I am preparing my lesson for youth group tomorrow night, in my preparation I have have been studying Gal 2:17.  I have not “found” anything “new”, but I have been greatly impressed by what Paul is saying!

Gal 2:17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.

Paul is addressing the issue of Peter moving away from the Gentiles because they were not following the Mosaic Law. Paul speaks this verse as a great challenge and accusation against Peter! He is saying: If while you are saying you are justified by grace, yet you are still seeking to be justified by the Law, you are saying that the grace of God was not good enough to justify you. In fact you are saying that even after the grace of God you are still a sinner! This is not true because Christ is NOT the minster of sin! If you are looking to the Law to justify you, you are saying Christ what you did wasn’t good enough!!!!

What a strong accusation!

There are two applications from this verse:

One, if you are unsaved, Christ’s grace is more than you need to be justified, there is NOTHING you can do! Following the Law will not justify you. Christ is not the minister of sin, but if justification and if you are seeking to be justified any other way you will not be justified!

Two, if you are saved, you are already justified! And as Paul says in verse 18, if you seek to go back to works to justify yourself you are make yourself a transgressor and not justifying yourself. The Law was NEVER meant to justify, but to show that one was a sinner and needed a savior!

I hope that you have been challenged as I have been! Not to look to the Law to make me a better person, but to look towards Christ! The Law is there to help teach us what is wrong so that we look to Christ for what if right!

~ Nate

This morning (8/20) I gave a devotional at our men’s prayer breakfast. I know it was practical in my life and wanted to share it here as well.

Hebrews 4:16

“Let Us” – Prayer is not one person praying, while everyone else is thinking about everything else in life. When one person leads in prayer we need to all be praying with them, they are “leading” in prayer, not praying on behalf.We need to pray individually. Prayer is not just a collective event, but is something that each one of us need to be doing individually as well. Last under this phrase, prayer is something that we need to teach our families, and to those around us. It is an us factor, therefore we should help others to be part of the us, and not just someone who listens to others pray.

“therefore come boldly” – We do not have to fear God. I am not saying that we don’t reverence God, I am saying that we don’t come timidly. “Boldly” means “openly” or “confidently” we are joint heirs with Christ, we don’t have to be timid before God. It is not “proudly” though, there is still a reverence.

“unto the throne” - We come before the King of kings. He is not just another man. He is not one of many gods, he is the supreme being of all the universe. He has no equal. We don’t have to wonder if he can do it, we don’t have to wonder if he has the authority. He is on the throne!

“of grace” - The character of the one sitting on the throne. He is graceful to us. He sent his son to die for us on the cross, what more grace is there than that. Who in this world would sacrifice their son for you. Some may be willing to sacrifice themselves for someone who loved them, but who would be willing to sacrifice themself for one who hated them, and was in outright rebellion against them? Yet this is what God did for us. Grace!

“that we may obtain mercy” - Not getting what we deserve. How often does this happen to you on a daily basis? You have done something wrong that deserves punishment, and you pray to God and in his mercy he doesn’t give you the punishment that you deserve? When he died on the cross he provided a way to obtain mercy and not face the death that we deserve for being a sinful people.

“and find grace to help in time of need” - Getting what we do not deserve. Does this not also happen on a daily basis? I can think of countless times when God has given me many things that I do not deserve. The greatest of these was salvation. We do not deserve the salvation that he provided for us, but because of his grace, we have that which we don’t deserve. I think one of the most interesting things about this phrase is “in time of need”. Those good things that happen to us daily that we don’t deserve, often happen when we need them to. There are times that God is just gracious and does something for us out of the blue, but often it is in our time of need that we see him giving us what we do not deserve to get.

So remember first of all that it is our individual privilege/duty to pray. That we come before the King of kings who has the power and the authority to do what we ask. We are joint heirs with Christ and therefore we come before God as sons and daughters. His character is one of grace, and from him we can find deliverance from what we deserve and be given what we don’t deserve.

