JEB <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/hello.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for clarifying the context even further. I do think my previous comments/qualifications remain relevant, even so. The original statement is, IMHO, reversed and therefore illegitimate. When one becomes a Christian, he/she is made a member of the Church by virtue of he/she being brought into union with the Head of the Church, the Lord Christ. It is to His authority that the true believer is to submit and to obey all that He has commanded. Thus in the visible church, where there are those who Christ has appointed for service, pastor/teacher/elder and deacon, there is of necessity a delegated authority defined by Scripture to which the believer is to also submit..... "as unto the Lord". What this means is that as long as those who have been ordained to those offices fulfill their responsibilities according to the biblical mandates, then the Christian must submit to them. If, however, they require, speak or act contrary to biblical teaching, over-extend their authority, etc., then the Christian is not under any obligation to submit to them.

But we should not be too hasty in rejecting such statements as: "There is no salvation outside the church", and thus throw the proverbial baby out with the bath water. For this statement is true in the sense that the Church is that which God has created as Christ's bride; intimate union with Christ. Secondly, it is God's appointed vehicle to be the "pillar and ground of the truth" (1Tim 3:15) and from which the Gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation (Rom 1:16) is both proclaimed and taught to others. (Eph 4:10-13) In other words, the message of salvation does not exist apart from the Church and it is the Church to which the sinner is joined when they believe. (Heb 12:22, 23)

It appears, at least to me, that today there is far too much rank "individualism" and far too little understanding and appreciation of what the Church actually is and how it is to function. It's one thing to reject the totalitarianism of the RCC and like organizations. But it is no less an error to reject the organizational structure and function of the Church and in doing so relegate it to nothing more than a private club where you can do as you please, etc. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/nope.gif" alt="" />

R.B. Kuiper's excellent book, The Glorious Body of Christ is definitely worth reading on this subject. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/BigThumbUp.gif" alt="" />

In His Grace,

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simul iustus et peccator

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