Duties of Christian Fellowship

Patton Shinall

Duties of Christian Fellowship • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

John Owen (Puritan Divine and Statesman)

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Summaries rules from Duties of Christian Fellowship for video Series.

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Video 1: Valuing Preaching and Imitating the Pastor’s Faith

Intro

Alright Metro. This is the first video where we are going through John Owen’s book The Duties of Christian Fellowship: A Manual for Church Members where we are hoping to grow to be the church together.

Rule 1

Believers are to attend regularly, and to submit to the preaching of the word and administering of the ordinances committed to the pastor by virtue of his ministerial office. They are to do this with a willing obedience in the Lord.

Believers are to attend regularly = go to church

Submit themselves to the preaching of the Word and the administration of the ordinances under the authority of the pastors

Do this willingly in obedience to the Lord.

Church

Believers should attend church first and foremost because it is commanded in Scripture.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Because it is beneficial to your soul.

Allows you to be encouraged along with other brothers and sisters in the faith to follow Jesus faithfully.

Allows you to grow in your knowledge of the Bible through the faithful preaching of God’s Word.

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

It is also an encouragement to your pastors.

We spend 20-25 hours a week prepping sermons.

And every week we come to the pulpit excited to share with you God’s Word because it is our expectation that it makes an actual difference in your life.

You should attend church and listen to podcasts if you served that week instead so that our body can grow and encourage one another together.

Christ loves his church enough to die for it. He calls it his bride. If we do not place the same value on the church as Jesus himself does, can we honestly say that our hearts and wills are aligned with his?

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Preaching

Biblical sermons are how we grow to know God’s Word so that we can live God’s Word.

While preaching is not infallible, meaning we can miss the mark sometimes, our goal every week is to get to the true interpretation of God’s Word and apply it to our congregation.

As such, sermons should be received as the truth of God (not necessarily the Word of God).

Yes dive in and check what we say against the Scriptures. After all, the Bible is clear that you will have to give an account preaching of the Word that you receive and submit yourself to.

The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy.

This rule also means that not only should you attend church in order to listen to sermons, but in order for them to be effective for you, you must wrestle with them.

Sermons do no good if they float into one ear only to leave out the other.

Instead we must ask, What is God speaking to me and our church through the preaching? How is God inviting me to put my sin to death and grow in Christ?

And then go and live it!

I love what Owen says. “Men grow tired of hearing the word only after they have grown tired of putting it into practice.”

Perhaps one of the reasons you do not value the preaching of God’s Word as you should is because you have forgotten what it means to apply the preaching of God’s Word to your life so that you can grow in your faith.

Obediently to the Lord

As you submit to your pastor’s preaching, you submit to the Lord.

This does not mean that pastors have the same authority as the Lord Jesus. After all, a pastor’s only authority comes from the authority of the Word that they preach.

If they are not preaching the Word of God faithfully, they are not a faithful pastor, they are a false teacher.

This also means that we are not given the authority to rule over the church as dictators. Rather, we are entrusted by God and the body of Christ to steward the flock of God as an undershephered.

True pastors are always pointing to the Chief shepherd Jesus Christ, as they lead God’s flock. Not to themselves for the sake of their own ego and influence.

And this point actually leads directly into Rule 2.

Rule 2

The pastor’s way of life is to be observed and carefully followed, to the extent that he walks in the ways of Jesus Christ.

The congregation is called to observe and imitate the pastors way of life inasmuch as he is following Jesus.

Be imitators of me as I am of Christ.

Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

Allow me to speak to this from two perspectives. From the congregation’s and the pastor’s.

Congregation

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

For one, if we tell you the importance of the spiritual disciplines for your faith, then you should listen to us and actually practice them because we know from first hand experience that they are beneficial to your life.

When we ask people if they are reading the Word of God for themselves, it is because we know that it is through God’s Word that we grow in Christ.

If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

Set you free from one exactly? Jesus says just 3 verses later. Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.

As Owen says “It is in this life which provides for him a spiritual understanding and gives him a light into God’s counsels, which he is then to communicate to others.”

Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.

In other words, you should imitate our way of life because our aim is to be a disciples of Christ and live that out. In so doing, we are able to show you the way in which Christians ought to walk to glorify the Lord.

Pastor

This is one of the most sobering rules of congregational life for any pastor because we know we aren’t perfect.

It is our aim to live an exemplary life that you can follow and imitate but I will tell you on the front end. We will fail you.

