With all the buildings that call themselves churches, how can one tell if one is in a good, biblical church? 
One should always pray, search the scriptures (II Timothy 2:15), and seek God’s will as to where he should attend. Here is a brief checklist that will help you avoid unbiblical churches quickly, and find one that is more in line with what the Bible teaches a good church should be:
- Is the main ministry of the church preaching that trusting in Christ’s finished work for salvation is the only way to heaven? If the church adds anything to salvation, (like good works, sacraments, or baptism) to keep one’s salvation, then it is not preaching Biblical salvation, and should not be a church that one who wants to hear the whole teaching of the Word of God should attend.
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Eph. 2:8-9
- Is there an invitation to be saved at most services? One of the main purposes of a church is to point unsaved people to a saving knowledge of what God says is the only way to heaven. At least some of the services, if not most, should give any unsaved people in the audience an opportunity to be saved.
“And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” Acts 5:42
“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.” Proverb 11:30
- Is there proof that the church has a burden that all hear the Word of God? Are there ministries providing people the opportunity? Is there a bus, deaf, blind, youth, singles, Spanish, or similar ministry to reach others? If they have assorted ministries, it shows that someone cares enough for the souls of others to spend their time and money to reach them. Again, that is one of the most important reasons for having a church — to reach the unsaved.
“And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them:” Matthew 15:30
- Are the preacher’s lessons and sermons quoted from the King James Bible? If not, it indicates that the preacher is not really sure which Bible God promised (Isaiah 40:8) to preserve, or does not think that it matters what he preaches from. He may be using a modern, altered bible that has words missing, doctrines changed, or has words added to it. How can one grow in the truth from the Word of God, if he is not reading it or being taught its truths? If the preacher is not even preaching from a Bible and is more interested in preaching his opinion or what is socially or politically correct, he is not doing what God requires a preacher to do. A church should always teach what is in the Bible.
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” Col. 2:8
- Is the preacher a man? If not, then the woman in the pulpit is violating what the Scriptures say about women not taking the leadership of a local church.
“A bishop then must be blame less, the husband of one wife (that means he is a man), vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;” I Tim. 3:2 Also: Titus 1:6
“Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.” I Corinthians 14:34
- Is the music glorifying God or appealing to the flesh? If you find yourself or others bebopping to the music’s beat, or find most of the audience gyrating or swaying to the music’s rhythm, then the music is not glorifying God; but is glorifying the feelings and emotions of the flesh. If you listen to the whole song and are not sure if they are singing about their girlfriend or God, it is not glorifying God. Music’s main purpose is to bring honor and glory to God alone. It is the world’s music that stimulates the flesh and has no business in the house of God. We are on the winning side, why would we want the losing side’s music there in God’s house?
“Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.” Psalm 9:11
“I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people.” Psalm 35:18
“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or what so ever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” I Corinthians 10:31
- When the preacher is finished preaching, did the message edify you? Did the message glorify God? Were you encouraged to serve God better? Were you convicted about your sin or lack of not doing more to serve God? If not, it could be God is not doing anything in your life. Either you need to be saved, get things right between you and the Lord, or you may not be where God wants you to be.
“Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Mark 1:14-15
- Is there a place for you to serve God in the ministry? We are saved to serve, not just to sit and soak up the Word of God. If there are no ministries, and you cannot start one there, you should seek God’s will in a church where you can serve Him.
“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one an other.” Galatians 5:13
“And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” II Timothy 2:24-26
Finding the right church is a very important decision. It is in a good church that many have gotten saved, and it is in a good church that people grow spiritually and go on to serve God. Unbiblical churches have done much damage to Christians and the cause of Christ. It is in some of those churches, that although people are faithful in attendance, many still die without ever having heard the saving message that can point them to heaven; or if they are saved, never grow to live the Christian life or serve God the way He desires. Are you faithfully attending a good church?
“The church is not a gallery for the exhibition of eminent Christians, but a school for the education of imperfect ones.” — Beecher
So I just moved to Sioux Falls SD. Many churches here. Do you have a recommendation(s) for me here? I have gone to
several. I am not finding them to use KJV.
