. So, Paul had to speak about two problems in Corinth. On the one hand, the mixing of idolatry with the celebration of the Lord’s Supper and the denigration of the sanctity of the event by people who were turning it into a church picnic for gluttony. It’s in this context that Paul gives these very sober warnings about the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.

Because of this teaching, one of the strong principles that came out of the Protestant Reformation in reference to the Lord’s Supper is what we refer to as “the fencing of the table.” In some churches, before the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, the minister will warn people who are not members in good standing of an evangelical church that they should not participate in the sacrament. He will remind the congregation that the Lord’s Supper is only for Christian people who are truly penitent. There are even some churches that won’t allow you to participate in the Lord’s Supper unless you are a member of that particular congregation. If you’re a visitor you’re discouraged from participating even if you are a Christian.

What Is the Atonement?

The purpose of fencing the table is not to exclude people out of some principle of arrogance but rather to protect people from the dreadful consequences that are spelled out here by the Apostle Paul, where in this chapter he speaks of the manducatio indignorum, which means “eating and drinking unworthily.” When a person participates in the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner, instead of drinking a cup of blessing, they are drink a cup of cursing. They are eating and drinking unto damnation, and God will not be mocked. If people celebrate this most sacred of activities in the church and they do it in an inappropriate way, they expose themselves to the judgment of God.

Oscar Cullman, the Swiss theologian, said that the most neglected verse in the whole New Testament is 1 Corinthians 11:30 : “That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” Some scholars believe that the meaning of 1 John 5:16–17 is that God will not send Christians to hell who misused and abused the Lord’s Supper, but He might take their lives.

Prior to Jesus’ birth, an angel told his earthly father, Joseph, that he was to name the baby in Mary’s womb Jesus, “for he will save his people from their sins” (). Jesus did save his people from their sins—both through the life he lived and through the death he died. The work Jesus did in living and dying to earn our salvation is sometimes referred to as the atonement.

Matthew 1:21 NIV

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

The point that Paul makes here is that the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is a sacrament that involves and requires a certain discernment. We are to discern what we are doing. We are to come with a proper attitude of humility and repentance. Of course, the point is not to exclude people from the table. Nobody is worthy, in the ultimate sense, to come and commune with Christ. We, who are unworthy in and of ourselves, come to commune with Christ because of our need. But we are to come in a spirit of dependence, not arrogantly, confessing our sins and trusting in Him alone for salvation. If we handle these sacred things in a hypocritical manner God will not hold us guiltless. That’s why we need to explore the significance of this sacrament.

The Necessity of the Atonement

Although it was not necessary that God save any people at all, in his love he chose to save some. Once he made that decision, God’s justice made it necessary for Christ to live the life he lived and die the death he died. See where Jesus asks the rhetorical question regarding His death. Jesus knew there was no other way for God to save us than for him to die in our place. Jesus had to suffer and die for our sins.

Luke 24:26 NIV

Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”

The Nature of the Atonement

Jesus Christ had to live a life of perfect obedience to God so that the positive merits of that obedience could be counted for us. See ; ; .

Romans 5:19 NIV

For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

Philippians 3:9 NIV

and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.

1 Corinthians 1:30 NIV

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

As Jesus drew closer to his death, his sufferings increased. He told his disciples something of the agony he was experiencing when he said, “My soul is sorrowful, even to death” (). When Jesus was crucified, he suffered one of the most horrible forms of death ever devised by man. While he did not necessarily suffer more pain than any human being has ever suffered, the pain he experienced was immense.

Philippians 3:9 ESVand be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

Matthew 26:38 NIV

Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

1 Corinthians 1:30 ESVAnd because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,

As Jesus drew closer to his death, his sufferings increased. He told his disciples something of the agony he was experiencing when he said, “My soul is sorrowful, even to death” (Matt. 26:38). When Jesus was crucified, he suffered one of the most horrible forms of death ever devised by man. While he did not necessarily suffer more pain than any human being has ever suffered, the pain he experienced was immense.

His back, already whipped raw, scraped against the rough, splinter-filled wooden cross with each breath he took.