There are going to be times where we sin maybe personally or even against you.

In those times, we must obey the Scriptures and cover one another’s offenses with grace and love.

I speak for all the elders we currently have and any the Lord might give us, that our commitment to you is to live as holy as we possibly can before the Lord by the Spirit’s power.

It is our desire to let our lives preach as loudly as our sermons about the grace that Christ has given us.

To be this example for you of what it means to practically live out God’s will so that you can imitate our way of life and grow in your faith.

However, I also humbly ask you, do not put your faith in us. We are sinful and weak men who need Jesus just like you do.

Yes follow our life. But put your faith in Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith who never sinned and will never fail you.

Summary

Even though both of these rules speak to the congregation’s relationship to the pastor, ultimately they are about two primary ways the Lord has given you your pastors to grow in your own faith.

First, God has given you pastors to preach to you the Bible so that you can hear God’s Word with faith.

Second, God has given you pastors to show you by example how to live out the very Word they preach to you as they live a godly life that you are called to imitate to live out the Word in your own discipleship.

Ok Metro! Now that is it for this first video on the Duties of Christian Fellowship. It is our hope that as we continue this study that we will grow to be the church together.

13 minutes

Video 2 Praying for Pastors and Submitting to their Leadership

Alright Metro. We are continuing our study where we are go through John Owen’s book The Duties of Christian Fellowship: A Manual for Church Members where we are hoping to grow to be the church together.

And this week we are going to be looking at Rules 3 & 4

Rule 3

Prayer and supplications are to be made continually on the pastor’s behalf that he might receive help and success in the work that has been given to him.

This means that the pastors of our church need your prayers for God to empower us for the work that he has called us to do.

Throughout his ministry, Paul would constantly ask the churches that he planted for prayer to help him in his work of ministry, and today, Christian leaders need the prayers of the saints for their ministry.

God works through the prayer of his people because it exalts his greatness.

If God does an amazing work among his people in response to their prayers, then it is clear to all that that it was the grace of God, not their energy and effort that gave them success.

God asks his people to pray because it allows us to align our hearts with his and rely on him to accomplish the purposes of his kingdom.

God is too kind to do an amazing work of the gospel without prayer because if he did so, we might assume that we accomplished the work in our pride, effectively robbing God of his glory.

Therefore, why would we ever expect God to do anything in and through our church if we are prayerfully depending on him.

And a big part of our prayer as a church should be for our pastors because they have been set apart by the Lord to shepherd the church towards the purposes of Christ and they need the Lord in order to accomplish that task.

Why the church must pray for pastors:

Owen gives a few reasons why churches must pray for their pastors:

They are laboring for a great work because it is for Christ’s Kingdom

The enemies of God both in demonic spirits, false teachers, and carnal people war against the pastor because they don’t want to see the gospel go forth from their ministry

The pastor's ministry directly affects the eternity of men and women and their fate at the judgment seat of Christ

Because of these reasons, in order to the work of Christ to be done in the church, all of the saints must daily involve themselves in praying for their pastors.

What are we to pray?

For help to labor well for the church

This means that the Lord would help them to be productive and have the wisdom to focus on the things that will bring the greatest benefit for the body.

As well as asking for the Lord to provide what we need to continue our ministry such as the financial giving of the church and the hearts of the saints to be invested in the work.

Encouragment

Being a pastor can be a lonely, difficult job. Because we are doing a spiritual work which is nearly impossible to quantify and measure, we can feel like we are spinning our wheels in our ministry.

That we aren’t accomplishing anything and at worst, that we might be a complete and total failure as a pastor where people don’t even care about all the work we put in.

Abilities

For us to grow in wisdom, to grow in our ability to lead others and challenge them to live for more. To grow in our preaching ability to serve you.

Success

That our ministry would be fruitful which in turn would lead our church to be fruitful.

Deliverance and protection

That we would be kept from sin and that the Lord would also guard us from satanic attack which would seek to destroy us and take us out of the ministry through stress, anxiety, conflict, you name it.

Pastors are primary targets for Satan and his servants because they know that God himself said in Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.

Motives for enduring in prayer for the pastor:

The preaching of the Word is most effective in the lives of believers when the power of that preaching is given as a result of prayer.

If the pastors fail, it will hurt and wound the people in the church

We are praying for you constantly. Therefore, we should be praying for one another instead of letting our prayer life as a church be one-sided

The pastors’ success is to your benefit as a church. As such, you should help carry the load of the ministry by taking it to the Lord in prayer.

