(This post is a follow-up to “Trouble At The Top”)

First of all, I wanted to thank you for the answer to a recent question about the doctrinal problem I was having in the church I attend.  But because of the answer, I have other questions I would like to ask.  They are:

1. Why is this truth of Acts 20:17 not taught?
2. All the churches in the area that I know of have a pastor, two to three elders, and deacons.  Where is this type of church government found in the Word?
3. If it is not, why is it so popular and allowed?

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Skeptical

Dear Skeptical,

There is a constant battle in the religious world between doctrinal purity and ecumenicalism.  Ecumenicalism is the teaching that we should accept anyone and everything just as they are.  It is impossible to accept everyone as they are and still remain true to the teachings of Jesus Christ.  As people move toward tolerance of all, they move away from Christ.  Sadly, most churches in America flourish under the banner of total acceptance… this is why Acts 20:17 (among other simple but unpopular biblical teachings) isn’t taught.

The Bible even warns us that such things would happen.  Paul told Timothy that most churches would eventually stop teaching truth and start preaching whatever peoples’ ears itched to hear (2 Tim 4:3-4).  Whenever the main goal of preaching becomes to make people happy, false teaching abounds.  Paul also warned that there would be a “falling away” in the years following the Bible’s completion (2 Thess 2:3).  Every time a church shoves the Bible to the side and begins to do what is popular instead of what is faithful (faith comes by hearing and applying God’s Word – Rom 10:17), it falls away.  That is what began to happen to the Galatian church.  Paul warned them that they were misusing the Bible.  The Galatians were warping and twisting the Word, and that is just as bad as not using the Bible at all (Gal 1:6-9).  Many churches do exactly what the Galatian church did; they add or subtract from the Bible whenever it suits them, and consequently, they stop being a faithful church (Rev 22:18-19).

The biblical pattern for a congregation is for a plurality of elders to lead the church (1 Pet 5:1-2).  Those elders must meet the qualifications of 1 Tim 3:1-7 and Tit 1:5-9.  If there are men qualified to be deacons, they should be appointed to serve as helpers for the elders (‘deacon’ means ‘servant’).  Deacons must meet the qualifications found in 1 Tim 3:8-13.  There is no example in the Bible of a leadership structure other than that.  The single-pastor system is totally manmade… popular, to be sure, but still manmade.  We’ve all seen that many things in this life that are popular are also wrong.  The Bible is God’s tool to bring us salvation (Rom 1:16-17)… if we want that salvation, we must stand firm and not let Satan delude its influence.  The only way to stay doctrinally pure and pleasing to God is to test every church practice against the Bible (1 Jn 4:1).

Hi.  Hope you are having a wonderful day.  I have a question.  I know that if you sow financial seed, you can receive a harvest from God, but what I want to know is: can I also sow financial seed to receive a healing from God???

Sincerely,
Medical Costs?

Dear Medical Costs,

Whoever told you that you are guaranteed a financial harvest by giving to God is misinterpreting the meaning of 2 Cor 9:6.  The idea that we get financial gain by giving more to churches is a heretical teaching that very conveniently happens to sow financial prosperity for churches… regardless of what happens to the people they are preaching to.  This teaching is often referred to as “the prosperity gospel” and is wrong (read our article “Cash Cow” for further details on that false doctrine).  Suffice it to say, sometimes God blesses giving people with financial blessings, but other times, truly godly people suffer through great financial struggles.

We don’t know what physical ailment you wish to have healed, but more money in the contribution plate isn’t the answer, and if your church is telling you that it is – you need to find a new church!  We can help with that if you’d like (e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org).  God tells us to pray when we are sick and to have others pray for us as well (Jas 5:14).  Righteous prayers do more good than we can ever imagine (Pr 15:29, Jas 5:16).  Live faithfully and trust that God is in control (Ps 46:10).

I see a lot of questions on baptism and a lot of different opinions.  In Romans 10:9, it says that if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be SAVED.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.  Verse 13 states, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  I have found over 300 verses promising salvation for those who simply believe in the name of the Lord.  Why are you so focused on baptism for salvation?  Yes, it is very important, but I do not see anything saying if I'm not baptized, I'm not saved.  I do see, though, that if I don't believe, I do not get eternal life.

Sincerely,
Full Of Belief

Dear Full Of Belief,

Everyone agrees that we must believe in order to be saved because there are many verses that point out the importance of faith (‘belief’ and ‘faith’ are the same word in the Greek language).  However, just because one thing is required for salvation doesn’t mean other things aren’t also required.  You mentioned Rom 10:9 (which states that confession is a requirement of salvation).  Rom 8:24 says that we are saved by hope.  Rom 10:1-2 says that knowledge is a requirement for salvation (knowledge of God’s Word – Rom 10:17, Rom. 1:16).  2 Thess 2:10 says that love of truth is a requirement for salvation.  All of these things are requirements for salvation.  God tells us that the sum of His Word provides us with the truth (Ps 119:160) and that we can’t add or subtract a single verse (Rev 22:18-19).

There are verses that teach that belief saves you (Acts 16:30-31), but there are also verses that teach that baptism saves you (1 Pet 3:21 is the clearest).  If we cut out baptism, which is mentioned in every single case of christian conversion, we can no longer say that we are taking the total of God’s Word.  We are called friends of Christ when we do what He commands us (Jhn 15:14).  He commands us to be baptized to wash away our sins (Acts 22:16)… if we want a new life free of sin, we must be buried with Him in baptism as He commands us (Rom 6:3-4).  You mentioned Rom 10:9 as a very simple verse – confess with your mouth and believe with your heart, and you will be saved.  Mk. 16:16 is equally simple – “He who believes and is baptized will be saved”.

