Announcer: Today on
Let the Bible Speak - The Bible reveals the chh
as it existed in the past, but what does that imply at
its present and its future? Theme Music Playing I'm glad we have a
few minutes today to study one of
the greatest themes in the history of mankind, the church of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And today we conclude
a series on the church that Jesus established when He left for
glory 2,000 years ago. So far we have spent
much of our time looking at the historical
picture of the church, but today we want to look ahead. It's one thing to look
at the New Testament and see the church
as it existed then, but 2,000 years have
passed, and well, there's a lot of theological
water under the bridge, so to speak. What of the church today? And even looking
toward the future. Should we concern ourselves
with patterning ourselves today after the church so long ago? Is that church still
relevant in this modern age? Or should we expect the
church to evolve through te in its practices,
and even its message? Reflect the present culture as opposed to the picture we
find in the New Testament? Can we simply go back,
and might we say, cherry pick and retain
some of the things of the New Testament
church that maybe we like and that we can get along
with in this day and age, but, you know, the rest wen
set aside and forget about? Some predict the ancient
church cannot exist in a modern world. That if it does not evolve
and change, it will die. They contend that
restoring the ancient order is not only
misguided but futile. Well, was that Christ's
vision for His church? Did He see it as an institution that would change
throughout time and become something different than what He originally
authored it to be? And Jesus said nothing, not
even death, would prevent m from building His
church in Matthew 16:18. But what are its
prospects for the future, however long that may be? There's an interesting
statement the apostle makes in the 12th chapter of Hebrews. The inspired writer speaks
of a time of great upheaval and transition
coming in the lives of these Jewish Christians. He is urging them to
remain faithful to Jesus, not to leave Christianity, and return to the sacrifices
of the Jewish temple. Some were tempted
to do so because, from their vantage point, the future looked bleak
for the Church of Christ. Persecution and opposition
were closing in, and they could very
well lose their lives if they followed Jesus and
were numbered among His church. But the Hebrew writer
says this in chapter 12, beginning in verse 23,
and reading to verse 28. He says, "To the
general assembly and church of the firstborn, who are registered in heaven. To God, the judge of all, to the spirits of
just men made perfect, to Jesus, the mediator
of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkg
that speaks better things than that of Abel. See that you do not
refuse Him who speaks, for if they did not
escape who refused him who spoke on earth, much
more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him
who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth but now He has promised, saying, 'Yet once more I shake not only
the earth but also heaven.' Now, this yet once
more indicates the removal of those things
that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which
cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we
are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken,
let us have grace by which we may
serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear." Well, of course, these verses are a
study within themselves, and a very worthy study at that. But I want to think
about one thing that this passage sets forth, and that is the permanency
and the unshakable nature of the church of the
Lord Jesus Christ, the kingdom of Christ. He does not picture it
as a transient thing, as a temporary thing, or as
some sort of a fluid thing that is subject to the
whims and the ways of man, but He pictures it as something
that is sure and steadfast despite all of the change
and upheaval around it. To put it simply, the
temple city of Jerusalem and the temple within it, including its ordinances
and sacrifices, would soon pass away with the destruction
of Jerusalem in AD 70, but Christ and His kingdom
would remain unshaken. He says, "We have received a
kingdom which cannot be moved." And the church may be threatened by different forces
throughout time, and subjected to different
forces throughout time, but its future is sure. The church is a
bedrock and a constant in this shifting
and changing world. And today, as we
conclude our series on the New Testament church, I want to make some observations about the future of the
church, after a song. ♪♪ Hymn Playing When Jesus said, "Upon this
rock I will build my churc" perhaps His disciples did t
understand the real impact of what Jesus would build, and maybe that's
because they didn't yet really understand the rock that the church
would be built upon. That rock was Jesus
being the Christ, and just as death would
not hold Him prisoner in Joseph's tomb, but
He would burst forth from that cold and musty
grave to live forevermore, truly death or the gates of
Hades would not prevail over him and would not keep Him
from building His church, doing what He said,
fulfilling His promise. Little did His band of
bewildered disciples know at that time the true impact that Jesus Christ
would have upon history and upon the future
of the world. Little did they then comprehend that they would be the
foundation of a movement that would literally sweep
the earth and transform it. When the prophet
Daniel prophesied to
