Good morning.
It's good to see all of you here this morning.
We've got a chance to go on Wednesday to the Fort Payne Church of Christ.
and speak on their summer series down in Fort Payne, Alabama.
It was the home of the singing group, the country music group, Alabama.
They're from there.
But we got a chance to spend time with a brethren down there who I've known since 2014 and do some work with them.
And so it was enjoyable ah to be able to do that.
We're going to continue our study.
on the booklets back to the Bible.
We're in the second booklet.
We began this lesson uh and this booklet last week.
So if you uh have that with you, hopefully you can pull that out.
If you weren't here last week, you can go back on the website online and be able to be able to find last week's lesson and go over that material.
I encourage you to do that.
I encourage you also if you weren't here for the first books lesson, the two lessons that we did on book
booklet number one, encourage you to uh go back and watch those as well.
The reason we're doing this.
is to help train ourselves how to sit down and study with someone about what the Bible tells them they need to do in order to be saved, but not just what they need to do in
order to be saved.
They need to know why the Bible is authoritative in their lives, what part of the Bible is authoritative in their lives, how God assures them of what commands they must keep and
obey, that being those that are part of
of the New Testament law, and then what church it is that they belong to when they become a Christian because the Lord adds them to the church.
Acts chapter two, verse 47.
So as a result of that, they need to know what it is they've been added to.
They need to know what that looks like, and they need to know whether or not the thing that they've always thought of as the church is the church.
That's where we come into our study this afternoon.
oh
the church and its makeup in the first section of the booklet and then the organization of the church.
We're entering now into the worship of the church, but as we examined this thing, one of the things that we looked at in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 10 was that Paul
specifically says by the inspiration of Holy Spirit that there are to be no divisions among those who are in the
There are no authorized sex of the church.
There are no authorized denominations of the church.
Either an individual is part of that which is authorized or he is part of that which is unauthorized.
And Paul said that we should, as Christians, have no divisions among us.
But then consider as well that the first century church, as exhibited by Paul's greeting in Philippians chapter 1 and verse 1, and as we studied last week, was made up of bishops
or elders, deacons, and Christians or saints.
That was the organization of the early church, and that
is an authorized organization for the church today.
As we consider this and continue this study, we're going to notice the worship of the church.
You know, one of the things that there's an old saying, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck, all right?
When you're looking for the church, if you compare what you see in the Bible to what you see in a church that you're looking at and they match, that's a pretty good bet that
that's the church.
If you're looking at what you see in the Bible and you're looking at a church that you're evaluating and they don't match at all, that's a pretty good bet that that's not the
church.
Now, John chapter 4 verse 24.
Jesus says, as he is there in Samaria, and by the way, we're not going to turn to all the passages today because we've got like 50 slides to get through, okay?
So we're gonna move pretty quick, but take note of them and you've got the booklet to follow along in.
John chapter 4 verse 24, Jesus says to the woman at the well in Samaria, God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Must we worship God in spirit and in truth?
The answer is yes.
John chapter 17 verse 17.
As you're going through and studying with someone, you're going to turn to the passage.
You're going to remind them because we've been in this passage in booklet one.
We've been in earlier in this booklet.
You're going to remind them this is Jesus praying with his apostles there on the night before he goes into the garden of Gethsemane and is betrayed.
He prays to God the Father, sanctify them, the apostles, through thy word.
Thy word is truth.
So what is truth?
It's the Word of God.
Sins we must worship God in truth, must we worship God, or must we worship as God has directed in the Bible?
Absolutely we must.
Nobody, by the way, misses that question.
Nobody has an argument with that question.
When they get to this point, yeah, absolutely, we must worship according to the way it says in the Bible.
Matthew chapter 15 verse 9, but in vain Jesus says concerning the Pharisees in vain they do worship me teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Is it possible to worship God in vain?
Well, they're going to read the text and they're going, of course it is.
It says it right there.
So, they're going say yes.
If we worship God according to the commandments of uninspired men, will God accept it?
Now, you're building on the first booklet when you say that.
You're building on the fact that they understand that God gave His revelation through the Father to the Son, through the Son to the Spirit, through the Spirit to inspire
men, apostles, and prophets in the first century who wrote it down.
So you're building on what you've already discussed and studied with them.
If we worship God according to the commandments of uninspired men, will God accept it?
No.
It's not authorized.
