Article 9. – The Church.
We believe that the Church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born again persons of this present age which began on the day of Pentecost (Matthew 16:16-18; Acts 1:5; 11:15; 1 Corinthians 12;13; Ephesians 1:21-23; 5:25-32).
We believe the Scripture teaches that this spiritual body is made manifest locally in congregations of believers, and that each local church should be governed by a plurality of elders (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 5:1-4; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; 1 Timothy 5:17-18; Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 3:1-7).
We believe there are two ordinances which were prescribed by Christ to be performed by His Church.
Baptism: We believe that baptism into water pictures our identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection (Matt 28:18-20; Acts 8:36-39; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
The Lord’s Supper: We believe that the Lord’s Supper exists to remind us of the death of Christ on our behalf, to testify to our fellowship with Christ in this life, and to anticipate the coming of Christ in the future (Matt 26:26-28; 1 Corinthians 11;23-28; Jude 1:12).
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In his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul writes these words,
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. (Romans 12:3-8)
The apostle here lays out for us some of the need for, and opportunity that comes with, being involved in a local congregation of believers.
First, we ought not think of ourselves more highly than we ought. What does he mean by this? He goes on to say that we are not each a whole body of Christ unto ourselves, rather, we are members in a body. Often times you will meet people who describe themselves as Christians and yet seem very reluctant to commit to a particular congregation, perhaps not even seeing the need to attend any church. But that fundamentally misunderstands what the church is. Church is not an optional add on to the Christian life. To become a Christian and be joined to Christ is to be brought into his family, his body. Which means participation in a particular expression of that body, a local church, is Christianity 101.
Part of the reason for this is that God, through the Holy Spirit, has given every believer particular gifts that are meant to be used. If we aren't involved in a body of believers, our opportunities to exercise those gifts and thus to grow spiritually are greatly stunted. It would be like wanting to gain muscle but never doing a push-up or lifting a weight. You can talk about loving and serving Jesus all day long, but it is in the context of the local church where there's opportunity for you to actually love him with your actions.
The flip side of that, of course, is that the local church not only has other people for us to love and serve, but it is also a place where we can tangibly experience the love of God given through his people. When the pastor preaches a sermon from God's word, Christ is teaching you. When the young mom brings over a meal for you, Christ is feeding you. When the older man places a hand on your shoulder to pray for you, Christ is comforting you. God loves his people, and his primary instrument for making that seen in the world is through the actions of Christ's body, the church.
Jesus loves you. He died for you. And he died to bring not only forgiveness of sins (as glorious as that is!), but to give you a place in his family. We experience that family on earth through the local church.
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. (Romans 12:3-8)
The apostle here lays out for us some of the need for, and opportunity that comes with, being involved in a local congregation of believers.
First, we ought not think of ourselves more highly than we ought. What does he mean by this? He goes on to say that we are not each a whole body of Christ unto ourselves, rather, we are members in a body. Often times you will meet people who describe themselves as Christians and yet seem very reluctant to commit to a particular congregation, perhaps not even seeing the need to attend any church. But that fundamentally misunderstands what the church is. Church is not an optional add on to the Christian life. To become a Christian and be joined to Christ is to be brought into his family, his body. Which means participation in a particular expression of that body, a local church, is Christianity 101.
Part of the reason for this is that God, through the Holy Spirit, has given every believer particular gifts that are meant to be used. If we aren't involved in a body of believers, our opportunities to exercise those gifts and thus to grow spiritually are greatly stunted. It would be like wanting to gain muscle but never doing a push-up or lifting a weight. You can talk about loving and serving Jesus all day long, but it is in the context of the local church where there's opportunity for you to actually love him with your actions.
The flip side of that, of course, is that the local church not only has other people for us to love and serve, but it is also a place where we can tangibly experience the love of God given through his people. When the pastor preaches a sermon from God's word, Christ is teaching you. When the young mom brings over a meal for you, Christ is feeding you. When the older man places a hand on your shoulder to pray for you, Christ is comforting you. God loves his people, and his primary instrument for making that seen in the world is through the actions of Christ's body, the church.
Jesus loves you. He died for you. And he died to bring not only forgiveness of sins (as glorious as that is!), but to give you a place in his family. We experience that family on earth through the local church.