Category Archives: Ecclesiology

The Value of a Seminary Education

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Is seminary education valuable for those entering ministry? Two verses in the epistle of Paul to the Colossians concisely describe what ministry is all about: the Word, people, and a goal. Ministry involves a capacity to work with all types of people, an ability to communicate God’s Word, and a determination to labor to the point of exhaustion. An analysis of these verses teaches us that ministry demands certain qualifications, and an application of this learned truth reminds us that meeting these qualifications requires training.

On Service Organizations

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But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:16). It appears to be a penchant of Western culture that whenever people see a task bigger than they can perform, they start a specialized society, club, institution, or agency to carry out the task. The impulse carries over into the Lord’s work. We have three organizations clearly authorized in Scripture: the family, the government, and the local church.

The Rise of the Bible School Movement and Its Implications for Today

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The Bible School movement began in the later 1800s as a part of American Fundamentalism and has greatly impacted Bible-believing Christians over these last one hundred or so years. Since there already were many Christian liberal arts colleges and theological seminaries in existence at that time, it is legitimate to ask why there would be a need for Bible schools. Their need, as understood by Bible school founders, is seen in the distinctive features which these schools had and ultimately in the characteristics of those early Bible school graduates.

A Church Worth Choosing

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“For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10). It is an old truism that if you ever find the perfect church, don’t join it, or you will spoil it. Families in this country move once in about five or six years, and usually the believers among them will face the concern of finding a church to join. Of the standards they observe in making their choice, all the doctrines and practices might be summed up by asking, Is this a place where they feel comfortable?

When is a Church a Church?

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Many people are hopelessly confused by the maze of religious institutions that call themselves a church. The modern ecumenical movement has created an atmosphere quite hostile to any dogmatic, specific definition of a church. On the other hand, interdenominational thought, with its primary emphasis upon the “universal church,” and its accompanying “parachurch” organizations has given little thought to exacting definitions of the nature of a true local church. In the minds of many, the definition, organization, and function of a church are relatively unimportant, provided the church is reasonably biblical and functions as local churches traditionally function.

Promise Keepers: A Fundamentalist Evaluation

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Introduction Contemporary American society is splintered into many one-issue organizations, groups composed of people who are diverse in their views on many subjects but who are united on one single issue. This method was so successfully used by the civil rights movement in the 1950s that soon Americans saw the rise of groups advocating women’s rights, gay rights, etc. As a reaction, certain conservative religious leaders formed their own one-issue groups. In the 1996 updated version of his book The Conservative IntellectuaI Movement in America Since 1945, George H.

Worship That Pleases God

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Genesis 4:3–8 describes this first act of worship recorded in human history. Two brothers, Cain and Abel, brought an offering to the Lord. Each worshipper brought something of his own as an offering to Jehovah. Cain brought some fruit or grain from the ground. Abel brought some lambs from his fold. The Lord respected Abel and his offering, but the Lord did not respect Cain and his offering. Bible commentators have voiced several opinions as to why Abel’s offering was more excellent than Cain’s.

Third Generation Christians

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“And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers; and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel” Joshua 2:10. Regarding those who may be described as third generation Christians, they appear that way not so much by numerical succession as by attitude. A fifth generation believer may maintain the freshness of his salvation and discovery. A second generation believer may leave the convictions of his parents, take everything for granted, and thereby compress decades of Christian experience into a fraction of a lifetime.

Ministering in the Spirit

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Romans 8:4 “…who walk after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 3:3 “…are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” 2 Corinthians 10:3 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh.” Galatians 5:17 “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” The New Testament etches a mark between the old nature and the new, between the flesh and the spirit (John 3:5,6).

Lessons in Church Planting from the Apostle Paul

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Many people have a mistaken idea of missions. If you ask them, “What is a missionary?” they immediately think of someone who goes to a foreign land, learns a foreign language, and works in a foreign culture. In one sense they are right, but in another they are wrong. They are right in that many missionaries do go to foreign lands. They do learn foreign languages. They do work in foreign cultures. However, they are wrong in thinking that this is true of every missionary.