Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Bible Reading
Context -
SPirit had come at pentecost…Jews confused / amazed.
Peter is explaining to the Jews that what was happening was fulfilment of Joel.
the man they had had crucified was in fact the One who had been promised.
This passage is the foundation of the church!!
Acts 2:36-
Introduction
Live in a day - Lack of commitment to anything...
What drives this?
Autonomy is king
Autonomy definition:
An individual’s capacity for self-determination or self-governance
Illustration: People wanting to have a child out of wedlock…Cindy tells them - DON’T - wait until you are married.
Lack of commitment before marriage...
Marriage is the demonstration of the commitment of one person to another!
Lack of commitment to anything today.
The idea of autonomy is not Biblical - it’s not in the best interests of people...
God, the grand designer of the universe, has set in place certain institutions amongst men for their good.
And knowingly or unknowingly, men operate within the confines of those institutions.
3 Institutions...
Family
The State
The Church
The fact is, that in a day of autonomy (anti-institutionalism) many Christians want to operate outside of the confines of the church structures.
Very often they want to attend, but very loose kind of manner.
Some possible reasons… (Joshua Harris)… may be others...
The local church is where we are supposed to function
Approach the church with a self-centered consumer’s attitude - what’s in it for me.
Prideful independence that denies the need for others.
Excessively critical eye on the admitted problems and imperfections of all churches.
This morning - want to focus on importance of church membership...
The focus should be on “what is God’s design” with regards to the church...
and then… “How do I respond?” in terms of being in the church.
1.
The Biblical Basis of Membership
Does the Bible speak about church membership?
Give me chapter and verse!!!!
There isn’t a chapter and verse...
Mark Dever:
The case for church membership is nowhere argued in the New Testament but everywhere assumed.
It is seen in the nature of salvation, in the commands given to Christians, in the relationship between Christians and their leaders, and in the nature of the church itself.
[1]
.
Baptist Foundations: Church Government for an Anti-Institutional Age (p.
169).
B&H Publishing Group.
Kindle Edition.
As we consider...
Those who were converted were assumed to be part of the church!!
In other words, the call to salvation was a call to church membership.
How do we see this?
In a numbers of ways…
1.1 The Profession within the Early Church Context
Firstly, from our text this morning...
We need to understand what was happening...
Jesus had been put to death, partly because he claimed to be a King
But the fact was, He was hated by the Jews!!
They wanted Him dead.
In this passage in Acts - Peter doesn’t skirt around the issue of who Jesus was!
He boldly proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah!
This could have cost him his life…and eventually it would!!
He would eventually be crucified!
But by the working of God - the people listening were cut to the heart!!
They cried out, asking what could be done?!?!
Then a mindblowing thing happens - they are told to repent, and be baptised!
Considering that in the context....
They were making a public declaration of faith in a man crucified...
They did this under conditions of persecution
This was not some welcoming baptist church, rejoicing with these new converts...
This was in the midst of heightened tension and animosity towards Jesus
And yet, they publicly declared that they were joining the Christ-followers.
This was an act of commitment, publicly declared.
Notice then...
People were "added to their number" ()
There are implications to this…the wording...
Defined number beforehand…3000 were then added to that defined number…
It also seems to imply that those who joined the church were known.
So here we have the first picture of membership!!!
A public declaration of commitment to the body.
1.2 Membership Seen in the Pictures of the Church
Firstly, notice
The very picture of being built into a spiritual house implies definitive connections with others.
These are not loose connections with other people who call themselves Christians.
In other words, this is not an expression of simply saying “I belong to the universal church”
Universal Church - “All believers in Jesus, past present and future...”
Consider further the universal church notion
“I belong to the universal church, so why should I now go and join a local church?!”
Leads some to be "Lone Ranger" Christians.
Perhaps TV Christians - I belong to a church on TBN....
This notion is not biblical!!!
We are a people called into the fellowship with other people!!!
We are a people called to live life interacting with other people in a committed manner!!!
We can see this clearly in the letters that were addressed to churches
Specific letters were addressed to specific churches
Corinth....Galatia....Thessalonica....Rome…Ephesus etc...
These churches had defined groups of people.
The people in those places met together....they gathered together...
They developed problems together that needed to be addressed - thus even occasioning many of the letters!!!
But the entire implication of that was a committed group of people fellowshiping together, living their Christian lives in union with one another.
These letters were addressed to believers - those who knew Christ
Which leads to another picture of the church, and that is the body...
Go to in your Bible...
Read slowly…explain as you go along!!!
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