Characteristics of a New Testament Church — Mose Stoltzfus

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The New Testament Church Founded on Love and Truth

I don't know how long it is since I preached a message like this here at home. In my church planting work and starting small churches around the country, I have preached a message similar to this various times, but this time I kind of started over and used other scriptures and again the subject for my message would be characteristics of a New Testament church.

Very, very pertinent and important topic and message for our time because we realize that most of the world has even forgotten what church is supposed to look like and how people are supposed to act and what's supposed to happen on a Sunday morning when we gather like this.

Not maybe so bad with a lot of our people or a number of our people here in Lancaster County, but even here I'm sure that many of the churches are losing their grip on the true characteristics of a New Testament church and they have given in to the humanistic philosophy to develop some kind of a meeting on Sunday morning that only entertains the people and tries to hold their interest through various techniques, modern techniques and electronics and music and those kind of things.

So let us read first of all from 3rd John verse 1 through 8, the book of 3rd John. I want you to notice here one of the cornerstones or two of them I should say. I believe it's all put together in one cornerstone, yes.

A building normally doesn't have two. Of this little book here in the Bible, reading from verse 1, unto the well-beloved Gaius whom I love in the truth. Behold, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospereth.

For I rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee. Even as thou walkest in the truth, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren and to strangers, notice that, which have borne witness of thy charity before the church, whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well.

Because that for this, his namesake that went forth taking nothing of the Gentiles, we therefore ought to receive such that we might be fellow helpers to the truth. There are two words that stand out in this portion of scripture in 3rd John that I'd like to make a cornerstone of a New Testament church.

They are the words love and truth. It is in that combination that we look at that characteristic, one of the great and solid characteristics of the New Testament church that those two can never be separated.

We have a lot of emphasis today on love and how to just love people and to accept people as they are and where they're at. We have all that, I believe, to an overdone level, really, even though I believe there's an element of truth in that when we preach the gospel to an individual living a sinful life, that God saves them if they want to repent and turn to the Lord right there where they're at.

We believe that, but somehow this whole thing is twisted into believing that they can go on and be a Christian just where they're at and stay where they're at and not have any change. But here we have this cornerstone of truth and love, and those two must meet.

When we look at the characteristics of a New Testament church, we believe that it must be founded and laid upon truth, and it must be laid upon love. And we want that to be the outworking, I'm sure, of the church here.

The Church as a Called-Out People

Well, we ask ourselves a question this morning. What is church? What is church? What are we even talking about when we look at the subject of the New Testament church? And in order to do that, maybe we have to answer the question, what it is not, and help us to see that so much that is called church today isn't even church, and especially not New Testament church.

But we know the word is called ecclesia, and it's talked about, the real meaning is called out ones, and so we believe that there actually is no church anywhere in the country unless there has been a separation from the former life and from the world.

Have you ever thought about that? All these meetings that are going on all across the world where people stay in the world, they are not churches. There's buildings there, and that's another point. The church is not the building.

The church is referred to a group of people that have been called out from the world from a life of sin and from going their own way, and have been drawn together, which you'll see in Scripture, by the love of Christ, and they have a commonality there.

They have been brought to a common truth, and that foundation is laid in their life. And the result is that they have that love flowing in their hearts, and they love the truth. But if you have not been called out of the world and out of a life of sin, you don't know what church is.

You don't have any idea. You might be in an assembly this morning, sitting there and listening to a half hour of rock music or contemporary Christian music, as it is called. We don't believe it's Christian, but it is contemporary.

We agree with that. But you may be entertained by some kind of a minister who just is joking along in life and making the people laugh and all that, but that is not what we understand the word church is in reference to.

So it is not that. And it's not just hearing a sermon or a speech. There's a lot of people who gather on a Sunday morning, and they do hear a speech of some kind. But the speech is filled with humanistic philosophy and how to feel good about yourself and how to just look at the positive side of things.

