Marks of a Great Christian Church

In the village green in Lexington, Massachusetts, there is a stone on which is carved the words of Captain Parker who commanded the colonial militia on the spot in 1776. Here is what he said to the men who were assembled to fight the British: "Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon. But if they mean to have a war, let it begin here." If that kind of courage is needed to gain victory in battles over temporal things, how much more is needed in the battles over eternal issues?

More and more today, Christians individually and the church at large are coming under satanically-inspired attack. Christians are in a minority in this world; we are surrounded by the enemies of God either Satan and his demons directly or those human agents he inspires. We need a strategy not just for survival, but for victory in the spiritual conflict that rages all around us. While Paul endured arrest and imprisonment in Rome, he described to the church at Philippi a plan that would help them be victorious in spite of how dire circumstances looked. That plan would be the fellowship of the Gospel, the furtherance of the Gospel and the faith of the Gospel.