The Bible Archive

Enjoy.

Some goodies which I may or may not agree with but are enjoyable reading.

• Ancient Hebrew Poetry presents Upcoming Reviews on the ESV and NLT study bibles.
• Heart, Mind, Soul and Strength has us reading Is Doubt the Opposite of Faith?
• коли под наем Dokeo Kago grapho soi kratistos theophilus submits You are a priest forever.

Some time ago I wrote about how a Christian who stands on the Gospel is to act in regards to the government. But I want to address a different aspect by asking the following to us American Christians: should Christians vote?

Over at Rodney Olson’s blog. Some faves that you might want to check out:

Ehrman on John 1:18 posted at Parableman.

Success Professor on how to Simplify Your Budget.

Pseudo-Polymath on Ethics and the State.

Participatory Bible Study Blog with the post Sacrifice Then and Now

Churches (and what I mean by this is the local manifestation of the Universal Church but I’ll refer to them for now on as assemblies) have lost focus of the Gospel. No, I don’t mean that they don’t know what it is or that they’re preaching it or that they even support it: but it has become (to all these assemblies) the entrance into Salvation and that’s it. It becomes a talking point on how one assembly is Closer To It than the other or a banner which is waved: but it has been receded from being the very grounds on which the entire Church stands.

“The way you’re sitting: you’re still not so sure about what I’m saying….”

“Well yes. I mean at first it sounded like you were making a very narrow distinction about what a local church is. Then you basically say all churches are crippled–.”

“Well most anyway. I can’t really prove all.”

“Fine, so most. But I think you’re ignoring some things like Christ says where two or three are gathered in my name that’s a church. So even if they’re messed up, the church is made up of people. That would mean any group of Christians is still a church. Even Campus Crusades.”

“Christ is talking about the matter of discipline and yes he’s there in the matter of bringing a charge against a sinning brother or sister but eventually he also says to bring the matter before the church—which, you’re right: is people. The local manifestation of the Universal Church, I’ll use the term Assembly, is defined by the goals and work (as I said before) but the boundary markers are seen by those seven points. Of course, assemblies might be weak on one or more of the markers but that doesn’t negate the legitimacy of their gathering. So yes, I’m both narrowing the definition and broadening it”

“Whatever Yoda…but you haven’t addressed my main concern. Is campus crusade a local church? Should they have a membership roster? Collect for the poor? Discipline each other?”

I wanted to illustrate the main point from my last post: that any gathering of Christians might still be an ekklesia albeit horribly crippled. Up front I wanted to make my point clearer—I think we’ve restricted the meaning of the Local Church to center around a building or a specific service but have ignored the goal and work of the Church as well as the boundary markers that define of what the Church looks like. In so doing, I think we’ve effectively divorced the markers of the ekklesia and have made them stand on their own apart from it

So when we look at Revelation1:20 we see that Christ is examining the lamp stands of seven churches. How much light are they giving? Where are they falling short in performing their task? At what point do these gathering of Christians stop being Churches?

This post serves as a repository of my Local Church series

1. What can we assume to know about the Church?
2. Are there any unspoken assumptions about the Church?
3. Why assume anything about the Church?
4. What is the Goal of the Church?
5. What is the Work of the Church?
6. What does the local church look like?
7. Does a failing local church still count?
8. Are there any examples of failing yet actual local churches?
9. Interlude Discussion: So what about para-church organizations?
10. What is Rey suggesting?

Scott’s Church Basics Guest Blogging

1. What is the ekklesia?
2. What does all that mean?
3. How do we do it?
4. What are we fighting?
5. What do we have?

Up at The Limitless blog.