What does the real church look like? Over the centuries, through all the trials and persecution the church has faced, Apostle Paul explains what the true church looks like. First, the church is not a building, but a people who have been called out of this world, from death to life. The church starts in the mind of God with his ‘choice’, His election. Because of God’s choosing, the church is able to march on continuously, miraculously, against all odds. None of those in the church are perfect, none of us deserve to be chosen, we had nothing good to offer, we were all dead, yet by God’s grace, we are loved and chosen. God has loved you before you were even born and in His foreknowledge, though He knows our past, present, and future, and loves us faithfully without end (Romans 5:8). Our genuine response to His faithful love is holiness and obedience.
The true church has its source in God’s election. How then is the church formed? In all generations and in all places, the true church starts with the Gospel (1 Thessalonians 1:4). If a church is truly chosen by God, then it would start with the gospel. A church without the gospel is not a true church. Unfortunately, there are many churches and preachers out there who never proclaim the gospel and falsely claim to be a church. The gospel is the true biblical message of the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God who became a man, to save wretched sinners from the judgment of Holy God, by dying on the cross as the substitutionary sacrifice, rising again on the third day, so that sinners who believe in Him might be saved (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). This is the good news of the church. This is the only message by which a sinner will be saved (Romans 10:9). Every person is a hopeless sinner under the wrath of God, condemned to death and judgment (Romans 1:18, 6:23). The gospel explains the man’s damned plight and tells them to repent and believe to receive the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ. This is the gospel that has never changed and which people need to hear (Romans 10:14).
The true church must be empowered by the Holy Spirit. After hearing the gospel, they are empowered by the Holy Spirit and they feel their need of salvation and receive the gospel in their hearts (Acts 2:37). The non-elect will hear the gospel and not think much of it. There was a crowd that saw Jesus raise the dead Lazarus, but only a few believed. Even today many hear the gospel, and some even proclaim the gospel and are not truly saved. Charles Templeton was a famous evangelist alongside Billy Graham who eventually denied God’s creation and Jesus Christ. What is the difference between those who are saved and not? They did not feel their sinfulness and need of a Savior by the power of the Holy Spirit. Only by the Holy Spirit empowering the gospel message in the heart of the elect is a person truly saved. Salvation is a supernatural act of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5-6).
The true church has full conviction, true confidence in the gospel. They have full confidence in Jesus Christ and trust that Jesus is the solution to all their needs. This is because the church is full of people who were once sinners but are now saved by Jesus Christ. Jerry Bridges said, “A conviction is a determinative belief: something you believe so strongly that it affects the way you live.” (John 4:39). Those saved by the gospel have a singular heart for that gospel that saves them. Like Apostle Paul, ‘my goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death’ (Philippians 3:10). Supreme and devoted love for Jesus is the mark of the true believer. We must not be stained by other loves, but love Christ first and foremost. This love is demonstrated as faith and obedience to Christ. Whenever something happens, the Christian lives by faith. Thirdly, we share the gospel and know the suffering Jesus. We experience fellowship with Christ as we suffer like Him by living for the gospel and living a holy life.
The true church is chosen by God, formed through the Gospel, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and full of conviction to live for Jesus Christ continually.
BIBLE COMMUNITY CHURCH 
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