The Bible Explained, part 24A/40: Church Matters: Purpose of the Church

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THE BIBLE EXPLAINED

A Guide to the Holy Bible
for Parents and Teenagers

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Where did you come from?
What is your purpose?
What happens when you die?

These questions--and more--are answered in 'The
Bible Explained', which is based on the teachings
of the Holy Bible. The Holy Bible is a collection
of ancient books which claim to be the word of the
one and only God. This one and only God claims to
be the sole creator, owner, and sustainer of all
things; he further claims to hold the one and only
key to eternal life. Are these claims true? Get
the facts and then decide for yourself.

This document is meant to be understood by everyone,
and is therefore written in plain, simple language,
avoiding complex religious jargon.

Understand the Bible like never before.

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Introduction
Quest for Truth
The Holy Bible
Origin and Destiny
The Big Picture: Good and Evil
The Story of Man
The Purpose of the Earth
The Standard and the Test
Work: The Key to Success and Life
Pyramid Society
Failure of Man
Male and Female
Family Relationships
Marriage and Family
Sexual Immorality
The Value of Life
Multiplication and Overpopulation
Racism
Creation and Evolution
Government
Politics
Justice
Words, Speech, and Censorship
Church Matters
Monotheism, Jews, and Christians
Temptation
The Nature of Evil
Life and Death of Satan
Reincarnation
The Rapture
The End Times
The Near Future
Preparing for the Future
Groups and Labels
Understanding Judgement
Preparing for Death
Conclusion
Appendix A: Questions and Answers
Appendix B: The Ten Commandments
Appendix C: Marriage

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TITLE: "The Bible Explained"
AUTHOR: "Arrant Knave"
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Church Matters

Church Defined: The word 'church' is usually associated with a building where people gather for various religious services; however, a church is simply a gathering of two or more people who come together to study the word of God and to edify each other -- the place where they gather is of no particular importance: "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I (Jesus) am there in the midst of them." [Matthew 18:20] The word 'church' is also used to refer to the "body" (followers) of Jesus of Nazareth, a man who walked the earth some 2000 years ago and claimed to be God in human flesh -- the Christ/Saviour/Messiah. The true followers of Jesus are the ones who keep his commandment: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." [Matthew 4:4]

Purpose of the Church: Jesus commanded his followers (church) to: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations." [Matthew 28:19] A disciple is someone who freely chooses to follow Jesus in order to obtain life eternal in his presence. Thus, the purpose of the church is to teach the word of God as the one and only path to life eternal: "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" [John 14:16] Jesus was the word of God in human flesh: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." [John 1:14] The word of God is summarized in the Ten Commandments, which is the one and only path to life eternal, as Jesus said: "If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments." [Matthew 19:17] See Exodus 20 or Deuteronomy 5 for a list of the Ten Commandments.

Popular Misconceptions: There are many popular misconceptions regarding the word of God. Here are a few facts: God is not a legalistic tyrant seeking to suppress your freedom; all the laws of God are designed to prevent you from hurting yourself and others; heaven is not a place of extreme boredom where members fly around, playing harps; heaven is life eternal in the presence of God; the human mind cannot conceive the bliss of heaven; hell is not a place of eternal fire and torment; hell is simply death eternal -- to go out of existence forever; Satan, the adversary of God, is not the ruler of an eternal, fiery kingdom, since such a place does not literally exist; Satan is not immortal; angels are not immortal; humans are not immortal; the spirit of man is not immortal; God alone is immortal; the Day of Judgement is not equivalent to a trial in a human court of law; in the Day of Judgement, all things will be made equal -- whatever you have done, so will it be done to you: good for good; evil for evil.

Impressions of God: On the sixth day, God created man; then man eventually returned the favour: we all have our own impression of God. But impressions mean nothing; reality is all that matters. Instead of defining God, we ought to let him define himself. You may have seen various televangelists on TV, and thought to yourself: 'These guys are so phoney. All they want is your money. How can anyone fall for these scams?' Certain televangelists may have caused you to form a negative opinion of God, since there are those who unscrupulously use the word of God for their own selfish gain, which is contrary to the commandment of God. If it's any consolation, all false teachers of the word of God earn death eternal: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day (of judgement), 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" [Matthew 7:21-23] 'Depart from Me' is a polite way of saying 'go to hell', since there is no life apart from God; and hell is death eternal.