~ Nate

1 Cor 10:11 “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”

In this passage, Paul has just finished listing many of the sins of the Children of Israel while they wandered in the wilderness. He rehearses not only their sins, but also the consequences of their sin! These judgments of their sins were meant to be an “ensample” to their fellow Israelites. (Note: difference between “example” and “ensample”: These words are built by adding either the prefix “ex-” or “en-” to the root word of “sample”. The word “sample” has the idea of something that is representative. If you look at that idea, combined with these prefixes, you get the ideas of: something that is representative outward; and, something that is representative inward.) God executed these judgments upon the Israelites that sinned, so that they would be an “ensample” to those that weren’t judged to show them what happens when you sin against God. This was to instruct them not to disobey God.

After pointing out the “ensample” of the sinful Israelites to their fellow Israelites, Paul tells us that their record was written to admonish us, Christians. Merriam-Webster defines “admonish” as “counsel or warning against fault or oversight”. We don’t have to make the same mistakes, and sin the same sins as others to know they are wrong, to realize that there are consequences for them. God has providentially written down the experiences of those that have gone before us, so that we can be warned by them.

This leads to a question of application. Are you learning for the experiences of others in your Bible? This can only happen if you are spending time reading and studying your Bible. How are your devotions? Are you spending time in your Bible, so that God can admonish/counsel you from the experiences of others?

~ Nate

Jeremiah 18:4 “And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.”

When we receive Christ as Savior we become a new person. 2 Cor 5:17 ”Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Our sins are washed away, our mistakes are forgotten, we are a clean, fresh newborn in Christ.

After being a Christian for only a short period of time, the new Christian will realize that just because they got saved, doesn’t mean they are perfect. Though we endeavor to be holy, we still have the flesh. If we do not avoid temptation, if we do not have self-control we will fall into sin. Often when someone falls into sin, small or big, they think, or are told, that they can no longer be used of God. This is not true!

When you fall into sin, it does not mean that you are no longer useful to God. Though there are consequences for sin, and sometimes because of sin there are limitations to your future ministry, you are never useless to God. “So he made it again another vessel,” after we sin and get right with God, he can take your life and re-form your life into a model Christian life, and make you useful to his ministry. “As seemed good to the potter to make it,” God is not just making you a generic vessel, God has a specific design for your life, and though sin can limit what we can be used for sometimes, he still has a specific plan for you. He has a specific plan for you and he will form our life to work for that plan.

Whether or not you have fallen into “major” sin, you have sinned, and you need to allow God to re-form those mars, allow God to remake you. You are never useless before God if you get your life right with God and allow him to make you as it “seems good” to him to make you!

~ Nate

Luke 12:6-7  “Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.”

Sometimes life seems to be so overwhelming and so much seems to be happening to us that doesn’t make sense to us, that we can begin to wonder if God is even paying any attention to what is happening in our life. Yet, from these verses in Luke we can be reassured that God pays great attention to our lives.

The farthing that is mentioned here in our money today would be worth less than a cent. That is a pretty small and insignificant amount! Not only is that a small amount, but two of them was worth five sparrows. A sparrow was not of great value, yet God does not forget one of them. He pays attention to even a bird that we would subscribe very little monetary value.

God pays attention to every detail. Every hair on your and my head is numbered by God! That is how well God knows us and pays attention to us! Can you imagine if you loved one of your relatives so much that you knew everything about them even the number of hairs on their head? That would mean devoting a great deal of time and care to know that much about them, and this is who well God knows and pays attention to you.

God does not forget even one sparrow that is worth nothing by our standards, and Gods says that you and I are worth MANY sparrows! So, when life seems to have you down, and you are feeling insignificant, remember the sparrow! Remember that you are worth more to God than MANY sparrows that he does not forget!!!

~ Nate

I once read a quote that really made me think, pretty sure I know who wrote it, but for the sake of not making a mistake I will only say here that it is not my own.

“We are slowed more by a grain of sand in our shoe, than by the mountain we climb.”

What a thought provoking statement. It is so true of many of our lives, I know for sure that I let this happen to me all the time! There are many things in life that happen to us day to day, some things are big, and some things are small.