When crucified, Christ was forced to endure a slow death by suffocation, brought on by the weight of his own body. He was stretched out and fastened by nails to the cross. His arms supported most of the weight of his body. His chest cavity was pulled upward and outward, making it difficult to exhale and then draw in a fresh breath. To breathe, he had to push up with his legs, putting all the weight on the nails through his feet, and pull up on the nails through his hands, sending fiery pain through the nerves of his arms and legs. His back, already whipped raw, scraped against the rough, splinter-filled wooden cross with each breath he took.But the physical pain was nothing compared to the spiritual pain. Jesus never sinned. Jesus hated sin. Yet Jesus voluntarily took upon himself all the sins of those who one day would be saved. “He bore the sins of many” (Isa. 53:12). That which he hated with his whole being was poured out upon him. As Peter tells us, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24). “For our sake,” God made Christ “to be sin” (2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus became “a curse for us” to redeem us “from the curse of the law” (Gal. 3:13).

But the physical pain was nothing compared to the spiritual pain. Jesus never sinned. Jesus hated sin. Yet Jesus voluntarily took upon himself all the sins of those who one day would be saved. Look at ; ;.

Isaiah 53:12 NIV

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Matthew 27:46 NIV

About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

1 Peter 2:24 NIV

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

Jesus faced this all alone. “All the disciples left him and fled” (). God, his Father, abandoned him. Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” () because at that time, he was cut off from the sweet fellowship with his heavenly Father that had been the unfailing source of inward strength and the element of greatest joy in a life filled with sorrow.

1 Peter 2:24 ESVHe himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESVFor our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

At the height of his suffering, he was very much alone.

Galatians 3:13 ESVChrist redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—

Jesus faced this all alone. “All the disciples left him and fled” (Matt. 26:56). God, his Father, abandoned him. Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46) because at that time, he was cut off from the sweet fellowship with his heavenly Father that had been the unfailing source of inward strength and the element of greatest joy in a life filled with sorrow. And at the height of his suffering, he was very much alone.

Matthew 27:46 ESVAnd about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

The Result of the Atonement

Christ lived a perfect, sinless life and died a horrific, sinner’s death in order to “save his people from their sins” (). He paid the penalty we deserved to pay for our sin. He bore the wrath we deserved to bear. He overcame the separation our sin caused between God and us.

Matthew 1:21 NIV

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

He freed us from the bondage caused by sin. Because of Christ’s work on our behalf, God can “deliver us from the domain of darkness” and transfer “us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (). What a great salvation!

Colossians 1:13 NIV

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,

Colossians 1:13 ESVHe has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

Questions for Review and Application

Why was it necessary for Jesus to come and live a perfect life on earth?

Why was it necessary that Jesus die? Could he have saved us in some other way?

What is Justification?

Paul writes in that those whom God called “he also justified.”

Romans 8:30 NIV

And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Justification Is a Legal Declaration by God

When someone responds to God’s call in repentance and faith, God responds to that faith by thinking of that person’s sins as forgiven and by thinking of Christ’s righteousness as belonging to that person.

At that very moment God also declares that person to be righteous in his sight. This act of God is called “justification.” Justification is an instantaneous legal act of God in which he (1) thinks of our sins as forgiven and thinks of Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us and therefore (2) declares us to be “just” or morally righteous in his sight. See ; ; .

Romans 3:26 NIV

he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Romans 5:1 NIV

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Galatians 2:16 NIV

know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

Romans 5:1 ESVTherefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 2:16 ESVyet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Justification by Faith Alone

Paul explains that people are “justified” by God’s grace, and not any work by us (; ) Justification is God’s response to our faith (which is the opposite of depending on ourselves or our good works).

Romans 3:24 NIV

and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:8–9 NIV

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESVFor by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Although justification comes about as God’s act in response to our faith, that does not mean our faith has any merit before God. It is not our faith that earns us favor with God. Scripture is clear: justification is based solely on the merits of Christ’s work; it is never based on any merit in our faith.

The Roman Catholic doctrine says that we are not fully justified until our lives are completely cleansed from sin, which will not be until after we die and we have been purified in purgatory (Protestants say there is no purgatory). These differences between Protestants and Roman Catholics about justification have continued to this day.

Questions for Review and Application

What does it mean to be justified?