Ultimately, the success of the pastor in fulfilling their ministry will directly result in the success of the church in fulfilling theirs.

; Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known... 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Rule 4

Believers are to hold the pastor in the greatest respect and to submit to him for the work’s sake.

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work.

God wants his shepherds loved and respected by their congregation.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Now this doesn’t mean the pastor should get a red carpet or a big purple chair on the stage.

What it means practically is that you strive to be an encouragement to your pastors and refuse to disrespect them whether to their face, or behind their backs by bashing them with other members.

Part of this respect and honor is in humbly submitting to the pastors.

This means listening to what we say and trusting us enough to follow us.

Now this a difficult command for some Christians to obey because it can be very difficult to put our trust into fallen, sinful men.

After all, there have been many pastors that have abused this authority to their own benefit and gain at the cost of the very people they were called to lead.

In cases like these, Owen is right to point out that these men are tyrants and foolish leaders and should not be in authority over anyone.

However, that doesn’t mean just because the pastors make a decision you don’t like, and then don’t take your advice on, that they are seeking to abuse their power.

In all honesty, our elders are always asking, what is God’s will in this?

The reason faithful pastors can be trusted and submitted to is because they are not serving themselves, but Christ.

This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

The Bible tells us that we will have to give an account one day for our stewardship as elders and we take that very seriously.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Our goal is to serve Christ’s purposes for our church so that the work of his Kingdom can go forward.

This is why John Owen says that the church must respect the pastors and submit to them for the work’s sake.

If there is distrust and disunity between the pastors and the congregation, the work of the kingdom will be stopped in its tracks.

The big idea is if we are going to do the things God has given us to do in this church then all the people of the church, the pastors, leaders, and congregation must be unified in saying, “We want to serve Christ here, together as one body” and then get to work for the kingdom under the pastors’ direction.

Summary

Alright. So the two rules we focused on in this video talked about praying for the pastor and submitting to them in faith that because of our prayers, God is working through our pastors to lead the church in the purposes of his kingdom.

Both of these rules are ultimately about the work of Christ moving forward in his church and honoring these two rules move us towards that purpose.

That is it for this video, the next one we will be focusing on Section 1: Rules 5 and 6. Thank you for taking the time to watch this and learn how we can grow to be the church together.

12 minutes (25)

Video 3: Paying Pastors and Supporting Them Through Trials

Alright. We are continuing our study where we are go through John Owen’s book The Duties of Christian Fellowship: A Manual for Church Members where we are hoping to grow to be the church together.

And this week we are going to be looking at Rules 5 & 6

Rule 5

The church is required to support the pastor and his family by supplying all their earthly needs to the degree that is appropriate to the state and condition of the church.

This rule says that churches should pay their pastors inasmuch as they are able.

This can be a touchy subject, especially when the one saying it is someone that directly benefits from it because they make their living from the work of the gospel.

So here is what I want to do. I want to show you what the Scripture says and why it is valid for pastors to earn their living from the tithes given by the congregation, and then I want to point out the two errors that commonly occur regarding this rule.

Firs, Paul said in Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”

What Paul does in this passage is say that elders who labor faithfully for the Lord in the congregation, are worthy of double honor. In other words, they should be able to make their living by the gospel, especially those elders who labor in the regular preaching and teaching of God’s Word.

Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”

Then to prove his point, Paul quotes a law from that says you should not muzzle the ox when it treads the grain. In other words, if your ox works for you, feed him.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Then, if there is any doubt, Paul quotes Jesus and says “The laborer deserves his wages.”

So pastors should get paid if they labor hard for the church, because it directly benefits the church.

This is why Paul says especially those devoted to preaching and teaching. Why? Because preaching quality sermons to help the people of God grow takes a lot of time.

Now this doesn’t mean that every pastor or every person that labors for the church should be paid. Church’s, like ours have lay elders which means we have pastors who make their living elsewhere. There is an element of service to be part of the body of Christ.

However, the reason why we pay pastors, particularly the preaching pastors, is because the church should desire to allow them to set time aside in order to study the Scriptures and pray in order to teach the congregation the Word of God more effectively.

And this is right to do because Paul says in ; If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?... In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?

The Big Idea is that the church should strive to pay their pastors a livable wage so that they can faithfully preach the Word so that the church can in turn grown in Christ.