It's interesting, as we look at Scripture, how many of them refer to both very positive and very negative things that we have the balance of the two and are able to make and bring ourselves to be a better person when it's all over.

That's what should happen. It's not coffee and doughnuts in the back of the church building, like we have many across the land today. That's part of the experience. And the people come together to socialize with a few of their friends and have a cup of coffee and some doughnuts, and they're on their way and not being made a better person for it.

Biblical Conviction and Conduct in the Church

I'm wondering how many of you have taken inventory in all the books you've read as to what church was like years ago, and I'm talking about through the years. You know, men came to church in order to have their heart spoken to.

They went there because the Word of God was preached, and the Word penetrated their hearts and awoke them to things that they needed to learn and to believe and to do and whatever else, to live a godly life.

But church was, I have to think of the Scripture over in 1 Peter 5, verse 8, where it says there,. And I noticed the sign down Route 322 here. They were going to have a fun day at church, and they were putting up a tent, and I don't know what all they were going to have in there.

I didn't stop and look. They were just putting a tent up on Friday night when we were on our way down to the hymn sing at Pool Forge. And my guess is they were probably going to have all kinds of things for children to jump around on or do or whatever, which is supposed to be an attraction to come to church because of the fun things they were going to do there on Saturday and maybe today likewise.

But church was never looked at as a fun thing to do. In years going by, it was a place where the soul was made better by the clear teaching and preaching of the Word of God. Now, you can say it's very enjoyable to go to church when we're saved and sanctified and God has blessed us and we're meeting other Christians and interacting with them.

I find it very enjoyable. But we also have to be prepared to be convicted by God. And that's right for us to be convicted by God. We're not here just to enjoy the day. We're not here just to meet our friends and have a good time with one another.

We're here to open our life as a book before the God of heaven when His Word is read and allow Him to speak to our hearts. And may we understand these are some of the characteristics that are being lost in the New Testament church and it's time we return to them.

We return to those things that are lost. 1 Timothy 3 .15 says, But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready. Excuse me, that's not the one I wanted there. 1 Timothy. I'm at 1 Peter. Excuse me here.

1 Timothy 3 .15. Paul speaking to Timothy said, But if I carry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

I love the emphasis of the truth there. But he's saying here, if I don't come around for a time here, I want you to know, Timothy, how you ought to behave yourself in the church of God. And that simply tells us there's right and wrong behavior for a church.

And I believe it's also time that we raise that up again in our midst, that there's certain behavior that is out of order in the church of God and in the assembly of the saints. And I think it's good for us to meditate upon that very fact, that we know how we ought to behave ourselves.

We know there's been over in 1 Timothy 6 .20, the Bible speaks about, O Timothy, Keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and opposition of science, falsely so called.

And that was written nearly 2 ,000 years ago. And what a blessing to see again that that needs to be lifted up, that we see that there is a lot of vain babblings going on, talk that doesn't avail anything.

Plus there's also unintelligible speech going on in a lot of churches that is no benefit to anyone because the people can't hear it and understand and say amen at the giving of it. And so Paul says it would be much better to speak five words in a language that can be understood, rather than 10 ,000 in an unknown tongue.

And so we have a lot of vain babblings that I don't believe is true speaking in tongues at all. I'm not saying here that there is not a right way and a right place to accept that, although it's a gift and it's not something for everyone.

Feeding the Church and Guarding Against False Teachers

Luck is always often promoted. But what we have today at least probably 95, 98 is vain babblings. Vain and empty babblings. I look at another scripture I want to turn to here is Acts chapter 20. And I just have a number of them that I would like to look at here this morning and then we want to go to Acts chapter 2.

In Acts chapter 20 verse 27,. For I have not come to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers. He's talking to the elders at Ephesus.

And to feed the church of God that he may purchase, which he has purchased with his own blood. And from that scripture we understand that one of the things that should happen is that there is a sense in which we should be fed spiritually.

