I Am A Church Member 1

One Member. One Body.

Romans 12:1-5

There is One Universal Church. There is One Body, One Spirit, One Faith, and One Lord. If you are here, in Baxley, or in China, all who are in Christ, who are born again, who are believing in Christ alone for forgiveness of sins… We are One.

Now, what are we to do? What are we to be? Should we all just go our separate ways, live apart, be apart, never serve one another, worship together, pray together, be about the Great Commission together? Is that what Jesus wants?

Back up: Acts 2:41-47 - People were being saved and they were added; they were counted. These people met together, devoted themselves together, to learn, grow, and serve together. They knew who made professions of faith, because they were with one another as the church.

The Church grew and spread. There are now local churches. There is a church in Jerusalem. There will be a church in Rome, in Corinth, in Galatia, in Ephesus, at Colossae, in Smyrna, in Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Letters, books of the Bible were sent to churches, local churches, to be read to the whole body…

Within these local churches, you were known and held accountable. You could be seen for what and who you are. From the local church, deacons, servants, and church leaders are to be chosen… Acts 6:3… “Select form among you” men who fit this character description. Not those who are out there, but those who are among the church, men you know. They are to be church members.

Pastors/elders, teacher, and servants must be known by the people, not a recent convert, one who is mature, stable, and their lives are open for the people to see, even their families. You must be around people to know people. You must spend time with people to know them and to see their lives. You cannot see people and know people, unless you are together. And therefore, you cannot call someone to serve, to lead, to use people in ministry, in the church, unless they are willing to belong to one another as the church so that they can be known.

The Bible gives us pictures. The church is called a Body. That is what it is: A Body. A body is together, serving, praying and worshipping together… not alone. If you saw a finder or a toe someplace… separated from a body… you would be freaked out and you may call the law. That is not right. Something is wrong.

So it is with the church body. If toes and fingers, mouths, arms and ears are laying all over the place… apart from the body… something is wrong, not right, and we need to call someone as soon as possible. The Body is not intact, the Body is suffering and is lacking.

To be clear: Joining a local church does not save you. Being baptized does not save you. Being a leader/servant in the church does not save you. Jesus save you. Believing in Christ places you in the One Body Church. And now you are called to be one and serve a community/group/family of believers, called the local church. Church Membership Matters.

In joining the local church, you make visible your commitment to Christ and His people.

a. The majority of all the letters or books of the New Testament is written to the local church. The New Testament does not know a Christianity were it is OK to float around and be loner Christians. Believers belong to churches. Within the local churches, members hear, learn, study, grow, and live out the Word of God together.

Listen: In joining a local church you make a commitment.

Bowling leagues, baseball leagues, and social clubs require commitments or you can’t participate. And you are happy to do whatever you have to do so that you get to do whatever you like to do.

Joining a church is committing your life to a people, to a group/family/community, and you are here saying “I am here to serve and belong.” Its not about the getting, it i about the giving. And the congregation commits to you and you all belong to one another. We don’t date churches, we marry churches… We commit ourselves to one another, lay down our lives for one another and do life together, not apart.

We, as Spring Branch, have a Church Covenant. We agree to live a certain way, according to Scripture, and to serve our local church together, loving one another, giving aid to one another, reconciling together, and striving together to advance the church and the Kingdom. And we also agree to find another local church, as soon as possible, to unite to another group of believers, as soon as possible, so that you can carry out the same spirit of covenant and the principles of God’s work.

We join Christ. We join His Body. We join a local church. We enter into covenant with that local church, to be with them and not independent from them.

2. We are members of a whole. We are not independent. In America, we are free spirits and critical thinkers. We want our way and do our own thing. And we struggle with this idea of belonging to a team/body and working together as One. In joining a church, you are part of the Body, you are a member of the Body. You are not the Head or the Whole Body. We are members only, connected by Christ and for Christ.

3. Church membership keeps us accountable.

When we join a local church, we are offering ourselves to one another to be encourage,corrected, rebuked, and served. We are placing ourselves under leaders and submitting ourselves to their authority.

Jesus teaches us to practice Church discipline (Matthew 18:15-20). If a brother sins rebuke him, show him his fault, if he does not listen take another brother, and he still does not repent, take the matter to the church… and the church removes him if he does not repent.

When you join a church, you are under the church’s care; you are under a pastor’s care. You want to grow in godliness and learn… wonderful! We will surround you, build you up, encourage you, correct you when you are wrong, go after you when you fall away, and hold you accountable before you face the Lord on Judgement Day. The church and the pastor cannot do their job/ministry if you are not with us.

If we do not know you, how can we see the gifting you have or the challenges that you are going through. If we don’t know your giftings, if you can teach, preach, or if we do not know that your character qualifies you for any position in the church… How can the church support you or your ministry?

The church puts their hands on you and the church shares in your sin if you do harm. Within the church, the deacons must know who belongs to the church in order to serve them. The pastor must oversee and hold everyone accountable. And if we don’t know you, can’t find you, you are doing your own thing somewhere else… How can we fulfill our ministry?

When you are committed and you are held accountable, the church can be healthy and whole. People can minister and serve. When we know you are going to be here, we can plan for you. When we know that you are giving, we can plan, prepare, budget, and serve more people. When you commit to serve, we can form ministries and grow.

When I know you and our deacons know you, we can serve you and serve you better. We can stand behind you and support you and your family. And when it is time for you to get called for a ministry roll, we can support you. When you leave this church and the other church leaders call and ask about your background, we can tell them, “They are faithful and godly,” not respond with “Who are you talking about; I don’t know them… very well.”

When the Lord calls you out on the mission field, and we know you, we will support you and your calling.

*Discover Membership. Know. Connect. Serve.

Listen: This is what a church is to be and do. So, by the Word of God, by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit speaking to us…You can not be faithful Christians without belonging to a local church.

“Well, I do church at home with my family.” There are distinctions in the Word of God. You are to be church members individually, to be a family who worships God, and you are to meet and join other believers as a Body (church means assembly), and Hebrews 10:25, “Do not forsake assembling together, as is the habit of some...”

Why have we formed these habits? Fear of being known? Afraid of being hurt again? Do you not realize the importance of it in God’s eyes? Why are you church hopping? Afraid to commit? Afraid you might miss out on something better? Well, Dr. David Jeremiah is my pastor, and I just do church at home with him.”

If you are not doing church Biblically… you are not doing church at all. You are not being the church, when you don’t do it Biblically, and it is not pleasing to God. (I am not talking about shut-ins/disabled who are serving Christ and doing what they can for the Lord with the strength that they have), I am talking about the rest of you...

Or is it something deeper? “I just want to be the head and nothing else…? “I don’t want to be held accountable… I want to do whatever I want to do without accountability...”

You are a rebel with selfish ambitions, seeking to be first.

Come together and be One. Come together and make a covenant. Come together and serve one another. Come together and stir up one another. Come together and pray, come together and worship, come together and baptize, come together and be sanctified, and grow, and be about the Great Commission together as a whole body.

We are the Church. Be the Church. Serve Christ as the Church.

Need a church today? Let’s talk about.