What slows you down?
- Someone does something different than you would do it?
- Someone is annoying?
- You spilt the milk?
- You are out of your favorite cereal?
- Maybe it is finances?
- You mean I actually have to work at memorizing scripture?
- Maybe you don’t like the color?
- They didn’t use your idea?
- You mean I might have to give up something I really like so that I can become more like Christ?
- People might make fun of me?
- They might call me a goody-two-shoes?
- Ten Percent?!?!?
- You want me to give up my Saturday to help a fellow Christian?
- If I read my Bible I will have to get up 30 minutes earlier!
- and the list goes on and on and on….

What is slowing you down in life? What is slowing down your spiritual life? I will be the first to admit that there are grains of sand in my shoe: I like things to be done my way, everyone knows that being in Seminary is not a get rich quick scheme, and there are others, but I have to work on a daily basis to get those grains of sand out of my shoe, and focus on the bigger picture. I want to live a life that serves and magnifies God, and there are other things that are far more important for me to be worrying about, like living a holy life, than the sand in my shoe.

God takes care of everything, so don’t let the little things slow you down!

~ Nate

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

I have heard Christians say that faith is not logical, you just do it. I have also heard Christians say that trusting God does not make sense. I totally disagree, faith in God is totally logical! We don’t base our faith in logic, we base it in Christ and in the Word of God. Yet, as Paul says to the WORLD it is illogical, it doesn’t make sense, but to the SAVED it is the “power of God.” It does make sense.

This is just a quick thought. The world says it doesn’t make sense, but to the Christian it should make all the sense in the world!!

~ Nate

Acts 17:6 “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also.”

The goal of this post it to cause me and you to evaluate our lives, and challenge us to do more! When you read about the lives of first century Christians this verse would be a great summary verse. They were spreading Christianity to everyone and every nation. Not only that they were changing their world!!!

Today, I want to focus more on ourselves, than on the world. So often we evaluate the need of the world to the neglect of evaluating ourselves!

I have a question that we need to ask ourselves, then evaluate ourselves based on what we find: Are you turning your world upside down?

Our goal is to win the lost to Christ, and this is a great goal, but often we forget that there is so much more that we are to be doing! Think of the example of Christ, and answer me this: Did Christ only provide help to Christians? When Christ saw someone in need did he condemn them to hell on the spot, or did he first meet their need then tell them to follow him?

I am not downplaying evangelism, not at all, I am trying to show us that evangelism is more than just telling someone that there is a heaven and a hell, and that they need to get saved! Evangelism is living a life that shows them there is a reason to trust Christ, and that Christ does care about them!

It is easy not to help people by making excuses; “They are probably faking being homeless.” “They are not fellow Christians.” “They will probably use my help for/to facilitate more sin.” “They don’t need help, they need salvation!”

It is not our job to evaluate the heart and motives of others! It is not our job to regulate the morality of this world! How will they see Christ unless they see him through you? If you think that changing your world, your community, is not evangelism, then think again. Jesus won the lost by showing them he cared for them!

Having trouble evangelizing? Maybe it is because you only ask people if they are going to heaven or hell, and forget to show them that you care about them, and where they are going!

How will they see Christ unless they see him through you?

~ Nate

Scripture memory is important in the life of every believer. Recently, in the youth group that I work in we have been studying the book of James and I have challenged the teens to memorize the entire book of James. I truly love the book of James, and my love for this book started back in Junior High. It was our summer VBS, and we were given a challenge tom memorize the entire book of James in 4 four days! Yup, four days! My friend and I both succeeded in doing so. That is 27 verses a day. I spent probably nine to ten hours a day memorizing. The only downside was that I did not keep up with the memorization, and it quickly slipped away. Over the years since then I have memorized portions of it again, trying to get back to the place where I have the whole book memorized. Now that I have challenged the Youth Group, I myself have undertaken again to memorize James completely.

The Bibles says that we are to hide God’s word in our heart, so that we don’t sin against God. The benefits of memorization are endless. Many of the Old Testament scribes had much, if not all, of the Old Testament memorized. Memorization is a great fortification to the believer’s life.

There are many different memorization plans, a couple that I like are: The Two-Edged Sword, by Evangelist Jerry Sivnksty, and The Word of Life memory program. The best program by far though is the one that has you hiding God’s word in your heart.