Based on your response regarding the authority to interpret the scriptures under the heading “Going for Pope”, I was hoping you could clarify a few things.  How can two local congregations, relying on Scripture alone for all matters of faith and practice, still be diametrically opposed doctrinally?  This is from my father-in-law’s local independent Baptist church under the “what we believe” section of their website:

• The Bible (KJV) to be the infallible, inerrant Word of God (II Peter 1:20,21)(I Peter 1:23-25)
• The Bible is to be the sole source for all matters of faith and practice (II Timothy 3:16)
• There is one true and living God revealed to us as the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, three separate personages in one divine being (I John 5:7)
• The only way of salvation is by grace through faith in the atonement and righteousness of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8)
• It is the duty of all to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (II Peter 3:9)
• Nothing can separate true believers from the love of God and they are kept by His power through faith unto salvation (I John 5:10-13)
• In the pre-millenial return of the Lord Jesus Christ, that the wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment but the righteous unto life eternal (I Thessalonians 4:15 18) (Revelations 21:8)
• In the autonomy of the local church, and that it is to be self-supporting, self-governing, not dependent on any ecclesiastical organizations; solely dependent on the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:16-19)
• The church is the divine means of spreading the gospel and it is our duty to support missions at home and abroad (Matthew 28:18-20)

The pastor of that congregation has studied the Bible for over forty years and can provide scriptural support for every doctrine that he teaches.  They consider themselves a model New Testament church and believe they are lead by the Holy Spirit when interpreting Scripture.  They rely on no creeds or traditions and go as far as teaching that any other congregation that doesn’t hold similar beliefs are not truly “saved” christians.  In direct opposition to what your local church of Christ congregation teaches, they believe baptism is symbolic only and not necessary for salvation.  Once a believer is saved, they are always saved. You must tithe ten percent or be cursed by God.  They practice communion once every four months.  They use musical instruments in worship service.  They believe in a pre-tribulation rapture of the church. They use all the same criteria you mentioned in your previous responses (Bible as the sole rule of faith), and yet, you would disagree with them (using the very same Scriptures)!  Can you elaborate on your previous answer given this scenario?

Sincerely,
Needing More

Dear Needing More,

We will admit that Baptist churches are much more Bible-centered than most of the denominational world, but just because they say that they do exactly what the Bible says doesn’t make it true.  Many of the things that your father-in-law’s congregation believes are right, but there are some glaring practices that simply ignore Scripture.  Remember, if you avoid or ignore verses, that is just as bad as adding creeds (Rev 22:18-19).  We have to take every Bible teaching, no matter how unpopular, and accept it in order to truly call ourselves a “Bible-only” congregation.  We don’t disagree with your father-in-law when he uses Scriptures; we would disagree with him when he ignores or avoids Scripture.  So let’s take a look at a couple of areas that this Baptist church is ignoring obvious Bible text.

1. Baptism is necessary for salvation.  This is one of the clearest teachings in the New Testament.  Peter literally wrote, “Baptism saves you” in 1 Pet. 3:21.  Mark 16:16 teaches that when you believe and are baptized, you are saved.  There is not a single example of someone becoming a christian without baptism.  If a church is teaching that baptism is only symbolic… it is ignoring the text.  In fact, the Baptist church’s manual (which is a lot like a creed) specifically says, “Baptism was the door into the church; now it is different” (Standard Manual for Baptist Churches pg. 22).  Feel free to read our article “Baptism” for further Scriptures on this topic.
2. The Bible openly teaches that you can lose your salvation.  Gal 5:4 says that people can be “severed from Christ” and “fall away from grace”.  1 Tim 4:1 also warns that people will fall away and follow false teachings.  Heb 3:12 also mentions falling away because of an unbelieving heart.  The clearest verse on this topic is Heb 6:4-6 because it talks about someone who was “enlightened” and had “tasted the heavenly gift” and yet were “crucifying Christ again”.  Once again, these are simple verses with clear and direct implications.
3. The Lord’s Supper.  Your father-in-law’s congregation only takes the Lord’s Supper every four months.  Where is the Bible authority and support for that?  Where in the Bible does it show christians taking communion every four months?  Acts 20:7 mentions christians taking the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week.  Once again, this is a plain teaching with a simple consequence.  If we want to be like the first-century christians… we take communion every first day of the week.

This is hardly an exhaustive answer to everything that your father-in-law’s church does, but it should be enough to give you an idea that there are some clear verses that are being avoided by this Baptist congregation.  God tells us to test all teaching against the Scripture (1 Jn 4:1).  No congregation advertises that they are ignoring parts of the Bible, but many churches do exactly that.

Due to the lengthy nature of these answers and our backlog of questions, if you have further questions on this topic, please include your e-mail address, so we can contact you in a timely manner.

In your response, "What The Holy Spirit Does", are you saying then that the Holy Spirit talks to us, or rather, puts on our hearts things to say and do?

Sincerely,
Impressionable Heart

Dear Impressionable Heart,

We aren’t saying either of those things.  The Holy Spirit tells us what to do through the Bible.  The Holy Spirit told the apostles what He wanted for us to know (Jhn 14:26), and the apostles wrote it down, so we would always have the Holy Spirit’s wisdom (2 Pet 1:12-15).  Every verse is the Holy Spirit speaking to us (2 Pet 1:21).