It is hard work to find a good KJV, separated Baptist church. I don’t know any personally in the area, although here is a google link that may help: https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=HmxFWuD9CoGymwH5p7XICg&q=baptist+churches+iin+siox+falls%2C+sd&oq=baptist+churches+iin+siox+falls%2C+sd&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i13k1j0i22i30k1l7.26199.70988.0.72844.36.27.0.8.8.0.171.3408.0j27.27.0….0…1c.1.64.psy-ab..1.34.3487.0..0j0i131k1j35i39k1j0i131i20i264k1j0i20i264k1j0i13i5i30k1j0i13i30k1.0.p6MCHCylOVY
My church will be closing down this Sunday,, so we will have to start looking also. In this age it is very hard to find a good church. All you can do is pray and start calling and visiting. I have already visited some. Iwrite downthe churches and their pros and cons. IT will just be a matter of listening to God where He wants you and you may have to pick the best from your list.
I feel it is also important to have a church that is a soul-winning church. The third question i ask the preacher is are you a sould winning church? When does your vsitiation program go out?
The second I ask is it a pastor lead church or a deacon lead church. The Bible teaches it should be pastor lead, not deacon lead as so many Southern Baptist churches do.
The first is what Bible do you use. I figure if the pastor doesn’t know where the real
Word of God is, he cannot be trusted. I dread the possiblility of checking all the churches and not one uses the KJV solely. But, around here that is not a problem. The problem around here is that most churches are deacon led.
It is a hard task finding where God wants you. He does want you fed, so he will lead you to where He wants you if you seek His will.
It is not that some women want to take a man’s role such as working outside the home it is because they are forced to . Sorry to say but some men [ spouses ] push the woman to work outside of the home to get a job and such even though the woman doesn’t want to . The man says they don’t make enough to cut it so she has to work . This is sad . As for women picking up tools and fixing things around the house oh well some of us have no choice . And guess what God helps us .
•Is the preacher a man? If not, then the woman in the pulpit is violating what the Scriptures say about women not taking the leadership of a local church.
“A bishop then must be blame less, the husband of one wife (that means he is a man), vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;” I Tim. 3:2 Also: Titus 1:6
“Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.” I Corinthians 14:34
A woman cant preach , must be silent not even to speak in the church oh wow where does that leave women who teach Sunday school , yes to adults men and women ? where does that leave women singing in church ? remember they are supposed to be silent . the saying goes kids should be seen but not heard and this also seems to apply to women . Okay women are not supposed to preach hmm well I would think women are not supposed to have to work outside the home get a job , nor run for offices as many seem to do . maybe as a woman I should not even been on here talking with all of you men ?, eh? Umm what about Ruth in the Bible she went with her mother in law and they worked in the fields ? What about the Queens they had back then ? What about one woman umm was it Deborah ? wasn’t she up high in a court or something ? Maybe we shouldn’t drive go to town alone but then didn’t women go to town alone with out a man back then like to market and such ? So going on about church well if a woman is to keep her mouth shut and just sit there and listen to the preacher then i guess she goes home and ponders on what the preacher says … Hence no communication . Yet didn’t Martha complain to Jesus about Mary sitting by his feet ? Where were their husbands ? Where was the woman at the well ‘ s husband surely not with her when she met Jesus at the well . What about the woman who was going to be stoned and Jesus told them if all were with out sin they could stone her hence none did then Jesus forgave her told her sin no more . What about the part in the Bible where it says the women who have no husband and such should be taken care of lol not happening in this world today . In this world today women have been forced to take the role of a man by working and such because the men don’t do it . Are they going to hell because they have to work outside the home ? Again back to churches if a woman is to be silent then this means she keeps her trap shut with no opinion or anything hence not even teach Sunday school or anything all the men is to do it . Eh? Yes women are to raise the children teach them about God but as I said many even teach adults which include men in the class . As for music have any of you ever been to a black church oh yes they move to the music too as some white churches does but I don’t think it means it is of the flesh when it is music and song to the Lord as I think they are so moved by it touching the soul . You know music can reach the soul sometimes more effect than words alone ? No I am not speaking of the music some play in church I am speaking of Godly music . Okay have at all I said smiles . One more question … is God going to punish me cause I have questions ?
