CHINA

China Legally Recognizes Church

The Gospel Advocate paper has this headline in their December 2007 issue. A new Church of Christ will begin meeting August 3, 2008, in Beijing, China, in the 21 Century Hotel, sponsored by the Peachtree City Church of Christ in Georgia. http://beijingchurchofchrist.com/ In the rented facilities there will be space for 500 worshipers. And plans are for simultaneous translation during worship into at least 10 languages. The world will be coming to Beijing! "

Christians who have been gathering underground in house churches in China for many years will for the first time meet in a government-sanctioned congregation in August 2008." This is a political move on their part preparing for the Olympic Games. Chairman Mao had forced the Chinese to learn to read & write so they could read his propaganda. But this also made the Bible available to everyone. A "house- church" movement has involved millions. This will bless them - if it is true. [China has a long history of opposing all religions. But recently Christianity has been making huge inroads.]

China now has over one billion people. By 2033 they are expected to have 1½ billion people. India has over one billion. Each of these is a soul for whom Christ died & rose again.

Imagine a congregation where people come an hour and a half early just to get a good seat. A congregation which holds 7 services each Lord's Day in order to get all the people in. And their place of worship holds 17,000. This congregation has a full-time staff of more than 120, including 16 preachers and a number of full-time elders. During worship, simultaneous translation provides four major languages for the racially mixed congregation. The membership is divided into 20,000 'zone groups' of 10 to 15 members. Each zone group becomes an 'extended family' and meets for Bible study on week nights. New people - non believers - are constantly being brought into the local zone groups, not to be 'preached at,' but to be influenced by loving examples of what Christianity is all about.

Then on Sunday (the Lord's Day) the extended congregation comes together for a big celebration of praise and devotion to their Lord and Savior. As one of their preachers said: "It is then that we demonstrate the power of the Gospel and the strength of the church."

"It can't be scriptural" you say? Yet this was the church at Jerusalem. With 3,000 converts on Pentecost, 5,000 men by Acts 4:4, the church in Jerusalem was probably 100,000 members when they were scattered by persecution in Acts 8. They were a true church, guided by the Apostles themselves. They met together in the Temple every day Acts 2:46 and in small groups from house to house.. Wasn't this some sort of pattern? But, you say, "The Jerusalem Church was unique." Perhaps so, in some respects. But what about the church in Antioch which sent out Paul and Barnabas? And others?


Sin And Salvation

Did God know that Adam & Eve would sin before He put them in the Garden? Yes. He is never "surprised." He gave them freewill desiring them to love Him because they chose to do so.

1. God knows the end from the beginning. "Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:" Isaiah 46:10

2. Jesus prepared to come as Savior before the foundation of the world. "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:" Ephes. 1:4

"And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." Rev. 13:8

"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began," 2 Tim. 1:9

"But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:" 1 Cor. 2:7

3. God's Eternal Plan. "Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:" Ephes. 3:4-6