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Originally Posted by OBW
... there is nothing in scripture that suggests that we need to have a right belief ("orthodoxy") about the church. We are told to believe and obey Christ. To believe in God..
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And to love our neighbor. Not to love doctrines, works, teachings, ministers or their ministries, or the organizations which tend to cluster around these.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OBW
... It is interesting that the church simply is. It is the body of Christ. It is the assembly. It is the pillar and base of the truth.
And there is nothing that suggests that only certain versions of the church fit this criteria. ..
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My reading is that "the version of the church which fits this criteria" is simply the one which Jesus calls "His" -- "on this rock I will build MY ekklesia". The church is not based on local ground, on a ministry, a minister, the output of a 'publishing house', or anything else. It is simply the assemblage of the repentant sinners who have, by faith, gathered themselves together in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OBW
... Seems odd that the one about to be spewed out was really so nearly perfect according to "orthodoxy." They had all the right teachings. They were as orthodox as you can get...
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They were probably good at straining out gnats. You know the rest of the story.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OBW
... It does take works to actually please God. We can do nothing to gain salvation. But doing nothing after that . . . well, you've seen it too often.
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I agree with you about the works part, as necessary evidences of our conversion from darkness to light in the name of our Lord Jesus.
And I personally believe that one of the greatest, foundational christian works, is to receive on another in Christ Jesus, to the glory of God our Father, even as He has received us sinners by our faith in His Son.
And I further contend that when we receive on another in the name of the Lord Jesus, that is in fact the assembling together if HIS ekklesia. The local ekklesia of Jesus is not necessarily 'affililiated with the ministries of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee', as the Living Stream Ministry franchise churches stated in 1999 on their internet website banners. Rather, our assembling ourselves together is based on the Lord Jesus, and our faith thereof, and is not further improved by "church affiiliation", or "ministry affiliation", in my view.
The ekklesia of Jesus is affiliated, through faith, with Jesus. There simply is no other name for us. Now, we may add names to identify ourselves -- "the church which meets in Prisca and Aquila's house", or "the Thursday night college meeting", or "the First Baptist church on Elm Road", but it is still the ekklesia of Jesus. It is just simply a meeting of believers, no more and no less.