Luke chapter 22.
Luke chapter 22 verses 19 through 20, and he took bread.
and gave thanks, and break it, and gave it to them saying, This is my body which is given for you, this due in remembrance of me, likewise also the cup after supper saying, This
cup is the New Testament in my blood which is shed for you." So, you're reading that and help them understand that this is the...
uh
Jesus in the upper room with the apostles?
He's instituting this memorial, the Lord's Supper, as we often call it.
Did Jesus command His disciples to partake of the Lord's Supper?
The answer is yes.
1 Corinthians chapter 10.
Paul, as he's writing to the church at Corinth, says, cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?
The bread which we break.
Is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
Isn't that what Jesus taught?
Yes, it is.
The cup is a communion of the blood of Christ.
The bread is a communion of the body
of Christ focusing our minds on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
In Acts chapter 20.
concerning this same thing, we find in Acts chapter 20, and if you turn to that passage with them and read just a little bit, and the first is before it, you're going to
understand what's going on.
Paul's traveling through, and we read, upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow, and
continued his speech until midnight.
When God told the Israelites in Exodus chapter 20 verse 8 to remember the Sabbath, did He mean for them to keep every Sabbath?
If they're not sure about what you're talking about, if they're not familiar with the Ten Commandments, because that's where that comes from, just turn back with them to Exodus
chapter 20 verse 8 and read it.
Here it is.
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
When God says remember the Sabbath day, did He mean every Sabbath day?
You can ask them, what day was the Sabbath in the Old Testament?
They may know, they may not.
It's the seventh day.
So every seventh day, the Jews, the Israelites were to keep the Sabbath day.
When the Christians met upon the first day of the week to eat the Lord's Supper, did they do it on the first day of each week?
The answer is yes.
Should Christians today eat the Lord's Supper upon the first day of the week?
Yes, we should.
So they're starting to say, oh, okay.
Well, that's interesting because that's not what my church does.
We take it once a month.
We take it twice a year.
Acts chapter 2 verse 42.
And they continued steadfastly.
This is the early church.
This is right after Peter has just preached the first gospel sermon.
Three thousand souls have been baptized in water for the remission of their sins.
And they, the three thousand and the disciples that were already disciples, continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and in fellowship and in breaking of bread and in
prayers from the very infancy of the first century church.
they were partaking of the Lord's Supper.
The disciples continued steadfastly in what?
In the Apostles' Doctrine, in fellowship, in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Acts chapter 20, what does it say?
They met on the first day of week to break bread.
on the Acts chapter 20 verse 48, says they continued in that from the very beginning of the early church.
Will we be pleasing to God if we continue steadfastly in the same things that the first century church did?
Yes, we will.
First Corinthians chapter 16 verses 1 and 2.
Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, so even do ye.
Upon the first day of the week, let every one of you lay by in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come." Is it God's will that we give as
we have been prospered?
Yes, this.
Are we to make a contribution on the same day that we partake of the Lord's Supper?
Yes.
oh
What day did they do it in the first century?
First day of week.
What day did they ever take a Lord's Supper?
First day of the week.
I wonder how often do churches collect money?
Once a month?
Twice a year?
Every week?
How did they know to do that?
They can get it when it comes to the money.
They struggle to get it when it comes to the Lord's Supper.
Why is that?
is you consider that the command is exactly the same as you come together on the first day of the week, partake of the Lord's Supper.
As you come together on the first day of the week, give.
Every church can figure it out on the giving, but many of them argue with you about it on the Lord's Supper.
Ephesians chapter 5 verse 19.
Speaking to yourselves.
Now, Paul is writing to the church and he's writing to them about the Christian life.
But in the context of the Christian life, he wants them to live a life of spiritual godliness.
And as he tells them and instructs them concerning that, he says, speaking to yourselves in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the
Lord.
Ask the question.
Just let them answer it.
Are we to sing?
Yes.
Does this passage mention mechanical instruments of music?
No?
None.
Church historians tell us that the followers of Christ did not use mechanical instruments of music in their worship for hundreds of years after Christ.
Now, you're reading that there.
If they want to go validate that, they can go look up all the historical references, okay?
You're just telling them a statement of fact.
Let them prove it.
By the way, it's not argued and it's not debated at all.
The Greek Orthodox Church, which broke off from the Roman Catholic Church, has never used instrumental music in worship from the beginning of its existence till now.
