THE\nLOCAL CHURCH: A FELLOWSHIP OF BELIEVERS IN CHRIST
\nLuke sets before us an example of what every\nlocal church should be, by
\nshowing us what that early church at Jerusalem\nwas. “They continued
\nsteadfastly in the apostles doctrine and\nfellowship, and breaking of
\nbread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). That\nearly assembly was a blessed
\nfellowship of believers in Christ. When the\nBible talks about the
\nfellowship of believers, it is not talking about\nsocial gatherings or
\nchurch dinners; it is talking about a genuine\noneness of heart among
\nGod’s people. Fellowship is unity of heart and\npurpose. It is good to
\nget together physically in one place. We all\nenjoy that. But it is
\nbetter to be united in heart. That is\nfellowship.
\nOur fellowship as a church is fourfold, We enjoy\nA DOCTRINAL FELLOWSHIP.
\nLike the early church, we continue steadfastly\nin the apostles’
\ndoctrine, the gospel of God’s sovereign, saving\ngrace in Christ. Nothing
\nis of greater importance to the local church\nthan our doctrinal
\nfoundation. What we do and what we are as a\nchurch is determined by what
\nwe believe. If our fellowship with one another\nis not built upon the
\ngospel, then we have no real fellowship. The one\nthing that binds our
\nhearts together is the gospel of Christ. God has\nalso given us A
\nFRATERNAL FELLOWSHIP. We are brothers and\nsisters in the family of God.
\nFew churches have been so blessed of God as we\nare. I do not think I am
\nbeing presumptuous, when I say that we are one.\nGod has given us a sweet
\nfellowship of love, sympathy, understanding and\ncare. The Lord
\ngraciously grants us FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRIST. The\nSon of God himself
\nmeets with us and makes himself known (Matt.\n18:20). And in this place
\nwe have been granted FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD. In our\nsongs of praise and our
\nprayers together, we draw near to the living\nGod, our Father, in true
\nfellowship! (I John 1:1-3). How we ought to\ncherish, carefully guard,
\nand eagerly promote this fellowship:
\nDon fortner.
\n
\n
\n
\nDoctrine and Doctrines
\nClay Curtis
\nDoctrine means teaching or instruction.\nConcerning Christ Jesus we read,
\n“And they were astonished at his\n[DOCTRINE]: for he [TAUGHT] them as one
\nthat had authority, and not as the scribes”\n(Mar 1:22.)
\nThroughout scripture, the word\n“doctrine” is almost always in the
\nsingular when it describes God’s doctrine (Joh\n7: 16, 17; 2 Joh 1: 9;
\nRom 16: 17.) Usually, when the scriptures refer\nto man’s teachings the
\nword is in the plural (Mat. 15:9; Mar 7: 7; Col\n2: 22; I Tim 4: 1; Heb
\n13: 9.)
\nThe doctrine of Christ is singular because no\nmatter the subject (or
\nwhere it is found in scripture) it is concerning\nChrist Jesus the Son of
\nGod whose person and office never changes. God’s\ndoctrine feeds the
\nappetite Christ gives. The appetite he gives in\nspirit is for Christ
\nJesus the same yesterday and today and forever.\nThe doctrines of men are
\nmany because they feed only the flesh of men.\nThe appetites of men
\nchange and vary from one moment to the next. So\ndo their doctrines.
\nDivers Doctrines
\nDivers doctrines are teachings invented by men\nwhich offer a variety so
\nas to please men.
\nThe pack of snacks mom brings home with all\ndifferent kinds of goodies
\nin it is called a\u2014”variety” pack. It\nhas “various” flavors and colors
\nfor whatever appeals to your taste or your eye\nat the moment. Those are
\n“divers” snacks.
\nMan has invented a “variety” of\nteachings concerning God, concerning
\nman’s condition and concerning salvation. Such\nteachings are designed by
\nman to appeal to whatever men’s taste may be at\nthe moment because men
\nchange. God’s doctrine is one. It does not\nchange. The teaching of God
\nis always, continually the same because it is\nconcerning Jesus Christ
\nthe same yesterday and today and forever (Heb\n13: 7-9.)
