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Where In The Bible Will I Find... The Importance Of The Church?
Gary Colley |
This important question deserves more of the attention of thinking individuals than many are willing to give. If that which the Bible declares to be important is not important, then nothing is important in the world, and we should not search for Truth even for a moment. Yet Jesus said Truth is our hope (Jn. 8:31-32). If it can be determined that eternal salvation is highly important, then nothing should have more of our interest than the Divine institution called the church of Christ (Rom. 16:16). Since every person has an eternal soul given by God and every person shall give an account, the soul is of utmost value (Matt. 10:28, Matt. 16:26). The institution in which our soul can be saved, according to the Bible, is then of utmost significance. We note from the Bible that the church of Christ has a Divine Architect (Eph. 3:10-11), a Divine Builder (Matt. 16:18), a Divine Foundation (1 Cor. 3:11), a Divine Purchase Price (Acts 20:28), a Divine Head (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18), a Divine Law (Jas. 1:25; Rom. 8:1-2; Gal. 1:8-9), a Divine Name (Acts 4:12; Phil. 2:9; 1 Cor. 1:10-12), a Divine Purpose (Matt. 28:18-20; Eph. 3:21), and a Divine Destiny (Jn. 14:1-4; Eph. 5:25-27). If these do not appeal to our souls, something is wrong with our hearts (Prov. 4:23; 23:7). Confusing human doctrines have caused people not to study and therefore not to know. When people are unenlightened by the Gospel they are alienated from God and their minds are darkened (Eph. 4:17-19). Even those who once have been enlightened by and obedient to the Gospel, may cease to let the Word live in them, turning back to the worldly practices they did before obeying the Gospel and entering the church of Christ (Hos. 4:6; 2 Pet. 2:20-22). Ignorance can even cause the wrong to seem right (Jn. 16:2)! All men are dependent on the Word of God to guide them into the narrow Way and toward the celestial city of Heaven (Jer. 10:23; Prov. 14:12, Matt. 15:13-14). We urge every soul to study and obey the Truth today (2 Cor. 6:2). |