10250 North Freeway @ West Road
Houston, Texas 77037
Tel: (281) 447-8484
Pastor: Dr. Lester Hutson

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What God's Word Says About the Right Church

In part I of this lesson we began studying the characteristics of the New Testament churches in order to enable us to compare today's churches with the model established by our Lord, Jesus Christ. Once we learn this God ordained pattern we will be better able to identify one of His churches today. Remember that Christ promised that there would be one of His churches in existence throughout this age until His return for the church (Matthew 16:18).

We learned that the New Testament churches used God's Word exclusively and held it as their sole rule of faith and practice. They taught that God was triune made up of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. They believed in the virgin birth of Christ: the miraculous incarnation of God. They knew Christ founded the first church and recognized only Him as their Head. They were not subservient to any man made organization, having been taught by Christ that each church is a complete organism answerable only to itself and to God through Christ as its Head. In this second half we will learn specifically what Christ commanded His first church to do and what God-ordained practices they were to observe. We will begin by analyzing what is referred to today as The Great Commission recorded in Matthew 28:18-20. Then we will look at the three church ordinances which Christ instituted and which the New Testament churches observed. THE GREAT COMMISSION  Right after Christ's resurrection He met with His church in a pre-appointed place (Matthew 28:16) and delivered its mission. His exact words are recorded in Matthew 28:18-20: 'Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.' Now it is worth noting here that Christ told this group He would be with them 'unto the end of the world.' But how could this be? We know from history that all eleven (Judas was already dead) of these men died, 10 of them horribly. The truth is that Christ was not speaking just to individuals but to an organization which He had founded (Mark 3:13-19, Luke 6:12-16) and to which He had guaranteed perpetuity (Matthew 16:18). He was promising that He would be with His church until the end of the age and not with each of these men for that length of time. And these instructions could only be carried out by a local, organized institution. Nevertheless, His commission to them breaks down into these pieces: Teach all nations or preach the gospel to all people (Mark 16:15), baptize the converts, teach the converts everything Christ had taught them, and to continue doing this until the end of the age. The New Testament records that the early churches successfully fulfilled these commands. And any church in existence today which claims to be one of our Lord's churches will also dedicate itself to the fulfillment of these commands. Specifically the right church today will:.

1. Preach the Gospel. Mark 16:15 records Christ's command for His first church to preach the gospel world-wide. But what is the gospel? Remember the Bible study principle that God's Word is self defining (lesson 1)? Here is a great example. The definition of gospel is found in I Corinthians chapter 15 and verses 1 through 4. Paul explained to the Corinthian congregation that the gospel was the death, burial and resurrection of God the Son. And Paul told the Roman congregation that this gospel 'is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth' (Romans 1:16). So the gospel, by which we are saved, is belief in the death, burial and resurrection of God the Son. Christ Himself stated that belief in Him was the only necessary prerequisite to obtaining salvation (John 3:15,16,36). And it is this gospel that Christ commanded His church to preach in Mark 16:15. There are today illegitimate churches preaching that salvation is acquired by other than the simple placing of one's faith in the work Christ performed on the cross on our behalf. Some teach that being a good person is sufficient. Others teach that belief in Christ coupled with good clean living is the key. Yet others state that belief in Christ must be accompanied by baptism for salvation to be gained. All these, and the many other man-made variations are all wrong and will not be taught by one of our Lord's churches. An important footnote here is the account of the salvation of the thief on the cross next to God the Son. This thief asked Christ to remember him when He entered His kingdom, thereby confessing his belief in the Lordship of Christ. God the Son told that man that 'today shalt thou be with me in paradise' (Luke 23:40-43). There was no baptism, no joining a church, no confession of sins, no prayer for salvation, no living a good life. Just a simple, child like faith in who Jesus was and what He was doing. That is the gospel of Christ which the right church will preach and nothing more nor anything less. And to seal the fact that the Gospel of Christ is the only means of salvation listen to Paul's warning to the Galatian congregation:
'But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed' (Galatians 1:8-9).

2. Preach the gospel to the world. Not only will the right church preach belief in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the only means for salvation, but it will do so to the entire world. Christ told His first church to 'teach all nations' (Matthew 28:18) and Acts 1:8 records Him telling it to be   'witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.'   Some churches today directly disobey this command of Christ's and do not preach the gospel to 'every creature'. They teach instead that God selected those who would be saved before He ever created the world and that He will make sure that these special people (the elect) will get saved regardless and without any human intervention. They misinterpret and misapply God's Word in order to teach this heresy and will one day stand before our Lord and Savior and have to answer for all the people that came into their contact but to whom they never preached the saving grace of God through Jesus Christ. There is much more that can be said against this type of church but for now just remember that Christ Himself commanded the church and all Christians to 'preach the gospel to every creature.' The right church will do its utmost to reach its community as well as the world with the message of salvation through belief in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, because it is autonomous the right church will not become part of some man-made organization to achieve this world-wide ministry. It can support other missionaries of other churches of like faith and practice but it does not abdicate its responsibility to any other organization. It will train up from within its own membership preachers whom it will then send out with the two-fold objective of winning souls and establishing churches into which those converts are to be baptized.