King Nebuchadnezzar of the establishment of
the church in Daniel 2:44, he said, "In the
days of these kings, shall the God of
heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not
be left to other people but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms,
and it shall stand forever." No other kingdom would
overtake it nor destroy it. No power on earth, nor hell
beneath, would bring it to ruin. It would stand, and it will
stand as long as time rema, until it's delivered back
up to God for all eternity. When you consider the fierce
and vicious assault though that was unleashed
against the church from its very inception, it's quite remarkable that
it survived, but it did. Not only the world without,
but forces from within have tried to lead it astray
through false teaching, human doctrine, and
tradition, and apostasy. Men have tried to
improve upon it and dress it up to be more
accommodating and palatable with the world around it. And all of this has
led to the confusing, disillusioning, and
discouraging state that the community that
calls itself the church finds itself in today. But my friend, I want to
cut through all of that and I want you to know
that truth still exists. The truth has not changed, and the church can still kw
that truth and follow it, and it must, if we want
to be the Lord's church and please him. You can be a member
of the same church revealed in the New
Testament and so can I. That church still means
to Christ what it did when He established it. It is His bride. He is still the savior of it
and He is still the head of it. The true church is still loyal and subject to the
will of Christ, and if it's not, it no longer
functions as the true church. You know, many are
led to believe today that that church is waning or
that it has even disappeared. If it still exists,
it's quickly fading and will soon vanish. We're told there's
really nothing to the archaic and
outdated precepts of New Testament Christianity, and that if we want the
church to have any place in a modern world, we must
learn to row with the currt and assimilate to the prevailing
voices of the majority. Thousands of years have
passed, history has unfold, and we are where we are, and we should just accept
the present reality and move forward from there. Therefore many, at
the very least, scoff and many even oppose the idea
of restoring the ancient order and insisting that we do
Bible things in Bible ways. Some tell us that the
New Testament church was never intended to be a
pattern or model for the church in future generations. That the church was simply
supposed to evolve and cha, and it's really silly to want
to go back and model ourselves after something so ancient. Well, I believe that the
picture of the church revealed in the New
Testament scriptures is more than just
historically interesting, it is there to serve as
a paradigm for the church that is dedicated to follog
Christ Jesus even yet toda. The church of the first century was under the direct
oversight of Christ's aposs as they lived and worked
among those churches, they instructed them in how
to serve and worship God, and they corrected them when
they strayed from the truth. And those instructions and
admonitions were written dn and preserved through time, and it's called
the New Testament, and they are there
for us today as well. Again, not just as an
interesting historical footnote. For one thing,
the Bible tells us that the faith was delivered
once and for all time to the first-century saints. Jude said in Jude 3, "I found
it necessary to write to you, exhorting you to contend
earnestly for the faith which was once-for-all
delivered to the saints." Well, you see, the faith
is not some progressive and ever-evolving thing, it
is the whole body of truth, and that's what the
term faith refers to. It is the whole body of trh
delivered to the church, to the apostolic office,
to believe and to follow. Now, some believe in what is
called apostolic succession. That is to say there is a long and unbroken line of
authority in the church that started with the apostles and has continued down thrh
the generations until toda. We have people that
possess the authority that the original
apostles possessed, it is a line of succession,
so they contend. And therefore all
of the traditions that have developed over te
and through the centuries, they really bear the same weight in the church
today as scripture. That's not the case though. Jude says the faith
was once-for-all delivered to the saints. Not only that, but the apostles
also expected the church to maintain and
keep the traditions that they were originally
given to follow. For example, Paul
told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 11:1-2, a
passage we've already noted in this series and
another sermons, "Imitate me just as I
also imitate Christ. Now I praise you, brethren,
that you remember me in all things and
keep the traditions just as I delivered
them to you." Now, first, Paul says
there are traditions the church is to keep. Some translations
say ordinances. There are ordinances
or traditions the church is to maintain. Second, they are not
just any traditions, they are the ordinances
or traditions received from Paul the Apostle. Paul had taught them how
to or how to worship, how to organize
the congregation, how to govern and conduct
the work of the church. Remember that Paul told Timothy that He had written
to Him as well that He might know, quote,
"How to conduct yourself in the house of
God," Timothy 3:15. So, it matters what we believe,
it matters what we practice, it matters how we
conduct ourself in the service of the Lord. Paul had instructed the church
