Hey guys, my name is Johnny Art of Annas and this is dial-in.

In this episode, I sit down with Pastor John MacArthur and I ask him how a believer can find a healthy church and what a healthy church looks like.

Let's dial in.

Pastor John, many believers today know that they should be involved in a church, but they don't know what to look for in finding a healthy church.

What then would be your advice biblically on what people should look for when trying to find and be a part of a healthy biblical church?

A really simple question.

What they're looking for is a leadership that teaches the Bible, where the Bible reigns supreme,

where biblical inspiration, inerrancy, and authority is ruling the church.

And here's a simple reality. Christ is ahead of the

church. We know that because it's repeated in the New Testament. So how does Christ mediate his rule in

the church? The way any leader would through his word, right? He leads by his word. So his word is

scripture. So where you have a church that handles the Word of God accurately, you have Christ

mediating His rule in the church. And I'll tell you how you'll know that's happening. You'll know it

not only by the doctrine and by the fact that they opened the Bible and they explain what it means,

but you'll know it, and this is a surprising answer, you'll know it by

their love for each other because the Bible says, Paul, the Apostle said, the goal of our instruction

is love from a pure heart.

So when you're looking for a real church, you're looking past the doctrine, you're looking

past the theology. How're looking past the theology.

How much affection do these people have for each other?

How much love do they demonstrate?

Because the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart.

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