I hope this has encouraged you to memorize. I know the teens in our Youth Group have taken to it wholeheartedly. It had been a blessing to see them enjoy memorization.

I will flow this post with a post on some methods and good habits to have in scripture memory!

~ Nate

Valentine’s Day! The Day of Love! This is a good day to talk about the ultimate gift of Love, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for all humanity.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God SO loved the world! Can you imagine loving something, or someone, that is in complete opposition to you? How about loving them enough to send your son to die for those people? I find it hard to imagine loving someone who hated me, yet God did. God didn’t only love me, but he SO loved me. His love isn’t just a minute thing, but it is a great thing! He SO loved you and me!

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. There are many people who would be willing to give their life for family members. There are some people who would be willing to give their life for a friend. There are a few people who would be willing to give their life for a good person that they might not even know. There is none, or almost none, who would be willing to give their life for a bad person or criminal. Yet this is exactly what Christ did, he gave his life for all of humanity, who have blatantly sinned and become criminals in his presence. What might be even greater than that sacrifice is that of God the Father’s. Some people might be willing to sacrifice themselves for another person, but I doubt anyone would be willing to sacrifice their only child. This is the SO great Love that we see from God the Father, He “so loved the world,” that he was willing to sacrifice His son for the wretched souls of you and I.

Let’s not forget today, on this day of love, to thank God for his ultimate gift of Love!

~ Nate

This is the time of year that we all decide to turn over a new leaf and start different aspects of our lives again. There are many good things to start in a new year: diet, Bible reading plan, working on a relationship, and many other things. One aspect I do want to emphasize, our spiritual life!

Now, I’m not saying that you need to begin your spiritual life, hopefully you already have (if you haven’t you need to trust Christ as Savior, and start your new life today). What I am saying, is actually two fold: one, we need to understand what spiritual life is, and two, some of us have it, but we need to start living it.

Eph 2:1 “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.”

First, we need to realize that before salvation, we were dead! Salvation, didn’t just make us “good” people, but rather it took us from death to life! Before salvation we couldn’t have a relationship with God, because we were dead. Now that we have life, we can have a relationship with God! What a difference that is!

Second, we must live like we now have life!  We were dead in sin, we had no life, but once we received Jesus, we received life. Eph 4:22-24 “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true.” Even though we have this life, many choose to go on living as though there was no change to them. They choose to stay the old man, and not become the new man. They choose to live life as a dead person and not as a living person!

It’s a new year, a new beginning, realize that God has given you life, and live life in light of your relationship with God, not in spite of it!

~ Nate

The last few weeks have been busy, projects to write, crazy work schedule, and life in general! Yet, it is always good to look back and see how God has worked in your life and things he has taught!

Though the classes that I had this semester were not my favorite over all, there were great things to be gleaned from them. One class that I had was a class studying the books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. I think one of the greatest things I learned this semester was from Joshua. We must obey God in everything he tells us to the fullest extent. Can you imagine when God came to Joshua and gave him the battle plan for Jericho? “March around the city and do not make any noise. To me that sounds like a pretty silly plan. This leads me to a question, if it had been me there and not Joshua, would I have followed God’s plan? What about you, would you have followed God’s plan???

Another thing that I learned was the consequences of not completely obeying God’s commands! The Israelites were told that the land was theirs and all they had to do was go take it and there would be rest and no trouble! Yet look at Israel in the Old Testament and even today. It does not look like they found this rest! What happened? They did not COMPLETELY follow God’s plan. God said to completely wipe out all the Canaanites, and this is something that Israel did not do. Because of this we find them in idolatry, we find them oppressed, and we find them away from God! It is important when God tells us to do something, that we do it completely! Have you ever started to work on an area in your life that you know needs work, then when you have almost got everything in order you stop! “Oh, it’s good enough,” we say, or “look how much I’ve improved.” Yet, even with this progress we have missed the goal, because we have given up before achieving the end!

So, two important lessons! Always obey God! There may be times when we feel that what he is asking does not make sense, that is okay. God does not ask us to understand everything that he wants us to do, he just wants us to do it! Also, when God tells us to do something, when there is something that we are doing, we need to make sure that we complete that task, that undertaking. Failing to complete, is failing to succeed!