You can ask all the questions you want. However, I don’t have time enough to answer most of them. By the way a born-again child of God will NEVER be punished for sins. The punishment was taken away when they accepted Christ as payment for ALL their sins — past, present and future.
You may have taken the woman thing a little too far. There is nothing inferior about a woman. My left arm is not better than the right leg. They are just two different appendages that do different things, equally important. The same applies to men and women.
Women have strengths that a man doesn’t have, and vise versa. God also knows that only one in a group can be leader. He has made it man’s responsibility to lead since creation. If you don’t like it then the problem is between the complainer and the Creator. He uses women in, I think, more important roles because of their strengths. We would not have a population, and they would be taken care of if it weren’t for woman’s strength. I shudder at the thought if the world only had men (it wouldn’t last five years).
Yes, too many times men don’t do what they are supposed to — as do women. I know of many women that have also not fulfilled their responsibilities.
We are who God created. We should be proud and be all that God has created us to be. IT is sin if one is not content how God made them and where He placed them. Yes, it works better if a woman stays home and raises the family, but too many are brain-washed not to be content with who they are and what they have (covetness). The womenn want to strap a hammer to their tool belt and climb ladders, and some men want to strap on a dress and call themselves Sally. We need to be satisfied with who we are and do what God creates us to be and do. If another is not fulfilling their role, than, although it strongly affects us, that is a problem that is between them and the Creator. Our changing our roles to make up for their inefficiencies only makes two doing wrong. Sometimes, and I have known many good woman that had the character to do it, did their biblical role even though their husband was not. The family suffered great losses. But the woman kept plugging away fulfilling her role as a godly woman. She could have easily fixed the situation and become the breadwinner, but she did not. Eventually, the man cam to his senses and became the father and husband he should have been. Covering for other’s weaknesses and sins usually only encourages them to continue in the same wrong behavior.
Perhaps someone else can finish some of the questions I did not have the time for. Sorry!
This is such great teaching! I thank the Lord for my church, pastor, and church family. They are truly a blessing in my life drawing me closer to God, which is exactly what a good church should and will do. Too many churches today have become just another place of entertainment. They no longer preach biblical truths, but offer “cookies” and a pat on the back to the congregation.
I was teaching my 7th grader about the Passover today in homeschool. We were talking about the Passover being a picture of Christ and that ONLY the blood would save. It wasn’t enough to be a good person, to be “religious”, or even to have the blood of the lamb available (sitting in a bowl somewhere but never applied) for the angel of death to pass over the Hebrews. Only by applying the blood of that perfect lamb sacrifice would the Hebrews be saved. So it is with us today, only by the blood of Jesus are we saved and only if that blood is APPLIED! It is perhaps the biggest tragedy of all that so many people attend church regularly and know about Jesus and his death and resurrection. They know why He died. They have the blood of the sacrifice sitting in a bowl at their feet, but they never apply it to their hearts. They never are told that they must surrender to Jesus as Lord and take Him as their Savior to be saved, so they literally die and go to hell sitting on a church pew.
Finding a good church is a matter of life and death. It will make the difference of whether you know and believe in Jesus as the Son of God (the devil and his angels believe and tremble) or whether you apply His blood to your life and are saved from eternal damnation. The icing on the cake is that you will be blessed beyond measure by attending a good, Bible believing and preaching church. It will make this life that much sweeter and take you to places in Christ that you could not even imagine.
God is so good. He wants to give life and life more abundantly. Find that church that is described above and you will receive this wonderful gift God is offering.
Thanks for another great devotion, Bro. Brinkworth! I appreciate your solid teaching here on this site. It blesses me each day.
I grew up bouncing between two mainline denominations, even going through confirmation classes in one of them, but I never heard the gospel and knew nothing of salvation. I was saved at 28 1/2 out of a life of worldly living and sin. I went back to one of the denominational churches for one service and couldn’t believe the coldness and deadness that was there. I soon found a good Bible preaching/teaching church and like Bro. Bill said above, I couldn’t believe the difference! It wasn’t long till the Lord called me to go to Bible school and then into the ministry. I’ve been a pastor for 32 years now and thank God every day for all He has allowed me to do for Him!!
