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THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH
SCRIPTURAL TEACHING
INTRODUCTION
• In order to maintain its identity with the Church established by Christ, controlled by His authority, described in the New Testament, the church MUST BE Scriptural in its teaching.
RESTRICTIONS AS TO WHAT MAY BE TAUGHT:
• Christ limited His teaching to “words received from the Father.”
• “I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.” {John 8:26}
RESTRICTIONS AS TO WHAT MAY BE TAUGHT:
• Christ limited His teaching to “words received from the Father.”
• “For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.” {John 17:8}
RESTRICTIONS AS TO WHAT MAY BE TAUGHT:
• The Holy Spirit did not speak for Himself.
• “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” {John 16:13}
RESTRICTIONS AS TO WHAT MAY BE TAUGHT:
• The Apostles spoke only that which had been revealed to them.
• “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” {2 Peter 1:20,21}
RESTRICTIONS AS TO WHAT MAY BE TAUGHT:
• The Apostles spoke only that which had been revealed to them.
• “But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.” {Galatians 1:11,12}
RESTRICTIONS AS TO WHAT MAY BE TAUGHT:
• The Church today must limit its teaching therefore to revelation of Christ through the Apostles.
• “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.” {2 John 9-11}
RESTRICTIONS AS TO WHAT MAY BE TAUGHT:
• The Church today must limit its teaching therefore to revelation of Christ through the Apostles.
• “For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” {Revelation 22:18,19}
TEACHING OF CHRIST AND THE APOSTLES THE SOLE AND ALL
SUFFICIENT CREED OF NT CHURCH:
• The righteousness of God completely revealed.
• “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith.” {Romans 1:16,17}
TEACHING OF CHRIST AND THE APOSTLES THE SOLE AND ALL
SUFFICIENT CREED OF NT CHURCH:
• Furnishes unto every good work.
• “But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them... that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” {2 Timothy 3:14,17}
TEACHING OF CHRIST AND THE APOSTLES THE SOLE AND ALL
SUFFICIENT CREED OF NT CHURCH:
• Contains all the truth.
• “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” {John 16:13}
TEACHING OF CHRIST AND THE APOSTLES THE SOLE AND ALL
SUFFICIENT CREED OF NT CHURCH:
• Furnishes all things that pertain to life and godliness.
• “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” {2 Peter 1:3,4}
TEACHING OF CHRIST AND THE APOSTLES THE SOLE AND ALL
SUFFICIENT CREED OF NT CHURCH:
• The faith ONCE and for all delivered to the saints.
• “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, 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.” {Jude 3}
TEACHING OF CHRIST AND THE APOSTLES THE SOLE AND ALL
SUFFICIENT CREED OF NT CHURCH:
• One faith.• “Speak the same
things.”
• “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.” {Ephesians 4:5}
• “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” {1 Corinthians 1:10}
OBJECTIONS TO HUMAN CREEDS:
• Made by men, therefore unreliable.• Do not meet humanity’s needs,
therefore insufficient.• Must continually be revised,
therefore imperfect.• No authority behind them, therefore
unenforceable.
OBJECTIONS TO HUMAN CREEDS:
• Disagree and conflict with each other, therefore cannot all be true.
• Conflict with the word of God, therefore all wrong!
THE IDENTITY OF THE CHURCH TESTED BY WHAT IT TEACHES:
• In becoming a member of the Church to which you belong, were you asked to do something more than the people were required to do in the New Testament days?
• Compare you experience with the cases of conversions in Acts. Do they agree?
THE IDENTITY OF THE CHURCH TESTED BY WHAT IT TEACHES:
• Those on Day of Pentecost– Acts 2:36-41
• The Eunuch– Acts 8:26-39
• Saul of Tarsus– Acts 9:1-18
• Cornelius– Acts 10
• Lydia and the Jailor.– Acts 16:15-34
THE IDENTITY OF THE CHURCH TESTED BY WHAT IT TEACHES:
• Has the church to which you belong undertaken to excuse you from doing something which is the will of God for you to do?– “Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,'
shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”{Matthew 7:21}
– “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him--the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.” {John 12:48}
THE IDENTITY OF THE CHURCH TESTED BY WHAT IT TEACHES:
• In order to find the religious teaching to which you have subscribed can you simply go to the New Testament or is it necessary to consult some human creed?
THE IDENTITY OF THE CHURCH TESTED BY WHAT IT TEACHES:
• Are you left free to believe and teach whatever the New Testament says, or have you subscribed to the doctrines and commandments of men? Private interpretation of scripture? Human authorized theology of some church?
THE IDENTITY OF THE CHURCH TESTED BY WHAT IT TEACHES:
• Can you depend upon the teachings of the New Testament to learn how to worship and serve the Church to which you belong? Do you need “more” than the NT?
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
• The identity of the Church can as easily be destroyed by corrupting its teaching as it can be by corrupting its worship or wearing an unscriptural name!
• “Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: The Lord knows those who are His, and, Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” {2 Timothy 2:19}
