January 19, 2016

Church Membership

Church Attendance Board

The term “church membership” is not used in the New Testament. However, it is certainly a Scriptural concept. Paul clearly taught the concept of church membership in his letter to Corinth (1 Corinthians 12:14-30). Notice the following verses in particular:

“For the body is not one member, but many” (1 Corinthians 12:14).

“But now there are many members, but one body” (1 Corinthians 12:20).

“Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27).

In this article, let us consider the topic of church membership. As we do, we will ask three questions: (1) What is church membership? (2) How do we become members? (3) What are members to do?
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July 1, 2015

Sharing the Gospel with Theophilus

Luke

When Luke wrote his gospel account, he addressed it to an individual named Theophilus. If we look at the writer’s introduction to the book, we will see some important lessons that we can apply to our efforts to share the gospel with others today.

“Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:1-4).

Let us consider some points about Luke sharing the gospel with Theophilus.
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March 6, 2014

Lessons from the Conversion of Apollos

There are several accounts of people being converted to Christ in the book of Acts. One such example was the conversion of Apollos in Ephesus.

“Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue.

“But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ” (Acts 18:24-28).

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September 29, 2013

Audio: Rules for Religious Discussions

It is incumbent upon Christians to be ready to teach others. Religious discussions will take place in different environments – friendly/hostile, public/private, in-person/online, etc. How do we make the best use of our opportunities to discuss the Scriptures with others? By remembering some rules for religious discussions.
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December 12, 2012

How to Reach Others with the Gospel

Two Men Studying the Bible

“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16).

The above passage is commonly referred to as the Great Commission. Though this commission was given exclusively to the apostles (there is no divine mandate for each Christian to “go into all the world” today), there certainly are principles that apply to us. God wants people to be saved and the gospel is the way to reach them. Therefore, we should be doing what we can to spread the gospel.

But how do we reach others with the gospel? There is more to be done in this regard than just standing up in the pulpit and preaching (though this is one of the ways which we will discuss). Not everyone can stand up in the pulpit and preach, but each one of us can do different things to help reach others with the gospel.

In this article, we will briefly notice some of the things that we can do as individuals to spread the gospel.
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December 8, 2011

Sounding Forth the Word

Tin can phone

The local church is God’s “missionary society” – the organization through which we work to spread the gospel. Though man has concocted many different schemes and systems since the time when Jesus established His church, the Lord’s design is for His message to be proclaimed through the work of individuals and local churches. Paul mentioned the church in Thessalonica as an example of how this simple arrangement can be successful.

“For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything” (1 Thessalonians 1:8).

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April 9, 2010

The Trouble with the Census

Although David was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), he did make mistakes. The one that usually comes to our mind first was his sin with Bathsheba. But he later committed an offense so severe that the Lord sent a pestilence which killed 70,000 people (2 Samuel 24:15). What was his sin? He took a census of the people.

Satan was the one who influenced David to do this (1 Chronicles 21:1). But what was it about numbering the people that was so wrong. Why was it that David’s counting of the people constituted a victory for Satan?
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