Sound Teaching: Podcasts, Sermons & Articles by Stan Cox
The work under consideration in this article is that of the individual Christian. This is not an attempt to justify any activation of the church in a “universal” sense. The church in the “universal” or “relational” sense merely refers to all Christians of all time in every location who have been saved by the blood of Christ and have submitted themselves to His headship. It is not the sum of all local churches presently in existence. Thus, the “universal” church is relational in its nature, not functional.
As individual Christians, we share a relationship to one another regardless of our present location due to our common family in the new birth. The love and concern that comes with that family bond leads us to fulfill various responsibilities which we have to our brothers and sisters wherever they might be. Though the Lord established local churches to function corporately in ways prescribed by His will, He did not relegate all religious action to the joint work of a local church. Much of the work to be done in spiritual matters has been left to individual Christians. When engaged in such work, the individual Christian is not restricted to acting only within some diocesan border defined by geographic locality.
I am honored to participate in this issue of Watchman Magazine and I thank brother Roberts for the invitation. While I am honored on the personal level, of far greater significance is: (1) the opportunity of this avenue to teach, and (2) the important theme of this special issue. My specific assignment is “The Works Assigned to the Local Church” to which I now proceed.
A disciple is a student, a follower, and an imitator of his or her teacher. Jesus said, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mark 8:34-35). The Lord expressed Himself plainly: disciples have work to do, and it will cost them something. It is only right, since He denied Himself and took up the cross on our behalf, that we serve Him thus.
The Scriptures also describe Christians as priests of the Most High God. “You…are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). What is that sacrifice? “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). These passages indicate that Christians–all Christians–have a responsibility before God. Every one of us is a priest, and every one of us must offer himself or herself up as a sacrifice to Him by denying ungodliness and worldly desires–yes, and even denying ourselves!
Every so often we learn of some unsavory action of a “televangelist.” Through the misadventures of these men the word “evangelist” often takes on a less than desirable air in its usage in modern society. Like other words and relationships, this word, in its proper religious sense, had its beginnings with God and has become tainted by what men have done with it.
In 2 Timothy 4:5, Paul tells Timothy, “Do the work of an evangelist.” Evangelists are mentioned among those the Lord gave the church “for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-12). They thus have an important place in God’s plan for the church, the saved. As the title indicates, the purpose of this article is to tell what place in God’s scheme an evangelist has.
Introduction
Paul directed his letter to the church at Philippi specifically “to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons.” From its contextual proximity to the office of bishop, the reader can ascertain that Paul is addressing a group of people serving in the office of deacon. They are not merely servants as all Christians are commanded to be, but fill that special office of deacon assigned by the Holy Spirit to qualified men thus appointed. It is our aim to discern what is the work of the deacons within the church of Jesus Christ. Because the mission of the office is somewhat obscure, various denominations have evidently mutated the office and actually elevated it above that of bishop. It would be a mistake to consider the modern deacon tradition among artificial religions to be indicative of the Bible mandate for the office. Instead, we search the scriptures and find three distinct lines of reasoning to guide our quest:
Archie E. Proctor
Elder, Pruett & Lobit church
Baytown, TX
The term “elder” in the New Testament, is used in two senses: first, to designate an older man as compared to a younger (Romans 9:12, Luke 1:18). Secondly, to designate men who are appointed to a position of authority in a local congregation of the Lord’s Church (Acts 20:17,28) . It is in this second sense to which this article is addressed.
For those readers who are not familiar with the term, elders were appointed in every church (Acts 14:23) and had to meet certain qualifications to be selected for this office (1Tim 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9). In short, elders were to be older men, not recent converts, who had been married to one wife, with believing children, who ruled their households well, were hospitable, of good reputation, sober, just, holy, full of wisdom, and well versed in the word of God.
“Paul and Timothy, servant of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons…” (Phil. 1:1).
In our world today, we hear of mega-mergers, hyper-marts, metroplexes and one-world political ideologies. These terms are indications of the current thinking of “the bigger, the better.” Whether political, economic, religious or otherwise, trends are representative of movement toward massive alliances in structure.
In Europe, numerous nations are merging into a “common market” which will wield greater financial and political clout in world affairs. The “Euro-dollar” will replace currencies in the separate nations, yielding to an acceptable currency throughout the Common Market Alliance.
Politically, Americans are faced with an encroaching federal government which grows in power over the states.
The Lord’s church today needs devoted disciples! The truthfulness of this statement is self-evident. The purpose of this article, and one of the reasons for this special issue of Watchman, is the recognition that there are many challenges besetting the church as we near a new century. In order for God’s institution to be able to fulfill His mission for it, Christians must do their work. It should be obvious to any with discernment that a primary need is devotion on our part, as individual Christians. Webster’s New World Dictionary, in describing the nuances of the term “devote”, states, “Devote suggests the giving up or applying of oneself or something with the seriousness or earnestness evoked by a formal vow (to devote one’s life to a cause).” No other phrase defines the essence of discipleship better than the “giving up or applying of oneself.” Consider the Apostle Paul’s sentiment as recorded in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” It must be stated that the only true disciple of Christ is the devoted disciple of Christ.
The work of women in the local church must be defined by gospel standards and not by our culture. The way we live is vastly different from New Testament times but God has permanently set the pattern for work and organization of the church outside of time and human influence. Regardless of how much more social freedom women have today, the work of women in the church is the same as it was when Priscilla traveled with her husband, when Dorcas made clothes for the needy, and when Phoebe was serving the church in Cenchrea. To learn our role, we must go the Bible and follow its examples and commands. This article will attempt to study all of the positive roles that women played in the New Testament.