The Standard: Jesus constantly divided people into two groups: wheat and tares; sheep and goats; lost and saved; light and darkness; living and dead; good and evil. What standard did Jesus use to divide people? He used himself (see Matthew 25:31-
46). The question then becomes: What is Jesus? John tells us: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." [John 1:1,14] As you can see, Jesus was the word (Torah/Law) of God in flesh. Thus, God uses Jesus/Torah to divide the living from the dead. The Torah/Law is summarized in the Ten Commandments, which God wrote with his own finger -- the word of God: "And when He (God) had made an end of speaking with him (Moses) on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God." [Exodus 31:18]

Sectarianism: "A sect is a body of people subscribing to religious doctrines different from those of others within the same religion." [Oxford Dictionary] Sectarianism is foolish, since no one will be judged by the doctrines of his sect; all will be judged by the law of God: "For God will bring every work into judgement, including every secret thing, whether it is good or whether it is evil." [Ecclesiastes 12:14] In order for God to determine if something is good or evil, he must measure it against an absolute standard -- that standard is the Torah/Law of God, which is summarized in the Ten Commandments.

One Path to Life: There is only one God; only one heaven; and only one path which leads to heaven: "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" [John 14:6] In the Day of Judgement, you will be judged by the law of God -- not by the beliefs of your sect. Beliefs and ceremonies are irrelevant; the keeping of the Ten Commandments is all that matters: "Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city." [Revelation 22:14]

Church Hierarchy: Many churches have greatly erred in their construction of hierarchical systems of administration, for Jesus commanded his disciples to shun lordship: "But there was also rivalry among them (Jesus's disciples), as to which of them should be considered the greatest. And He (Jesus) said to them, 'The kings of the Gentiles (nations) exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors'. But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.'" [Luke 22:24-26] And again, "And He (Jesus) sat down, called the twelve (disciples), and said to them, 'If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.'" [Mark 9:35] Why this stern warning against hierarchies? Because a hierarchical system will inevitably be infiltrated and hijacked by the children of the devil, who will then use it to do evil. On the other hand, an unorganized scattering of "lowly" servants cannot easily be exploited to deceive and oppress the masses. The lure of the hierarchical system is, of course, power -- one of man's greatest weaknesses.

Administration: If hierarchies are to be avoided, how should the gifts of God be administered? When members of a church are gathered together, let them share their gifts in an orderly manner: "How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged." [1 Corinthians 14:26-31]

Judging Your Church: Be wary of heavy-handed church leaders who refuse to be publicly questioned. As forewarned in scripture, Satan and his children will seek to infiltrate your church, sowing discord in their quest to destroy it from within: "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works." [2 Corinthians 11:13-15] How do you determine if your church has been hijacked by Satan? Simple: If your church teaches the Ten Commandments as the one and only path to life eternal, then your church is faithful to God: "If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments." [Matthew 19:17]

Servants of God: Who is qualified to be a priest of God? Only sons of Aaron are qualified to be priests of God; and only sons of Levi are qualified to be servants in the temple of God: This refers to the Jewish faith. What about the Christian faith? There is only one priest in the Christian faith -- Jesus the Christ, who is the head of his church (followers); the church or 'body' of the Christ is composed of 'brethren' or 'brothers'. A brother is either male or female; all brothers are equal; if a brother receives a gift from God, he is to share it with the other members, then he is to take his place among them; no brother is permitted to be exalted above the rest, and no brother should be debased. Are homosexuals permitted to be servants of God? Consider the following scripture: "If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them." [Leviticus 20:13] Obviously, a dead man cannot render service to God.

Called to Teach: The word of God should be taught only by those whom God has called to do so. How do I know if God has called me to teach his word? If there is any doubt in your heart, you can be certain that God has not called you: "Then I said, 'I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.' But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not." [Jeremiah 20:9] If God calls you to teach his word, you cannot choose but do so; nevertheless, if your words do not conform to the word of God, God has not called you -- therefore, beware (see Deuteronomy 13:1-5).

