“The House That Christ Built”

Sunday, January 13, 2013

When you join a local assembly, what is expected from the pastor and the church to know if it is the church that Christ built?  I heard one particular preacher say that it is “his church”, but I thought that no man built the church, only Christ.

Sincerely,
Ownership Issues

Dear Ownership Issues,

A local church is part of Christ’s church if it teaches what Christ taught and attempts to act as Christ would have it act.  The church is supposed to stand by and stand for the truth (1 Tim 3:15).  Here are several basic truths that every faithful congregation should get right:

1. The church should properly teach what it takes to become a christian – read “What Must I Do To Be Saved?” to learn what the Bible says about salvation.
2. The church should properly worship God.  There are five things that God has asked us to do to worship Him: pray (1 Thess 5:17), sing (Col 3:16), publicly dwell upon His Word (1 Tim 4:13), take the Lord’s Supper on Sunday (Acts 20:7), and take up a collection for the Lord’s work (1 Cor 16:1-2).  Any church that does more, or less, than these things as a part of their worship… isn’t Christ’s church.
3. The church should have a proper structure.  Every church that belongs to Christ is independent – they are only subservient to God.  Each church is led by its own elders (Acts 14:23); any congregation that has a headquarters in some other city or is given rules and laws by some governing body other than themselves is not led by Christ.

Those three areas are the most basic components to a faithful congregation.  If a church is doing these things, you are most likely in a congregation that properly serves Christ.

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