Now, is that an argument for authority based upon what the Greek Orthodox Church does?
No, it's a statement of you go back through history and they never started and they broke away from a group that did start, but they never started and the church prior to that that
they were connected to had never started.
Okay, they never used it.
When you attend the worship of the Church of Christ, you will notice that we do not use instrumental music in worship.
Just helping them understand when they walk in, if they walk in the door, they're going to not be surprised at all that we're doing exactly what the New Testament teaches.
Now, the Evangelism Visualized Booklet is back there and hopefully you have one.
There's some pages in here that helps people understand something.
The booklet's there to help you to understand how to present this in a way that will help them understand the implications.
That which is specifically stated excludes all others.
Law of exclusion.
If you authorize your child
or your husband to walk into the store and buy milk and bread.
And they walk out with milk, bread, donuts, and candy bars.
Did they do what you told them to do?
My wife is all the time after me because she'll send me with a list expecting me to come home with exactly what's on the list.
For some reason, additional things make it out of the store on the same order.
But if you authorize one thing and then someone goes and adds to it, did they do what you authorized?
Or did they do something other than what you authorized?
The law is not a book of don'ts.
If it were, we would need a truck to carry it around.
The New Testament tells us what we should do.
What the law says is do and excludes all others.
When you see speed limit 65, the officer pulls you over because you're doing 95.
Officer, the law did not say I could not drive 85 miles per hour.
When the law states 65 miles per hour, it excludes all others that violate that.
The Bible must be understood with the law of exclusion.
Colossians chapter 3 verse 17 is a good passage for this.
Whatever you do in word or deed, would that include worship?
Absolutely it would.
Do all in the name of the Lord Jesus and help them understand that doing it in the name of means by the authority of.
Genesis chapter 6 verse 14.
We're going to jump back to the Old Testament not for authority but for examples that this is always the way God has handled things.
Genesis chapter 6 verse 14.
God told Noah, make an ark of gopher wood, rooms shalt thou make in the ark and pitch it within and without with pitch.
Would Noah have sinned if he had built the ark out of metal or mud?
Yes.
Why?
Because God specified what he was to do.
Would Noah have sinned if he built the ark out of any other wood?
You know, he might have had an entire grove of cedar trees.
Couldn't he have just built it out?
The cedar trees are right here, Lord.
Why do I have to go gopher wood?
If Noah had built it out of cedar, would he have violated the command of God?
Yes, he would.
Now consider this.
when you consider vocal versus instrumental music.
When God said gopher wood, that automatically eliminated every other kind of wood.
When God said sing, that automatically eliminates every other kind of music.
God didn't say play the drums.
God didn't say play the harp.
Did they have harps in the first century?
Did they have salt trees in the first century?
Did they have trumpets in the first century?
Did they have drums in the first century?
Couldn't God have said put together a band?
Certainly could have.
What did he say?
Sing.
When he commanded one thing, he denied all or eliminated all the others.
Leviticus chapter 10.
Living in chapter 10, verses 1 and 2, you'll read this with them.
uh
than God commanded?
Yes.
Did God punish them?
Yes.
Is it important to worship God the way HE commands without alteration?
I believe Nadab and Abihu would testify yes.
Matthew chapter 26, verses 26 through 29.
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it and break it, and gave it to the disciples and said, take eat, this is my body.
And he took the cup and he gave thanks and gave it to them saying, drink ye all of it.
All right, we're back to Lord's Supper again.
Because there are things which people get when you connect the things that they get with the things that they're arguing with, they have a hard time arguing with themselves.
So, would it be a sin to put jam on the bread to improve the taste?
Yes, it would.
They won't have an argument with that.
Oh, that's ridiculous.
No, we shouldn't do that.
Would it be a sin to add vitamin tonic or geritol to the fruit of the vine to aid enthusiasm in serving God?
You know what?
This congregation's a little tired in the morning.
Can we just add a little espresso?
Just get people going.
Would that be sinful?
Yes.
It's not authorized.
Would it be a sin to add hamburgers and milkshakes to Lord's Supper?
Everybody's getting a little hungry.
You know, y'all might pay attention better if you've eaten something right before I get up to preach.
Yes, it would be a sin.
another illustration.
You can leave it right there.
You don't have to use these illustrations.
These are helpful if you need help and they're helpful if someone has questions or uh is not quite getting it.