Teacher and Student: Those who take it upon themselves to teach the word of God put themselves under severe judgement: not only must they answer for their own life, but they must also answer for those whom they have taught. Ezekiel gives a brilliant illustration of the relationship between the teacher and his student: "Now it came to pass at the end of seven days that the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 'Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: When I say to the wicked, "You shall surely die," and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul.'" [Ezekiel 3:16-21] As you can see, every teacher carries an awesome responsibility and a harsh judgement. Therefore, it is best not to become a teacher -- unless God calls you: "My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgement." [James 3:1]

Leading the Simple: Those who take up leadership roles ought to be careful to remain humble and to not consider themselves superior to others: "You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the LORD." [Leviticus 19:14] "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea." [Matthew 18:6] As you can see, leaders will be judged harshly; but if they have led faithfully, they will be most richly rewarded. There is no greater responsibility a man can undertake on the earth than to take it upon himself to teach the word of God, since the word of God divides the living from the dead.

True and False Teachers: There are two types of teachers on the earth: true and faithful ones; and false and deceitful ones. True teachers are from God; false teachers are from the devil. How do I distinguish between the two? Simple: The word of God is a sharp two-edged sword which divides good from evil. True teachers teach the absolute black-
and-white principles of God; false teachers obfuscate the word of God through relativism and human philosophy. Therefore, study, understand, and keep the word of God that you may be properly equipped to judge between true and false teachers. If you do not know the word of God, you will be deceived by false teachers, since they are clever and cunning, possessing the craftiness of their father the devil.

Women Teachers: Are women permitted to teach the word of God? Yes. But bear in mind the following scripture: "My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgement." [James 3:1] Due to abuse suffered at the hands of men, some women are more likely to listen to the words spoken by the mouth of a woman than by the mouth of a man -- even though the words are the same. Therefore, God raises up women to speak his word, for he is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. In any case, be wary of false teachers -- even among women. As a cautionary note, women should refrain from teaching men, since that would be a perversion of God's arrangement for mankind: "But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." [1 Corinthians 11:3] Also, women should be particularly careful in handling the word of God, since women are more emotional than men; and emotions are our weakest point -- and the devil knows this, so be wary of those who appeal to your emotions rather than to your intellect.

False Teachers: False teachers are those, wittingly or not, under the control of Satan the devil; false teachers seek to destroy the word of God by diluting it and perverting it; they strive to climb the 'corporate ladder' at any cost, that they may receive the world's applause -- rather than the approval of God. False teachers receive their reward (the applause of men) in the temporal world; they will receive nothing from God. In fact, in the Day of Judgement, God will sentence the false teachers to death: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" [Matthew 7:21-23] 'Depart from Me' is a polite way of saying 'go to hell (death eternal)', since there is no life apart from God.

The Hungry Sojourner: A hungry traveller steps into a restaurant for a meal, but notices all sorts of commotion unrelated to catering: no one is taking orders for food, or preparing food, or serving food -- in fact, there is no food in the restaurant. What will the traveller do? He will likely leave and seek a place where food is served. "'Behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord GOD, 'that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, but shall not find it.'" [Amos 8:11-12] There is a hunger for the word of God, but few places are bold enough to present the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Why? Lack of righteousness: "The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion." [Proverbs 28:1]

Playing Church: Does your church teach you how to use the sharp two-edged sword (the absolute word of God) to conquer the world, the flesh, and the devil, so that you may receive life eternal? Or does your church teach only sweet and non-offensive things, that it may not lose your membership and your financial support? "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." [Matthew 7:13-14] "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God." [Acts 14:22] If you are not suffering unusual trials and tribulations, your church may be ruled by Satan: for the devil does not afflict those who already belong to him. If you wish to serve God, yet your church approves of abortion, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, etc., leave: why should you pay your own fare to hell? You would be better served by using your time and money to eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you will die: "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." [1 Corinthians 6:9-10]

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The above book is available for purchase at:

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Search for:
TITLE: "The Bible Explained"
AUTHOR: "Arrant Knave"
ISBN-10: "1468197061"
ISBN-13: "9781468197068"

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The above excerpt from 'The Bible Explained' is copyright
2010 by Arrant Knave. All rights reserved. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by any means without the
prior written permission of the publisher, except by a
reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be
printed in a newspaper, magazine, or journal.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are
taken from the New King James Version (R). Copyright (C)
1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights
reserved.

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