~ Nate

Heb 13:5-6 “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”

There are times in life when it seems that everything and everyone is against you! It is in these times that we must lean on the everlasting arms of Christ! When I think of the promise that Christ will always be with us, I think of the Israelites when they left Egypt.

What a great step of faith this was on their part. They leave Egypt with no military power, setting out for a land that they will have to conquer, while leaving a land that might try (and did try) to conquer them again. Yet, they had God with them. He was with them when they left, and He was with them the entire trip. I think it was interesting that He did not make them just have faith that he was there, but He made his presence known. Though they did not see God in a human form and He did not always speak and say “Go this way” and was never vary far ahead of them, He WAS always there and always leading. This is true for our lives as well. We cannot point to a visible object and say, “see there God is, I know he is with me,” but He is always there and he tells us this in MANY different ways, from promises in the Bible to little good things that happen during the day. Often times he may not be speaking to us in an audible voice, or even giving us direction far in advance, yet he is always there, leading, protecting, guiding, and loving.

Live in rest and share the Good News, because God is with you!

~ Nate

Last night Pastor Cooley at Burgess Road Baptist Church preached a sermon on being judgmental. It was very thought provoking, so I wanted to give some of his ideas and a few comments of my own!

James 4:11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou are not a doer of the law, but a judge.

The issue of being judgmental is a hot topic. Most often people who are doing wrong like to quote the phrase “judge not that ye be not judged” thinking that that means Christian should not tell unbeliever or fellow Christians they are sinning. Yet, this is not what is being said. I want us to consider two things: When can we judge, and When can’t we judge!

1. When Can We Judge? The answer is simple, NEVER! I know I have most everyone’s attention now, either you’re saying “yeah, give it to them”, or you’re saying “you heretic, we don’t just over look sin!” Well sorry to both parties, but I doubt either of you will be completely happy with my answer. We are not to judge, that is not our responsibility, the Law is to judge, that is it’s responsibility! We are only to point out what the Bible has to say on issues and the Bible is our standard, not what we THINK/WANT the Bible to mean/say! The Bible is the authority on right and wrong, it decides we don’t!

2. When Can’t We Judge? Now you’re thinking this sounds a bit repetitive, but with this point my goal is to look at areas where we are often judgmental and should not be. We often find ourselves judging the spiritual level/condition of a person by the external: what they wear, what they listen to, where they go, etc. Though there are some guidelines in the Bible, often these areas are not spelled out, and guess what?!?! it is not our job to spell them out for everyone, we are not the lawgiver. Another area that we often judge is people’s intentions: “this is what they really meant,” “they only did that for attention, ” I know why they did that,” etc. Though at times we may be able to guess someone’s intentions, often we’re wrong, and it is not our responsibility to know if the intentions were right or not. To go along with the last point, sometime we judge people’s actions as wring when their intention might have been good (I’m not talking about sinning with a “good intention”). I think of times when I have tried to help someone, but in reality I only made it worse. When this happens we need to be careful on to judge. On a larger scale we need to be careful about judging other ministries! Often when a person does something new in a ministry, those that don’t agree label them as comprises. Now we must be careful not to compromise with the world, but there are many times where new things are not compromise just different. If we are going to “judge” them as compromised, we must make sure that what we think is wrong, is said to be wrong according to what the Bible says (not what we THINK/WANT it to mean/say).

I hope this gives you food for thought! Be careful about judging people by standards that are not Biblical, because if you do you will be judged by those same standards, “judge not, that ye be not judged.”

~ Nate

I have heard to taught more than once that the Promised Land is a type or illustration of becoming a Christian or the Christian life. When you step back and think about this it really does not make sense.

For Instance:

If Canaan is a type of the Christian Life, does that mean God will deny entrance to some base on their works?

If Canaan is an illustration of the Christian Life, does that mean I have to drive all the evil of it first before I can possess Christianity?

If Canaan is a picture of Heaven, does that mean we are going to have to drive the armies of Satan out of Heaven before we can have rest?

There are many more ways to look at it, but the point is that Canaan is not a type of picture of anything other than Canaan! So then, what significance is there of Canaan that I can apply to my life?

