Transcript:
Intro – Here is Bill Shade with today’s “Moment from God’s Word”.
Message
I started out last time by saying that each local church has a biblical mandate to teach all of its people, all the Word of God. Not only is that the way the church of the first century did its training, but it is the most practical way of training even today.
The local church is immediate to the life of its people. A man does not have to leave home and family or even his job and travel long distances, spending large sums of money in order to be trained to serve God.
Furthermore, as guardian of the life and doctrine of its people, the local church is best able to measure and observe not only the doctrinal fidelity and perception of those it is teaching, but also the degree of doctrinal application to their individual lives. Thus it can determine when the one being taught is ready to teach.
And finally, and perhaps most importantly for our present situation, the local church is the most stable and secure teaching agent possible. In any culture of persecution, public institutions of learning are immediately vulnerable to government intervention, as we are seeing already. The combined weapons of accreditation, broadened definitions of anti-discrimination law, and a clear anti-Christian bias are even now forcing colleges to bow to policies that are clearly contrary to Scripture. If they stand their ground they may loose —– if they conform, they will have lost their reason for existence.
The local, indigenous, New Testament church is always the last place that a godless, persecuting government can control or destroy. A well-taught New Testament church can survive long after its buildings are confiscated, or its congregation scattered. It is beyond any argument the soundest, wisest, and most stable unit for communicating Divine truth to the whole world ever devised. Thus with all our refinements, we have not and we cannot improve upon the New Testament philosophy.
Closing – This is Kile Smith. You have been listening to Bible Teacher and author, Dr. Bill Shade, Director of Advanced Studies for Source of Light Ministries International. Our college-recognized, three-year, Bible Institute curriculum is now available online. We invite you to visit us on the Web at advancedbiblicalstudies.net – that’s advancedbiblicalstudies.net and begin a systematic study of God’s Word today.