Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Ps.119:105
The Bible - God's Guide Book For Pleasing Him
The Bible is no ordinary book! Without a
doubt, it is the inspired Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16), and its
purpose is to reveal God’s Will to man (1 Corinthians 2:11-13). With
the Bible as our guide, we can understand what God expects of
us, and how we can be a part of His group of people—the church. All
we have to do is carefully follow the instructions in the Bible,
and we can duplicate the church that we read about in the New
Testament.
“I will build My church…”
Jesus promised: “...I will build My church...” (Matthew 16:18)
. Any church that claims to belong to Christ should be the
same as the one we read about in the Bible. Anything else is...
.something else.
Soon after Jesus ascended back to heaven, He made good on His
promise to build His church. When the people first heard Jesus’
apostles preach His saving gospel, “those who gladly received his
word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were
added to them.” (Acts 2:41). The church Jesus had promised to build
had been established that day. “And the Lord added to the church
daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47). Notice that the
church is made up of people who are being “saved” (Acts 2:47); cf.
Ephesians 5:23). Christ, the founder, is “...head over all things to
the church, which is His body” (Ephesians 1:22-23). His church
“headquarters” is heaven, where Jesus Christ was on the day His
church was founded...and where He rules today.
Who May Become a Member of His Church?
Since the church is made up of those who are “being saved,” how
does one become a saved person who is added to the Lord’s church?
The Bible tells us, clearly and plainly, what one must do to be
saved. To put it simply, one must believe and obey the gospel
(Romans 1:16).
Just like those who were first added to the church, it starts when
we hear the Word of God (Acts 2:37; 2:41). Hearing God’s Word will
cause us to believe (Romans 10:17;
Hebrews 11:6;
Acts 2:37;
Mark 16:15-16). We then need to repent of (change our minds about and
turn from) our sins (Luke 13:3;
Acts 2:38),
and confess our belief in Jesus as the Son of God in front of others
(Matthew 10:32-33;
Romans 10:9-10).
Finally, we need to be “baptized...for the
remission of sins” (Acts 2:38;
22:16;
1 Peter 3:21;
Romans 6:3-7).
It is at the point of baptism for the remission of sins, that we
stop being lost and start being saved. And then, the Lord adds us to
His church (Acts 2:47).
The church that meets at 1295 Brickyard Road in Chipley is made up
of people who have carefully followed the New Testament pattern for
salvation. They are people who have been “purchased” with the blood
of Jesus Christ (Acts 20:28),
and have been added to His church
(Acts 2:47),
having fellowship in the worldwide family of God.
The church that meets in Chipley is a small collection of
people—members of God’s family—who have chosen to work together in
this area. “Family” members in other locations have also joined
together for similar purposes, just as they did in the first
century. Following the Bible’s plan, local congregations—just like
the church in Chipley— exist all over the world.