What are the Biblical marks of The Church?

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2ndGen

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What does Scripture state is required for use in a Christian Church?
 
Do you mean the four marks of the church? If so, then the church we seek must be one, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.
 
Jesus used the word twice in the new testament, lets start from there.
Matt 16:18:
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
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So it is built on the rock of Peter (Catholics and non-Catholics can argue about what this rock is, but they can’t argue that Jesus said it.)

And two chapters later He uses the word “Church”
Matt 18:17:
If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
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So the church also has the power to excommunicate people, in today’s terms.

And that’s just what St. Matthew recorded from Jesus’ mouth.

And thats not getting into all the references in the old testament and all the time just the word “church” is used in the rest of the New Testament.
 
sterryfamily said:
I’m confused by the question. Can you please clarify? Required for use?
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Sorry.

How can you tell if a Church is a Church as described in The Holy Bible?

What things need to be “in” a Church, according to The Holy Bible to designate it a Church of God’s?
 
Oh, that’s easy - Apostolic succession and communion with the chair of St Peter.
 
How would one recongnize God’s Church? From my reading of the Bible I see that at least the following must be found in the Lord’s Church:
  • It will have been established by Jesus Christ. (Matt 16:18)
  • It will be led and directed by Jesus Christ through revelation to His chosen servants. (Eph 5:23, Amos 3:7)
  • It will be well organized, built upon the foundation of Apostles and prophets. (Eph 2:20)
  • The governing body of the Church consisting of Apostles and Prophets will possess the keys to oversee the church and will have authority that is not only binding on earth but in heaven as well.(Matt 16:19, Mark 3:14)
  • All who serve in the Church will have been called of God and have recieved authority from God (John 15:16, Hebrews 5:4)
  • A personal witness that Jesus is the Christ must be central in His Church. (Matt 16;15-18)
That’s a start. I’ll add to the list later if you’re interested.
 
It looks like we agree - a least in broad terms - that my list is accurate. We may disagree with the meaning behind the marks. This will make for some interesting conversation but before we discuss each of these points, I would like to ask another question.

We agree that Jesus established His Church with Peter being called as the first representative and liaison for Christ after His death. My question is; why did Christ establish His Church? I think a discussion on what defines the true church would be more effective if we first agree on the purpose of the church.

I look forward to your response 2ndGen and hope that others (both Catholic and Non) will respond as well.
 
BCPoulsen said:
My question is; why did Christ establish His Church?
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Thank you for your generous setiments. I believe our exchange will be fruitful.

I believe that He established an actual body of authority to protect His Flock from being misled by the whims and the lackings in understanding of man.

As is evident by all the churches founded “after” He founded His Church, without an authoritative order guiding a religious entity, the church collapses and falls into division.

In the case of The Church that Jesus established upon Simon in Matthew 16, it was given something no other church has…the guidance of The Holy Spirit directly intervening in matters of faith and doctrine. Therefore, it is protected from teaching in error.

In short, man left to his own devices always fails.

But through the guidance of The Holy Spirit, he has no excuse “to” fail. If he fails while in The Church instituted by Christ, there is no passing the buck.

That’s the one hard thing about The Church…there is no gray area. There is no “I didn’t know”. We know. We have no excuse to fail other than we did it of our own fruition.

Being a Universal Christian is the hardest manner of Christianity there is. It is the faith of cross bearing, of sacrifice, of detachment, of piety, of moderation.

Where it seems that most church “outside” of our Church seem to be going in the direction of The World (materialism, financial prosperity taking presidence over piousness, reliance on personal guidance ignoring The Magistarium guided by The Holy Spirit, etc…), we are holding true to what was preached by Christ.

We are far from perfect, but the difference is that we confess our imperfection where others believe that Jesus granted them a “Get Out Of Hell Free Card”.

Sorry…didn’t mean to go that long, but when in the company of a respectful poster, it’s easy to grow comfortable.

:o
 
2ndGen said:
In short, man left to his own devices always fails.

Sorry…didn’t mean to go that long, :o
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Thanks for the reply. No need to apolgize for going “long”. I’ve been pondering how to put my answer in as short of a post. I doubt that I can. I do like your short answer “man left to his own devices always fails”. I add my short answer to your’s - I think that God created His Church because He loves His children dearly and wants us to suceed.

Truth is truth. It makes no difference what I say is the purpose of life or what I think will happen after I die. I cannot set the requirements for redemption or devise rituals that will demand specific actions from God. No matter how much I believe that something is true, if it’s a false concept it remains false. Even if the majority of all of mankind agrees with me, a false concept remains false.

There are countless theories that try to address what this life is all about. Even with all the academic research and scientific expermentation, looking at it from a human perspective the answers are still only a guess (back to your short answer).

But the Creator of the Universe knows the answers to all the question -including those we don’t even know to ask. He knows how things really are. He knows how everything works. He knows what this life is all about because it’s part of His plan. He knows what will bring us joy and how we can avoid needless suffering. He knows what is necessary for each of us to reach the full measure of our creation and to be exalted. And the best part is that He wants to share that knowedge with us. We just need to be humble enough to learn, like a young child anxious to learn from his Papa. Unfortunately most of us are like teenagers who think they know more than good ol’ dad.

As we look at the history of mankind as recorded in the Old and New Testaments we see that God has taught his children what they needed to do to find joy in this live and how to return and live with Him after we die. With Adam and Eve He actually walked and talked with them in the Garden of Eden. After they were expelled from the garden, He continued to comunicate with them through messengers or direct revelation. He also gave them specific ceremonies that served to keep them focused on God and His plan for them.

Since the time of Adam, God continued to commuicate His will through His chosen Prophets and authority was given to do those thing necessary to return to God. Even though we don’t see the word “church” in the Old testament, God had His organization to teach and bless His children. Of course not everybody accepted the counsel that God gave through His Prophets and there were times that the people totally rejected and even killed the prophets. But that doesn’t change the fact that God was there and desired to share His love and knowledge with His children even as they turned their backs on Him.

Each of the Prophets understood that it would be though the Mesiah who would come that we gain salvation, and every ritual performed pointed to Christ. From the sacrifices offered by Adam to each ceremony of the Law of Mose, everything served to remind the faithful that the Savior of the world would be born and that through Him salvation would come.

And of course He was born. And He live a perfect life, And He taught His perfect law to those humble enough to learn, And He paid the price for sin that each of us will live again, And He prepared the way that we can return to Him and be exalted in the Kingdom of God, And He organized His Church and gave authority to those he had chosen. And all this because God loves each of us more than we could comprehend and He wants more than anything that we are successful in the things that matter most, those things that are eternal.

That’s why I think He established His Church.
 
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