A) GUARDING THE FAITH:
Introduction: Overseers must diligently protect the sheep in the church's future,Satan will raise up false teachers from within the church and infiltrate God's flock from the outside with imposters who adhere to unbiblical doctrine,worldly thought,and pagan and humanistic ideas; both will destroy the biblical faith of God's people.Paul calls them "savage wolves" meaning they are string,difficult to handle,ravenous and dangerous(Ac20:29;Mt10:16).Such individuals will draw people away from Christ's teaching and towards,themselves and their distorted gospel.Paul's urgent plea(Ac20:25-31) places a unique obligation on all leaders to guard the church and oppose all who would distort the fundamental Revelation of NT faith.
1) The true church consists of only those who by Christ's grace and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit are faithful to the lord JESUS CHRIST and the word of GOD.Therefore, as a major aspect of guarding God's church,church leaders must discipline, correct in love(Eph4:15) and firmly refute (2Ti1-4;Tit1:9-11) all within the church who "distort the truth"(Ac20:30) by teaching things contrary to God's word and apostolic witnesses.
2) Church leaders,Pastors of local congregations and administrative officials do well to remember that the lord JESUS has made them responsible for the lives of all persons under their care(Ac20:26-27;Eze3:20-21).If leaders fail to declare and perform God's whole purpose for the church(Ac20:27),especially in the area of keeping watch over the flock(20:28),"they will not be innocent of the blood of all men"(Ac20:26;Eze34:1-10).Instead GOD will hold them guilty of the blood of all those who are lost because of the leaders refusal to protect the flock from those who weaken and distort the word (2Ti1:14;Rev2:2).
3) Exercising discipline with regard to theological, doctrinal and moral matters by and upon those who are responsible for the church's direction as especially important.Purity of doctrine ane life and adherence to the inerrancy of doctrine must be carefully guarded in colleges,bible schools,seminaries,publishing institutions and all organizational structures of the church(2Ti1:13-14).
4) The main issue here is one's attitude towards divinely inspired scripture,which Paul calls the "word of his grace"(Ac20:32).False teachers,pastors and leaders will attempt to weaken the authority of the bible by their subversive teachings and unbiblical principles.By rejecting the full authority of God's word,they deny that the bible is true and trustworthy in all that it teaches (Ac20:28-31;Gal1:6;1Ti4:1;2Ti3:8).These people,for the sake of the church,must be disciplined and removed from the fellowship(2Jn9-11,Gal1:9).
5) The church that fails to share the Holy Spirit's burning concern for church purity(Ac20:18-35),refuses to maintain a firm stand for the truth,and refrains from disciplined those who undermine the authority of God's word will soon cease to exist as a church according to NT norms.It will become guilty of departing from the original revelation of Christ and the apostles,sliding further and further from the NT purpose,power and life.
DEAR READERS:
What other duties can be assign to an overseer of a church?Pls share your knowledge with me.
Introduction: Overseers must diligently protect the sheep in the church's future,Satan will raise up false teachers from within the church and infiltrate God's flock from the outside with imposters who adhere to unbiblical doctrine,worldly thought,and pagan and humanistic ideas; both will destroy the biblical faith of God's people.Paul calls them "savage wolves" meaning they are string,difficult to handle,ravenous and dangerous(Ac20:29;Mt10:16).Such individuals will draw people away from Christ's teaching and towards,themselves and their distorted gospel.Paul's urgent plea(Ac20:25-31) places a unique obligation on all leaders to guard the church and oppose all who would distort the fundamental Revelation of NT faith.
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| GUARDING THE FAITH. |
1) The true church consists of only those who by Christ's grace and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit are faithful to the lord JESUS CHRIST and the word of GOD.Therefore, as a major aspect of guarding God's church,church leaders must discipline, correct in love(Eph4:15) and firmly refute (2Ti1-4;Tit1:9-11) all within the church who "distort the truth"(Ac20:30) by teaching things contrary to God's word and apostolic witnesses.
2) Church leaders,Pastors of local congregations and administrative officials do well to remember that the lord JESUS has made them responsible for the lives of all persons under their care(Ac20:26-27;Eze3:20-21).If leaders fail to declare and perform God's whole purpose for the church(Ac20:27),especially in the area of keeping watch over the flock(20:28),"they will not be innocent of the blood of all men"(Ac20:26;Eze34:1-10).Instead GOD will hold them guilty of the blood of all those who are lost because of the leaders refusal to protect the flock from those who weaken and distort the word (2Ti1:14;Rev2:2).
3) Exercising discipline with regard to theological, doctrinal and moral matters by and upon those who are responsible for the church's direction as especially important.Purity of doctrine ane life and adherence to the inerrancy of doctrine must be carefully guarded in colleges,bible schools,seminaries,publishing institutions and all organizational structures of the church(2Ti1:13-14).
4) The main issue here is one's attitude towards divinely inspired scripture,which Paul calls the "word of his grace"(Ac20:32).False teachers,pastors and leaders will attempt to weaken the authority of the bible by their subversive teachings and unbiblical principles.By rejecting the full authority of God's word,they deny that the bible is true and trustworthy in all that it teaches (Ac20:28-31;Gal1:6;1Ti4:1;2Ti3:8).These people,for the sake of the church,must be disciplined and removed from the fellowship(2Jn9-11,Gal1:9).
5) The church that fails to share the Holy Spirit's burning concern for church purity(Ac20:18-35),refuses to maintain a firm stand for the truth,and refrains from disciplined those who undermine the authority of God's word will soon cease to exist as a church according to NT norms.It will become guilty of departing from the original revelation of Christ and the apostles,sliding further and further from the NT purpose,power and life.
DEAR READERS:
What other duties can be assign to an overseer of a church?Pls share your knowledge with me.
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