What church organization is the most devoted to the Bible?
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Asked January 09 2014
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cody bitner
For follow-up discussion and general commentary on the topic. Comments are sorted chronologically.
Carl Jones
"What church organization is the most devoted to the Bible?"
I am not saying which "church" is the true Church. There is only one true Church and that is the body of Christ, made up of ALL believers who have trusted Him for salvation. Sadly, due to to our failure to be united in Christ denominations have arisen. Out of these denominations there are some who hold to the inerrancy of Scripture and there are those who would substitute their own thinking for God's revealed Word. The group who probably hold the Scriptures in highest regard are those who would go by the name of "Brethren" although they would call themselves "brethren" with a lower case "b" as they do not recognise themselves as being a denomination in the true sense of the word.
First we should agree on what we believe to be a "local church" and I would humbly submit the following as defining a local church.
1) It should be self governing.
a) As to church government, the governing body (of men) are to be raised up from within the local body and each elder (more than one) MUST fulfil the qualifications of elders as outlined in I Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus I:6-9, not looking to a higher body or council to make decisions.
b) As to church discipline, as outlined in Matthew 18:15-20.
c) As to church finances. They are to make their own decisions as to how finances should be used.
2) Self supporting.
a) As to manpower. The needs of the church should be met by people of the church. A RELIANCE on visiting speakers / teachers should be avoided although this does not mean that believers with specialised gifts, skills or experience should not be invited to speak.
b) As to finances. The body of believers of that church should seek to meet the needs of the church, no appeals to other churches or organisations should be made, although this does not mean they cannot accept a gift in the gracious manner it was given. The local church at Jerusalem accepted such gifts when they were going through hardship - but they did not solicit such gifts.
3) Self propagating.
a) The individuals of the local church should be involved in personal witnessing / evangelism.
In all of this they are to look to Christ to build HIS church, God to supply their needs and the Holy Spirit to empower the believers. This is putting into practice what Paul taught in Ephesians 4:11-12.
A local church which esteems what God has revealed in His Word will be seeking to put His Word into practice, they will not be following programs or experiences of others, there will be a reliance on God's Word and God's Word only and I see that brethren assemblies over the years has sought to do as His Word teaches. This does not mean that such a group are not without error, their tendency in the past to separate from other believers so readily has caused major problems; that will always be a problem when love of the brethren does not have it's rightful place.
So in answer to "What church organization is the most devoted to the Bible?" I would conclude;
“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35
Yes, adherence to God's Word is vital but if we do not have love then we are as Paul says in I Corinthians 13:1 "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal."
I was once reminded by a wise Christian; "Our fellowship should not consist of the fact we can cross each others t's and dot each others i's but that we are His and He is ours, that we are blood bought and kept in His love."
One day His Church will be perfect and so will we be, until then walk in His love and give Him the glory in all that you do.
Carl, just journeying through.
Jennifer Rothnie
This question itself is a bit if a red-herring as to what the church should actually be. As we all are the body of Christ, no 'organization' is or should be the most devoted, as there is only one organization under the headship of Christ. As for groups and individuals, we all have strengths and weaknesses. That is, a group/individual may be more devoted or mature in one area, but less in others.
I Cor 12:12-31 gets into this in depth. A group or individual might think, "I am always serving in the community, therefore we are more devoted than others, for we are letting our faith impact the world." Another, 'We are constantly going out to evangelize unreached people groups, so we are the most devoted for our following the great commission.' Yet another, 'We study the word closely and test the spirits, so that no false teaching may take hold inside the church'. Another, 'we always are on the lookout for physical and spiritual needs in both the church and in the world.' Yet another, 'we are constantly seeking after what God wants us to do in our lives, and how we can celebrate God as a community'.
We might call these people the hands, the feet, the white blood cells, the eyes, the red blood cells, etc. They all have strengths and weaknesses, and need to help each other, not isolate from one another.
There are some individuals and local groups who were commended in scripture, so we can study traits that are good to pursue.
Acts 17:11, I Cor 16:15-18, James 5:9-11, etc.