Theology / The Church

  • The Deacon’s Home

    1 Timothy 3:12

    We who belong to God’s household need to keep in mind that a person’s way of life identifies him as a potential church servant, not his charisma, social influence, or good looks. Our culture prizes these things, but ...Read More

  • The Deception of Empty Words

    Ephesians 5:6

    There are men and women struggling with sexual sin in all of our congregations. They want to please God and are seeking to mortify the flesh, and we should do all that we can to help them. This means creating ...Read More

  • The Desire for Ordination

    1 Timothy 3:1

    John Chrysostom notes that in wanting the office of elder “what is terrible is to desire the absolute authority and power of the bishop but not the work itself” (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, NT vol. 9, p. 168; hereafter ...Read More

  • The Effective Sharing of Faith

    Philemon 6

    That too many believers rarely consult other believers and elders in the church before making a decision reflects the degree to which a non-biblical individualism has corrupted even the thinking of Christians. While the church is not to legalistically bind ...Read More

  • The Family’s Debt to Widows

    1 Timothy 5:3-4

    Only those with no other recourse are to receive financial assistance from the church, not those who cannot afford food because they refuse to give up cable television, Internet service, lavish living, and other discretionary expenses. If you need the ...Read More

  • The Fullness of Christ

    Ephesians 1:22-23

    Because the faithful church bows to Christ willingly today, it receives special graces and gifts not found in the outside world. Churches faithful to God’s revealed Word enjoy the blessings of discipline, growth in servant-like love for others, the ...Read More

  • The Gentiles’ Full Inclusion

    Ephesians 3:1-6

    We receive individuals as full communing members in the local church based not on their ethnic background, income, social status, or any other category. Instead, all those who put their faith in Christ become full heirs of all the promises ...Read More

  • The Holiness of the Church

    Ephesians 1:1

    God does not see His people in the same way that He sees the unregenerate world. He sees us as holy, but He sees those outside of Christ as unholy. This does not mean He is ignorant of our remaining ...Read More

  • The Holy Catholic Church

    Revelation 5:9–10

    The existence of the church is not a “plan b” that God turned to when “plan a” did not work out. Instead, the church is the goal toward which the Lord has been working from the beginning. A church made ...Read More

  • The Key of Church Discipline

    Psalm 7:11–13

    Dr. R.C. Sproul has often said that we must first understand the bad news if we are going to know the good news of the gospel. There is bad news for all the natural-born sons and daughters of Adam ...Read More

  • The Keys of the Kingdom

    Matthew 16:13–20

    There are two extremes when it comes to church authority. One extreme says that the church is always right no matter what it says. The other extreme says the church has no authority over the individual Christian. God’s Word ...Read More

  • The Lord’s Holy Temple

    Ephesians 2:21

    Because every believer is a stone in God’s temple, to sin against another Christian is to assault His holy dwelling place and thus a most grievous act. We must therefore strive not to harm other Christians with our words ...Read More

  • The Love and Peace of Christ

    Colossians 3:14-15

    When church elders, committees, and other bodies need to make a decision, their choice should in large measure be based upon what will bring peace to the church in the matter without compromising the gospel of Jesus Christ. Similarly, as ...Read More

  • The Marks of the Church

    1 Corinthians 11:17–34

    First Corinthians 11:17–34 gives us the marks of the church specifically and through good and necessary deduction. The whole passage concerns the Lord’s Supper, a reference to the sacraments. Paul also gives the words of institution, a ...Read More

  • The Marks of the Church

    Acts 2:42

    True churches are identified by their faithfulness to the Word of God, not by their size or influence in the community. A church that hears and obeys Scripture cannot help but reach out to the society around it, but the ...Read More