Answers for Church Members

Is it appropriate to include non-members in leading church services?

9Marks

Generally speaking, we don’t believe so. Exceptions occur, as with guest preachers. But churches should generally use only members to lead church services because:

Who should lead church services?

9Marks

Generally speaking, elders or spiritually trustworthy men who are on their way to being elders should lead services.

What does the New Testament say that churches should do when they gather?

9Marks

The New Testament says that when churches gather they should read the Bible, preach the Bible, pray the Bible, sing the Bible, and see the Bible.

True or false: God only cares that we worship him, not how we worship him.

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Answer: false.

Some Christians think that as long as we’re sincere, we can worship God however we want. But throughout the Bible God shows us that he cares deeply about how he is worshiped, not only that he is worshiped.

How should we decide what does or does not belong in a Christian worship service?

9Marks
For some Christians, the answer to this question seems painfully obvious: “God gives us freedom to worship him however we want. We should do whatever the Holy Spirit inspires us to do—after all, we don’t want to quench the Spirit!” But what if someone wanted to worship God by bowing down to an image of him?

How should a biblical understanding of conversion impact us personally as Christians?

9Marks

A biblical understanding of conversion should…

How do I lovingly confront someone who claims to be converted but who lives like a non-Christian?

9Marks
Pray for yourself and the other person. Pray that you would be faithful merely to speak truth, relying on God’s Spirit to do the work of true persuasion (1 Cor. 3:6-7; 2 Cor. 7:8-10). Pray that he would convict and change the heart. Speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15). Approach the person tenderly, patiently, and kindly. Explain that you are confronting them out of a deep and loving concern for their eternal good.

Can someone be genuinely converted and contentedly live in sin?

9Marks

Generally speaking, no.

How can I know if I’ve been genuinely converted?

9Marks

John’s first epistle offers several “tests” to help Christians know if they have savingly come to faith in Christ:

What does God do in conversion?

9Marks

Conversion does not mean that “God helps those who help themselves.” The change we need is so radical that only God can do it. In conversion, God gives life to the dead and sight to the blind. In conversion, God gives the gifts of repentance and faith.

What are people responsible to do in conversion?

9Marks

People are responsible to do two things: repent and believe. Conversion is a radical turn away from sin and to God through faith in Christ. Jesus summed up what humans must do in conversion when he commanded his hearers, “Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

 What does it mean to repent?

What is conversion?

9Marks

Conversion is a U-turn in a person’s life. It is turning with one’s whole person away from sin and to Christ for salvation. From idol worship to God worship. From self-justification to Christ’s justification. From self-rule to God’s rule.

 Conversion is what happens when God awakens those who are spiritually dead and enables them to repent of their sins and have faith in Christ.

Is the gospel about meeting our felt needs?

9Marks

No. But…

On what basis can a person be declared right in God’s sight?

9Marks
Not by our works: The Bible teaches that there is no way we can be declared righteous in God’s sight by doing good works (Rom. 3:19-20). We can’t fulfill God’s law (Rom. 8:5-8). We can’t live in a way that is pleasing to God and so earn a righteous status in God’s sight. We deserve only condemnation.

What is the place of good works in salvation?

9Marks
The short answer: The Reformers summarized the Bible’s teaching on this subject by saying that we are justified (counted righteous in God’s sight) by faith alone, but the faith that justifies is never alone. Justified by faith alone…: We are justified by faith apart from works of the law (Rom.3:28). God counts us as righteous because he credits the very righteousness of Christ tous (Phil. 3:9, Rom. 5:17). All this happens by faith alone, apart from any good works we do (Rom. 4:4-5).
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