We are authorized to use the fruit of the vine and the leavened bread.
But we would draw more people with hamburgers.
Because sometimes the argument is, you know what, if we just had
This, during the Lord's Supper or during the singing, more people would enjoy it.
There'd be more people there, right?
The argument is people like it, so shouldn't we do it?
The Bible does not say, thou shalt not use burgers.
That is another argument.
Well, people like it, there's one, but it doesn't say not to put burgers on Lord's Supper.
Unleavened bread can't add jam for taste.
Through the vine, you can't add geritol for excitement.
You can't substitute hamburgers and you can't substitute milkshakes.
Well, when it comes to the music of the church, it's vocal.
You can't add guitars.
It's vocal.
You can't add pianos.
It's vocal.
You can't add instruments.
When the Bible says to do it a certain way,
It illuminates every other way.
Okay?
Now consider, would Noah have sinned if he had used oak and gopher wood in the ark?
Yes.
Did God approve of Nadab and Abihu offering a different kind of fire than he had commanded?
No.
So, sometimes the argument is, but I don't feel like there's anything wrong with it.
Proverbs chapter 14 verse 12, there's a way that seems right unto men, but the ends thereof are the ways of death.
Jeremiah chapter 10 verses 23, oh Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself, it is not in man that walketh to direct his own steps.
If their argument is, but I like it this way, the Bible's already taken care of those arguments.
But look at all the people who use instrumental music.
Surely they can't all be wrong.
Exodus chapter 23 verse 2, thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil.
You can also go to Jesus' statement when Jesus spoke about the narrow and the broad way and he said there will be few who find the narrow way.
All of these help reinforce it, but you don't have to go...you can go through the booklet and just cover those things, and if they're understanding it, just keep going on.
All right, and I'm going to skip through a few of these just for the sake of time.
Would Noah have sinned if he used oak?
and gopher wood in the ark.
Yes.
Did God approve of Nadab and Abihu offering a different kind of fire than He had commanded?
No.
Is it a sin to add jam and vitamin tonic and instrumental music to worship?
Yes, it is.
Why?
It's not authorized.
It's not authorized on the first one or the second one or the third one.
The name of the church.
So,
you would kind of draw back, what are we to do in New Testament worship?
We're to hear the preaching and the teaching?
We're to pray?
We're to sing?
We're to partake of the Lord's Supper?
and we're to give.
Name of the church.
Matthew chapter 16 verse 18.
And I say unto thee, thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Who built the church?
Jesus did.
Jesus said he is going to build whose church?
His.
belongs to him, not you, not me.
Acts chapter 20 verse 28, take heed therefore unto yourselves and all the flock over which the Holy Ghost has made you overseer to feed the church of God which he purchased with his
own blood.
Who purchased the church?
Jesus did.
Whose name should be on the deed?
You know, if he owns it, whose name goes on the deed?
The person who owns it.
Jesus name should be on the deed.
In 1 Corinthians
In Ephesians chapter 1 verses 10 through 13, a passage which they will have already seen, you're bringing them back to.
Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same things and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined
together in the same mind and the same judgment.
And I just realized that entire text isn't on that screen.
So give me just a minute and I'll get there.
He says, "'For it has been declared to me concerning you, brethren, by those of Chloe's household that there are contentions among you.
Now I say this, that each of you says, I am of Paul, or I am of Apollos, or I am of Cephas, or I am of Christ.'" Is Christ divided?
Was Paul crucified for you, or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
Is it a sin to name the church after Paul?
Yes.
How about Apollos?
Cephas?
Peter?
Any other human being?
Yes, it would be sinful.
If the church were named after Paul, whom would we be glorifying?
Paul.
If the church were named after a religious act, such as repentance, what would we be glorifying?
We'd be glorifying repentance.
If it were a sin to name it the Pauline Church, would it be a sin to name it the Lutheran Church?
Yes, it would.
If it were a sin to name it the repentance church would be a sin to name it the Baptist church?
Yes it would.
Can you think of any other religious names that are used today?
They'll think of Methodist, or they'll think of Mormon, or they'll think of Jehovah's Witness.
They'll think of all these different names.
The Bible Church, the Church of the Holy Spirit, the Oneness Church.
There's thousands of them out there.
Colossians chapter 3 verse 17, and whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.
Are we to do all in the name of the Lord Jesus?