Two Errors:

It is key that we pay attention to the latter half of Owen’s rule.

First, the church should strive to provide for all the pastor’s earthly needs.

This means that the church should joyfully pay a pastor a livable wage instead of being stingy with them.

Their are many churches that will pay their pastors pennies and fein wisdom by reminding the pastor if they are truly called to minister the Lord will provide.

Yes. He will. And its supposed to be through that church if they are able to afford it.

God will surely provide for your family too, but you must work a job to make that happen.

This means that wise churches will seek to honor and love their pastor by seeking to be generous with them knowing that the pastor is laboring hard to be generous with them in return.

However, Owen is careful to point out that this must be appropriate to the state and condition of the church.

This means that it is not always sinful for a church to not pay a pastor a livable wage if they simply cannot afford it.

This is why bi-vocational ministry and even support driven ministry can be appropriate.

But the impetus of the Bible is that once a church is able to pay their pastor a living wage, they should joyfully do so, and then hire more laborers as long as the work is necessary and the congregation is willing to take that burden upon themselves for their benefit.

The other error is pastors who abuse church finances and get rich off the gospel.

While church’s should not make their pastors poor, they should not strive to make them wealthy beyond the normal means of the surrounding community.

It is a sin for Pastors who labor for the church to get rich as lovers of money and they are in great danger because Jesus himself warned No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Therefore, because God’s Word commands it, churches should joyfully pay their pastors enough where they do not have to worry and stress about their physical needs so that they can invest themselves in the spiritual needs of the congregation.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Rule 6

The church is to remain loyal to the pastor and to stay at his side in all the trials and persecutions that may arise because of the word.

As pastors labor, they will face trials and persecution.

In some cultures this means that pastors are thrown into prison.

Or perhaps a pastor falls ill and is unable for a season to carry on the work.

Owen is arguing that when that happens the church remain faithful to him and not cast him off for someone else.

It is ironic when churches expect pastors to labor hard for the church no matter what comes against the people of God in that congregation. However, they will leave themselves an out to freely abandon the pastor for no reason at all if it seems advantageous to them.

Basically, what we need to see and recapture as Christian churches is that a pastor is given to a church to be a shepherd to that church as long as God allows.

It is a sin for a pastor to abandon the work if God has not called him elsewhere and in the same way it is a sin for the church to abandon the pastor if they are laboring faithful for the Lord.

So what can this rule look like practically in our church because Lord willing, our pastors won’t be thrown into prison on account of the Word anytime soon.

I think one is if a pastor gets sick or has an immediate family member get sick, the church should be gracious and generous towards them by continuing to pray for them and pay them if they are able.

Another way, and maybe most important in our day in age, is to defend the pastor against persecution or gossip even from other members of the congregation.

Church members should not “abandon” their pastors to engage in gossip which defames them with other members. If people have an issue, they should come and speak to the pastors directly.

Instead, members should have the pastors back and assume the best of them in their defense.

Summary

Alright. So the two rules we focused on in this video talked about paying our pastors a livable wage and sticking with them and up for them in times of persecution or trials.

Both of these rules invite the church to see the pastor as God’s gift to them to help them grow in their sanctification towards Christian maturity like Paul mentioned in Ephesians 4.

That is it for this video, the next one we will be focusing on Section 1: Rule 7 and Section 2: Rule 1. Thank you for taking the time to watch this and learn how we can grow to be the church together.

12 minutes (37)

Video 4: Gathering Together and Loving One Another

Alright. We are continuing our study where we are go through John Owen’s book The Duties of Christian Fellowship: A Manual for Church Members where we are hoping to grow to be the church together.

And this week we are going to be looking at the last Rule from the Section 1 on the congregation’s relationship with their pastor and then move the Section 2 Rule 1 which looks at how the congregation interacts with one another.

Rule 6

Believers, along with their families, must gather together as a congregation before the pastor, at the times appointed by him.

Rule 1

Rule 7

Believers, along with their families, must gather together as a congregation before the pastor, at the times appointed by him.

This is a pretty simple one. Basically, if something is going on at the church that pertains to you and your family you should be there.

Especially with a church like ours, we run off a simple church philosophy of ministry so if we organize something, it has a purpose for fulfilling the mission and vision God has given us.

One of my core values as a pastor is to not waste people’s time.

So that means when we have Sunday services, Members Meetings, Leadership Trainings, Fellowship Events, Small groups and Women’s Ministry that we as a church make every effort to be there.