Now it did me a lot of good to hear the children's class this morning. There was a feeding element in that message. Just to see all those silver dollar bills pile on that scale against the Bible and have that riveted into our own hearts as adults.

You know we have a lot to do with finances these days in our businesses and in our trying to make ends meet as families and so on. We're always handling money. But how good it is to see that the real eternal values of life have nothing to do with silver and with gold and with the things of this world.

Then he says here, For I know that after my departure shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them.

Therefore, because of that, that I'm prophesying this is going to happen to the church. While the men were still alive. Some of the disciples were very much alive when this happened. Wolves actually came in, snuck into the churches, became members of the churches.

And we even have the example of that of Simon the Sorcerer. And we have the example of Elimea. Simon was even baptized, you know. And he was a wolf in sheep's clothing who had snuck in unawares. And incidentally Peter caught that one.

But there are times when they creep in that they are not caught until they reach havoc. And there is much destruction in the church of God. Therefore watch and remember that by the space of three years I cease not to warn everyone night and day with tears.

Now I want you to take a hold of that. That struck me very seriously. To realize that for the space of three years the Apostle Paul would have been warning the church at Ephesus night and day with tears.

Now don't you think that might have been a bit negative. Warning them of false prophets that are going to come in to try to destroy the church. And he is so convinced I believe that it was going to happen, that it was going to come.

That he actually warned them and got up there and emotionally was moved to tears as he pled with them to not allow it to happen and not let their own hearts be drawn away after them. Because he knew that's what they were there for, was to draw disciples away after them.

So, you know I think this whole negative, positive thing gets out of order. We kind of have a guilt trip when we teach and preach things where we warn and admonish people to not go that way and all that.

But today psychology has kind of brought a guilt trip on us all that if we speak negatively about anything, that's too negative. That was a negative message and we go home condemned thinking it was that way.

But that's not the way it is. And I know the Word of God is both positive and negative. There are many glorious things to bring, to bear in the church and messages to bring of encouragement. And I know that they need to have their rightful place.

But here Paul warned everyone night and day with tears. Just imagine the sobriety and the seriousness of a meeting, of a preacher getting up and warning them night and day. And I believe that simply means there were meetings in the day and there were meetings at night that this happened.

And now brethren I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among them that are sanctified. I just wanted to read that scripture because I believe that is so important that we have an inheritance.

We are sanctified. We've been born again. And the Spirit of God and the Word of God continues to have its effect in our lives. Then we can be built up by the Word of grace and have that inheritance come to us.

Acts 2 and the Unrepeatable Pentecost

All right, now let us turn our Bibles to Acts chapter 2. And we want to see some of the things that happened in the early church. Now I would like to say something about Acts chapter 2 before we begin and read this.

There has been and still is a lot of emphasis among people to try to duplicate or re-enact something that has happened in history. And I've known a lot of people that talk about trying to repeat Acts chapter 2.

There are people that have been so intent in a kind of a personal and selfish way that they have fasted themselves into virtual sickness. And other kinds of things, crying and begging and pleading with God that God would bring a Pentecostal experience like in Acts chapter 2 in their situation.

And it doesn't happen. Do you realize that nothing is ever duplicated hardly in scripture exactly as it was before? Nearly every experience that happened in any church, you know, was not then again done the same way in the next village or in the next town or the next city that the gospel went.

God is a very, a revival is something and it's not wrong to pray for revival and desire for revival. But to put that thing in a box and say, I want this kind of a happening, I want this kind of a manifestation in our church or in our time, I do not believe it's right to pray and to seek for it that way.

God brings revival by the wind of God blowing amongst his people, according to his spirit and according to his word. And I think that book should be left entirely open. Lord, you bring it in the way that you want to bring it.

