Ironworks

                    When we hear the word “church”, several things may come to mind.  What do you think that the religious world thinks about that word? What do you think that those who do not follow any type of religious group think about it? It is evident in conversations with people that for the most part people think of a building and not what the church actually is. Often times you will hear people say they are “going to church.” What do they mean by this simple statement? They mean that they are going to worship, but they use the word church interchangeably with the thought of going to a building. Is the church a building? Or is it something more? Can we go to church? Is the church really the building of Christ? Do we need the church?           First, let’s consider the word that we get our word “church.” In the original text (Greek), the word is ekklesia. It means “called out.” The chur...

Of the men therefore that have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and went out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto the day that he was received up from us, of these must one become a witness with us of his resurrection.  Acts 1:21-22 What is an Apostle?      There are some in the religions of the world that claim that they are apostles. There are some religions that believe in what is called “Apostolic Succession” (i.e. Roman Catholicism, Mormonism, et al). So what does the Scripture say regarding such a claim? To begin with, we must define our terms. The term apostle (apostolos) means in the original Koine Greek “one sent, or one commissioned.” In a general sense, we understand our obligation of the great commission that is given to Christians (see Mark 16:15-16; Matt 28:18-20). We are sent out to teach, baptize, and teach more. Is this the same as the apostles of our Lord that we find in the New Testament? No, it is not the sa...