WHY I'M A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST THE ORIGIN OF THE CHURCH Good morning and welcome to another day that the Lord has made and welcome to this Berean Break. The program that is based on the word of God. My name is George A. Sinkie and I am so glad that you have joined us this morning for this study of the word of God. We are studying a series of lessons on Why I am a member of the Lord's church. This study is serious and thought provoking. As we begin this morning let's go to God in prayer, Great God in heaven, we thank You for this day and for Your word. As we study Your word this morning help us to be sincere and open our hearts and minds to Your will. We thank You for the moisture that we have received and pray for safety in the winter weather. Dear God, may we love You completely and demonstrate our love by obeying Your will. We pray this in Jesus' name, AMEN!! As I mentioned earlier these are very serious lessons and because of that it is sometimes necessary to make the application of truth directly to the errors on man-made religions. When I may name a particular denomination or denominational belief it is not to hurt those who may follow them but to show how those groups or doctrines are contrary to the will and word of God. If a person were to get in his car and take just a short drive throughout most any city, he would soon see a number of religious groups, each wearing a different name, teaching a different doctrine, and worshipping in a different way. Yet the Bible teaches that Christ built only one church, as we saw last time in Matthew 16:18 (NASB), where Jesus says, "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it. It's only reasonable for a person to ask, "Why are there so many churches? Why is there so much confusion in the religious world today?" After all friends, Jesus did not cause this confusion nor does
He desire that it exists. Each person should be asking "With all the different churches around us today, which one of these churches is the church I read about in the Bible?" In order to find the New Testament church in our community today, we must consider the origin of the New Testament church. If a church is the true church of Christ then its' origin will be at the right time, it will be in the right place, and it will have the right founder, all of these things we can read about in the New Testament. Friends, one reason I am a member of the church of Christ is its origin. Christ's church was not an afterthought, but was part of God's eternal purpose. Consider the following, from Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus: Ephesians 3:10-11 (NASB) in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, Can you believe that there are groups out there that teach that the church was an afterthought of God. They say God came up with the idea of the church because Christ came to set up the kingdom and failed to do that so he set up the church instead. If you are a part of a group that believes Jesus is still coming to set up the kingdom then there is a chance that your religion teaches some form of this doctrine. Friend believe me - Christ is no failure, He accomplished exactly what He set out to do and the church, His church, is a part of that eternal plan of God. Numerous prophecies in the Old Testament speak of Christ's church. One thing that we must understand is that the kingdom of the Lord and the Lord's church are referring to the same thing. Isaiah prophesied of the time when Christ's church would be built in Isaiah 2:2-3 (NASB) Now it will come about that In the last days, The mountain of the house of the Lord Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the
nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways, And that we may walk in His paths." For the law will go forth from Zion, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Daniel 2:31-45 records king Nebuchadnezzar's dream, interpreted by Daniel. In this dream, Nebuchadnezzar had seen a great image consisting of four different elements. The head of gold represented the Babylon Empire. The breast and arms of silver represented the Medo-Persian Empire. The belly and thighs of brass represented the Greek, or Macedonian, Empire. The legs of iron and feet of iron and clay represented the Roman Empire. In his interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, Daniel explained the Christ's eternal kingdom, the church, would be established in the days of the Roman rulers. Let's read that section of Daniel's interpretation which is found in Daniel 2:44-45 (NASB) "And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. "Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy." Christ's church was not only prophesied in the Old Testament, it was prepared for by John and by Jesus. John preached saying: "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" in Matthew 3:2. John came to prepare the way for Christ. Friends, notice Jesus' words, recorded in Matthew 11:7-10: Matthew 11:7-10 (NASB) And as these were going away, Jesus began to speak to the multitudes about John, "What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? "But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' palaces. "But why did you go
out? To see a prophet? Yes, I say to you, and one who is more than a prophet. "This is the one about whom it is written, Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.' But friends, John was not in the kingdom, or church as we can learn by what Jesus says in Matthew 11:11 (NASB) "Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. At the time Jesus promised to build his church, Matthew 16:16-18, John was already dead. Therefore, the church could not have been established during John's time. Jesus began His public ministry by preaching, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17). Jesus foretold that some of His contemporaries would still be living when His kingdom came as we can read in Mark 9:1 (NASB) And He was saying to them, "Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power." After Jesus was resurrected, He commanded the apostles to wait in Jerusalem. Notice the following from Acts 1:4-8: Acts 1:4-8 (NASB) And gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," He said, "you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." And so when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the
remotest part of the earth." Friends, notice two things Jesus told his apostles. First, they would be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Second, they would be witnesses to all the world. Friends, the church of Christ is seen in existence on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts the second chapter. All of the prophecies pertaining to the coming of the church were fulfilled on that day. Acts 2:16-17 indicates it was in the "last days" as Joel had prophesied. Acts 2:16-17 (NASB) but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: And it shall be in the last days,' God says, That I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams; Luke 2:1 and 3:1 indicate it was during the reign of the Roman rulers, just as Daniel had prophesied. Luke 2:1 (NASB) shows it was during the days of Caesar Augustus, Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. And Luke 3:1 (NASB) speaks of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,... It was in Jerusalem as Joel and Isaiah had prophesied. The Holy Spirit was poured out, just as Joel had prophesied. Notice Peter's words, recorded in Acts 2:16: "But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel." The Son of David, that is, Christ, was reigning at the right hand of God as had been prophesied in II Samuel 7:12-13. 2 Samuel 7:12-13 (NASB) "When your days are complete and you lie down with your
fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. "He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Notice the following from Acts 2:29-31: Acts 2:29-31 (NASB) "Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. "And so, because he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants upon his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay. On the day of Pentecost, salvation was available to those who called upon the name of the Lord, just as Joel had prophesied. We see it starting in Acts 2:36-38 (NASB) "Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ this Jesus whom you crucified." Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" And Peter said to them, "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The word of God went forth from Jerusalem unto all the world as Isaiah had prophesied. To the church at Colosse, the apostle Paul wrote: Colossians 1:23 (NASB) if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister. Friends, the church of Christ began in Jerusalem on the first day of
Pentecost after the resurrection of Christ. All of the many denominations in existence today had their beginning at some time other than the day of Pentecost and at some place other than Jerusalem. Consequently, none of these denominations is the New Testament church we read about in the Bible. Friend, you can become a member of the church of Christ the same way those present on the day of Pentecost became members of the church of Christ: by repenting of your sins (Acts 2:38), by confessing your faith in Jesus Christ to others (Matthew 10:32-33), and by being immersed in water in order to receive the forgiveness of your sins (Acts 2:38). This Berean Break is brought to you, in love, by the pre-denominational and non-denominational church of Christ that meets at 1600 East First Ave. in Mitchell SD. You are welcome to meet with us at 10:00 Sunday Mornings for our assembly followed by a time of Bible Study, also on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 for an additional time to study God's Word. If you have a comment or a sincere Bible question, please call or text me at 605-770-5555. We want to remind you of the non-denominational TV program, "KNOW YOUR BIBLE" on KDLT-TV at 9:00 on Sunday mornings. This is George A. Sinkie for the Lord's church, here in Mitchell, good-bye for now, Remember that we care about you and may God bless you as you do His will. All quotes, unless otherwise noted, are from the: New American Standard Bible. 1986 (electronic edition.) La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.