The Church Is the Gospel Made Visible

TheChurch_FNL_CVR.indd Christians face lots of practical questions when it comes to life in the local church:

How is the gospel displayed in our lives together?
What are we supposed to do and believe?

Different followers answer differently—even as they preach the same gospel! What should we think about such differences? A church’s life, doctrine, worship, and even polity are important issues. Yet they are so rarely addressed.

The Church is Mark Dever’s primer on the doctrine of the church for all who see Scripture alone as a sufficient authority for the doctrine and life of the local church. He explains to the reader what the Bible says about the nature and purpose of the church—what it is, what it’s for, what it does.

Indeed, Scripture teaches us about all of life and doctrine, including how we should assemble for corporate worship and how we’re to organize our corporate life together. God has revealed himself by his Word. He is speaking to us, preparing us to represent him today, and to see him tomorrow! A congregation of regenerate members, fulfilling the responsibilities given to us by Christ himself in his Word, regularly meeting together, led by a body of godly elders, is the picture God has given us in his Word of his church.

Endorsements

“The church today desperately needs to think more deeply about the church. That’s why I’m incredibly thankful for Mark Dever. No one writes as passionately, as winsomely, as biblically, or as practically about the church. This book is a wonderful example of all those traits. Even though my theology is different on a few important points like baptism and congregationalism, I always learn from Mark when he talks ecclesiology. If you love the church, you’ll love this book. And if the doctrine of the church sounds terribly unimportant, then you need to read this book even more.”

—Kevin DeYoung

“Since becoming a pastor, no one that I know has had a greater influence on my understanding of the church than Mark Dever. The church I pastor and countless other churches literally around the world have reaped the benefits of God’s grace in Mark and Capitol Hill Baptist Church. For this reason, I wholeheartedly recommend this book to pastors, church leaders, and church members who long to see the gospel and glory of God on display in the body of Christ.”

—David Platt

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Request a faculty review copy here.

Read an excerpt—on why we need to study the doctrine of the church—by Mark Dever here.

Order The Church at LifeWay, WORDsearch, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Christianbook.com.