I.....

I am not a Campbellite.

I am not a part of a "Restoration" heritage.

I am not pro-gym.

I am not a part of a religious tradition.

I am not a liberal.

I am not conservative.

I am not "mainstream".

I am not pro-Christian college.

I am not "anti-institutional".

I am not anti-gym.

I am not anti-Christian college.

I am not "institutional".

I am not Protestant.

I am not Catholic.

I am not an evangelical.

I am not a "church of Christer".

I am not a religious fundementalist.

I am not "Word only".

I am not a proponent of "Divine illumination".

I am a recovering sinner (Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:8).

I am a part of the one true ancient faith (Ephesians 4:4-6).

I am a part of God's household (Galatians 6:10).

I am anti-denominational (1 Corinthians 1:10 ff.).

I am a non-coformist (Romans 12:1-2).

I am being transformed (Romans 12:1-2).

I am a friend to Jesus (John 14:15).

I am a student of the Scriptures (Acts 17:11).

I am a priest (1 Peter 2:9).

I am a Christian (Acts 11:26).

"Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name" (1 Peter 4:16).

Restoring the Ancient Faith - Organization (Part 2)

An interesting fact about the 1st century Christians was that they regarded Jesus Christ as their sole Leader and Authority. They knew that He was their King and Lord (Revelation 19:15). As His people, they served as His visible body on earth. As the church, God's eternal purpose - of reconciling Jews and Gentiles into one body - was realized (Ephesians 2:11-16; 3:10-11).

Since the church then and now was made up of human beings, the Savior left an adequate pattern for Christians to be structured by. This pattern helps the church grow in spiritual maturity and physical numbers. We will look at that pattern - the New Testament - and realize God's plan of organization for His people.

In the first place, God never insituted a higher body than the local congregation of Christians. There were no synods, official councils, college of cardinals, or any other ecclesiastical hiearchy. God never established a para-church organization. If anyone today is engaged in such, he or she is a part of something that the Lord never intended.

In the local congregation though, God did appoint overseers to see to the spiritual welfare of individual Christians in that congregation, not in another. Paul and others appointed "elders in every congregation". It was a very serious occaision, for they did so with "prayer and fasting" (Acts 14:23-24).

When writing about the various role of overseers in the local congregation, New Testament writers used several descriptive terms. When mentioning spiritual maturity, they are called elders (Acts 20:17; 1 Timothy 5:17). This term indicates that men who are overseers are of the highest spiritual quality (Titus 1:5-9). Also, they are called shepherds. Paul told the elders of the Ephesus congregation to pay careful attention to themselves and the flock that God had put them over (Acts 20:28). Peter told elders to "shepherd the flock of God that is among you" (1 Peter 5:2). Just as real sheep have a trusting bond with their shepherd, so Christians have love for their overseers. Why? Because those who lead us must do so as if they were giving an account (cf. Hebrews 13:17).

New Testament Christians were also served in the local congregation by men called deacons. This term comes from a Greek word that means servant or minister. All Christians are servants (cf. 1 Peter 2:16), but God has designated a special group of men in the local congregation for that noble work. Like overseers, deacons must likewise meet certain spiritual qualifications (cf. 1 Timothy 3:8-13). Even though there is no clergy class among Christians, deacons are subject to elders. Just as the rest of the congregation, deacons work under the oversight of shepherds. There really is no example of men in the New Testament meeting the 1 Timothy 3 requirements, but there is an example of seven men being appointed to serve the Lord's people because of a special need (Acts 6:1-7).

Because deacons are subject to elders, they are given special assignments by the eldership. It depends on the needs of the particular congregation, but works of deacons range from meetinghouse maintenance to VBS coordination. It really just depends on what the saints in the locale are in need of, much like the situation in Acts 6.

God has been so gracious to give us such an effective by which His church can grow in spiritual maturity (cf. Ephesians 4:11-14; 2 Peter 3:18)!

Restoring the Ancient Faith - Organization (Part 1)

One unique feature of the religion of Christ is its simplicity in structure. Today, many religious groups have complex ecclesiastical hierarchies with synods, councils, committees, cardinals' colleges, and various other extra-Biblical innovations. Since God is a God of order (1 Cor. 14:40), He has left us a simple plan of how His people are to be structured, making His church functional and effective in the local community and around the world.

In the first place, Christians in the first century were led by Jesus Christ. It was He who purchased the church with His blood (Acts 20:28). It was He who gave the divine law for His disciples to live by from day to day (John 12:48). It was He who promised to assemble His called-out group of people in one body (Matthew 16:18). Therefore, Jesus Christ has every right to be the head of the church (Ephesians 1:22-23).

Christ never left the idea that He would leave a special representative of sorts on earth to make new laws or to bind certain rules on others. He has not endowed us with special gifts in order to receive "new light" or "new revelation". He has left us the Word of Truth in order for us to know His will, and also in order for us to obey His will. Friends, this is the way that Christ leads and guides His church today.

In the first century, Christ DID in fact delegate special authority to His apostles. They were to bind on earth what had already been bound in heaven (Matthew 16:16-20). They could only speak where God had given them the words Jesus promised those special men that everything that He spoke would be brought back into their memories (John 14:26; 16:13). What they wrote and spoke were indeed the Lord's commands (1 Corinthians 14:37).

In our next essay, we will look at who Christ has given authority to help in leading the church today.