How are Christians justified? Do you really believe that you have been fully justified once for all time?

What is Sanctification?

Repentance and faith result in justification; but repentance and faith also aid what is sometimes called sanctification. Sanctification is a progressive work of both God and man that makes Christians more and more free from sin and more and more like Christ in their actual lives.

God and his children cooperate in this work, both playing distinct roles. And while Christians can expect to progress in their sanctification, they will never achieve perfection until Christ returns.

Sanctification Is a Process

Sanctification starts at the point of regeneration (God’s gift of new spiritual life) and increases throughout life. At regeneration, Paul says, Christians are “set free from sin” () and so must consider themselves “dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus … for sin will have no dominion” over them (, ). This initial break from the power of sin means that Christians are no longer ruled or dominated by sin and no longer love to sin.

Romans 6:18 NIV

You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

Romans 6:11 NIV

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:14 NIV

For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

Although we will never be completely free from sin in this life, we should still expect to see a regular increase in our sanctification. Paul says that we “are being transformed … from one degree of glory to another” (). He also says, “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (). The picture is of a lifelong, continuous process.

Romans 6:11 ESVSo you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Romans 6:14 ESVFor sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Philippians 3:13–14 NIV

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Although we will never be completely free from sin in this life, we should still expect to see a regular increase in our sanctification. Paul says that we “are being transformed … from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor. 3:18). He also says, “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13–14). The picture is of a lifelong, continuous process.

Philippians 3:13–14 ESVBrothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

God’s Role in Sanctification

Sanctification is primarily the work of God. See and . God equips his children through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one who works within us to change and sanctify us, giving us greater holiness in life (see ; ; .

1 Thessalonians 5:23 NIV

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 13:20–21 NIV

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 1:2 NIV

2 Thessalonians 2:13 NIV

But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.

Galatians 5:22–23 NIV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Hebrews 13:20–21 ESVNow may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 1:2 ESVaccording to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

2 Thessalonians 2:13 ESVBut we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.

Galatians 5:22–23 ESVBut the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Our Role in Sanctification

We are both passively and actively involved in sanctification. Through repentance and faith we are told to present ourselves “to God as those who have been brought from death to life” (). This is our passive involvement. But we are also told in to “put to death the deeds of the body” (that is, sin), which implies an active role on our part. Although Paul clearly says we are only able to do so by the power “of the Spirit” (), we are nevertheless told that we have an active role ().

Romans 6:13 NIV

Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.

Romans 8:13 NIV

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

Romans 8:13 NIV

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

Philippians 2:12–13 NIV

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Romans 8:13 ESVFor if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Philippians 2:12–13 ESVTherefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Questions for Review and Application

How is sanctification different from justification?

What is our role in sanctification? What is God’s role? What are some specific ways in which you could contribute more to your sanctification in the coming week?

Church Membership

A Distorted View

We join our churches expecting others to serve us, to feed us, and to care for us. We don’t like the hypocrites in the church, but we fail to see our own hypocrisies. God did not give us local churches to become country clubs where membership means we have privileges and perks. He placed us in churches to serve others, to care for others, to pray for others, to learn, to teach, to give, and, in some cases, to die for the sake of the gospel.

A Biblical View

Look in : “Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it. And God has placed these in the church.”

1 Corinthians 12:27–28 NIV

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues.

With church membership, everyone has a role or function. That is why some are hands, feet, ears, or eyes. We are all different, but we are necessary parts of the whole. Each part, therefore, has to do its work, or the whole body suffers. There is a beautiful diversity in the midst of unity in church membership.

We who are church members are all supposed to function in the church. The concept of an inactive church member is an oxymoron. Biblically, no such church member really exists.

We will never find joy in church membership when we are constantly seeking things our way. But paradoxically, we will find the greatest joy when we choose to be last. That’s what Jesus meant when He said the last will be first. True joy means giving up our rights and preferences and serving everyone else.

1 Corinthians 9:19–23 NIV

Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

1 Corinthians 9:

Church membership is that you actually give up your preferences when you join. Don’t get me wrong; there may be much about your church that you like a lot. But you are there to meet the needs of others. You are there to serve others. You are there to give. You are there to sacrifice.