3. Use immersion as the proper form of baptism. Christ told His first church to first evangelize or preach the gospel and win converts and then to baptize them (Matthew 28:19). And He told them specifically that immersion was the proper method of baptizing. To learn this point we must once again apply one of the principles of proper Bible study: observing original meanings. The original word used for 'baptize' was the Greek word 'baptizo' which means to immerse. It was a commonly used word among the cloth merchants who would immerse or baptize garments in a dye solution to change their color. The word never means anything but complete submergence. And it was this word that Christ used and which the Holy Spirit later used in the completion of the New Testament (2 Peter 1:21). Additionally, the baptism ritual is a picture of Christ's death, burial and resurrection (Colossians 2:12). Christ's body was not laid on the ground and dirt sprinkled over His body. He was totally 'immersed' in an underground tomb (Matthew 27:60). Yet today there are churches which do not use immersion as the method of baptism. These churches have had to ignore the Scripture truth on this point, and it is quite likely that they also are mistaken in other points as well. The right church today will follow the truth of God's Word and New Testament churches' example and identify with Christ's death, burial and resurrection by using immersion as the proper form of baptism.

4. Only baptize born again believers. The New Testament records that only those who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ were to be baptized. Consider Christ's own words in Matthew 28:19. He said 'teach all nations, baptizing them...'. The first step is to teach the gospel (Mark 16:15) so the unbeliever will become a believer. Consider the account of Philip and the eunuch in Acts 8:36-38. The eunuch wanted to be baptized and asked Philip, 'what doth hinder me to be baptized?' Philip's answer in verse 37 was, 'if thou believest with all thine heart thou mayest.' The eunuch confessed his belief in Christ as the Son of God and Philip then baptized him. Christ, God the Son, stated that He alone was the pathway to the Father and that no man could come to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). Peter told the elders and rulers of Israel that ,'Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved' in Acts 4:12. And Paul tells us, 'For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast' (Ephesians 2:8-9). No mention of baptism. In fact, just the opposite, Paul tells us that nothing we do gets us saved: 'not of works'. And then there is the fact that none of the Old Testament believers were ever baptized, nor was the thief on the cross next to Jesus'. Christ told that man that 'to day thou shalt be with me in paradise' (Luke 23:43). Yet despite the clear testimony of Christ Himself and the New Testament record there are churches today which teach that a person must be baptized in order to obtain salvation. If they will twist the Word of God in the matter of baptism what other errors might they also be teaching? The right church will remain true to the Word of God and will first lead lost souls to Christ and then after they have accepted Him as their savior it will them baptize them. It will teach that baptism is an action on the part of the new convert showing his/her submission to Christ and allegiance to the church into which he/she is being baptized. It will never teach that a person's actions will ever result in that person's salvation.  

5. Teach that baptism adds the believer into its membership. Acts 2:41 records that on the day of Pentecost 3000 believers were added to the Jerusalem congregation, Christ's first church, through baptism. Paul taught the Corinthian church members that they were baptized into 'one body' (I Corinthians 12:13). And he told he Ephesian congregation that there is only one baptism (Ephesians 4:5). The Bible is clear on the issue of baptism: it is by immersion, administered to born-again believers and it adds the believer to the congregation administering the baptism. Yet many churches today do not teach this truth. They allow anyone to join their membership without regard for whether or not they have been scripturally baptized. And as mentioned before some churches teach that baptism is necessary for salvation. The right church will teach and practice what God's Word teaches about baptism. It will first teach that a person must first become a born again Christian by placing their faith and trust in Christ as the Son of God and accepting His death, burial and resurrection as payment for their sins. It will then teach the new convert that baptism by immersion is to be submitted to as an act of obedience to the Lord and as a public example on the part of the convert of their recent conversion and alignment with that church's membership. It will also accept into its membership believers who have previously been scripturally baptized.