\nStrange Doctrines
\nStrange doctrines are teachings not found in God’s\nword.
\nIf you were lost and your father sent someone to\nteach you the way to
\nget home that would be true doctrine. Yet,\nsomeone else comes along
\nteaching a way which will carry you about from\nthe way your father
\ntaught you. You know their teaching is “strange”\nbecause it does not
\nagree with the word–the teaching or\ndoctrine–of your father.
\nGod’s word is his doctrine sent down from\nheaven. Any time you are
\ntaught by men, compare what men teach to what\nGod teaches in his written
\nword. If what they instruct agrees with God it\nis true doctrine; if what
\nthey teach does not agree with God’s word, if it\nis not in agreement
\nwith the person and work of Christ Jesus, or if\nit is foreign to the
\nteaching that salvation is by grace, then you\ncan be sure they are
\nteaching strange doctrines–be not carried about\n(Heb 13: 9.)
\n
\n
\n
\n
\nThe Gospel In Person – The Doctrine Of God
\nTommy Robbins
\n\u201cPaul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be\nan apostle, separated
\nunto the gospel of God, (Which He had promised\nafore by His prophets in
\nthe holy scriptures,) Concerning His Son Jesus\nChrist our Lord \u2026\u201d Romans
\n1:1-3
\nBefore the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ in\nthe flesh the gospel of
\nGod was in promise by oath, or covenant, Christ\nbeing the Surety and
\nSubstance of that promise – \u201cWho hath saved us,\nand called us with an
\nholy calling, not according to our works, but\naccording to His own
\npurpose and grace, which was given us in Christ\nJesus before the world
\nbegan\u201d 2Timothy 1:9.
\n
\nHE IS THE PROMISE of the gospel. The gospel and\nChrist are synonymous.
\nHe is the mystery of the gospel revealed to His\npeople – \u201cBut we speak
\nthe wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden\nwisdom, which God
\nordained before the world unto our glory\u201d\n1Corinthians 2:7. The
\npreaching of the gospel is the declaration of\nChrist, Who has come into
\nthe world and effectually put away the sin of\nHis people by the
\nsacrifice of Himself.
\n
\nThe Lord Jesus Christ IS the Good News. Make no\nmistake, if the message
\nwhich we preach is not saturated, permeated,\nwith the person of Christ,
\nwe have not preached THE GOSPEL. He is our\ndoctrine! The Lord Jesus
\nChrist is not revealed in the doctrine of God,\nthe doctrine of God is
\nrevealed in HIM! If we preach the Lord Jesus\nChrist as He is revealed in
\nthe scriptures our doctrine will be correct.\nConfused? Let me simplify
\nit; \u201cWe preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a\nstumbling block, and
\nunto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which\nare called, both Jews
\nand Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom\nof God\u201d 1Co 1:23-24.
\n
\nThe gospel is concerned with the Lord Jesus\nChrist, all He is, all He
\nhas done, and all He is doing. He has\npreeminence in all things. It is
\nvital to be doctrinally correct. However, there\nis no correct doctrine
\napart from Christ our Lord. Whether one labels\nme as a Calvinist or not,
\nis of no concern to me. I pray that it may be\nsaid of all who hear me,
\n\u201cHe determined not to know any thing among you,\nsave Jesus Christ, and
\nHim crucified\u201d 1Corinthians 2:2.
