Who has the authority to appoint and remove elders? According to the New Testament, apostles, in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, have the authority to appoint elders in the churches (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5; Acts 20:28) and to remove elders when the need arises. If an elder becomes a problem, an accusation against him can […]
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Questions versus Questionings
Some have claimed that questions are not allowed in the local churches. On the one hand, this should not be true in any local church. On the other hand, all the saints must discern between proper and improper questions and between questions and questionings. A proper question takes as its goal receiving an answer that […]
Words That Spread Death and How to Stop Them
In the Bible the words of three parties—God, Satan, and man—are very significant. As the Word of God, the Bible speaks forth God’s person, intent, and work. By His word He framed the universe (Heb. 11:3). When God came in the person of the Lord Jesus, His words were spirit and life (John 6:63). The […]
Psalms, James, and the Divine Inspiration of the Bible
Some have accused Witness Lee of teaching that parts of the book of Psalms and the Epistle of James were not divinely inspired. This is a grievous accusation that, if true, constitutes a denial of one of the basic affirmations of Christian orthodoxy: that the Bible is the Word of God, complete and inerrant. Such […]
Dispensational Discipline
Dispensational discipline refers to God’s discipline of His children in the next age. The New Testament shows that God judges His own children (1 Pet. 1:17; 4:17), and the Lord Jesus makes it abundantly clear that His followers will be rewarded or disciplined at His return (Rev. 22:12; Matt. 25:14-30). Therefore, those who claim that […]
Being Overcomers with a Vision, Not Idealists with a Dream
As the Lord’s lovers who seek to practice the church life according the way revealed by God in the New Testament, we should be people of vision, not idealists. The apostle Paul was such a person, a person who was captured by the heavenly vision of the transcendent God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ, and of […]
Twisting Ron Kangas’s Words
Context and balance are critical to evaluating words fairly. Recently, a short excerpt from a message given by Brother Ron Kangas was mischaracterized as his demeaning his wife in front of thousands of people. This misrepresents Brother Ron’s attitude toward his own wife and toward marriage in general; moreover, it neglects the context of his […]
Concerning Turmoils
Some saints are troubled when turmoils happen. They feel that if the local churches are part of God’s move today and under His blessing, such things should not occur. This view, however, does not match the Bible, which records turmoil after turmoil among God’s people. The book of Numbers is filled with records of turmoils […]
Assailing the Ground of Oneness (3) – Was the Church in Jerusalem a “Regional” Church?
Some have argued that the church in Jerusalem was a regional church, that is, a single church that has jurisdiction over an area much broader than the boundary of a city. But how is this proposition arrived at? Does it accord with Scripture? And if not, why is it being promoted? The Church in Jerusalem: […]
Assailing the Ground of Oneness (4) – Are “House Churches” Biblical?
“House churches,” in which believers meet in a house as a separate, independent unit of administration, are a popular means of circumventing the biblical pattern of keeping the oneness of the unique Body of Christ in local churches. A careful examination of Scripture shows that while a church may gather in a believer’s home, such […]