TRUE CHURCHES

 

What makes a good or true church, you may ask?

In responding to the question, What defines a good church?, Ligonier Ministries on their website states: “You want to make sure that the gospel is truly being preached. A church that is not preaching the gospel is not a good church—it's an apostate one. If the sacraments are being mutilated, that's also a very serious sign of apostasy. It's also a sign if there is no discipline.”

In the midst of the prevalent religious deception, I make bold to say that there are still some good churches that are genuine and true to the Gospel and the faith that is in the Lord Jesus Christ.

These churches are filled with genuine hearts and souls who truly love God and love God’s people.

They serve Christ who is the Head of the Church.

They seek to live for Him, in spite of themselves. 

They hunger and thirst after God’s Truth.

They seek His Kingdom and His Righteousness. 

They long for the pure nourishment of God’s Word.

They are not chasing after miracles, signs, wonders or material things but seeking to know Christ, to extol Him, to follow Him and to glorify Him.

Christ is real and there is no church without Him.

He is the Reason and Centre of any True Church.

It was because He came, and gave His life to save us that we have been saved or called out of the world which is heading to Eternal Damnation.

Do you really understand this Truth?

The word “Church” is from a Greek root word ‘Ekklesia’, meaning “The Called-Out Ones”.

The prefix is ek or ex, which means "out of " or "from." The root word is a form of the verb kaleo, which means "to call." Thus, ekklesia means "those who are the called-out ones." Simply put, the invisible church, the true church, is composed of those who are called by God not only outwardly but inwardly by the Holy Spirit. (Ligonier Ministries)

In another sense of meaning, the “New Testament usage follows the Septuagint. The basic meaning of the Greek ekklēsia is assembly or gathering.” (Early Christian Texts)

A church is a gathering or assembly of the called-out ones, that is, those who are saved by God.

It is not supposed to be a social/political gathering of people who are spiritually unregenerate.

It is no business venture or commercial enterprise.

It is a family of spiritually regenerate individuals.

Those who are in Christ and One Spirit with Him.

They fellowship with one another to encourage, strengthen and support each other in their faith.

They reach out to the world to share the Good News and Amazing Love of Christ with them.

They are spiritually characterized by Christ’s love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, meekness, and self control. 

They are humble, contrite or poor in spirit.

They mourn over sin; they make peace and preach the Gospel of Christ to reconcile men to God.

They are meek, and they are passionate about doing the right, just and equitable things.

They seek, do and promote justice/fairness.

They do not steal, shortchange or cheat people.

They are exemplars of honesty and empathy.

They confess their sins and receive forgiveness.

They hate lawlessness and love righteousness.

They are persecuted for doing the right things.

They are despised or punished for being Christlike.

They are often or easily taken for granted, ridiculed and mistreated by the unsaved and wicked world. 

They forgive, love, give to, provide for and pray for their enemies, mockers and persecutors.

They are captivated by Christ and walk in His steps, cultivating the Mindset and Philosophy of Christ.

They enjoy earthly necessities and are content with and thankful for their socioeconomic state in life.

They are grateful for God’s gracious provisions and they share among each other to meet their needs.

Certainly no church community is perfect, as it is filled with growing believers who are at different stages of spiritual development, knowledge, wisdom and maturity. 

We need healthy, good churches filled with loving and true believers—children of God who are the light of the world and salt of the Earth.

Grace, mercy and peace to all God’s Elect—the Chruch and Body of Christ—all over the world.

‘Dozie Osonkie 

TRUTH Advocacy!

Thought Leadership

___________

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