at Corinth, as He did others, and as the other apostles
had instructed the churches they preached and wrote to. You see, Paul is saying
that keeping the ordinances or traditions that
the apostles of Christ delivered to the church,
that's not an option, it's a command. God expects us to
follow their teachings. Third, Paul says those
traditions were to be folld as He delivered them,
just as He delivered them. They had no right to change them or to do them in whatever
way they saw fit. And friend, that
alone should tell us that the approved practices
of the New Testament church serve as a paradigm,
they serve as a pattern. In 2 Thessalonians
2:15, he said, "Therefore brethren, stand
fast and hold the traditions which you were taught,
whether by word," that is when the apostles
personally was in their presence and spoke to them,
"Or our epistle." Here by traditions
he simply means all of the things the
apostles had taught them concerning the belief and
practice of the Christian faith. 1 Corinthians 4:6 says,
"That you may learn in us not to think beyond
what is written." The scriptures, in other words, furnish us with the only
knowledge and pattern we need to follow
Christ and please him. And furthermore, the
apostles intended that their teachings and
instructions be passed down beyond the people to whom
they were originally given, passed down to others, and passed down to
generations beyond the one to whom they originally wrote. 2 Timothy 2:2 says,
"And the things that you have heard from
me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to
teach others also." You see, the teachings
of the apostles were intended to be
preserved and passed along. And the question is, if
we're free to set aside some of the examples
of the New Testament, why not all of them? If we're no longer
bound to follow the specific teachings
of the apostles and do the things they
enjoined upon the church in the way that they
were taught to do them, and the examples of the
church under their direction really are meaningless
to us today, my question is, when
did that change? When did the Apostles'
authority cease to be the apostles' authority? When did their words
cease to matter? At what point did
God say, "All right, it doesn't matter anymore,
do as you please"? Friend, either we follow
the scriptures or we don't, and if we don't
follow the scriptures, what do we follow? And how far are we
willing to follow it? You see, the scriptures
are the only constant. The scriptures are the only
thing that doesn't change. Men's opinions change. Trends change. Fads change. The decisions of councils of
men change, culture changes, but the Word of
God doesn't change. And it's interesting
that there are those who are lamenting the direction
that churches are going in some things, but they
readily embrace change and innovation in others. Again, friend, either the
church is to be governed by the words of Christ and
the apostles, or it isn't. We can't choose to be the same as the church of the New
Testament in some things but not other things. And if we're not trying to be the church of the New Testament, what church are we trying to be? Now, I believe the plea to
restore the ancient order and be what the New
Testament Church was in fah and in practice is
not only possible, it is a worthy plea and
it is a biblical plea. The Bible says,
"If any man speak, let Him speak only as
the oracles of God," that's what Peter
declared in 1 Peter 4:11. We are to speak only
as God has spoken. The only plea, listen, the
only way, I should say, that that plea becomes
more than a platitude is if the scriptures
are our sole authority in what we preach
and what we practice. We only practice those things for which we have
scriptural authority. We speak as the Bible speaks, and we do Bible
things in Bible ways, because as I say, the
Bible hasn't changed. Friend, we still have
the record of the church in the New Testament. It is a marvel of providence that we have the New
Testament record today. So, we don't have to
wonder about the things that the church represented,
and what it did, and how it was organized,
and how it functioned. We don't, we don't
have to wonder about the things the
scriptures reveal about those aspects of the
church, what it looked like, how it was structured,
how it was governed, how it worshiped,
what it was called, what it preached, how to
become a member of it. We've looked at
all of those things over the past several
weeks in our series. All of them are seen
in the New Testament. And my question in this
whole series simply is, why can't we follow
those examples and
imitate those things? Some act as though
that's impossible. Friend, we can. It's simply a
matter of, will we? Are we willing to? Are we willing to set
aside our preferences? Are we willing to give up
human dogma and human tradition in order to simply
follow the examples and precepts of
the New Testament? It may not be popular, it y
not gain the largest crowd, it may not be cutting-edge and in keeping with the times. But friend, think about it, what is cutting-edge today
will be old hat tomorrow. Isn't it better to let the
scriptures be our guide? The unchanging Word of God? The church does not depend
upon your ingenuity or mind to keep it alive. "The Word of God will never
pass away," Jesus said, and His church will endure
to the ages of time. And listen, it will be
here when Christ Jesus returns for His bride. When the smoke of life's
conflict is cleared away, the church will be standing. When the earth and all thas
therein is burned with fir, the church will, with
Jesus, live in glory and triumph forevermore. Friend, as we draw our sers