6. Strive to replicate itself. Christ told His first church to reach the world with the gospel, baptize its converts into its membership, teach the membership all that He had taught and to continue doing this until the end of the age. These commands could only be continuously fulfilled if that first church started other churches and those churches started other churches etc., etc.  Just as businesses today go on long after their founders have died so does the local church. It wins converts, baptizes them into its membership, teaches them the truths from God's Word and sends out missionaries to other areas to win converts, establish churches, baptize converts into the church membership and teach them the truths from God's Word. The cycle goes on and on without fail so long as the churches remain faithful to the teachings of God's Word. Sadly, the plethora of churches today each teaching a variation of truth is evidence to the fact that somewhere down the line some church strayed away from the Word of God. Some preachers did not take the time to 'rightly divide the truth' (2 Timothy 2:15) and introduced error into their teachings and the resulting chaos we see today is the result.   The right church today will seek diligently to obey Christ's commands to the letter. It will continually evaluate its teachings, comparing them to those of God's Word, to make certain that no heresy or error creeps in. And it will train up from within its own membership missionaries who will then go out and establish churches after the New Testament pattern. THE THREE GOD-ORDAINED CHURCH ORDINANCES Christ not only gave His first church its mission statement, but He also instituted three ordinances which He desired His first church to observe. These were, the Lord's supper, baptism, and the Lord's day. Here again, as with the commands of the Great Commission, the New Testament records that His first church and its progeny faithfully observed these ordinances. The right church today will also faithfully observe these ordinances. Let's look at each in detail.:

1. The Lord's Supper. Christ instituted the practice of the Lord's Supper with His first church. This is recorded in Luke 22:14-20. Paul further elaborated on this practice to the Corinthian church (I Corinthians 11:23-26). These verses clearly indicate the purpose, frequency, participants and contents of this church ritual. The purpose of the Lord's Supper is to remind the congregation of Christ's sacrifice on the cross for their sins. At the first Lord's Supper Christ told His first church members, the apostles, that eating the unleavened bread and drinking the wine was to be done in remembrance of Him (Luke 22:19).  The unleavened bread symbolizes His broken body and the wine His pure, sinless blood shed for the remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22).    This ritual was to be observed on a weekly basis. The first church observed this weekly schedule (Acts 20:7). This is an act of worship to be observed weekly by each congregation commemorating Christ's resurrection on the first day of the week. The participants of this ordinance are church members. Each congregation is to conduct this ceremony with its members (I Corinthians 11:23-26). Paul taught the Corinthian congregation that this was a time for church purification and unity. The contents were wine and unleavened bread. These elements represent the pure and sinless blood and body of Christ. Wine contains no impurities as does the bread which contains no yeast or leaven. There is much confusion today over this church ordinance. Some churches believe that only the clergy is to partake of the wine, while the bread is reserved for the lay people. Yet others teach that the Lord's Supper was given to born again Christians in general and that any Christian can go to any church and observe the Lord's Supper with that church. And most churches which observe the Lord's Supper use grape juice or some other impure liquid. The right church today will observe the Lord's Supper as instituted by Christ and as recorded in the Scriptures. It will teach that this ritual is to be performed by each congregation and that the proper elements are  wine and unleavened bread and that it is to be observed whenever each congregation meets. However, it is important to note here that there are many churches today which adhere to the New Testament pattern and follow Christ's teachings in all but the use of wine.

2. Baptism. We've already dealt quite a bit with baptism in this lesson, but it bears repeating that baptism is a church ordinance. It is the act which adds a convert into the membership of a particular church (Acts 2:41).   The right church today will observe baptism just as it was observed in the New Testament and as ordered by Christ. It will use immersion as the proper method. It will only baptize converts. And it will teach that baptism adds the convert to its membership. Nothing more nothing less: exactly as God's Word teaches.

3. The Lord's Day: Sunday. The New Testament record shows that the first churches met on the first day of the week: Sunday (Acts 20:7, I Corinthians 16:2). This was the same day of the week in which Christ rose from the grave (John 20:19). Christ met with His first church on the first day of the week after His resurrection (John 20:19). There are some groups today which teach that Saturday is the day for worship. However they must ignore the New Testament record in order to do so. Ironically, those churches which observe Saturday as the right day for worship are also wrong on many other Bible doctrines. The right church will meet on Sunday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

SUMMARY: Finding the right church today is as simple as finding the church which follows the pattern established by Christ's first church and the other New Testament churches. However it is also a challenge. We must first study God's Word and learn what Christ's first church and the other New Testament churches believed, taught and practiced. Once we have obtained this knowledge, we can then compare today's churches to that knowledge to determine which of today's churches are the Lord's.

NEXT LESSON: In lessons three and four we've learned what to look for in a church to determine if it is one of the Lord's churches. But there are some things we should be wary of in our search. In the next lesson we will discuss the dangers of relying on tradition, loyalty and emotions in our search for the right church.

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"