Though Canaan may not be a type of the Christian life, there are many lessons that can be learned from the action of Israel when they entered it and were to conquer it.

Lessons to be learned:

God has a plan for every aspect of our life.

Sin has consequences.

We must be careful not to be fooled by the enimy.

God expects full and complete obedience, not partial obedience.

Forsaking attendance to the place that God has designated for worship will allow your heart to be pulled away from him.

There are many more lessons that can be learned. I challenge you to see everything that you can learn from Canaan next time you read Joshua and Judges.

~ Nate

In class the other day we were going over the children of Israel crossing Jordan into the Promised Land. One of the items discussed was the cessation of the manna that God had been providing. Josh 5:12 “And the manna ceased on the morning after they had eaten the old corn on the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more;  but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.” This caused me to think about the greatness of God.

When the children of Israel had needed food God provided it for them. Shortly thereafter they had the opportunity to enter the Promised Land. You remember the story, they sent in 12 spies and 10 were bad and 2 were good. Because of the Israelite listening to the 10 bad spies and their distrust in God, they were punished by having to spend 40 years wandering in the wilderness. This is where I saw the goodness of God, they were being punished for sin, and yet God was still providing for their daily needs. This applies far beyond the manna; the Bible also states that the clothes and shoes didn’t wear out. Deut 29:5 “And I have lad you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot.”

There are times in your life and my life that we have had to be punished, and there will probably be times when we have to be punished for sins that we commit. Yet, we can rest assured that even though God must chasten us for our sins, He does not stop loving us, and He does not stop caring for us! He is our heavenly Father who is always doing what is best to train us up toward spiritual maturity!

One of my most favorite poems of all time is the poem “Footprints in the Sand.”  The last post I made led to this one, for as I was writing it and thinking about the leading and help of Christ, this poem came to mind. There are times in our life when everything seem too much, and when we look back at those times it may seem that we were all along. We MUST remember though, that that even though it seemed we were along, if we had been along we would not have made it! God is Good All the Time!

“Footprints”

~ Carolyn Carty

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed He was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from His life. For each scene He noticed two sets of footprints in the sand. One belonging to Him and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of His life flashed before Him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of His life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of His life.

This really bothered Him and He questioned the LORD about it. LORD you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.

The LORD replied, my precious, precious child, I Love you and I would never leave you! During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.

Heb 13:5 “…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.“

ECCLESIOLOGY

Summary Statement: I believe that the Church is the body of Christ and a family. It is God’s instrument to accomplish His purpose on earth. Though God has set aside Israel He has not forgotten her, and has not replaced her with the church. The Church finds is beginning at Pentecost and it’s conclusion at the Rapture. There are two Biblical offices in the church, Pastor and Deacon, though this does not limit ministry to only these offices. There are also two ordinances for the church to continue in, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The churches primary function is the edification and training of the believer.

1. Body of Christ – One of the important aspects of the Church is that it is a body. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 we see this description give to the Church. This is important to understand. The Church is made up of many individuals that contribute to the ability of the Church to accomplish God’s work. Yet, though there are many individual part, they for one complete whole, whose head and purpose is singular.

2. Family – “Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.” In these verses from the writings of Paul was find another characteristic of the Church, it is a family. This has many implications in church practice. We need to treat one another like we our family, inside and outside the church. Christ says that the world will know that we are his disciples by our love for eachother.

3. Instrument to accomplish His purpose – When the Jews rejected Christ and crucified Him. God turned to the Church to be his light in the World. Israel had been the light for the world to see and come to. Now the church was God’s light to the world to show the world who God is, and they were to go out into the world.

4. Set aside Israel, but has not replaced her – In Chapter eleven of Romans Paul deals with Israel being broken and the church believer being grafted in. Paul makes is clear though that we are not to get high-minded because God can do the same to the Church. He also points out that Israel is only set aside and not disposed of. He reminds that in the end of days, there will be a deliverer come to redeem Israel and return her to her previous state.

