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What Does It Mean To Be Reformed?
The sermons from which this tract sprang were preached to the Grace Baptist Church of Danville in Danville, Kentucky - USA, November 2, 1997 by Pastor Don Fortner. The tract is taken directly from the pastor’s sermon notes, with as few changes as possible. It was intended for our congregation, and is offered to the public only because of numerous requests that it be put into print. Tapes of the original messages preached in Danville are available. “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” - Colossians 2:8 We are warned repeatedly to beware of false religion, false doctrine, and false prophets. Here Paul urges us to beware of those who…
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The Unity Of The Church
A Letter To Mr. C. W. Ethelston, M.A. Fellow Of The Collegiate Church In Manchester, Rector Of Worthenburt, And Minister Of St. Mark’s Chapel, Cheltham. Sir,—You perhaps will pardon an obscure individual for venturing to make a few remarks upon your pamphlet, entitled "The Unity of the Church," &c. I can assure you, Sir, that the unity of the church is a subject of such importance that I cannot conceive how it is possible for any real minister of Christ to lose sight of it. Union to Christ, and to one another, as the blessed members of his mystical body, is a doctrine pregnant with incalculable importance; and were I disposed to ground what I have to say upon this subject upon anything but the…
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The Meaning Of Ecclesia
"And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven …”—Matthew 16:18-19 This passage, Matthew 16:18-19, has been for many centuries a battle-ground of theological controversies. Though millions of the disputants have passed away, the questions which arrayed them against each other still survive to align their successors in hostile array. The most important of these divisive questions are: 1. What is the church? 2. Who established it and when?…
Further Study
The References To Ecclesia
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The References To Ecclesia
[In the original Appendix, B. H. Carroll provides a comprehensive overview on how the term ecclesia is used in a wide range of literature (Classic Use, Septuagint, Apocrypha, Old and New Testaments). As the object of uploading Carroll’s overview of the church is to provide a simple examination into the subject, the editor has included only the references found in the New Testament. If you wish to read Carroll’s booklet in full, you may easily find it available with a simple Google search. The reader is encouraged to examine the 118 references to ecclesia in the New Testament, as it will easily be discovered that they fall into one of three categories—(1) Abstract/Generic; (2) Particular, Local Congregations; (3) Prospective, a Future Congregation when Christ Returns…
Further Study
The Meaning Of Ecclesia
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Strict Communion
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Chapter 1: True and False Churches
An unusual interest has, of late, been awakened in the study of church history. This is a hopeful indication. It shows that many are disposed to turn away from human organizations, and seek for the true church of Christ, as revealed in the Gospels. It is worse than folly to suppose that the Saviour left his work so incomplete that uninspired men, of later years, must take it up and bring it to perfection. It must be a recognized fact that Christ established his Church, as a "pillar and ground of the truth.'' All institutions, claiming to be churches, which antagonize the churches of Christ, must be false, and are, therefore, of Satan. The God of heaven could not have instituted organizations that rival his…
