13,610
edits
Changes
m
cleanup
By [[Robert L. Peterson]]
Copyright © © 1999 by Robert L. Peterson
Reproduced by permission of the author.
===Who is this book about?===
The question is not simple to answer. Briefly, we are writing about the histories of a linked set of evangelical local churches that are autonomous but not independent, whose central teaching is that of the Bible, whose central worship is at the Lord’s Supper, and whose governance is by plural leadership.
===Terminology and Titles===
The Brethren have developed their own words and phrases for many functions of the church, and so it is useful to identify some of these here.
Bible-believing people have a particular respect for history. The Bible is a historic document. While it speaks with supernatural authority about the future, a high percent of the Bible is history. In Romans 15:4-6, the apostle Paul tells us that only with a strong foundation in what Scripture tells us about the working of God in the past, along with the hope Scripture offers for the future, can people be prepared to live in the present for the glory of God.
The introductory statements in the book of Acts add another important perspective. The recorded events in the early months and years in the history of the Church are seen as a continuation of what Jesus began to do and teach during His earthly ministry. Even though the canon of inspired Scripture was complete when the Apostle John concluded the book of Revelation, the history of the Church continued.
The ascended Christ continues His work by His Spirit and by His Word throughout the history of the Church even to our present day. We may regret the ingredients of Church history that are not honoring to God and His Work but we must not underestimate the fact the the program of our Lord in this age is the accomplishment of that which He predicted when He said, “I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Mt. 16:18). Christ is building His Church, and the record of this eternally significant work is of great value.