Theology of the Church, Mentor's Guide, MG03

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T H E O L O G Y O F T H E C H U R C H

Salvation is completely a free gift of God to be received by faith and cannot be earned or deserved. Human beings are so enslaved by sin that they cannot desire the right things unless the grace of God works in them first. God always is the first to act in bringing someone to salvation. “We love him because he first loved us.” Because the Church is a community of people who have experienced the grace of God, worship is both the duty and the joy of the Church. The “meal and the bath” (Lord’s Supper and baptism) are part of the way in which we experience and remember the grace of God. They are key elements of Christian worship. A sacrament is a means by which the grace of God is given to us while an ordinance is an action that acknowledges grace through obedience and remembrance. Both types of theology emphasize that participation in the Lord’s Supper and baptism is helpful only if it is combined with repentance and faith. Christian leaders must study the Scriptures and decide whether it is best to understand the Lord’s Supper and baptism as sacraments or as ordinances. The central vocation of the Church is worship of God, and the key reason why the Church worships is for the purpose of glorifying the one, true, and Almighty God, Yahweh. The Church worships God because of the matchless nature of both his supreme character and mighty deeds through creation and salvation. As such, God is always worthy to be worshiped and praised by members of the Church. Because all things exist by God’s good will and for his pleasure, worship of God is the one activity that all beings and matter share in their goal. The telos (ultimate goal) of every thing that exists is to praise and honor God for who he is and what he has done. The Church worships God through its services of praise and thanksgiving, and, as priests and priestesses of God, she gives him glory in a variety of means and methods, including song, dance, kneeling, silence, clapping, shouting, etc.

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