In this section we are going to look at just some of the practices of the early church believers for approximately the first 250 years of the church. In 313, Constantine issued the Edict of Milan legalizing the practice of Christianity. We have many today that refer to the church fathers as being from this time forward but really the church fathers were the 11 Disciples and Paul, with many co-laborers, not for instance St. Augustine, St. Athanasius, or Gregory of Nazianzen, let alone theologians such as Luther or Calvin.
By the time of the Apostle John's death the world had been completely evangelized with the Church fully established upon the teachings and commandments of Christ and the Apostles. The practices of this original group lasted for several generations until the church began to blur the distinctions between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world under this new governmental favor.
The Sufficient and Final Authority of the Scriptures
We believe that the Holy Scriptures, also known as the Bible, represent a body of writings written by prophets and apostles inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Scriptures represent God's revelation of His will unto mankind: through the Scriptures we learn to know God and teachings of His Moral Law. We believe that the Holy Bible is the only infallible and final authority for the Church. In other words, we believe in the principle of Sola Scriptura: the Holy Bible is the only infallible source of God's revelation for the post-apostolic Church. We will show that the principle of Sola Scriptura is implicitly taught in the Bible, i.e. it can be inferred from certain biblical observations. Also, we will try to provide answers to typical objections against it, objections usually given by the Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox.
The offering of spiritual service to God in the celebration of His Holy Person is one of the highest, noblest employments in which man can engage, the supreme reach of the soul. (...) The worship of a Supreme Being seems to be a universal instinct, and because of the sovereignty, majesty, and holiness of God, must be surrounded by such safeguards, restrictions, and sanctities as will preserve the divine honor and secure the acceptance of the worshiper and his worship. (...) Rather than incur the wrath of heaven by a form of worship that is dishonoring and displeasing to God we should, instead of allowing ourselves ignorantly to worship, seek some divine message declaring what the mind of the Lord is, and follow it.
House Churches - Christian Form of Public Gathering
This article deals with a biblical justification for the necessity and sufficiency of the house meetings in our Christian gatherings. First, we will give a brief historic perspective on house churches. Then, in the second part, we will examine various passages that are relevant for the topic on house churches. This examination will be the most important one, and consequently a long one. These passages are divided in five groups according to their clarity with respect to the relation between the Church and house. The second part will, thus, be divided into five sections according to the type of passages into consideration. The third and fourth part are concerned with the leadership and the autonomy of a local church.
Written by Robert Cole | 