Now this doesn’t mean we are legalistic about it and your a bad member if you don’t show up. Life happens. People get sick, they travel, family comes into town. The Big Idea is that if there is nothing legitimate limiting us, then we make every effort to engage our lives into the life of the church.

After all, when we gather, it is for the purpose of our sanctification and you can only grow with the other brothers and sisters of our church if your actually around.

Alright. So that is it for all the rules of how the congregation interacts with the pastor. From here one out, we will be focusing on Section 2 of Owen’s book which dives into what it means for the church to interact with other members.

And it all starts with...

Rule 1

Believers have a duty of affectionate, sincere, genuine love in all things towards one another; a love compared to that of Christ for the church.

This rule is the absolute bedrock of a healthy church.

If we fail to love one another like the Scriptures command, then there will be division, strife, discord, and we will never enjoy the blessing of the church nor will we fulfill the ministry the Lord has given us to do.

Loving one another is crucial for any church for two main reasons.

Loving God

First, it is by our love for other brothers and sisters that gives evidence that we are truly saved by Jesus.

We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

The first thing I want you to see is that we love because he first loved us. This means that the command to love one another is not dependent on the other people in our church. It is based on the fact that God has loved us in Christ.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Then John goes as far to say that if we don’t love the brothers and sisters of our church, that it is impossible for us to love God himself.

This is why he closes this passage saying whoever loves God must also love his brother. If we are going to say we are in Christ and love God, then that must show itself in how we love each other.

Witness

The second reason we must strive to love one another is because it gives proof that our testimony that the gospel saves sinners is true.

Jesus said -45 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

When we love one another, the world sees that love and knows that we are truly disciples of Christ, and as they see the power of the gospel work in our lives through our sanctification, they are invited to believe the gospel themselves.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

What is Love?

This raises the question. What does it mean for us to love one another?

The clearest definition of love comes from . Though this passage is often quoted at weddings for a husband and wife, Paul originally wrote it for a church that desperately needed to grow in their love for one another because Paul tells them right before this, if they have all kinds of spiritual gifts and success in ministry but fail to love one another, then they actually have nothing at all.

So here’s what Paul says “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

Let’s walk through this to see what it means to love one another.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Patient = this means we bear with one another. We don’t write each other off at the drop of a hat.

Kind = We go out of our way to be affectionate and gentle with one another.

Does not envy or boast = In other words, we refuse to be jealous of other believers and also refuse to invite other believers to covet our lives or gifts

It is not arrogant or rude = this means that we walk humbly with each other. Thinking others more significant than ourselves.

It does not insist on its own way = This means we strive to serve each other instead of getting our way all the tie.

It is not irritable or resentful = We aren’t grumpy or hard with each other nor are we content to allow bitterness to creep into our church poisoning the family love we are to have for each other.

It does not rejoice at wrong doing, but rejoices with the truth = In other words, we want each others holiness. We spur one another on towards Christ in mutual discipleship and encouragement.

Bears all things = that we willingly take each others burdens as our own and serve one another to help each other carry the burdens of life

Believes all things = we trust one another and take others at their word

Hopes all things = We assume the best in each other. Not the worst. Don’t be a cynic with other brothers or sisters assuming they are doing the worst possible thing in any given situation.

Endures all things = our love for one another is about our commitment to endure with each other

This is what it means for us to truly love one another as Christ has loved us.

Summary

Alright. So the two rules we focused on in this video talked about gathering together as a body so that we can worship and grow in the Lord with one another and having a genuine love for one another as the body of Christ.

Both of these rules are the foundation for the church being the church together. After all, the church must both gather and love one another as a testimony of the gospel’s power to save.

That is it for this video, the next one we will be continuing our focus on how believers interact with one another by looking at Section 2 Rules 2 and 3. Thank you for taking the time to watch this and learn how we can grow to be the church together.

11 minutes (48)

Video 6: Striving for Unity and Separating from the World

Alright. We are continuing our study where we are go through John Owen’s book The Duties of Christian Fellowship: A Manual for Church Members where we are hoping to grow to be the church together.

And this week we are going to be looking at Section 2: Rules 4 & 5

Rule 4

Believers must maintain and unremitting care and effort to preserve unity, both in general and in particular.

This rule is crucial for every church. And Owen even goes as far to say that Unity is the main aim, and the most appropriate fruit, of love. That is to say, if we are truly loving one another as we ought, unity will be the result.

