External and Internal Problems of the Worshiping Community

Like any human organization, the church of the New Testament confronted problems and challenges, some from external pressures and some from within. External Pressures The major challenge from without was that of resistance to the gospel and even persecution by its opponents. In dealing with opposition, the church had to rely on the merciful intervention of its Lord, an intervention that resulted in some remarkable turns of events, such as Peter's release from prison to the amazement of the fearful church (Acts 12:6-17) and the transformation of Saul, ardent persecutor of the Way, into an even more zealous apostle of the risen Christ (Acts 9:1-31). The church's principal weapon against external hostility was the development of its unique worldview, which enabled it to see the powers coming against it as doomed to eventual defeat at the revelation of the judgments of God. The present culture and its values are passing away (1 Cor. 7:31; 1 John 2:17); at the day of the Lord, the old o…