Real Christianity: The Nature of the Church

As such they see themselves not as a denomination, but as pre-denominational; not as one of many faith communities, but the original and sole true Church.

Is the Catholic Church a Christian church?

Many Baptist and Congregationalist theologians accept the local sense as the only valid application of the term church. They strongly reject the notion of a universal catholic church. These denominations argue that all uses of the Greek word ekklesia in the New Testament are speaking of either a particular local group or of the notion of "church" in the abstract, and never of a single, worldwide church.

Many Anglicans , Lutherans , Old Catholics , and Independent Catholics view unity as a mark of catholicity, but see the institutional unity of the Catholic Church as manifested in the shared apostolic succession of their episcopacies, rather than a shared episcopal hierarchy or rites. Reformed Christians hold that every person justified by faith in the Gospel committed to the Apostles is a member of "One, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church".

From this perspective, the real unity and holiness of the whole church established through the Apostles is yet to be revealed; and meanwhile, the extent and peace of the church on earth is imperfectly realized in a visible way. The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod declares that only believers in the doctrine of justification are members of the Christian Church, excluding all others, even if those others are in external communion with the Church and even if they hold a teaching office in it.

A number of historians have noted a twentieth-century "global shift" in Christianity, from a religion largely found in Europe and the Americas to one which is found in the global south. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article is about followers of Jesus in general.

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For the buildings used in Christian worship, see Church building. For an individual church, see Church congregation. For discussion of organization and relationships between individual churches, see Christian denomination. For other uses, see Christian Church disambiguation. Jesus in Christianity Virgin birth Crucifixion Resurrection. Historical development of the doctrine of Papal Primacy. Church invisible and Church visible. Christianity portal Religion portal.

Archived from the original on 3 September Retrieved 3 September Retrieved 4 November Salvation is from the Jews John 4: Accessed on 4 November Archived from the original on Maps, Archaeology, and Sources: Reasons for persecution , Ancient History: Banning of Other Religions. Orthodox Church, retrieved May 12, The Church A. Catholic Book Publishing Corp. Is One Church as Good as Another? When the Lutherans presented the Augsburg Confession before Emperor Charles V in , they carefully showed that each article of faith and practice was true first of all to Holy Scripture, and then also to the teaching of the church fathers and the councils and even the canon law of the Church of Rome.

The underlying thesis of the Augsburg Confession is that the faith as confessed by Luther and his followers is nothing new, but the true catholic faith, and that their churches represent the true catholic or universal church. Historical Society of the Episcopal Church. Others had made similar observations, Patrick McGrath commenting that the Church of England was not a middle way between Roman Catholic and Protestant, but "between different forms of Protestantism," and William Monter describing the Church of England as "a unique style of Protestantism, a via media between the Reformed and Lutheran traditions.

The Westminster Handbook to Reformed Theology. Westminster John Knox Press. South Georgia Confessing Association.

Retrieved 30 May The Magazine of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. The United Methodist Church. Retrieved 10 June Abraham 25 August Retrieved 30 April Raymond; Rupp, Gordon 14 June Interpreting the Annual Christian Megacensus. A number of large episcopal churches e. United Methodist Church, USA have maintained a succession over years but are not concerned to claim that the succession goes back in unbroken line to the time of the first Apostles. Very many other major episcopal churches, however-Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Old Catholic, Anglican, Scandinavian Lutheran-do make this claim and contend that a bishop cannot have regular or valid orders unless he has been consecrated in this apostolic succession.

Archived at the Wayback Machine. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. A History of Christian Thought: Volume 2 From Augustine to the eve of the Reformation. Missionary Movement in Christian History: Studies in the Transmission of Faith.

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International Bulletin of Missionary Research. The Coming of Global Christianity. Christianity as a World Religion. Also, the Roman Catholic religious system sees the Catholic Church as the continuation of Jesus in the world. There are a number of reasons why Evangelical churches have strongly and consistently resisted this idea that the church, however it is conceived of, is the continuation of Jesus in this world.