But we seek to have an awakening and a refreshing time in the presence of God. But let it up to God in how it's done. To try to box it in and say, we want a Pentecost. We want to go up in an upper room, about 120 of us and there tarry for about 10 days until this thing breaks loose and cloven tongues of fire come down upon our heads and we speak in tongues and we get out to the people and the people gathering around thinking we're drunk.

And then we get up and stretch forth a hand and preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And 3 ,000 people are swept into the kingdom. I want you to know that Acts chapter 2 is a direct result of a man preaching the absolute truth to the people for three and a half years.

That's what brought Acts chapter 2. When the Comforter came and lighted upon the situation and brought both conviction of sin and the manifestation of God changing from the Old Testament law economy to the New Testament dispensation and church life.

And how the whole thing was supposed to be and brought a great change there. And that needed a great authentication from God. That needed a revelation from God. But I believe a lot of it was due to what was preached by Christ for three and a half years.

And there was a build up there. And people were looking at this thing and they were sorry some for their sins. Even beyond that in the preaching of John the Baptist. The people repented of their sins but they didn't get the new life in Christ because he had not died yet.

He had not gone to the cross. And so there was a build up for those three and a half years. And when the proper time come, when the fullness of time was come, Christ had died and rose again and ascended back into heaven.

And ten days later when those 120 were in the upper room, the timing was right, the situation was right, the pump was primed for all those years ahead of time with truth preaching and the people's hearts were pricked by some of those things and the guilt was upon them for having crucified the Lord or stood there in the crowd and cried out, And of course here it come and here it was.

And it was a marvelous experience but I never believed that anybody anywhere has had a duplication of that experience. And could never have gone into an upper room and carried until God would duplicate this situation.

I have never heard of it in history. I have heard of situations that were different. That people say it was a little like the book of Acts. And that's fine. And I believe I've seen some of those things where the wind of God did blow and it did sweep through a community or through a church or through an area where again they were in deep darkness and sin and the light of the gospel shone upon them and was preached and many people got saved in a short amount of time.

The First Characteristics of the New Testament Church

And that's a wonderful thing. Alright let's read Acts chapter 2 verse 41 to the end. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized in the same day that were added unto them about three thousand souls.

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together and had all things common and sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men as every man had need.

And they continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart. Verse 47. Praising God and having favor with all the people and the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

That was quite a phenomena. I do agree and I love to re-read that scripture numerous times here. Alright the first thing we want to look at is that a characteristic of a New Testament church is that a people gladly receive the word.

You don't get anywhere trying to have meetings to stuff Christianity down people's throats. If they do not have an interest in what is going on and voluntarily come there and gladly open their hearts to receive the word of God, you know it's like speaking to a wall.

Many people have tried to make revival happen that way. They have lured the people in with other ways and maybe giving them some points into something or some other benefits to try to get them into a meeting.

But what needs to happen and one of the great characteristics of a New Testament church is this that people gather to gladly receive the word of God. Gladly receive the word of God. This doesn't mean well I'm here to do my duty and I nonchalantly sit towards the back of the church and I slump down and I say well I wonder what he's going to talk about today.

This is the kind of attitude that I believe sits up in their bench and maybe even at times is leaning forward because they are so anxious to hear what is he talking about. I'm talking about a people who have not been preached tired I'm sure.

But it's talking about a people who are hungry to hear the truth. To see if they might be able to adjust their life, their soul into a better person. And when they walk out of here have received something that have edified and lifted them up or convicted them and brought guilt upon them to make confession of sin in their life.

You're made better either way. But in one way or the other for you to come out, go out the door the same as you came in is not going to benefit us, is it? But we need to gladly receive the word. And I believe at this time they saw phenomenal things in the crucifixion of Jesus 50 days before.

But he had died and you know the earthquake and the darkness and people rose from the dead three days later and went into the city and appeared in the many and the grave was empty and Jesus was walking around and he was seen of 500 people and he appeared to his disciples through closed doors and rumors and stories were going all over the city concerning the phenomenas that had appeared at that time.