to a close, I wanna ask, would you like to be a memr
of the New Testament Churc? You can be. That's a refreshing plea to me, that you can seek out and find, and be part of the
New Testament church. You say, "Well, how in
the world do you do that?" You resolve to simply
do what the Bible says, and if somebody
proposes doing something that the Bible does not
authorize by precept, exam, then you reject it, you
don't be a part of that, you don't practice that. You become a member
of the Lord's church, that church we've described,
not by joining it, not by signing up for it, not by naming yourself
as part of it. You don't ask some
man or group of men to write your name on its roll. The Lord adds you to it when you become
obedient to the gospel. And I believe that's
where this quest to restore the New
Testament Church in your own heart
and life must begin. Contrary to what the
majority says today, Acts 2:38 says, to
those lost in sin who desire to be saved,
"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the
name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins, and ye shall receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit." Well, surely we can
see a need right there to return to the pattern
of the New Testament. Because today when people e
asked, "What shall we do?" As those people asked
on the day of Pentecost, they're often told, "Well,
just ask Jesus into your heart. Just pray this prayer," or,
"Just simply, wherever you are, receive the Lord." But Peter said, "Repent and
be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness
of your sins." Not because your sins have
already been forgiven, but for, in order to receie
the forgiveness of your si. And it says in verse 41, "They who gladly received
Peter's word were baptized and the same day there
were added unto them some 3,000 souls." Added unto who? Unto what? The New Testament
church, verse 47, "Praising God and having
favor with all the people, the Lord added unto
the church daily such as should be saved." Which one did He add them to? Did they go join
the denomination? No, the Lord added them to
the church that He built, on what basis? On the basis of the relationship they had entered into
with Him through obedience to the gospel, in
faith, in repentance, being baptized for the
remission of their sins. Paul would say in 1
Corinthians 12:13, "For by one spirit," that
is, led by the spirit of G, through the gospel He revealed,
we're brought to faith, what we're taught to do by him. "By one spirit we are all
baptized into one body." And Colossians 1:18 says
Christ's body is His church. So, we're baptized into
the one church of the Lord. He says there is one
body, the one He built, the one He is head over, the one that follows
His will and teachings, the one that worships him
in spirit and in truth. I ask, "Are you a member of it? Have you truly obeyed
the gospel of Christ? You must believe His word. Jesus told Nicodemus
in John 3:16 that whosoever believeth
in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. But that's not all, faith t
saves is faith that obeys, you must turn to Him in
repentance from your sins, Luke 13:3, or else you'll
perish, you'll be lost. You must be willing to
publicly identify with him and confess your allegiance
to Him as the Son of God, the Christ of God, before
others, or else he'll deny you. Matthew 10:32 and 33,
make the good confession. And if those things be the case, then you're ready to
be baptized into Christ for the forgiveness or
remission of your sins. And when you do that, the Lord, because of His grace and
mercy, will remit your sins and write your name
in the book of life, and you'll be added to
His glorious church. And you can identify
with a local church that seeks to follow
the New Testament in all matters of
faith and practice, and faithfully
worship and serve him until the day He
comes for His bride, and takes you home to
live with Him in glory. And friend, if we can help you to seek the New Testament church which Jesus built so long ago, we will be happy to
assist you in doing so by looking with you
into the Word of God. We would love to help
you obey the gospel of the Lord Jesus, and let
Him add you to His church which we read of in
the New Testament. ♪♪ Hymn Playing Well, this brings
our series of sermons on the New Testament
Church to a close. And if you would like a
transcript of today's study, ask for the lesson "The Future
of the New Testament Church," and we'll be glad
to send it to you. You can also find all of the
lessons involved in this series on our YouTube channel. Look for Let The Bible Speak TV, and please subscribe and like
the videos while you're there. And you can also find
them on our website, along with the
transcripts, at ltbstv.org. I hope that you will
seriously consider what the Bible says
about the church, that you will launch
an investigation into what that church
was, and how it worshiped, and how it was organized, and that your plea and my plea will be to follow that
example, to be what they w, nothing more and nothing less. And I'll say this, you
can't go wrong in so doing, you'll follow a way
that cannot be wrong and is surely right. We're so glad you've
joined us today. I hope that you'll
join me next week as we continue with
another Bible study. Until then, I pray you
have a great week ahead. May God bless you and
we'll see you next time. Let the Bible Speak
is brought to you by the church of Christ. For nore information, including our past broadcasts
and sermon transcripts, visit ltbstv.org. Theme music playing Thanks for being with us
today. Join us next tme
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