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The Church: Universal And Local
Written by Kevin Presley Wednesday, 02 September 2009 09:56
The word “church” represents many things to many people. Any religious organization that seeks to affiliate itself with Christ is usually referred to as a church of one kind or another. Some people think of a church as a cathedral or building that is marked by the usual religious trappings such as a steeple or a cross. Others use it as an adjective to describe anything connected with religion. The word church is a common word in the New Testament that refers to three forms of the same organism. A careful study of these three scriptural usages of the word “church” is in order. The word itself translates the Greek word “ekklesia” and means “a calling out” or an “assembly”. Just as the word “baptize” means to immerse regardless of the element, so “church” means a calling out regardless of the sense in which that takes place. First, it is an elementary but commonly overlooked fact that the word does not have anything to do with a building or meeting place of any kind. It is a misnomer to speak of a tangible structure as a church. Though the scriptures teach that God dwells in His church (Eph 2:22), the apostle also said “God…dwelleth not in temples made with hands” (Acts 17:24). By definition and application, the word always refers to an animate organism. That entity is manifested in three ways in the word of God and we should be careful to recognize all three but not extend the term any farther. The church can refer to the saved universally (Matt 16:18, Heb 12:23, Gal 1:13), a local congregation of believers (2 Cor 1:1, 1 Thess 1:1, Col 4:15) and the assembly of such a congregation (1 Cor 11:18, 1 Cor 14:34). Since the third is a variation of the second, we will primarily focus our attention on the difference between the church universally and locally.
Sin
Written by Greg Jordan Thursday, 25 June 2009 01:27
In the world that we live in today, the word sin has almost dropped from the English language. It seems as though there are no such things that classify as sin today. The drunkard is now a victim of a disease. The promiscuous woman is a now "liberated woman," complete with abortion and/or pills to release her from responsibility. The world says that the murderer had a terrible childhood and should not be held completely accountable for his actions. How is it possible that anyone is this world could believe such things? It is because they have forgotten the Lord and His word. Today, many have professed themselves to be "wise" and yet have they have become "fools." They indeed "worship and serve the creature more than the creator." (Romans 1:20-25). Sin is not a dead entity. It is not the tool of preachers to scare people, but it is a reality and all men suffer from it. We die because of sin. We feel pain because of sin (Genesis 3:9-21). Sin is still very much in this world.