Dear Friends and Brethren:
Jesus said very plainly that He would build His church, and that “the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).
Christ kept His word-He did build His church. And since He assures His disciples that His church will not succumb to the powers that would destroy it, His church-the one true church-must exist on this earth today. If Christ has built His church, and His church exists today, then surely He appoints ministers to lead His church. As Paul says, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God…” (Ephesians 4:11-13).
Now, suppose you believe you have found the true church. If you have found the true church, then apparently you have also found Christ’s true ministers-the evangelists, pastors, and teachers responsible for “the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry.” Since you have proved they are Christ’s ministers, does this mean that refusing to unconditionally submit to their authority is the same as refusing to submit to Jesus Christ?
Did God put authority and rule in His church? Was it Jesus’ intent to create a hierarchy of human government over the individual Christian? Does the Christian ministry “sit in Moses’ seat” for the church? These and other questions are answered in our free brochure Did God Put Authority and Rule in His Church? This eight-page study originally appeared in the July-August 1986 edition of Twentieth Century WATCH magazine, and it’s now available in brochure form. Be sure to request your free copy today! Click Here
Thank you for your prayerful support of this work. We hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,