• Church, continued:
  • Practices of local churches in the New Testament, continued:
    • Sounded forth the Word
      • I Thessalonians 1:8
      • Philippians 1:3-5; 4:15-16; I Corinthians 9:1-18; II Corinthians 11:7-9
      • New Testament churches were not offering products or services to the public. They were simply sharing God’s word. Churches today need to stay focused on that mission.
    • They used resources to care for needy Christians.
      • They early churches would pool their money together and use it to help needy Christians. (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-35; 6:1-3; 11:27-30; Romans 15:25-26; I Corinthians 16:1-3; II Corinthians 8-9; I Timothy 5:3-16)
      • Family members were to take care of their own before churches stepped in (I Timothy 5:16), but when special circumstances occurred, brethren took care of their own.
• Heaven and hell
  • All of us have become guilty of sin.
    • Many people only want to talk about positive things in religion, but it’s important to deal with the facts so that the positives make sense.
    • Mark 10:17-33

Bad news: Sin

Good news: Salvation

“One thing you lack” (Mark 10:21)

“treasure in Heaven” (Mark 10:21)

“Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:37)

“repent … baptized … forgiveness” (Acts 2:38)

“you disowned … put to death” Jesus (Acts 3:14-15)

“sins may be wiped away” (Acts 3:19)

“rejected by you” (Acts 4:11)

“chief corner stone … salvation” (Acts 4:12)

“darkness … dominion of Satan” (Acts 26:18)

“light … God … repent” (Acts 26:18-23)

• Jesus and the apostles loved people enough to tell them the painful truth: all of us have become guilty of sin! (Romans 3:23)

• Judgment Day

  • Matthew 25:31-46; 23:24-30, 36-43, 47-50
  • There are many things we don’t know about Judgment, but we know enough. We know we’ll be divided based on whether we’ve obeyed (II Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:10-12). One group gets eternal punishment. The other, eternal life.
  • We don’t know when that that is coming! I Thessalonians 5:3

• Heaven and hell

  • Hell is a dreadful, horrendous place!
    • Hell is translated from “Gehenna,” which referred to the Valley of Hinnom, a valley just south and southwest of Jerusalem. It was a place of continual fire for burning filth.
    • Jesus used vivid language to motivate people to stay away from it. Matthew 5:29-30; 18:8-9; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 12:4-5; Matthew 10:28; 5:22

Bad news: Hell

Good news: Heaven

Described as “Gehenna” (valley of filth and fire)

Described as a city made by God

Outer darkness, away from God

Fellowship with Christ and the saved

Worse than any suffering on Earth

Worth any suffering on earth

• Heaven is a place of eternal glory and fellowship with God!
  • Hebrews 11:8-16 – Heaven is a city prepared by God. Matthew 6:19-21; I Peter 1:3-4
  • Imagine living forever in a place with no sinners or wickedness (Ephesians 5:3-5) and where Satan is not allowed (Matthew 25:41).
  • Heaven will be eternal rest, making all our sacrifices during our relatively short lives on earth pale in comparison. Romans 8:18; II Corinthians 4:16-18; Hebrews 4:9-10; Revelation 14:13

• Matthew 7:1-8
• Matthew 7:1-2 – See John 17:24. We’ll be judged by the same standards we use when judging others. We must judge others righteously and use the right standard.
• Matthew 7:5 – We must get our own disposition toward sin right before we can help others get their hearts right.
• Matthew 7:6 – Compare Matthew 15:12-14.
• Matthew 7:8 – Compare Matthew 6:33; Luke 11:9-13.

• II Corinthians 5:17
• Ephesians 3:1-9 – God revealed the mystery of Christ to Paul so that he could teach it to others.
• Ephesians 6:12 – Wickedness in “heavenly places” is wickedness in the highest powers of the land. Compare Ephesians 1:3, 20.
• Ephesians 3:10-12 – The church is God’s new creation – His most glorious work.
• Acts 9:15
• Man cannot improve on God’s most glorious work. Men have tried and failed to improve on God’s church with denominations and various human institutions.
• Acts 20:28, 32
• Ephesians 5:19

• Introduction
  • A few preacher stories …
    • Johane Masowe denominations (Dickson, Zimbabwe, 2015)
    • Baptism in Hindu lake (Ed Brand, Indonesia & India, 2016)
    • Lydia; Idolaters converted
  • Acts 15:22
  • I Peter 5:12
  • Acts 15:40
• Silas was a solid Christian upon whom people could depend.
  • Acts 15:22-33 – Dependable people were needed to handle the letter.
  • Acts 15:36-40 – Paul chose Silas to accompany him.
  • II Peter 1-7 – We must also be solid Christians on which others can depend.
• Silas glorified God even when he suffered.
  • Acts 16:16-26
  • Acts 17:5-15
  • We shouldn’t only serve God when times are good.
• Silas was an example.
  • I Thessalonians 1:5; 2:1-12
  • One of the best ways we can influence others is through our own actions.

• Church
  • The English word “church” is translated from the Greek word ekklesia. It simply means “a called-out group.” It does not necessarily have a religious connotation.
  • The Bible uses the word “church” in a universal sense (all saved people everywhere).
    • Ephesians 5:22-27 – The words “church” and “body” are used interchangeably. Church refers to the people who are saved by Christ. The church itself does not do the saving.
    • Matthew 16:16-19 – Jesus was talking about building a saved relationship – not a physical building.
    • Hebrews 12:22-23 – “Church” refers to saved people. We can be alive on earth but have our names enrolled in heaven (as in Luke 10:20).
    • I Thessalonians 4:16 – Even a dead Christian is part of the church in the universal sense.
  • “Church” is also used in a local sense (saved people working together in a congregation).
    • Ephesians 4:4 vs. Romans 16:16 = The word “church” used in different ways.
    • The universal church is composed of Christians – not local churches.
  • Practices of local churches in the New Testament
    • They assembled together to worship God and edify each other.
      • Acts 2:42; 20:7; I Corinthians 14:12, 26, 40
      • In the New Testament, we can read about Christians:
        • Singing – Colossians 3:16
        • Praying – Acts 12:5, 12
        • Partaking of the Lord’s Supper (I Corinthians 11:18-34)
        • Preaching – II Timothy 4:1-5
        • Giving money on the first day of the week – I Corinthians 16:1-2
      • Hebrews 10:23-25 – These acts not only glorify God but build each Christian up in the faith.
    • They appointed men to work as elders and deacons.
      • I Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9 – qualifications for elders and deacons
        • Acts 14:23; 20:28; Titus 1:9-11; Hebrews 13:17; I Peter 5:1-3
      • The New Testament uses three different Greek words to refer to those who watch over the souls in a local church. The words are used interchangeably (Acts 20:17, 28; I Peter 5:1-2) and are translated into six different English words: elder/presbyter, overseer/bishop, pastor/shepherd.
      • I Timothy 3:8-13 – qualifications for deacons
      • II Timothy 4:5 – The role of preachers. (It is a common misconception to call preachers pastors – preacher and pastor are separate roles.)
    • Dealt with sin among members
      • Matthew 18:15-17; Galatians 6:1-10 – Christians are to jump in and help when a fellow church member begins to sin.
      • I Corinthians 5:1-13 – How to handle a sinning member. We can’t just pretend everything is okay! II Thessalonians 3:6, 10-15
      • Sin has a dangerous influence within a congregation.