and possibilities are still in the fu ture. Jesus Christ established the church and He’s going to continue using it no matter what the condi tions may be. It was characteristic of the early church, on the day of Pentecost, that they immediately began to witness for the Lord. The genuine believer in Christ is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is the Head of the body, but we still need the re lationship of an earthly congregation where we can receive instruction and guidance in the Scripture. In Acts 2:24 we see that the early Christians “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and in fellow ship.” Lost men and women are first evangelized. Then, like new - born babies in need of milk, they must have instruction. The business of the church is to educate others in the knowledge of the Bible (II Tim. 2:2). Matthew 28:18-20 presents that very truth from Christ’s lips. We are to go forth, winning people, teaching and baptizing them. We all stand in need of good Bible teaching from a Christ-honoring church. When a man really becomes a Christian, there is created in his heart by the Holy Spirit an appetite for the Word. It is exactly what he needs for every dimension of life (II Tim. 3:16). The reason for fel lowship is that we will find there are other people who face the same problems, testing, difficulties and temptations that we do. We can and should pray together. What they find out is that God puts a love for other believers in the soul of a Christian. Therefore, he seeks their fellowship in every possible way. You see, the church of Jesus Christ is the only institution de scribed in the Word of God which the Lord established. It came into being on the day of Pentecost. Every movement and service organization is simply an arm of the New Testa ment Church. It’s wonderful to see
IN TIMES LIKE THESE Continued by Dr. Lloyd T. Anderson C hapter E leven M an ’ s first responsibility is to accept Jesus Christ as his own personal Saviour. Then there come the steps of spiritual maturity and development. The Word of God clearly teaches that there’s a need for each of us to experience a heart’s confrontation with the Lord. What a tragedy for people to keep going to church year after year and never find the way to heaven! Christ alone can deliver us from sin and provide everlasting life. There is coming a day of judgment and reck oning. Unfortunately some ministers have become so involved in civic and social affairs that they haven’t been preaching the Bible. There is much for which they’ll have to give an ac count. As Christians, we should be concerned about our country, as well as everything else that has to do with the welfare of our fellow-human be ings. We believe in the outworking of the grace of God in the human heart. There should be compassion and not prejudice, but our greatest concern should be that men need to know Jesus Christ as personal Sav iour. Every believer needs a soul-win ning church. We need the strength that comes through the unity of the Holy Spirit. There is an incentive for service in fellowship. Seeing oth ers coming to Jesus Christ as the result of the testimony of fellow- members of the church we, too, are encouraged to participate in the soul winning outreach. Some people are saying that the church is finished. I don’t believe that at all. Some of its greatest tasks 18
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