5. Pentecost – The Church finds it’s beginning at the time of Pentecost. Jesus had instructed the disciples not to leave Jerusalem until they had received the promise of the Father (Luke 24:49). At Pentecost, after receiving the Holy Spirit, the church goes out into the entire world. This is the beginning of the Church.

6. Conclusion at the Rapture – At the Rapture God takes the church out of the world. When he does so we see the end of the church and the reinstating of Israel as His tool. It will take time, specifically through the Tribulation, for Israel to come back to Christ, but they will.

7. Pastor – The Pastor is the leader of the Church. He responsible for leading the Church in the direction that God would have them to go. In first Timothy chapter three Paul gives the qualifications of the Pastor. Though all these qualifications are important, they are all governed by the first, which should be considered the most important. To be blameless. If this characteristic is prominent in one’s life the rest of the qualifications will likely be met.  His main responsibility is to be in prayer and study of God’s Word so that he can train and lead the people of God (Acts 6:4)

8. Deacon – The Deacon is to assist the Pastor in the day to day needs of the Church. In Acts 6:1-3 we seen the need of the Deacon mentioned. The needs of the Church were multiplying as the number of the Church was growing. The Deacon is to have basically the same qualifications as the Pastor. The Deacons are to serve the Church, they are not to be lifted up but are to remain humble.

9. Does not limit ministry – To clarify, the Pastoral and Deacon roles are not the only possible ministries in the Church. There are many ministries that all can be active in, there will still be qualifications, but they will vary by position.

10. Baptism – Baptism is one of the ordinances of the Church. Baptism is for the purpose identifying with the church, which is important. This identifying is important, because it signifies a leaving of the world and coming to Christ. Baptism is also important because it is an illustration of what Christ has done for the believer. For this reason (as well as others), I believe that baptism is to be by emersion, as it seems to be the Biblical precedent is emersion, as well as the best way to illustrate what Christ has done for us.

11. Lord’s Supper – The Lord’s Supper is for the remembrance of what Christ has done for us. The Lord’s Supper is to give time to reflect on Christ, and to search our hearts to make sure that we are right with him. Christ commanded it to be done, and we see that it was being practiced in the New Testament in 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Though Paul had to correct their practice, he did not tell them to cease. The Lord’s Supper is for the believer and not for the unsaved.

12. Primary function is the edification and training of the believer – I believe that Acts 2:42 gives the primary function of the church. “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Though some might see the Church as an evangelization organization, this is not the primary function of the church. The Church is for the edification and training of the believer. The church is to train and build up the believer so that there is fellowship between believer so that they can function as a family, and most importantly the training of the believer so that THEY can evangelize. When this is accomplished the church will become an organization of evangelism.

Well, I along with many other students are gearing up for another year of school, or have already started it. Many K-12th schools have been underway for a few weeks now, while most colleges and universities have just recently started, or are about to start. I attend Pensacola Theological Seminary and am beginning my last year of classes. This will be my seventh year of “higher education” and I am looking forward to being done studying for awhile (although the idea of a doctoral degree still lingers in the back of my mind). On the thought of school, two verses came to mind that should encourage every Christian student, as well as Christians in general.

Psalm 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Often times I hear of students who quit their studies only part way through the year. When things get overwhelming we must remember that if we have been seeking God’s will and he has lead us to where we are, then that is where he intended us to be! “Be not weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.” Do not look for a reason to quit when everything seems tough, but rather look to the reason that you headed to where you are now. If you were following God and he lead you to where you are, do not think that he will lead you away, but rather that he will lead you through what he has for you.

Phil 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. We often know that we cannot quit what we have started, yet we cannot see how we are going to make it through either. We must remember that as Christians we do not have to rely on our own strength to make it. I say “we do not HAVE to” because it is a choice that every person must make. You can choose to try and make it on your own strength, and you may or may not make it, if you do it is only by the grace of God. Rather than try to make it on your own strength and not be sure what will happen until it is over, you can chose to allow God’s strength to be what caries you through. If you are leaning on Him, there may be times that seem hard, but you need not worry, because you are leaning on the everlasting arms!

I hope this encourages some students, as well as other Christians. Remember that if you are following God He will direct you to where he wants you, and that whatever He has for you can be completed through His strength

~ Nate