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4000 E.
Collins Rd. “Preaching
the Living Word through the Written Word (2Tim 4:2)” |
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BIBLICAL MARKS OF
A HEALTHY CHURCH (Acts 2:42-47) Pastor INTRODUCTION A. We have discussed how to
spur on spiritual growth in ourselves and others from He 10:24-25. In that study,
we have understood that the Scriptures, in order to spur on spiritual growth,
admonish the believer not to forsake assembling together. In fact, the
Scriptures reason that assembling together is an evidence of salvation (1Jn
2:19). B. We know then, that a true believer must
and will regularly assemble together in the local church. But we are still
left with a final question. Which church? In other words, how do you find the
right church? What are the marks that exemplify God’s criteria of a healthy
church? What kind of church is a church that will spur on spiritual growth?
What kind of church should you be looking for so that you and your family can
grow spiritually? What are the biblical marks of a healthy church? Are you
attending such a church? C. We once again turn to Acts 2:42-27 to find
out what are the marks of a healthy New Testament Church. I would like to
suggest that there are at least five marks of a healthy church. MARK #1 – WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH A. The first mark of a
healthy church is worship of God in spirit and truth. Just to be clear,
worship is not just the exercise of singing. People often incorrectly equate
worship to strictly music. “Praising God” (Ac 2:47) and worship is having a
reverence for God that expresses itself not only in singing praise songs, but
in every aspect of the worship service and every aspect of life. Worship (proskunéō
– bow down and kiss the hand) is exalting God by bowing down our hearts
in adoration toward Christ as well as submitting every aspect of our lives to
Him in obedience. B. Music styles change with time and culture.
To say that a particular kind of music must be sung in order to worship is
incorrect. Worship is the believer’s responsibility no matter what the music.
The mark of a healthy church is not based on a style of music played, it is
worshipping God because we have trusted Christ as our Savior and we are
growing in the knowledge of His grace toward us. A healthy church will
worship God no matter what style of music is preferred by the church. In
addition, music in worship is not akin to a pep-rally to incite emotions,
rather it is the believer’s response to God’s revelation about Himself in His
Word. C. Jesus qualified worship for us in that it
must be exercised in spirit and in truth. To worship “in spirit” (en
pneúmati – no article) means that worship is not to be dead and
ritualistic but spiritually alive with sincere and joyous reverence. This can
only be accomplished by a true believer who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit and
has been made alive spiritually. D. To worship “in truth” (en
alêtheía – no article) means to worship not in our own opinion of
God, but in correlation to what He has revealed about Himself in His Word.
The believer truly worships God as He grows in knowledge of Him through the
Word. E. Worship includes all of the aspects
mentioned in Acts 2:42-47 (including giving), which encompasses church life,
home life, and every aspect of life. Note that there is no place in this
passage where music was one of the aspects to which they were continually
devoted (though we know that the early church used singing to enhance its
worship, cp. MARK #2 – BIBLICAL TEACHING A. The next mark of a healthy
church is going to be the emphasis of biblical teaching. The early church was
“continually devoted to the “apostles’ teaching” (vs. 42a). What did the
apostles teach? We have their teaching for us in the Bible. When Paul wrote a
letter to the Romans it was for the purpose of teaching them. B. I would even suggest that the teaching of
the early church was expository teaching. What is expository teaching? Expository teaching is expounding the meaning of a
particular passage of Scripture. It is accomplished through studying the text
in its original language, its context, cross references, and historical
background. It extracts God’s intended meaning and truths, which must be the
authority for the believer’s beliefs and behavior. C. Where do you find that in the Bible? For
one example, look at Proverbs 2:1-6. 1. The
Bible student must first receive and saturate His mind with Scripture (Pr
2:1) 2. God’s principles from His Word must be
extracted and then applied to life (Pr 2:2) 3. Understanding of the Scripture comes
through the Holy Spirit’s illumination (Pr 2:3). 4. Understanding of the Scripture come
