No church is perfect. It’s full of imperfect people who come together for a common goal: to love Jesus and to talk about Him to those who don’t know Him. The Church is the body of Christ and, as such, is charged to carry out His work in the world. Before Jesus ascended back into heaven, He gave the disciples the Great Commission: "Go therefore and make disciples(reproduce) of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age(Jesus' 2nd coming)" (Matthew 28:19-20). A healthy local church will be actively fulfilling the Great Commission, and the Bible provides specific guidelines of what the signs of a healthy church are.
2 practical tests to apply to all teaching:
1. Test of faith: does it come from God, being in agreement with apostolic doctrine, or is it a product of human imagination?
2. The test of love: does it promote unity in the body of Christ
Recommended Reading:
Church Called Tov By Scot McKnight
life together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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