When viewed as a system, the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church denies the seriousness of sin and the need for a new creation, distorts the humanity and divinity of Jesus in conflating Jesus with the institution of the Roman Catholic Church, assumes the work of the Holy Spirit on itself and elevates Mary as an idol. They present a different gospel to the one the Apostle Paul fought so hard to preserve in Galatia, and therefore should not be regarded as having accepted the true gospel, nor be considered as a Christian Church.

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Because of this our Catholic friends, neighbours and family are in grave danger and need our love, urgent prayers and evangelistic efforts! By understanding Roman Catholicism better as a system, we can avoid the pitfalls that can occur when we look at the parts in isolation. We become convinced that we need to be intentional and persistent in our evangelism to Catholics to present them with the biblical gospel. Finally, by understanding how Catholics think about God we can present that gospel in a way that makes sense to them. An Evangelical Perspective is a great place to start.

An Evangelical Assessment , Crossway, Wheaton, , p. Catechism of the Catholic Church, para. Mark Gilbert works for Certainty4Eternity, an organisation established to help churches share the gospel with people from a Roman Catholic background. Mark grew up as a committed Roman Catholic, but despite this did not hear the gospel until he started university. He trained as a doctor before retraining as a minister, and has served in Anglican churches in Sydney since He currently works as an evangelist on the Northern Beaches.

Each week we email helpful ideas for living as a disciple of and disciple-maker for Jesus. If you're like us and could benefit from being encouraged by wise and biblical thoughts, why not sign up now? According to the Bible a local church must possess all the following characteristics:.

Each church was then addressed directly, describing the works of each group, distinct from the works of the other churches.

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Each one had its own lamp stand, which would be removed if it became unfaithful 1: Note how this distinguishes the local churches as distinct one from another. One church did this work, but others did not [compare 2 Corinthians Local churches did exist, and individual Christians were part of local churches. These churches were viewed as distinct from one another, such that each church acted independently from the others.

In each case there was a plurality of elders. They are appointed to the work if they have the qualities. If a church has a plurality of such men, they should be "appointed" or "ordained" to do the work. Before a church has qualified men, it may function in an immature state of development like the churches in Acts But there is something lacking Titus 1: Elders exercise the leadership in a local church, but they must not lead people to do things for which no Scriptural authority exists. They teach the members what God's word says, refute error, and guard the members from straying.

Within the realm of authorized church work, there are decisions that need to be made to carry out that work. The elders are responsible to see that these decisions are made wisely. Each local church should have its own elders. Their work pertains to the church where they were appointed, and their oversight is limited to that congregation.

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This necessarily implies that each congregation is separate and distinct from every other one in organization and supervision. No church and no members of a church have authority over the affairs of another local church. This requires the church to have a regular income and to maintain funds to pay these men.

The Christian serves as God's steward, having funds under his "control" [Matthew But when he gives them to the church, they pass out of his control into the control of the local church under their leadership Philippians 4: So local churches are authorized to have a pool or treasury of funds belonging to the group to use to carry out its work. The church receives income by taking collections from the members.

These funds are separate and distinct from the funds of the individuals. Individuals are authorized to do some activities that are not authorized for local churches to participate in. We do not say that individuals may never do things that churches may do.

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But we do say there are works we may do as individuals that are never granted to the local church to do. The Bible gives principles by which a local church should be able to determine who is or is not a member of that local church. Members should commit themselves to be part of a particular local church and to labor to help accomplish the work of that church. He was working among them preaching and teaching God's word.

He then worked diligently among them. So the church excludes from itself those members who do not remain faithful. Members should identify themselves as part of a local church so they have men who watch for their souls and lead them in the work - Hebrews But the supervision of elders extends only to the local church where they have been appointed. So elders must be able to know which sheep they are responsible for and which they are not responsible for. A local church is not just any group of Christians. It has limits that define who is and is not included in the group.

Those who are members should be identified and recognized apart from those who are not members.