\n
\n
\n
\nBeware Of False Prophets
\n
\n\u201cBeware of false prophets which come to you in\nsheep\u2019s clothing, but
\ninwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know\nthem by their fruits.\u201d
\n— Matthew 7:15-16
\n
\nThe Lord Jesus Christ, being the faithful\nShepherd that He is, warns us
\nmuch about \u2018false prophets.\u2019 Though a\nfrightening and uncomfortable
\nsubject, yet it is so very needful. How did He\nsay these false prophets
\nwould come? It is always in \u2018sheep\u2019s clothing\u2019,\nas \u2018false brethren,
\ncrept in unawares.\u2019 It is not as out and out\nimposters, but as one of
\nus. Judas was suspected by none. And how did our\nLord say these false
\nprophets would be known? \u201cBy their fruits.\u201d They\nwill be found out and
\nexposed, not by out and out false doctrine, but\nby that which their
\nso-called ministry produces . . . their fruit.\nApparently Judas\u2019
\npreaching was doctrinally correct or else one of\nthe apostles would have
\nexposed him.
\n
\nSo, as for trying the spirits, are they\ngathering or scattering the
\nsheep? Are the saints united by them or divided\nover them? Are they
\nbuilding up or tearing down. It behooves us to\ntry them for there are
\nmany in these last days. And since \u2018smooth words\nand fair speeches
\ndeceive the hearts of the simple\u2019, let us not be\nsimple but wise in our
\njudgments. Remember, this dire warning is from\nthe Lord our Shepherd,
\nthat we be not led away with the error of the\nwicked. This will not
\nproduce in us a suspicion of others but only\nmake manifest (clear) those
\nwhich are approved and those who are not.
\nPaul Mahan.
\n
\n
\n
\nBy the Prophets
\nHebrews 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in\ndivers manners spake in time
\npast unto the fathers by the prophets . . .
\n
\nThe word prophet in the OT means, \u201cspokesman,\u201d\nand is from a root word
\nwhich means \u201cto speak under divine influence.\u201d\nInteresting that this
\nroot word would come to be used for God\u2019s\nspokesmen and it is because if
\na sinner is going to speak for God, God must\nbless that sinner and
\nspecially enable him to do so. 2Peter 1:21 For\nthe prophecy came not in
\nold time by the will of man: but holy men of God\nspake [as they were]
\nmoved by the Holy Ghost. In Hebrews 1:1 the\nprophets are mentioned, but
\nit is God Who spoke. We see this same wording in\nLuke 1:68 Blessed [be]
\nthe Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and\nredeemed his people, 69
\nAnd hath raised up an horn of salvation for us\nin the house of his
\nservant David; 70 As he spake by the mouth of\nhis holy prophets, which
\nhave been since the world began.
\n
\nNo man has ever truly spoken for God, then or\nnow, that has not had a
\nmessage directly from God, and it has always\nbeen the same message.
\nEveryone who is not preaching Christ and Him\ncrucified is just
\npretending to speak for God. If the Holy Ghost\nhas anything to do with
\nit, it will be Christ alone. Let religious\nzealots speak of \u201ca message
\nfor our day,\u201d all they want. There has never\nbeen but one message for
\nany day, and that is Christ Jesus, the\nsovereign, effectual Redeemer of
\nsinners. While others are \u201csharing\u201d\nsensationalism under the misnomer of
\n\u201cend time prophecy,\u201d and rambling about what\nsinners need to do for God,
\nHis spokesmen will be doing what our Lord\nHimself did while He was here:
\nLuke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the\nprophets, he expounded
\nunto them in all the scriptures the things\nconcerning himself.
\nChris Cunningham
\n
\n
\n
\nIf ever it could come to pass
\nThat sheep of Christ might fall away,
\nMy fickle, feeble soul, alas!
\nWould fall a thousand times a day;
\nI on Thy promises depend,
\nThat Thou will love me to the end.
\nJoseph Hart
\n
\n“And there appeared a great wonder in\nheaven, a woman clothed with the
\nsun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her\nhead a crown of twelve
\nstars.”\u2014Rev. xii. 1.
