Is a small group Bible study a church? Is the Roman Catholic Church a church? Many people are confused today about what a church is. How do you know if what calls itself a church is indeed a church?
Christians in the past thought about this. They developed the idea of “the marks of the church,” that is, the characteristics that distinguish truly Christian churches. The Protestant Reformers concluded that there are two of these: the right preaching of God’s Word and the right administration of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Let’s spend just a moment thinking about each one of these.
Christian preaching is declaring and explaining God’s Word. If you’re reading this as a Christian, it’s because sometime, somewhere, someone brought God’s Word to you. It may have been through a book or a conversation, it may have been through a Sunday school lesson. For many of us, however, it has been through a sermon (Deut. 33:10). Read More
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