Monday, February 4, 2013

Doctrinal Statement: Ecclesiology and Sanctification


A DEFINITION AND EXPLANATION OF ECCELESIOLOGY AND SANCTIFICATION
By: Ben Lowery, Claude Williams, Katherine Bailey, Rick E. Meyer, Rodney Knudsen, Sarah Yopp
Dallas Theological Seminary
Fall 2012

 
EDIFICATION
We believe edification is an essential mark of the church, to teach, equip, and build up believers in their faith. This is done through fellowship, hearing the preached Word, observing the Lord's Supper, discipleship, prayer, confession and service. Members of the church make up one body, with Christ as the head, and are edified by corporately sharing their differing Spiritual gifts, growing together in unity and maturity.

 
EVANGELISM and EXALTATION

The prudent unified local and universal church pursues the commission of making disciples of all nations. The church recognizes individual and corporal relationships developed from representing Christ's image, provides evangelism's foundation.

   
The church repetitively proclaims the salvific good news of Jesus' death and resurrection to unbelievers. The church will appropriately defend, and clarify the gospel. Abiding in the Vine of Christ produces the fruit of love and spiritual nutrition to share with, and attract all the world-— neighbors, city, state, nation, and globe. The church acknowledges the evangelist lacks control of evangelism's results.

The chief end of a man is to praise God. Therefore, the chief end of the church must also be to exalt and praise God in a similar manner. The church's worship should focus on the glory and majesty of our Creator and Redeemer, the triune God in all things and through all things.

The term worship is sometimes applied to all Christians' life, that everything we do should be an act of worship and to glorify God. We worship God with joy, with confession of Jesus Christ as Lord, confession of sins, the reading of God's word, through music and song and with Thanksgiving, all to the glory of God and his will. 
    


ORDER
 A primary component of the proper ordering of the church is the Biblically established offices of the church. These include: Elders (Pastors and Overseers being included in this category), Deacons, and possibly Deaconesses. Historically there has been a plurality of elders with one functioning as the head Elder/ Pastor. The elders are responsible for the care of their local church, and they seek to develop the believers in it for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:12). Deacons and Deaconesses assist the elders of the church in ministry tasks, serving as the servants of the church. While there is some flexibility in how a church is organized and lead, a church without these functional offices cannot claim to be Biblically based in its leadership structure. As an essential corollary "church leaders imply church members." How else will the leaders be able to distinguish whom they are to lead?

 
ORDINANCES
We believe that there are two ordinances, or sacraments, mandated in scripture. These sacraments are to be administered by ordained ministers of the Church. The first sacrament, baptism, is the sign, seal, and symbol marking entrance into the church for a disciple; it accompanies the forgiveness of sins; and it is a prerequisite for participation in the second sacrament. The second sacrament, the Lord's Supper, is the means of ongoing covenant renewal for the baptized disciple and is rightly observed corporately and ideally observed weekly.


ORTHODOXY
We believe that in order for a gathering of people to be considered a church, among other things, the body must be comprised of people who hold to basic orthodox beliefs and practice them as a corporate group. These orthodox beliefs being the triune God as creator and redeemer, the fall and resulting depravity, the person and work of Christ, salvation by grace through faith, the inspiration and authority of the scriptures, redeemed humanity incorporated into Christ and the restoration of humanity and creation. Acknowledging that in any church there will be a small minority that does not belong to Christ the standard of orthodoxy applies to the true body of Christ.

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