\nMy soul! as the beloved apostle was invited to\nsee those precious
\nvisions, which the Lord favoured him with, for\nthe church’s good, so do
\nthou, this evening, attend his ministry, and\ngather, under divine
\nteaching, instruction from this great wonder,\nwhich John saw. Surely,
\nthe woman here spoken of, means the church, the\nLamb’s wife, clothed in
\nher husband’s righteousness; and the moon, like\nthat planet which
\nministers to our world, under her feet: and the\ncrown, with which her
\nhead was adorned, sets forth how the church is\nmade glorious by the
\nministry of the twelve apostles in the gospel of\nsalvation: for what can
\nbe more suitable for the church to be crowned\nwith, than the blessed
\ntruths contained in their writings? Now, my\nsoul, as every
\nrepresentation of the church not only sets forth\nthe whole body at
\nlarge, but every individual member of that body,\nask thyself, hath this
\nwonder been wrought on thee, which John saw? Art\nthou clothed with the
\nsun, even with Jesus, the sun of righteousness,\nin his garment of
\nsalvation? Hast thou mounted up, not in airy\nspeculations, not in any
\nfancied attainments of thine own, but in\nheavenly mindedness after
\nJesus, and devout communion with him; so that\nthe earth, with all its
\nperishing beauties, is got under thy feet? Hast\nthou such views of the
\nblessedness and preciousness of the word of God,\nthe gospel of thy
\nsalvation, that it is dearer to thee than gold,\nyea, than all the crowns
\nof the earth? Pause, while these inquiries pass\nover thy mind; and
\nsurely, if the Lord, by the sovereignty of his\ngrace, hath wrought such
\nblessed effects upon thee, a great wonder is\nindeed wrought in earth,
\nlike that which John saw in heaven, and well\nmayest thou stand amazed at
\nthe greatness and the distinguishing nature of\nsalvation. “Lord! what am
\nI; and what is my father’s house?”
\nRobert Hawker The Poor Man’s Morning and Evening\nPortions.
\n
\nWHAT IS THE CHURCH?
\n From the Scriptures we know the church is\nHis body, His bride, the
\npeople He loved and purchased with His own blood\nthat He sees as
\nglorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such\nthing. It is the church
\nof Christ, the church of God, the house of God,\nthe pillar and ground of
\nthe Truth. It is that which He built and of\nwhich He is the Head. It is
\nthe ones He feeds, and walks in their midst, and\npromises His presence.
\nIt is the place from whose midst He sings. It is\nthe general assembly
\nand church of the firstborn whose names are\nwritten in heaven. It is
\nthat group of people of whom Christ said,\u201cIn as\nmuch as ye have done it
\nto the least of these My brethren, you have done\nit to Me.\u201dWe see how
\nimportant church is to Him. How important is it\nto you?
\nTodd Nibert.
\n
\n
\n
\nThere are two vital things the Holy Spirit\nreveals to all whom He brings
\nto faith in Christ Jesus.
\n
\n1. He will reveal our NEED OF CHRIST! I need\nThee, precious Jesus, for I
\nam full of sin, my soul is dark and gloomy, my\nheart is dead within; I
\nneed the cleansing fountain where I can always\nflee, the blood of Christ
\nmost precious, the sinner\u2019s perfect plea.
\n
\n2. He will reveal that CHRIST IS ALL WE NEED!\n\u201cIn Him dwelleth ALL the
\nfullness of the Godhead bodily and ye are\nCOMPLETE in Him.\u201d He, of God,
\nis made unto me all I need. The more quickly we\nlearn that Christ is,
\nindeed, ALL we need to make us righteous and\naccepted before God, the
\nsooner we will enjoy the rest, peace, and\nassurance promised to His own.
\nMost of God\u2019s elect are brought to Christ\nearlier in life than the dying
\nthief, but all are redeemed and made righteous\nEXACTLY AS HE WAS \u2013 by
\nthe free grace of God, plus nothing, minus\nnothing. ~Henry Mahan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE LOCAL CHURCH: A FELLOWSHIP OF BELIEVERS IN CHRIST Luke sets before us an example of what every local church should be, by showing us what that early church at Jerusalem was. “They continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, and breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). That early assembly was a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bulletin-editions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5335"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5336,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5335\/revisions\/5336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}