Church Members are called to Evangelize

We follow the Great Commission ()

Matthew 28:19–20 NIV

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Evangelism does not depend on eloquence, using the correct mood lighting, emotionally sappy stories and songs, or high-pressure sales pitches. We are free to simply and deeply trust God and the power of the gospel to produce the fruit he desires.

We realize that, though we are ambassadors for Christ pleading with men to be reconciled to God, it is God himself who makes the plea through us, his fellow workers (; ; ), and his Spirit who guarantees that his Word will not return void ().

1 Corinthians 3:9 NIV

For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

2 Corinthians 5:20 NIV

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

2 Corinthians 6:1 NIV

As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.

Isaiah 55:11 NIV

so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

We are to plant and water faithfully, confidently trusting that God will give the increase ().

1 Corinthians 3:7 NIV

So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

2 Corinthians 5:20 ESVTherefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

2 Corinthians 6:1 ESVWorking together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

Isaiah 55:11 ESVso shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

1 Corinthians 3:7 ESVSo neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

Being a Committed Church Member

Our Lord Jesus specified one defining mark for his disciples. Of course, there are many marks of true discipleship, but one mark is singled out as signifying to the watching world that we belong to Christ in and that is loving one another

John 13:34–35 NIV

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

The mark of Christian discipleship is love—love of the kind that Jesus exercised toward his followers, love visible enough that men will recognize it as belonging to those people who follow Jesus.

The mark of Christian discipleship is love—love of the kind that Jesus exercised toward his followers, love visible enough that men will recognize it as belonging to those people who follow Jesus.Faithful church attendance is associated tightly with stirring each other to love and good deeds. The local church is the place where love is most visibly and compellingly displayed among God’s people. It’s where the “body of Christ” is most plainly represented in the world.

Faithful church attendance is associated tightly with stirring each other to love and good deeds. The local church is the place where love is most visibly and compellingly displayed among God’s people. It’s where the “body of Christ” is most plainly represented in the world.

What Does a Committed Church Member Look Like?

ATTENDS REGULARLY. This is the first and most important ministry of every Christian in the local church. Look at

Hebrews 10:24–25 NIV

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

SEEKS PEACE. A committed church member is committed to the maintenance of peace in the congregation. See

Romans 14:19 NIV

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

SEEKS PEACE. A committed church member is committed to the maintenance of peace in the congregation. See

EDIFIES OTHERS. The one consistent purpose or goal of the public meeting of the church is mutual edification, building each other up in the faith (). A healthy and committed member comes to serve, not to be served, like Jesus (); to provide, not to be a consumer only.

Ephesians 4:11–16 NIV

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

EDIFIES OTHERS. The one consistent purpose or goal of the public meeting of the church is mutual edification, building each other up in the faith (Eph. 4:11–16). A healthy and committed member comes to serve, not to be served, like Jesus (Mark 10:45); to provide, not to be a consumer only.

Mark 10:45 NIV

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

ADMONISHES OTHERS. A committed member is committed to speaking the truth in love to his brothers and sisters, to helping them avoid pitfalls, and to encouraging them in holiness and Christian joy (; ).

Mark 10:45 ESVFor even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Colossians 1:28 NIV

He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.

Colossians 3:16 NIV

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

Colossians 3:16 ESVLet the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

PREPARES FOR THE ORDINANCES. A committed member rejoices at the baptism of new believers, and he examines his heart in preparation for joining the family of God at the Lord’s Table. He receives these spiritual exercises as means of grace, means that give visible testimony to the effect of the gospel in his life and the life of the gathered church.

SUPPORTS THE WORK OF THE MINISTRY. A committed member gives resources, time, and talent to the furtherance of the gospel in the local church. He lives out the Bible’s call to the body of Christ as Paul wrote in . A healthy, committed church member receives and applies the grace of God by working to support the ministry of the local church and excels in giving what he has already received from God to gospel work.

Romans 12:6–8 NIV

We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

IS COMMITTED TO PRAYER. Ask most Christians and they will tell you that prayer is important, and not only important but a vital part of the Christian life. But despite its universally accepted status, prayer remains for many Christians a difficult task, a duty without joy and sometimes seemingly without effect. The apostle Paul frequently encouraged the churches to which he wrote to pray constantly (; ; ).

