Christianity (Part 2)
“The One and Only True Religion”
Intro
Last week we began to look at the beliefs of the Christian church today. We look what the scriptures meant to us and their relevance. We dissected the triune characteristics of God. We took a look at ourselves humankind and our need of salvation and finish up by looking at the purpose of God’s grace.
Today we are going to pick up that study and now take a look at the local and universal church and the things that we are suppose to uphold and perform.
I. The Church
a. The New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ.
i. Governed by His laws
ii. Exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His word
iii. Seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth.
b. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes.
i. Each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord.
ii. It’s officers are the pastors and deacons.
c. The church is the body of Christ.
Supporting Verses:
Matthew 16:15-19; 18:15-20; Acts 2:41-42, 47; 5:11-14; 6”3-6; 13:1-3; 14:23, 27; 15:1-30, 16:5; 20:28; Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 3:16; 5:4-5; 7:17; 9:13-14; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 3:8-11, 21; 5:22-32; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:18; 1 Timothy 2:9-14; 3:1-15; 4:14; Hebrews 11:39-40; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Revelation 2-3; 21:2-3.
II. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
a. Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
i. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior.
ii. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead.
iii. It is a prerequisite to the privilege of church membership.
b. The Lord’s Super is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.
Supporting Verses:
Matthew 3:13-17; 26: 26-30; 28:19-20; Mark 1:9-11; 14:22-26; Luke 3:21-22; 22:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39; 16:30-33; 20:7; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 10:16, 21; 11:23-29; Colossians 2:12.
III. The Lord’s Day
a. The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day
b. It is a Christian institution for regular observance.
c. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should include exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private.
d. Activities on the Lord’s day should be commensurate with the Christian’s conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Supporting Verses:
Exodus 20:8-11; Matthew 12:1-12; 28:1; Mark 2:27-28; 16:1-7; Luke 24:1-3, 33-36; John 4:21-24; 20:1, 19-28; Acts 20:7; Romans 14:5-10; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2; Colossians 2:16; 3:16; Revelation 1:10.
IV. Evangelism and Missions
a. It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church to endeavor to make disciples of all nations.
b. The missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerated life, and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the Word of God.
c. It is our duty to seek continually to win the lost to Christ
Supporting Verses:
Genesis 12:1-3; Exodus 19:5-6; Isaiah 6:1-8; Matthew 9:37-38; 10:5-15; 13:18-30; 16:19; 22:9-10; 24:14; 28:18-20; Luke 10;1-18; 24:46-53; John 14 11-12; 15:7-8, 16; 17:15; 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2; 8:26-40; 10:42-48; 13:2-3; Romans 10:13-15; Ephesians 3:1-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:8; 2 Timothy 4:5; Hebrews 2:1-3; 11:39-12:2; 1 Peter 2:4-10; Revelation 22:17.
V. The Christian and the Social Order
a. All Christians are under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society.
b. In the spirit of Christ, Christians should:
i. Oppose racism
ii. Oppose greed
iii. Oppose selfishness
iv. Oppose all forms of sexual immorality, to include adultery, homosexuality, and pornography.
c. We should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick.
d. We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death.
e. Every Christian should seek to bring the world as a whole under the sway of the principles of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love.
i. In order to promote these ends Christians should be ready to work with all men of good will in any good cause.
Supporting Verses:
Exodus 20;3-17; Leviticus 6:2-5; Deuteronomy 10:12; 27:17; Psalm 101:5; Micah 6:8; Zechariah 8:16; Matthew 5:13-16, 43-48; 22:36-40; 25:35; Mark 1:29-34; 2:3; 10:21; Luke 4:18-21; 10:27-37; 20:25; John 15:12; 17:15; Romans 12-14; 1 Corinthians 5:9-10; 6:1-7; 7:20-24; 10:23-11:1; Galatians 3:26-28; Ephesians 6:5-9; Colossians 3:12-17; 1 Thessalonians 3:12; Philemon; James 1:27; 2:8.
VI. The Family
a. God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society.
i. It is composes or persons related to one another, by marriage, blood, or adoption.
b. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime.
i. It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.
c. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image.
i. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church.
ii. The wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the leadership of Christ.
d. Children from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord.
i. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage, teach spiritual and moral values, and to lead them through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth.
Supporting Verses:
Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15-25; 3:1-20; Exodus 10:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15; 1 Samuel 1:26-28; Psalms 51:5; 78:1-8; 127; 128; 139:13-16; Proverbs 1:8; 5:15-20; 6:20-22; 12:4; 13:24; 14:1; 17:6; 18:22; 22:6,15; 23:13-14; 14:3; 29:15, 17; 31:10-31; Ecclesiastes 2:9-12; 9:9; Malachi 2:14-16; Matthew 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Timothy 5:8, 14; 2 Timothy 1:3-5; Titus 2:3-5; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7.