through prayer and diligent study (Pr 2:3-4) 5. The result is that God will give wisdom
and understanding through His Word so that the believer can fear and obey Him
in every aspect of life (Pr 2:5-6) a) The Word
of God cannot be or taken lightly, watered-down, or taken lightly. b) The ministry of the apostles and the early
church was centered on the biblical teaching of the Word of God (Ac 6:4; 2Ti
4:2). D. A healthy church is going
to emphasize biblical teaching, sound doctrine, and principles to live by. MARK #3 – SPIRITUAL FELLOWSHIP A. Another mark of a healthy
church is its spiritual fellowship. The Greek word for “fellowship” is koinōnia
and means to have “something in common.” Believers have Christ and His
salvation in common. They have His Word in common and have the desire to
worship together in church in common (He 10:24-25). They also have the desire
to share, give, and be hospitable toward one another. B. But they also share a common service to
the body of Christ. Every believer has spiritual gifts and a church becomes
healthy when the use those gifts are encouraged. If a church is filled with
those who do not exercise their spiritual gifts, not only is the church
unhealthy, but the believers in it are unhealthy. C. A healthy church is seen as assembling
together, growing together, and using our spiritual gifts together so that
the body is edified. MARK #4 –DEVOTED TO PRAYER A. Another mark of a healthy
church is a church that devotes itself to prayer. If there was ever an
activity that is to be done continuously, it is prayer. The present
participle of the word (proskarteréō – attend constantly)
could actually be translated, “They continued in being continually devoted to
prayer.” The same word is used with prayer and is a present active imperative
in Col 4:2 (lit. “You must keep on devoting yourselves to prayer”). In
1Th 5:17 we are commanded to pray without ceasing. The Bible tells us that
there are two activities that are to be done continuously; Bible meditation
and prayer. B. The elders of the early church took prayer
very seriously (Ac 6:4). They continually devoted (same root as in Ac 2:42)
themselves to the ministry of prayer. In the same way, all believers of the
early church took prayer seriously (Ac 1:14 – same root as in Ac
2:42). C. A healthy church is a church that relies
upon God through prayer. Prayer is the foundation for communion with God,
intercessory prayer, and ministry. MARK #5 – EVANGELISM TO THE WORLD A. A final mark that we see
in Ac 2:47 is evangelism. A healthy church does not sit on a pillar in the
desert; rather it fulfills the Great Commission by sharing the message of the
Gospel with the world. People were “being saved.” B. It was the Lord who was saving them and
the Lord who was adding them. But, He was doing it through the evangelism of a
healthy New Testament church. C. We are commanded to evangelize to the
world while in the world (Mt 28:19-20; Jn 17:11, 15). A healthy church has
ministries to evangelize, missions, and ministries to grow new Christians.
That is God’s plan for healthy churches. D. I like Young’s Literal Translation on this
verse, and the Lord was adding those being saved every day to the assembly.
When a church is healthy because it has all of these marks, the church will
grow. It will grow because true believers will be attracted to a biblically
healthy church. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS A. If you are looking for a
church, are you looking for these marks first and foremost? If you are
putting your preferences first and not these biblical marks you could find
yourself in a church that is not following God’s biblical marks and is
consequentially unhealthy. B. If you are a part of a healthy church, are
you seeking to make it healthier? Are you safeguarding it from not drifting
away from these marks? Are you teaching the church and making sure that
everyone understands these are God’s marks for a healthy church? Are you
building up those areas that your church seems to be the weakest? Are you
making sure that teaching God’s Word is your greatest strength? C. If you are in a healthy church, are you
ensuring the health of your church by personally getting involved in all
these areas? Are you ensuring your own spiritual health? 1. Do you
come prepared to hear God’s Word and apply it to your life? 2. Do you come prepared to make worship in
spirit and truth a priority over preferences and biases? 3. Do you initiate fellowship, hospitality,
and the use of your spiritual gifts? 4. Do you have a healthy prayer life? 5. Do you regularly look for opportunities
to share Christ? |
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