What Parts of the New Testament Apply to Whom? (Part 5)

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I.       Parts of the NT that apply only to a local church or to a church service

1.      Epistles that are addressed to a specific local church, such as the church in Corinth

1. Some of the issues dealt with in 1&2 Corinthians were specific to that church, such as excluding a specific fornicator (1Co 5), and their strife and divisions (1Co 3:1-4).
2. In that these problems were found in a local church, and Paul taught the same things in every church (1Co 4:17), the principles can be applied to all local churches.
3. Every local church must exclude commonly known sinners.

iii.    No Christians in any local church should be saying that they are of one minister or another.

1. In that the epistles are addressed to local churches, problems and prohibitions that are specific to local churches cannot be applied to life in general or other organizations.
2. A member of a local stamp collecting club is not forbidden by 1Co 5:9-13 from eating dinner with a member of the club who is a fornicator.
3. A member of a community Bible study or a parachurch organization is likewise not forbidden from saying he is of so-and-so, his favorite theologian.

iii.    The church has no authority over them that are outside of its membership (1Co 5:12).

2.      Practices in the local church

A.    Music

1. Local churches are given instruction concerning music in church.
2. Music in church is to consist of singing (Eph 5:19; Col 3:16).
3. Ephesians, Colossians, and James are all written to churches (Eph 1:1; Col 1:2).
4. Jesus sang hymns to God in the church (Heb 2:12 c/w Mat 26:30).
5. There is no commandment in the NT to use musical instruments in the church.
6. The commandment is to sing; therefore using instruments is adding to God’s commandments.
7. The argument from silence applies (Heb 7:12-14).
8. Instruction concerning music in the church doesn’t apply to life in general because it is given to churches.
9. Musical instruments are perfectly acceptable outside of church.
10. It would be fine for a Bible study group to sing hymns accompanied by a piano or a guitar.
11. There are plenty of things that can be done outside of church which are forbidden inside of church, such as women speaking (1Co 14:34-35). (More on this later.)

B.     Communion

1. Paul gave the Corinthian Church much instruction concerning how they were to partake of the Lord’s Supper (1Co 11:20-34; 1Co 10:16-21; 1Co 5:8,11).
2. Communion was to be served when the church came together to eat it (1Co 11:33 c/w 1Co 14:23).

iii.    The principle of Paul’s instruction to the church at Corinth concerning communion is applicable every local church, as Paul taught the same thing in every church (1Co 4:17 c/w 1Co 11:1-2).

1. Therefore, since communion is a local church ordinance, and every example of communion being partaken of in the scripture was in a local church, communion ought to only be served in a NT local church.
2. This means that a communion service should not be conducted in private outside of the assembly of the church such as in a hospital room, home, etc.
3. This means that communion should not be offered at a parachurch organization such as a Campus Crusade meeting, etc.
4. This means that individual Christians cannot decide to have communion by themselves at home.

C.     Women teaching and speaking

1. Women are prohibited from speaking in church (1Co 14:34-35; 1Ti 2:11).
2. Women are forbidden to teach or be in authority over a man in church (1Ti 2:12 c/w 1Ti 3:15; Rev 2:20).

iii.    These commandments do not apply to life in general and do not mean that women cannot speak or teach anywhere.

1. This is obvious because women are to ask their husbands at home, which demands that they are allowed to speak outside of church (1Co 14:35).
2. To forbid women from speaking altogether would be a punishment greater than they could bear!
3. Women are also supposed to teach the younger women how to be good wives and mothers (Tit 2:3-5).
4. This teaching should happen in the home or somewhere else outside of church.

II.    Parts of the NT that apply only to the specific person to whom it was written or spoken

1. Sometimes something only directly applies to someone to whom it was spoken, but an application or an example can be extrapolated from it for others.
2. For example, the epistle to Philemon was written by Paul specifically to Philemon beseeching him to receive his slave who had run away (Phm 1).
3. Though this epistle was written specifically to Philemon, many lessons can be drawn from it and applied to our lives today, such as:
4. How to win someone over by persuasion rather than force (Phm 1:8-9).
5. Having mercy on a wayward servant, employee, or child who has been humbled and wants to return.
6. Using godly manipulation to influence someone for good (Phm 1:17-21).

III. Parts of the NT that apply to all men in general

1. The NT gives moral laws that all men are bound to keep such as:
2. Laws against fornication and adultery (Heb 13:4).
3. Laws against murder, theft, lying, and dishonoring parents (Mat 19:18-19).
4. All men everywhere are commanded to repent (Act 17:30).