Doctrinal Statement: Church

10. THE CHURCH

The Nature of the Church: Points 1-3

1 - Self explanatory.

“Church” / ekklēsia = Assembly

Local church = “The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.”

Universal church = 1 Cor 15:9, “For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”

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2 - Two ideas.

“National organization” = Separation of powers between Church and State.

Church = spiritual organization—outpost of the kingdom—should not seek to have ecclesiastical affairs combined with civil affairs, as it was in the nation of Israel.

In the theocracy of Israel, there was an amalgamation of Church and State. The laws God gave Israel to govern themselves during their stay in the holy land was to govern all the citizens of that country. There was no freedom of religion; to dwell in the holy land, you were obliged to worship the God of Israel, and if you didn’t you would be exiled out of that commonwealth.

What you have in the O.C is a national church.

Geerhardos Vos, “The church of the old covenant was not only a state church; it was also essentially a national church—that is, limited to one nation. A pagan who wanted to belong to it could only join by becoming a Jew.”

You couldn’t separate religious offences from civil offences.

Holiness code, Ten Commandments, doctrinal standards affirmed in the Pentateuch; all of this was part of the constitutional document that governed the entire nation.

The N.C is different.

The spirituality of the church.

The church is not a national, political body that has the responsibility to wield the sword of justice, like Israel did.

The church is a spiritual nation that is comprised of people who belong to the heavenly city of God, who, in the meantime, are temporarily dispersed throughout this world, awaiting the day and preparing people for the day when the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ.

The mission of the church is not to do Statecraft (managing the affairs of the State).

(Note) Churches on earth are embassies of the kingdom of heaven.

As citizens who belong to the age to come, our task is to proclaim the Gospel.

Since we are still citizens of this present age, we still have responsibilities here! But as we carry out our responsibilities, we need to distinguish between the role of the State and the role of the church.

Sphere Sovereignty - Church (Keys) - State (Sword) - Family (Rod).

Sadly, throughout the history of Christendom, there has been times when such a strong blending of church and State relations existed that whatever denomination a particular nation happened to identify with, it led to the overthrow of other denominations.

Christians persecuting Christians.

R.C have their fair share of blood on their hands!

But Protestants aren’t without blemish either.

This is the danger of the State meddling into affairs they have no right to be handling.

Heresy becomes an issue the State has to deal with.

You have the government ordaining ministers.

We don’t want to go down that road…

We want the State to be the State, and we need to call the State to be the State!

Stay in your lane!

Separation of church and State does not mean the separation of God and State!

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3 - We don’t want to isolate ourselves from the broader work God is doing in the world.

I believe in the independence of the local church.

I also believe the church should associate with other like-minded churches.

To what extent must someone line up with our beliefs is a matter of wisdom.

Depending upon what the nature of the association is.

(Note) We’re not into the ecumenical movement!!

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The Offices of the Church: Points 4-5

What are elders?

What are deacons?

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The Ordinances of the Church: Points 6-8

6) Not seven ordinances!

1. Baptism 2. Confirmation 3. Eucharist 4. Penance 5. Extreme unction (popularly known as the “last rites,” the anointing with oil that is administered to a dying person) 6. Holy orders (ordination to the priesthood or diaconate) 7. Matrimony

“They are not sacraments” - Think this could be stated more clearly.

Not a fan of the first part of the sentence.

Like the second part of the sentence.

Fundamental Baptists have steered away from that language, I think as a reactionary response to anything that smells Roman Catholic.

Reformed Baptists, together with the larger Protestant tradition, have historically been okay with that the use of that term.

Michael Haykin’s book / “Retrieving Sacrament in the Baptist tradition.”

I quoted Grudem in a negative light this morning; maybe I’ll quote him in a positive light here! “It does not seem that any significant point is at issue here in the question of whether to call baptism and the Lord’s Supper “ordinances” or “sacraments.” Since Protestants who use both words explain clearly what they mean by them, the argument is not really over doctrine but over the meaning of an English word. If we are willing to explain clearly what we mean, it does not seem to make any difference whether we use the word sacrament or not.”

Sacrament is not the same as sacerdotalism!

Sacerdotalism = Priests serve an intermediaries between God & humanity.

Sacraments = Visible signs of an invisible reality / Sacred signs.

What are means of grace?

Means of grace = Things God uses to bless His people, strengthen the faith of His people, and cultivate spiritual growth in the lives of His people.

Grudem, “We may define the means of grace as follows: The means of grace are any activities within the fellowship of the church that God uses to give more grace to Christians.”

Sometimes some have only said there’s two means of grace.

Technically, there is multiple: 1. Teaching of the Word 2. Baptism 3. The Lord’s Supper 4. Prayer 5. Worship 6. Church discipline 7. Giving 8. Spiritual gifts 9. Fellowship 10. Evangelism.

Our Statement rejects the Roman Catholic understanding of the means of grace.

Ex opera operato = By the work performed.

Grace is automatically imparted to an individual whether or not there is subjective faith exercised by the individual.

Grace is communicated by virtue of participating in the sacrament.

This is wrong because 1 Cor 11 teaches that some incurred judgment by partaking of the sacrament!

(Note) If partaking of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner brings judgment, then don’t you think partaking of it in a worthy manner brings blessing?

“Ordinance” - emphasizes what we do in obedience to what Christ has ordained.

“Sacrament” - emphasizes how God uses it to strengthen the faith of believers.

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7) Infant baptism is wrong. Three reasons:

1 - It’s against the pattern established in the New Testament.

2 - Symbolizes salvation.

3 - Signs of the covenant are only administered to the members of the covenant.

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8)

Baptism was the ordinance of initiation.

Lord’s Supper was the ordinance that celebrated your ongoing communion with Christ.

John MacArthur, “When all the biblical texts are considered, the Lord’s Table is best understood as a memorial celebration that strengthens believers in their walk with Christ because it (1) commemorates Jesus’s substitutionary sacrifice (symbolized by the elements of the bread and the cup); (2) reminds believers of the historical truths of the gospel, including Christ’s incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension; (3) prompts believers to repent of any known sin; (4) causes them to rejoice in their redemption from sin and in their saving union with Christ; (5) motivates them to continue walking in loving obedience to the Lord; and (6) reminds them to hope in his imminent return.”