And it was an exciting time. And when they gathered there 50 days later there was a hunger and a thirst in the people's hearts to figure out what is going on. And when Peter got up to preach they gladly received the word of God.

They wanted answers. And I think that's where we need to come to in our time, in our day. Brethren and sisters, if we're going to be a New Testament church, we need answers. We don't need questions, we need answers.

We need reality, we need facts. And some of the things we have experienced here in the last month are a living reality of that. We're looking for answers. We want to be a New Testament church. We want to be a holy people.

We want to go the right direction. And we want facts. We want truth. We want reality. Gladly received the word. They were not offended by the message that Peter preached. They were pricked in their hearts.

They were convicted. Now there may have been some there, that may have been, but for the most part of the crowd the conviction was so strong there was not a great offense. They were saying, Lord, what have we done?

What have we done? And they even said those words, What shall we do? And I love that approach to the preaching of the word of God. When Paul got it on the Damascus road, he said, Who art thou, Lord, and what wilt thou have me to do?

And that's an honest question that you and I need to ask on our knees before God at times and over and over again. Even though we have been a Christian for many years. Lord, I know who you are. I found out who you are.

But what do you have me to do now? What do you have us as a church to do? Which direction shall we go? We want to be a people for God. We want to live godly and upright and holy lives. What would you have us do?

And I believe it should be the cry of our hearts in prayer meetings, in collective and corporate prayer meetings, and at home in our families. God, show us the way. And that heart came out in our brother's meeting on Wednesday night by some.

And that is good and right for us to seek the face of God to that level. The next thing we notice here is that the gospel was preached. As I mentioned, Peter got up and beckoned with his hands and said, Men and brethren, hearken unto me.

And gave him the story and told him the bare facts of what they had done and what had happened and how they had crucified the Lord of glory. And I mean they were smitten to the heart. They couldn't believe what did we get pulled into.

You know how a mob crowd works or a bunch of children get together and some bold one suggests, let's do this, and they all follow. And that's what had happened in the crucifixion of the Lord. And I believe in the three thousand that got converted, there may have been quite a number.

Who knows? It's a bit conjecture to even venture to say how many there might have been. We don't know. And I don't want to go overboard there. But there could have been dozens and dozens of them that had cried crucifying.

No wonder they said, Lord, what shall we do? Men and brethren, what shall we do? We're guilty. We actually got sucked into it. We did it. But one of the New Testament characters of the Christian church is to speak boldly and plainly concerning these things.

Tell people what they need to hear. It's been one of the mottoes of my preaching through my years in the ministry. Tell them the truth and tell them what they need to hear. Don't entertain them with a bunch of nice stories and words, but tell the people what they need to hear.

And they did that in those days, and that's one of the great characteristics of a New Testament church. Get rid of all this other fluff where it's human psychology and trying to make people lift themselves up by their own bootstraps.

Away with it. If you're living in sin, then repent of it. If you're living for God, then rejoice and jump and leap for joy and take the message to others that need to hear it. Well, what happened, one of these great characteristics too, is that the gospel was preached and it was heard and believed.

But how shall they hear without a preacher? And so, I'm big on that, that the gospel of Jesus Christ needs to be preached, especially so when you get into a new area, you go out into a strange place, and you go to an African village or a Bolivian colony somewhere, or anywhere else in the world, or among the Eskimos or the reindeer people of Siberia.

What needs to happen is you gather the people together as much as you can, and if you have an interpreter that understands the language, you preach to an interpreter, and you preach to them the gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel of repentance from sin, and to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

That message needs to be gotten to them as soon as possible. Many say today so interestingly, you know, they try to kind of make us speechless, you know, they say, well, you know what we have to do to be saved?

You know, you have that question, what must I do to be saved? You know, you have this smart talk where they say, well, we don't need to do anything, it's already been done by Christ. And there's a sense in which I understand.

