Why Not?

I have stated many times, when God’s people were led astray, it was because the leadership failed to teach the truth—not the fault of the ordinary members.

Let’s start with the ordinary member. We know from reading the scriptures that God, His Son, and The Holy Spirit have perfect unity. You say you want to belong to the church that Jesus built. (Matthew 16:18) That is good since Jesus is the only one God gave authority to establish “a church”.

God, His Son, and The Holy Spirit gave instructions referring to your local church government. (Acts 14:23) “And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.” Draw a line under “every church“. This includes the church where you worship.

These local “overseers” must meet certain qualifications—1 Timothy 3:1-7 also Titus 1:6-9. Notice Paul’s writing to Titus uses the title bishop and elder. In this scripture the word bishop, elder, and pastor are referring to the same office of “overseer”.

Next let’s notice who selects the men to be appointed or ordained to be overseers.

Choosing an apostle or deacon, the congregation chose the one to take the place of Judas—Acts 1:15—choosing deacons—Acts 6:3-6. Common sense tells us if the congregation chose the apostles and deacons, wouldn’t they also be the ones to choose their local overseers?

The men we choose for elders or bishops (if you prefer the word bishop) have the responsibility of watching in behalf of our souls. (Hebrews 13:17) “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.”

I think common sense will tell you that you want to a part of the church that Jesus built.

Now—your part—get your scriptures together, go to your preacher, and simply ask why don’t we have the same local church government as they did in the New Testament? If you don’t have the same as the scriptures, just ask. “Why not?” If your local church doesn’t have the same system of oversight, ask! When and where does God authorize the change?

Thanks for reading and God bless!

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