You reminded me of a point that always disturbs me. Some people go to a church most of their lives. There they never hear the Gospel. Someone knocks on their door, tells them about Jesus and biblical salvation, and they get saved! Wonderful! Then the next week, they go right back to the dead church they were in, and never grow at all, and often even stop going to church. It seems to me that if someone gave me the message that deleivered me from a agonizing Hell, and cared enough for my soul, I would first be interested in going to the place that cared enough for my soul. Go to a church that is most concerned about the souls of people, not their numbers or their money!
It seems many churches today exist to make people comfortable with tons of programs to keep people coming and occupied! It’s all about “what can the church do for me” instead of “what can I do for others through The Great Commission.”
A church has “Dinner on the Grounds” and so many people show up they run out of food, but a church has visitation night and nobody but the pastor shows up! It just seems like over the years the church has lost its main focus – The Great Commission! Going out into all the world and making disciples, TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS, baptizing new believers!
Amen! It sickens me, and the Lord I am sure, that so many “churches” spend much time and money on entertainment. I’ve seen churches advertise ball room dancing, bingo, “watch the sports games with us”, movies, music, and many other regular entertainment.
My ministry has been much to children. I have observed other children’s ministries have vacation Bible schools – which I love. Then I find out that they spent the whole week talking about global warming or some other worldly thing. Get them there to preach! That is the main responsibility of the church. If we don’t tell them, who will! I have done many, many things to get people in, but I got them in to preach! The Word of God should always have priority!
Thank God for my Church, my Pastor, and the Brothers and Sisters I spend so much of my life with! I cannot imagine life without any of them.
I heard a preacher say once that if you are moving for a job, have you seen if there is a church there? He suggested that you find the right church and then move to it..the job will take care of itself.
There are still a few good churches in most communities. Bro Brinkworth nailed it above.
I have said it probably 3 or 4 times at least in these comments: If you don’t have a church that lines up as Bro Brinkworth describes above…Please dont waste another day where you are. You and your family are too important. Quit fooling around with people that only want to play at church and play at being Christian. Jesus warns in Revelation that he will spew them out.
I come from a big mainline church background…and before you fall out with me, let me say that I am well aware that there are some decent churches like that and there are some genuine Christian people at every one of them… NOW listen to me: There is so much more. You are missing out. You were meant to be so much more…..and the stuff they are peddling just isn’t strong enough.
It will be one of the hardest things you have ever done. I am here to tell you, the church you are looking for is full of people that will love you right where you are, but I am warning you…they dont talk worldly, they dont know what is on TV, they dont know who won the ball tournament…all they want to talk about is how much they love the Lord and want to serve them. I would say you might call them peculiar people.
When you attend a service, you probably wont get a bulletin with the order of worship…there ain’t one. They probably will never have any two services just alike.. No telling when you will get out…no one there cares…in fact they would be pleased if the Lord would move and it just went on for several hours. You will think they are crazy. You might get offended (if the preacher is not stepping on your toes with some regularity, he is not praying). But it will seem like 10 minutes and you wouldn’t dare miss church for fear you might miss something that the Lord does. It will take you to places as a Christian that you never knew existed.
Your kids will not be fighting to stay home from church like me and my brothers did when we were kids….they will be fighting you if you dont take them. Kids are great detectors of a genuine move of God…and they like it. My kids love to listen to preaching…the tougher it is, the louder it is, the more it is in your face, the more they like it… me too.
Eventually, you will quit dressing, talking, acting, and thinking like worldly people. All that junk that used to be so important will fade into the distance as you make Christ the center and focus of your life. You will be so full of joy!
I could go on. Friend, if you are not experiencing what Bro Brinkworth is describing.. Go Sunday Morning…dont wait.
Amen. The right church makes the biggest difference. I also have spent my childhood in a mainline church. I knew something was not right, and didn’t want to go, and certainly never heard about salvation. When I got saved at 28, and eventually found a good church, I couldn’t believe the difference. I never wanted to miss, and never did!