Yes, we are.
Would this include the name by which we refer to God's people?
Should we have authority for that?
Yes.
Romans chapter 16, verse 16, salute one another with a holy kiss the churches of Christ salute you.
Do you read of the church of Christ in the Bible?
Yes, you do.
Would it be wrong to call the church by this name?
Now, why are we asking would it be wrong versus would it be right?
Because it's not the only name that the church is known by in the Bible.
We just read a few moments ago where it's called the Church of God.
It's called the Church of Christ.
The question is, do we have authority for it?
And the answer is, no, it would not be wrong.
Would this name glorify the one who built the church and bought it with his blood?
Yes, it would.
Matches all the things that we need for authority.
Hebrews chapter 8 verse 5.
uh
Was Moses warned to build the tabernacle after God's pattern?
Yes, he was.
He was told, do it exactly the way I showed you.
Must we be careful to build the church after God's pattern?
If it was important for Moses to build a tent according to the pattern, then it's important for us to build the church the same way.
As we bring these pieces together,
They're going to have questions.
It's okay.
Write them down.
Don't die on the hill of their questions.
They're beginning to have a frame of reference go, hmm.
That doesn't look like what I've always done.
that authority from discussion from the last book, it's not what I've always been taught.
I've always thought that you just do whatever you believe is right.
I've always known preachers to say if you feel it in your heart, then it's okay.
And you're telling me we need to actually go by what the authority of the Bible says?
And they're gonna start thinking, especially between that study and the next week, huh.
You know, there's a few other things that we do that I can't find anywhere in the Bible.
Now, caution.
It's not enough to have Church of Christ on the door.
Because if what happens in the building and what happens in that worship assembly isn't what's authorized, doesn't matter what's on the door, does it?
It doesn't matter if the name is authorized if the actions inside the assembly are not authorized.
But we also shouldn't argue against a name that's authorized.
The church in the first entry
in the book of Hebrews is known as the church of the firstborn.
Would it be scriptural to refer to the church in the same way that the book of Hebrews refers to the church?
Sure would.
Would it be authorized to call it the Christians?
Well, Paul quite often refers to the Christians in Ephesus.
And the church in Ephesus, what if we just, the church in Ephesus?
Would that be sufficient?
Yes.
There are a lot of things that are authorized.
We must be sure that what we do is authorized.
But here's the thing, who does it belong to?
Because the term the Church of Christ is not the name of a group.
It's a description of ownership.
It is the church that belongs to Christ.
And if we take it from being a description of ownership and authority to being nothing more than a denominationalized name, we're wrong.
We should be cautious.
We should educate and help ourselves understand things like not using terms like, I'm Church of Christ.
No, you're not.
I'm a Christian that belongs to Christ.
And the other reference is just turning the Church into a denominational concept.
I am a part of the body of Christ.
What if we called it the body of Christ?
Would that be scriptural?
What if that's what was on the door outside?
Yeah, it would be scriptural.
You know, in some countries, the term Church of Christ...
has historically referred to a denomination.
As a result, the Lord's body doesn't use that term in those countries because translated, it would cause confusion.
So they use another term that's scriptural from the text.
All of that is to point out that when we open the book, we compare it to the church.
And if the church matches the book, it's the church.
And it doesn't matter what the name is on the door so long as the name is authorized.
That involves it matching what's in the book.
But if we open up the assembly and it doesn't match what's in the book, it doesn't belong to Christ.
It's not His.
It's not His authority.
Now when you examine your life and you look at your life, you have to do the same thing with your life that you have to do with the assembly of the church.
You have to evaluate it against the authority of the Word of God.
And if it doesn't look like the...
authority of the Word of God.
If your life doesn't look like the authority of Scripture, if you're doing things which are in violation of God's law and you're not doing things that He commands you to do, then
who do you belong to?
Do you belong to Christ or do you belong to Satan?
Whose works are you doing?
If you're outside the body of Christ this morning, you can change that.
Jesus made entrance into the body, the blood, and the redemption that is found in the church very easy.
He said, hear the word and believe it.
You repent of your sins and confess the name of Christ.
And you're immersed in water for the forgiveness of your sins, rising to walk in newness of life, a part of the family of God, the body of Christ.
the church that belongs to Christ.
If you're here this morning and you have need of that or if you have any need, why not come forward now as we stand and as we sing.