To Infidelity and Back

s according to the pattern th

n naturally arose, which church shall I join, if any? Sectarian divisions had a hand in driving me into infidelity and confusion, and I was now compelled to investigate more closely this strange puzzle. As I have already intimated, what I learned at Meadville about baptism and the teachings of the

er are taken from my booklet on "The Churc

RCH OF

worship (Acts 14:27). From this its meaning enlarged so as to apply to the members of all

12); it is his kingdom over which he is king (Matt. 16:19); it is a fold of which he is the shepherd (John 10:16); he is a vine of which the members are branches (John 15:5); it is his house (Heb. 3:6); it is his dearly beloved wife (Eph. 5:25; 2 Cor. 11:2). Christ so loves the church and identifie

ches of saints" (I Cor. 14: 33), "temple of God and of the Holy Spirit" (I Cor. 3:16), and "the pillar and

h-mem

4, 16), "disciples" (Acts 9:1), "saints" (Rom. 1:7), "brethren" (I Cor. 15:6), "members" (Rom.

:23), which leads to faith (Rom. 10:17; Acts 15:9) and repentance (Acts 2:38); while the attitude toward God is changed by confession (Rom. 10:9), obedience in baptism (Acts 2:38) and by God's pardon to the sinner (Acts 2:38). The necessity of this twofold change is manifest from Christ's teaching when he says, "Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them" (Matt. 28:19), "Preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16), and "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). Also by the teaching of the Apostles when they say, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38), "And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord" (Acts 22:16), "Not by works

ore, a definite act of open committal or enlistment is required in baptism. When this becomes thoroughly understood, the emphasis the New Testament puts on baptism will be appreciated, and people will no longer avoid the passages that refer to it, or try to explain them away. Neither faith, repen

art in baptism (Rom. 6:17). All these are conscious, personal acts that must be performed by the person becoming a member. No one can become a member by purchase, fleshly birth, or the obedience of parents or other persons. It will also be noti

h Off

t. 1:12) and endowed to perform miracles (2 Cor. 12: 12) and to confer miracle-working power on others (Acts 8:17, 18). After the church was thoroughly established and the New Testament written the apostolic office with its miraculous accompaniments ceased (Heb. 2:3, 4; 1 Cor. 13:8). Prophets were appointed by miraculous endowment and ended with the same. Evangelists, elders and deacons are the permanent officers of the church of Christ. The special work of evangelists or preachers is to make disciples and to organize and strengthen churches. Elders, or bishops, or pastors are local church officers, a plurality of which was appointed in each church (Acts 14:23). Their function is concerned with the spiritual welfare of the church. The work of deacons has already been indicated. The qualifications of evangelists, elders or bishops and deacons are given in the epistles to Timo

and formed a simple organization for this purpose (1 Cor. 16:3; 2 Cor. 8:18, 19, 23). This example shows that voluntary organization of individual Christians for general co-operati

ion of t

ng, and finally to believers in general. The inspired writers use the word ekkleesia, which means a gathering of people called from their homes into some public place. A correct translation would be "assembly" or "congregation," as it has reference primarily to a local body of Christians assembled for work and worship. If this primary idea were restored, it would make mightily for the strengthening of Christ's kingdom. We usually put the emphasis on the church in general, universal and invisible, while

rist gave while on earth are for the church, but only those he instructed the Apostles to teach after the descent of the Holy Spirit and the establishment of the church on Pentecost. Paul exhorts Timothy to commit unto faithful men, who are able to teach others, the things he had heard from him (2 Tim. 2:2), and further exhorts him, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15); "I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; preach the word, be instant in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine" (2 Tim. 4:1, 2). Alas! how often this last solemn charge of Paul goes unheeded. We preach in season and out of season, but do we preach the Word of God as we ought? The emphasis the New Testament puts

is embodied in the next item. That this was a feature of the public service is apparent from the words of Paul in I Cor. 16:2, "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him." The Emphatic Diaglott translates thus, "Every first day of the week let each of you lay something by itself, depositing as he may be prospered." While Paul gives these directions in re

primitive churches of Christ observed the Lord's Supper whenever they met for worship (I Cor. 11:20), and this we learn was every first day of the week. "Upon the first day of the week when the disciples came together to break bread" (Acts 20:7). The Greek article "tee" here indicates that it was on every first day of the week that they met to break bread and this is confirmed by I Cor. 16:2. The early churches never met for worship on the seventh day of the week or on the Sabbath, but always on the first day of the week, or on the Lord's Day, in commemoration of Christ's resu

New Testament is the record of a prolonged prayer-meeting. Paul, in writing to Timothy, says, "I exhort therefore that, first of all, supplications,

il for Paul's preaching and confirmed his message with miracles. We cannot evangelize the world by giving a few dollars to send a few missionaries to preach a few sermons. Most of the work of missionaries is educational and philanthropic, or, in other words, preparatory. It will require the best and united efforts of all Christians to entirely open the door of faith among the heathen. Christ says, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 5:16). Peter exhorts Christians, "Having your behavior seemly among the Gentiles, that, wherein they speak

? The church is the "pillar and ground of the truth" or the material organization through which heaven is bearing its message of love to this sin-cursed world. Speaking of the chur

y of the

(John 10: 16); he prayed that all his followers might be perfectly united and put that union as a necessary condition for the

rit, through the Apostles, did establish but one church, and

day of Pentecost was fully come they were all with one accord in one place" (Acts 2:1). After three thousand were added unto them we read, "They continued daily with one accord in the temple" (Acts 2: 46), while farther on we read, "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul" (Acts 4: 32). From the Epistles of Paul we learn that there was but one church in each community. Christ's relation to the church makes it impossible for Christians to be loyal to him and at the same time divided. All must be perfectly united in allegiance to him as king, lie is the head of the body of which his followers are members. All the members of the body are perfectly uni

calling wherewith you were called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The

pe, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one Father-are mai

l speedily disappear as soon as

urch, which will serve as a summary and as a guid

HE CHURCH THAT J