Message from Scripture: 10/23/2021

 

Our message from Scripture today comes from Acts 11:25-26; “Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”

 

What does it mean to be a New Testament Christian? There are many difference aspects of this we can address, but today let’s consider these elements. When we come in obedience to the gospel, our sins are washed away by the blood of Christ (Acts 22:16). The Lord adds us to His church (Acts 2:47), which is a loving spiritual family, where we seek to worship and glorify our heavenly Father. God is exalted as we seek to put His Word into practice in our daily lives (Jas. 1:22). We seek to provide the environment for each member to utilize his or her abilities in the Lord, to make use of the opportunities God gives us, collectively and individually (Gal. 6:10).  Our goal is to seek to put first His kingdom and righteousness (Matt. 6:33), and find the blessings He offers us as faithful children (Eph. 1:3).

 

Doctrinally, we will stand firmly grounded in the Word of God. We believe Scripture to be the inspired Word of God, able to make us thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Tim. 3:16-17). We have the complete revelation of God's will in the Bible, the only sure guide for eternity (2 Pet. 1:20-21). We seek to exalt Christ as Lord, but realize this can only be done in the framework provided by Scripture. Regarding faith and practice, we desire to stand firmly in the oracles of God. We do not seek to bind traditions God has not bound, but neither will we loose that which God has bound through His Word (Matt. 16:19-20).  Our desire is to be simply Christians, to show those around us New Testament Christianity today.

 

Stand firm in God’s word, and find the difference being simply a New Testament Christian can make. God bless.

 

Robert