We must strive for unity as a church so that the mission of Christ for our church will prosper.

If we are spending all our time fighting with one another about our preferences, then we show that we are living for ourselves more than we are living for Christ and his kingdom.

When their is strife and division in a church, the mission is abandoned, the family of God is hewn in two, and Satan wins.

The fact of the matter is, the work that Christ has given his church to do is to important to be sidetracked by petty disagreements. People need the gospel so that they can be saved.

And as I see it, their are really two roads of unity that the church must maintain. Relational unity, and doctrinal unity.

Relational Unity

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus

Paul even tells us how we might strive toward unity with one another in So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.

He says we are to be unified by refusing to do anything from selfish ambition or conceit. Instead of looking out for number one, Christians must humble themselves and count others more significant than themselves

And Paul says we are able to do this because this humility is ours in Christ who humbled himself to love and serve us by dying on the cross in our place for our sins.

Basically, don’t allow arguments, personality differences, and confessed sin that is repented of to drive a wedge between you and other brothers and sisters so that we can keep growing in Christ together.

Doctrinal Unity

Not only must we have relational unity for the mission to go forth, we must also have doctrinal unity

In Paul says that we are to work for unity because there is one body of Christ, one Holy Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God.

Practically at our church that means there are things we will have to divide from other Christians over, we call these closed-handed issues, and issues where we are free to have disagreement but would be sinful and wrong to divide over them, we call these open-handed issues.

Closed Handed issues are doctrines and beliefs that directly relate to the gospel and salvation. Basically, we are not to live in unity with people that claim to be Christians but in their life and faith fail to reflect orthodox Christianity.

These are things like the Trinity, Jesus being Fully God and Fully Man, the gospel being the only way to salvation.

These are things that if we were to lose them, we’d lose the essence of Christianity itself.

Then their are open handed issues. These are things that orthodox Christians can have disagreements on and still be Biblical.

This is stuff like spiritual gifts, Calvinism and Arminianism, or the End Times.

These we can talk about, but refuse to divide from other Christians over.

Owen gives some practical advice on how we might strive for unity.

First we must pray for unity and love for one another because true fellowship according to Paul in is a gift of the Spirit.

Be relentless in striving toward unity. Do not allow yourself to be content with potential division and strife. If we wait to long it is much more difficult to dig up because it has dug roots of bitterness into our hearts.

May we head Paul’s warning in But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Rule 5

Believers are to separate and keep apart from the world and from the men of the world in all their ways of false worship, so that we are seen to be a different people.

Peter wrote But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

The Church is God’s bride. It is God’s people. Therefore, the church must be holy and pure.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

As such, we must be distinct and separate from the world.

God calls us out of the World because the sins of the world have nothing to offer Christians.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

But what does it mean for Christians to separate themselves from the World. Does that mean we should move to communes like the Amish and never interact with those that don’t know Christ? Of course not. How else will they hear the good news of the gospel if we are among them proclaiming it to them.

It is as Jesus said in I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.

I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.

Being separate from the world is not about looking down on and judging others. Rather, it relates to the way we walk and behave as Christians. It relates to what we are living for.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Like John said in

Like John said in Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

Owen talks about how we should not delight in the things the world values when they are in opposition to Christ.

Christians should not love the things of the World because we have Christ. We have shown how the sins of the world do not satisfy us, and when we fail to separate ourselves from the values and goals of those in the world, we show that we don’t actually love God.

Christians cannot in anyway engage in the cultural idolatry that surrounds them.

Like Owen says, “To delight in the company, fellowship, society and conversation of dubious and headstrong people manifests a spirit that is not committed to Christ.”

Instead of looking exactly like the world around them, Christians should look like Christ in holiness and in the desires and ambitions. We should be living for the Kingdom of Christ, not the things this world says we need.

And I love what Owen says at the very end, “A necessary provision to be made is that, while obeying this rule, no unnecessary offence is to be given to anyone.”

Basically, in our striving to be God’s holy people, we can’t go around being jerks to people in pride.

Where we are able, we must strive to love others in such a way that we don’t put any unnecessary stumbling block in front of their believing the gospel more than Christ crucified.

Summary

Alright. So the two rules we focused on in this video talked about striving for unity with other members and separating from the sin and idolatry of the culture to be God’s holy people.

Both of these rules are about us keeping the Kingdom of God as the main thing that we are about as a local body of Christ. As we live for the purposes of Christ together, we will be willing to lay aside secondary matters to continue to grow in holiness together.