1 Thessalonians 5:17 NIV

pray continually,

Romans 12:12 NIV

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Colossians 4:2 NIV

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

Romans 12:12 ESVRejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Colossians 4:2 ESVContinue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

A Commitment to Discipleship

A healthy church member is a growing church member. It is impossible to separate the health of a local church from the health of its members. And it’s impossible to divide the well-being of a church member from his or her spiritual growth and discipleship (; ).

Hebrews 5:11–13 NIV

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.

Hebrews 6:1 NIV

Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,

A Commitment to be Involved

Hebrews 5:11–13 ESVAbout this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.

A Commitment to be Involved

Neglecting to participate in the corporate life of the church or failing to actively serve and be served is a sure-fire way to limit our growth. offers a pretty strong argument that participation in the body of Christ is the main way in which Christ strengthens and matures us.

Ephesians 4:11–16 NIV

When we serve others in the church, bear with one another, love one another, correct one another, and encourage one another, we participate in a kind of “spiritual maturity co-op” where our stores and supplies are multiplied. The end result is growth and discipleship.

Conclusion

The healthy church member is a growing church member. Specifically, she or he is a church member that grows in Christlikeness, holiness, and maturity. That maturity and holiness are developed in dependence upon Christ, his Word, and others in the local church. And most wonderful of all, we will not stop growing until we reach the fullness of Christ!

Questions for Reflection

Explain how country club membership and church membership are so different. Give scriptural references to support the differences in church membership.

Explain why church membership is a biblical concept, using as your biblical foundation.

How would a church with members deeply committed to each other change the perception of the church in the community?

Which strategies for spiritual growth are most needed in your life right now? How will you put them into action?

Do you have a specific plan for prayer?

Next: Complete the Spiritual Gifts Inventory

Related Media

Related Sermons

RFBC New Member Class

SECTION ONE: HISTORY AND CHURCH OVERVIEW

History of Reedy Fork Baptist Church

Mission and Purpose

Current Leadership

Deacons

Service Times

Service Times

Adult

Children (through grade 5)

Youth (grade 6-12)

Section Two: Doctrines, part 1

Section Two: Doctrines

What Is God Like?

God Is Knowable

God Is Independent of Creation

God Is Unchangeable

God Is Eternal

God Is Omnipresent

God Is Spirit

God Is Invisible

God Is Omniscient

God Is Holy

God Is Omnipotent

Questions for Review and Application

Who Is Jesus Christ?

Jesus—Fully Man

Jesus—Fully God

Questions for Review and Application

Who is the Holy Spirit?

ATTRIBUTES AND WORKS OF GOD

FROM SPIRITUAL DEATH TO LIFE

“ANOTHER HELPER”

The Sanctifier

Questions for Review and Application

What Is the Trinity?

The Bible’s View of the Trinity

The Meaning of the Trinity

The Distinct Roles of the Trinity

Questions for Review and Application

BREAK - 15 MINUTES

What Is the Bible?

The Authority of the Bible

The Clarity of Scripture

The Necessity of Scripture

​General Revelation vs. Special Revelation

The Sufficiency of Scripture

Questions for Review and Application

The Ordinances

Sequential Emphasis

When is Baptism Properly Administered?

What Does The Baptist Faith and Message Say About Baptism?

What is the Lord's Supper?

In what way is Christ present at the Lord’s Table?

Taken in an Unworthy Manner

Questions for Review and Application

What Is the Atonement?

The Necessity of the Atonement

The Nature of the Atonement

The Result of the Atonement

Questions for Review and Application

What is Justification?

Justification Is a Legal Declaration by God

Justification by Faith Alone

Questions for Review and Application

What is Sanctification?

Sanctification Is a Process

God’s Role in Sanctification

Our Role in Sanctification

Questions for Review and Application

Church Membership

A Distorted View

A Biblical View

Church Members are called to Evangelize

Being a Committed Church Member

What Does a Committed Church Member Look Like?

A Commitment to Discipleship

A Commitment to be Involved

A Commitment to be Involved

Conclusion

General Revelation vs. Special Revelation