Posts with the tag “the-church”

Dr. Johnson was a guest on the Jonathan Master podcast, Theology on the Go" discussing his recent publication, "Who Needs the Church". After listening, return to the bottom of the original article where you can win a free copy. See link at the bottom of this article.“I’m a Christian, but I don’t need a church. Nature is where I find God.” Whatever the stated reasoning, those who avoid church atten...  Read More

Dr. Johnson preached this message, "I Will Build My Church", at Midway Presbyterian Church in Powder Springs, Georgia....  Read More

This is the ninth of 18 articles in a series entitled “Who Needs the Church?”  So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. (Gal 6:10) Can one be too committed to the church? The question is raised by those who fear we may be committed to our church to the exclusion of other believers and the friendship with unbelievers. Ar...  Read More

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Our spiritual well-being is to be nurtured primarily in the assembly of the whole people of God, led by ordained leadership, under the ministry of the word, with a full-diet of prayer, and the regular administration of the sacraments. These assemblies may not be cathartic but they are solid, and they are what we need most. There are many different ways to “do church,” as we say these days. Multipl...  Read More

The extent of the problem is entirely missed by “grace only” preaching. Hypocrites, “false professors”, as the Puritans called them, and the self-deceived, all professing believers, all members of the visible church, have to be taken into account as the church’s preaching even as they are in the Apostles’ epistles.“Cheap grace” is the term that Dietrich Bonhoeffer coined to describe false grace, w...  Read More

Years ago I attended a Sunday night service at one of the largest and most prestigious evangelical churches in Southern California. Attendance in the evenings had begun to wane in recent years, so a more informal approach was being tested. The college pastor was leading the service. After the opening exercises he had us all stand, turn 90 degrees, and give the person next to us a standing back mas...  Read More

Which is more important, the unity of the church or its purity? To which are we to give preference: love or truth, fellowship or doctrine? The apostle Paul places great emphasis on unity: “Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise” (Gal. 4:28). Galatian Gentiles and all believers are “brothers,” are “like Isaac,” and, as such, are “children of promise.” We are all spiritual children o...  Read More