“Basic Baptist Doctrine, Lesson 11”
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Bethel MBC
Basic Baptist Doctrine
April 16, 2008
Lesson 11; from a lesson taught
By Elder Kent Welch, 11.29.01
The Church: Its Perpetuity
I. Church
· The Greek word for church is “ekklasia”, which means a congregation or assembly
The word ekklasia does not denote the purpose of the congregation of assembly although we nearly always associate to a religious sense. It would be allowable to use the word to denote ANY assembly or congregation of people such as sporting events, or work environments or schools. The Church of Jesus Christ is a special assembly which requires better definition.
J.M.Pendleton, in his “Baptist Church Manual” defines a church as: “A church is a congregation of Christ’s baptized disciples, acknowledging him as their Head, relying on his atoning sacrifice for justification before God, and depending on the Holy Spirit for sanctification, united in the belief of the gospel, agreeing to maintain its ordinances and obey its precepts meeting together for worship, and cooperating for the extension of Christ’s kingdom in the world.”
Brother Pendleton further wrote that, “A church is a congregation of Christ’s baptized disciples, united in the belief of what he has said, and convenanting to do what he has commanded.”
· Some people have misconceptions that the church is:
ü A building or buildings
ü All saved people (universal church heresy)
ü Groups with a certain name, denomination, moniker
II. Perpetuity
· The Dictionary offers the following definitions for the word “perpetual”:
ü Lasting for eternity
ü Continuing or lasting for an indefinitely long time
ü Instituted to be in effect or have tenure for an unlimited duration
ü A treaty of perpetual friendship; continuing without interruption
· A Perpetual Church
ü An eternal assembly
· Collective and Individual meanings
ü The church as it was established; the entity of the Jesus’ church
Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
ü Individual churches
Letters to individual churches: i.e. letters to the 7 churches of Asia
· The Perpetual Structure of the Church
Ø Foundation and Origin
(You may refer to last week’s lesson) The foundation of the church establishes it as an eternal entity
· The Nature of the Church’s Perpetuity
The church should always be looking to spread the gospel message. Preaching the Gospel results in conversions and additions to the church, which serves to further the perpetuity of the church
The opposite is true as well. A church which does not preach the gospel effectively will not see converts and eventually, die. A stagnant church is one which is one generation away from extinction. Again, consider the church at Jerusalem which was enormous and had for its ministers: Peter, Paul, Philip, John, etc. For a witness, they had the mighty day of Pentecost and apostles who were eyewitnesses to the Lord’s miracles and teachings. Where it is today?
· Its Perpetuity in Time
By its nature, the church will exist until time is declared no more. By simply being what a church should be, a church guarantees its own perpetuity.
v Through times of great persecution
Acts 8:1-4
“And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.”
v Through times of great moral bankruptcy
The church has existed extended periods (over 1500 years) in which the world was generally in darkness and depravity. Although small in number, we find the members of local ekklasias being vibrant and faithful to the Lord.
v Through times of rampant apathy and ignorance
Perhaps this is the day in which we live. Generalize apathy regarding the Lord’s work seems to be the norm. The church, however, can overcome apathy and ignorance through diligent teaching and prayer. I was impressed with the message Brother Jeremy York brought to us Sunday evening re: the repair of Jerusalem in Nehemiah’s day.
v Through the withering church theory
There are some who believe that as time draws closer to an end, the church will wither away into a weak and insignificant state. This is simply not taught in the Scriptures. While the perpetuity is guaranteed by our Lord, I believe that the vibrancy is also assured by the end of the Great Commission.
Matthew 28:18-20
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Note: The Great Falling Away or Second Falling Away as it is termed, does NOT lend itself to a weakening of the Lord’s church but a shrinking in active membership, etc.
· Its Perpetuity in Eternity
The church will exist in heaven and as the bride of Christ and New Jerusalem
Revelation 21:2
And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
III. The Significance of the Perpetuity of the Church
· Your membership of lack of membership in the church will dictate your position in Heaven!
ü Church membership is important
ü The thief on the cross didn’t have a good opportunity; we do!
ü All will be perfectly joyous in heaven, but there also will be a very real and distinguishable difference in the bride and the guests of that marriage!
