Anchor Bible Church
WHAT KIND OF CHURCH IS
ANCHOR BIBLE CHURCH?
And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Hebrews 10:24-25
The Apostle Paul concluded all of his letters with grace. “The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” (2 Thessalonians 3:17-18).
Grace was paramount to Paul and this amazing grace is precious to us. God gives us salvation that we don't deserve through his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Are you saved by God's amazing grace?
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God”
Ephesians 2:8
“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.”
2 Peter 3:18
We preach straight from the Bible. Verse-by-verse teaching is the primary way the Bible is taught. The Bible is the only book that God has given to us on this Earth. We respect that God has spoken. Therefore, we study the Bible in order to find out what he has said to us.
“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”
Acts 17:11
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15
“For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.”
Acts 20:27
Using one Bible fosters Christian unity. Churches are not able to have unified congregational responsive reading if everyone is not “on the same page.”
Many people are familiar with the Bible version we use. This aids in Bible understanding and retention. Some translations have verses missing. By using the same translation people do not wonder why they can't find the verse that is being taught or read.
The Authorized Version has a majestic sound when read aloud. This grandeur is proper for our majestic Lord. With a poetic quality and beautiful cadence, it is called a Bible that “sings to the heart.”
“Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”
1 Corinthians 1:10
“To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.”
Jude 1:25
Everyone goes somewhere after he or she dies. There is only one way to Heaven. Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins on the cross of Calvary. God desires that everyone receive forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ. As saved people who belong to the Lord, we too desire that all come to Christ for salvation.
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
2 Peter 3:9
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; (2) By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. (3) For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; (4) And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: (5) And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve”
1 Corinthians 15:1-5
God says what he means and means what he says. The Lord intends that we take the normal, plain sense meaning of his words (2 Peter 1:20).
By applying these common rules of interpretation, we understand God's gift of tongues had ceased by the time the New Testament was completed. Tongues proclaimed a message not for the church but for unbelievers.
“Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.”
1 Corinthians 13:8
“Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not ...”
1 Corinthians 14:22
“Anchor” is in our name. The Bible says:
“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.”
Hebrews 6:19
The anchor of our soul is our hope. Our hope is anchored in what God has said to us. The context of this verse will show why our hope is certain.
“That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.”
Hebrews 6:18
Our eternal hope is based upon God, who cannot lie. The Bible is true. We can trust God because he has given us his word, the Bible. And, our hope rests in the person of Jesus Christ.
“Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever...”
Hebrews 6:20
Jesus Christ, the sinless one, became our priest forever. He is the perfect one who intercedes for us who live imperfectly.
The Lord's people have always praised him. Congregational singing has been a regular part of Christian life. While music is not necessary to worship God (Genesis 22:5), praise in cheerful song is fitting for the soul that belongs to the Saviour.
Generations of Bible-believers have proven that singing Christ-honoring hymns is proper for the One who is Holy, Holy, Holy (Isaiah 6:3). Christ-honoring hymns have a graceful melody, a cheerful tone, a smooth rhythm and provide for wondrous harmony (parts).
Music that does not honor our Lord sounds little different than what is found in this Godless world (Eph. 2:12). Music that does not exhibit proper reverence to the Almighty God often has a pounding beat (and backbeat), is sung with breathy voices, and is performed in a sensual manner.
“This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.”
James 3:15
In contrast, music sung unto the Lord builds the people up and is joyful.
“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.”
Psalms 98:4
“Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.”
Psalms 150:6
“And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.”
Revelation 4:8
Prophecy is history written before it happens. About one fourth of the Bible was prophecy at the time it was written. Many of those prophetic passages have already been fulfilled, particularly during the First Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Because God knows everything, cannot lie, and is all powerful, prophecy gives comfort and motivation to the Christian today. We can see how world events will end. We can take comfort that Lord wins in the end. With the world seemingly spinning out of control, prophecy has a purifying effect on our lives as we place our hope in the Lord.
A normal reading of the Bible clearly reveals that Jesus will take away his Church before the upcoming seven years of Tribulation that will cover the entire Earth. Following the Tribulation, Christ will then set up his Kingdom on Earth.
Finally, the Bible warns us how to avoid the future Lake of Fire judgment by placing our trust in Jesus Christ now.
“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, (10) 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 46:9-10
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (18) Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
God is love (1 John 4:8,16). It is no secret that God loves us. It is because of God's great love for us that he sent his Son to die for us on the cross of Calvary.
God's love for us, our love for God, and our love for one another are supreme (Matt. 22:37-39).
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16
“And now abideth faith, hope, charity [love], these three; but the greatest of these is charity [love].”
1 Corinthians 13:13