December 2023 Student Newsletter

Will I Be Ordained?
Russell Haffner

The idea of ordination is to choose or appoint a man for an office, such as Titus appointing (or ordaining) elders (Titus 1:5). According to the New Testament elders and deacons were appointed in each congregation (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5; Acts 20:17, 28). The elders lead the congregation and the deacons are servants of the congregation (1 Timothy 3:1-13).

The church we read about in the New Testament is composed of independent congregations (1 Peter 5:1-4; Philippians 1:1; Acts 20:17-28). There is no higher earthly headquarters. The true church's only headquarters is in heaven. Each congregation answers to Jesus Christ only and that will be done on judgment day. Christ is the head of the church (Ephesians 5:23) and it is Christ who has authorized or appointed the duty of an evangelist or preacher (Ephesians 4:11).

Some religious groups use "ordination" papers to state that a man is approved by their group to preach their doctrine. However, as we have seen, outside of each congregation, there is no organization with ruling authority and this practice is not found in the New Testament. We find no teaching in the New Testament that requires a man to make another man a preacher. There are no verses in Scripture referencing their practice for the ordination of a preacher. No one is mentioned in the New Testament as being selected for the role they claim..

Therefore, "ordination" for preachers (ministers) is a foreign concept to the Bible. God never authorized this practice of ordination. These are man-made rules often created to keep preachers under the control of those doing the ordaining.."

Our desire is to be of service to anyone who wishes to learn more about the Bible. The content of the lessons is pure non-denominational teaching based on accurate exegesis of the Bible. It is designed for the student who wants a focused, organized and intensive study of the Bible. The purpose of the WVBS Online Bible School is to prepare students to be better Christians, elders, deacons, preachers, Bible class teachers or personal workers.


The "Mark Complete" Button

If you have already watched several lessons you may have noticed the “Mark Complete” button located below each video. This feature helps you to track your progress as you view the videos. We encourage you to always click this button when you finish viewing a lesson. The marking of lessons serves as a guide for your own information to mark your place in the study. Even if the lesson is marked complete you can return to watch it again as many times as you want.

For additional information please see the Help Center (https://school.wvbs.org/about/help/) at the school website. In the Help Center (https://school.wvbs.org/about/help/) you will find an article which will walk you through the necessary steps to track your progress by marking each lesson complete. It is titled: How-to: "Mark Complete" Lessons ,(https://school.wvbs.org/about/help/mark-complete-lessons/).