But that's not the answer the brethren got in a New Testament characteristic setting. They got simply told what they did need to do. And there is something for you and I to do. Even though Christ made the way, and Christ paid the price, it's not true to give such a psychological clip to it like that, and say, you don't need to do anything, it's already all been done.

They try to do that to, you know, to kind of infer that the finished work of Christ is the finished work, and you need to believe it by faith, and I agree with that. But there are some things to do. The one is to repent of your sin and the things that you have done, and the other is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's an act on our part.

We cannot oversimplify the gospel. Repent, confess, and believe the gospel. One of the great characteristics of a New Testament church is that every man is a born-again Christian. I believe that is essential that we understand that.

If we want to be a New Testament body, we need to have it made up of born-again Christians. It doesn't say that a hundred or a thousand sinners cannot come and visit, or cannot sit there and hear the gospel.

But the church and its membership and those who are in the brotherhood need to have experienced a new birth and have that peace and assurance that they've been born again by the Spirit of God. That's what makes up New Testament Christianity, a New Testament church.

Baptism, Membership, and Perseverance

The next thing we have here in Acts chapter 2 is they that gladly received his word were baptized. And we have an example of that today when I believe seven souls are ready and have prepared themselves to enter into the baptismal water and make public confession to the world and to the devil and to the neighbors and to the church and to anybody who looks on that I have decided to follow Jesus Christ.

That's New Testament Christianity, is that we be baptized upon confession of faith and give clear testimony to the change that we have made. And then he says, and there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Now that's an interesting scripture I think over in chapter 4. It indicates the same thing, how they heard his word and believed. But it says they were added unto them. Now it hints very strongly of some kind of a circle of believers that were understood and known as believers, either by membership or by baptism or by church.

They were a part of that body. It was very simple. There was only one church in the land. And you were either in or you were out. You either believed or you had unbelief in your life. And so it was very easy and very clear and we didn't have all the fog that we have to go through today.

But a New Testament characteristic of a person who has been born again and baptized is to belong to the group. Whatever you want to call it. Brotherhood, commitment, member of the church, part of the body, a member, part of the fellowship, being included in the inner circle of brotherhood is what I believe is meant there.

And so we notice they were added unto them. The next thing we notice is that they continued steadfastly. Oh, I like that in our time, in our day. Don't we like that? We hear so many testimonies today that, Oh, I accepted the Lord as my Savior and it lasted about two weeks and then it all fizzled out and was gone.

That's not New Testament Christianity. That's not a characteristic of why we want to build the church of Jesus Christ at the effort of Christian fellowship. We want the new birth to be so thorough and so complete in their lives that after they have had the experience, they continue steadfastly.

They go forward. They go on. The old things start slipping off and the old habits die and the old possessions that are not compatible with the Christian life are sold and put away or trashed. And they continue steadfastly because the genuine experience has been of such a caliber in a New Testament setting, in a New Testament realm, it has been so genuine that they say, I'll never want to go back to my old life.

I never want to return to my former life. I am selling out. It's lock, stock and barrel for me. Oh, to have those kind of conversions in our day, that is what we need so desperately. And I know there's many here like that and there needs to be many more.

Rejoicing, Doctrine, and Fellowship

I don't know where to put it in. I know we have it at the end, but one of the characteristics of the Christian life is that there is rejoicing and praise coming forth from the lips of humankind. Men and women, boys and girls that are born again, that want to walk with God, there needs to be the ability to praise the Lord and to thank the Lord and to give expression that brings glory to His name.

We can be so dry on the vine that we can simply be drying up and there's nothing going on. There's nothing flowing. Like one brother tried to describe a church service to me some time ago, years ago, he said, it's so dead, brother, it's deader than dead.

And I don't know what that's like, but I have an idea. Now, it says here in verse 42, and it continues steadfastly in the Apostles' Doctrine. The Apostles' Doctrine. A characteristic of a New Testament church is that the church, the body, the group, continues in the Apostles' Doctrine.