Skip to main content

The Marks Of A Healthy Church

By
According to Edmund Clowney in his book titled The Church, “The Reformation made the gospel, not ecclesiastical organization, the test of the true church. Three marks were defined in distinguishing a true church of Christ: true preaching of the Word; proper observance of the sacraments; and faithful exercise of church discipline.”

Nine Marks is a Ministry of Mark Dever and Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C. They outline nine different marks or characteristics of what a healthy church must include. You can read the PDF online. Here is a brief summary of the points:

1. Expositional Preaching: “This is preaching whose object is to expound what is said in a particular passage of Scripture, carefully explaining its meaning and applying it to the congregation.”

2. Biblical Theology: “Sound teaching includes a clear commitment to doctrines often neglected yet clearly biblical.”

3. A Biblical Understanding of the Good News: “All of us as Christians should pray that we would care more about the wonderful good news of salvation through Christ than we do about anything else in the church's life.”

4. A Biblical Understanding of Conversion: “If our conversion is basically understood to be some- thing we do ourselves instead of something God does in us, then we misunderstand it.”

5. A Biblical Understanding of Evangelism: “If your mind has been shaped by the Bible on God and the gospel, on human need and conversion, then a right understanding of evangelism will naturally follow.”

6. A Biblical Understanding of  Church Membership: “Churches knew those who com- posed their membership. For example, Paul’s letters to the Corinthian church show that some individuals were to be excluded (e.g., I Cor. 5) and that some were to be included (e.g., II Cor. 2).“

7. Biblical Church Discipline: “A biblical practice of church discipline gives meaning to being a member of the church.”

8. A Concern For Promoting Christian Discipleship and Growth: “…the only certain observable sign is a life of increasing holiness, rooted in Christian self-denial. The church should be marked by a vital concern for this kind of increasing godli- ness in the lives of its members.”

9. Biblical Church Leadership: “All churches have had individuals who performed the functions of elders, even if they’ve called them by other names. The two New Testament names for this office were episcopos (overseer) and presbuteros (elder).”




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reflective Glory: How the Moon Displays the Mercy of God

By
Our sun is a fitting metaphor for the glory of God. In the context of our solar system, it is massive, bright, beautiful, powerful, self-sufficient, heat-producing, life-giving, and dangerous. It is, by far, the dominant feature of our solar system and without it the system would fling apart and all living things therein would die.  On the other hand, our moon is a fitting metaphor for human beings, especially for those who believe in Jesus Christ. First, compared to the sun, the moon is tiny and dim. The sun is 400 times larger than the moon, its mass is 27 million times greater than the mass of the moon, and from our perspective its light shines 450,000 times brighter than that of the moon. The sun is so much greater than the moon that it’s difficult to quantify and express the difference. Likewise, the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is so much great than each and all of us that it’s impossible to quantify or express the difference. Indeed, the Lord is very great and greatly...
Post a Comment
Read more

To Have My Soul Happy in the Lord, by George Muller

By Anonymous
To Have My Soul Happy in the Lord By George Muller “It has pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, the benefit of which I have not lost for more than fourteen years. The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, or how I might glorify the Lord, but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. “I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God—not prayer, but the Word of God. And here again, not the simple reading of the Word of God so that it only passes through my mind just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what I read, pondering over it, and applying it to my heart. To meditate on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed. And that thus,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Announcements - February 12, 2017

By Anonymous
Announcements - February 12, 2017 New Members Class: Today a New Members Class is starting. We will meet during the Sunday school hour. All those who would like to learn more about Glory of Christ Fellowship and what we believe are welcome to attend. This class is a requirement for those who decide to become members. Fellowship Directory: We are assembling a new pictorial directory. We will take pictures in the gym each Sunday during the month of February. Gather your family for a quick photo and to update your contact information. If you would prefer to use a digital picture (jpeg format) that you have, send it to Melissa Johnson (mmjohnson512@gmail.com) by February 28. Winter Carnival Saturday, February 18 : The youth group will be hosting a Winter Carnival at the Handke Center from 5:30-8:00 p.m. The goal is to have some fun and raise some money for the upcoming missions trip to Haiti (June 2017). Grab some postcards on the info table to share with those you would like...
Post a Comment
Read more