The purity and unity of the church
*Just a reminder that this study of Wayne Grudem's book, Systematic Theology, is not by any means me teaching, but rather a simple summary chapter by chapter of his book for my own enrichment.*
What makes a church more or less pleasing to God, and who should we cooperate with and/or join?
We can see the New Testaments example of both big moral and doctrinal problems in Galatia and Corinth. It is right for us to pray and work for greater purity of the church, but the Bible also focuses on unity of true Christians.
Grudem gives 12 points that make a church "more pure,"
Biblical doctrine (or right preaching of the word)
proper use of sacraments
right use of church discipline
genuine worship
Effective prayer, witness, and fellowship
Biblical church government
spiritual power in ministry
personal holiness of life among the members
care for the poor
love for Christ.
Christ's goal is to sanctify the church, so she might be holy and without blemish.
Paul teaches that elders should be able to instruct in sound doctrine and confute those who contradict it and that false teachers must be silenced.
Any church will be impure in various areas, we are NOT perfect! We should strive to help each other towards more purity, yet some churches will respond well and some will not. Some will drift to become cults, die out, or swing towards liberal Protestantism (primarily man centered).
The New Testament is clear that we both have to separate from primary doctrinal differences, but have unity with secondary questions. There is also an emphasis on not having a worldwide church government but rather local elders over their local churches. There have been both right and wrong reasons for separation from unity.
Doctrinal reasons for separating from a church. Instead of saying, "leave your church," the New Testament example is to admonish the church, work for repentance within the church, and pray for them.
*Just a reminder that this study of Wayne Grudem's book, Systematic Theology, is not by any means me teaching, but rather a simple summary chapter by chapter of his book for my own enrichment.*
What makes a church more or less pleasing to God, and who should we cooperate with and/or join?
We can see the New Testaments example of both big moral and doctrinal problems in Galatia and Corinth. It is right for us to pray and work for greater purity of the church, but the Bible also focuses on unity of true Christians.
Grudem gives 12 points that make a church "more pure,"
Biblical doctrine (or right preaching of the word)
proper use of sacraments
right use of church discipline
genuine worship
Effective prayer, witness, and fellowship
Biblical church government
spiritual power in ministry
personal holiness of life among the members
care for the poor
love for Christ.
Christ's goal is to sanctify the church, so she might be holy and without blemish.
Paul teaches that elders should be able to instruct in sound doctrine and confute those who contradict it and that false teachers must be silenced.
Any church will be impure in various areas, we are NOT perfect! We should strive to help each other towards more purity, yet some churches will respond well and some will not. Some will drift to become cults, die out, or swing towards liberal Protestantism (primarily man centered).
The New Testament is clear that we both have to separate from primary doctrinal differences, but have unity with secondary questions. There is also an emphasis on not having a worldwide church government but rather local elders over their local churches. There have been both right and wrong reasons for separation from unity.
Doctrinal reasons for separating from a church. Instead of saying, "leave your church," the New Testament example is to admonish the church, work for repentance within the church, and pray for them.
No comments:
Post a Comment