That is it for this video, the next one we will be continuing our focus on how believers interact with one another by looking at Section 2 Rules 6 & 7. Thank you for taking the time to watch this and learn how we can grow to be the church together.

12 minutes (1 hour)

Video 8: Bearing One Another's Burdens and Contributing to the Needs of the Saints

Alright. We are continuing our study where we are go through John Owen’s book The Duties of Christian Fellowship: A Manual for Church Members where we are hoping to grow to be the church together.

And this week we are going to be looking at Section 2: Rules 8 & 9

Rule 8

Believers must support one another, tenderly and affectionately, in their various circumstances and conditions - bearing one another’s burdens.

Life is hard and as we live in community with one another, we are all going to struggle and be burdened with the difficult things of life.

This is where we are willing to joyfully serve our brothers or sisters when they are suffering.

As Paul said in Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

Owen gives the example of just how we are to be burdened when other believers are burdened.

Its like when we pul a muscle or have some pain in our body. Every other movement is affected by that pain. Its amazing how when you have a small tweak in your back it can make you walk a step slower.

We should feel the weight of other member’s afflictions, burdens, and sorrows because we love them. Their life and joy are our concern.

So if we have a brother or sister who falls ill, has a death in the family, or is struggling with anxiety, we should check in on them.

Ask, “How are you doing? Is there anything I can do to help you?”

And at the least pray for them. Do not be content to just pity them if they are suffering, but allow that pity to move you to action as you pray for their deliverance and sanctification through their trial.

Rule 9

Believers are voluntarily to contribute and share in temporal things with those who are truly poor, in a way that is suitable to their necessities, wants and afflictions.

If the last rule was about being generous towards others when they are suffering emotional and spiritual burdens, this rule is about being generous when members of our body go through physical burdens.

When there are those amongst us that come into dire financial straits, we should seek to help them.

But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

In our being generous with others, we show how God was generous with us.

However, this does not mean that we support someone who is poor because of unrighteousness.

When it comes to Christians and Money you basically have 4 categories:

Righteous Rich - these are those that God has blessed with finances and they steward these finances to the glory of God and the advancement of the gospel.

Unrighteous Rich - These are people who have great wealth, but horde it and use it on sinful, worldly passions. They worship money more than they worship God.

Righteous Poor - these are people who are hard workers but for some reason or another are poor. It is not a sin to be poor. We believe that God provides all things to all people, and God in his sovereign providence determines some to be poor for their good because he loves them and wants to teach them what it means to be content in Christ.

Unrighteous Poor - these are those who are poor because of a sinful and foolish heart. The Proverbs talk about the sluggard and those foolish with money with low esteem.

This is why Owen says that the church is called to help, if they are truly poor.

There are some who seek to abuse the kindness of other Christians by allowing themselves to be a burden on other believers because they either refuse to work hard like the Bible calls us to or they are fools with their family finances.

This was a problem in the early church because Paul wrote For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 11 For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 11 For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

Even in where Paul commands us to bear one another’s burdens, the also says that each person must bear their own load.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

Burdens are the things in life that are abnormal to the normal course of life where as loads are like backpacks. Each of us is called to carry our own load and to not pass it off onto another Christian, even if in kindness they are willing to take it.

Therefore, we are called to come alongside and help those members who, through God’s providence, become in need and we are to do this joyfully and sacrificially because Jesus himself taught us that “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

How do we do this?

Benevolence fund which is approved in the church budget and overseen by the Elders and Deacons to provide for members when great financial burdens come upon them.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Private charity where we are made aware of someone in the body’s needs and then we seek to help if and how we can.

Another way is through the Care Calendar at our church is a calendar that members are able to get on when they have a baby or there is some dire need in the home that makes it hard to make meals and eat. It is an opportunity for the rest of the church to come along side them and provide them meals during a difficult season of life.

Summary

Alright. So the two rules we focused on in this video talked about bearing one another’s burdens and being generous with other Christians in times of need.

Both of these rules help us to put teeth to truly loving others not just in word, but in deed.

That is it for this video, the next one we will be continuing our focus on how believers interact with one another by looking at Section 2 Rules 10 & 11. Thank you for taking the time to watch this and learn how we can grow to be the church together.

10 minutes (1 hour 10 minutes)

Video 10: Rejecting Pride and Praying for Other Members

Alright. We are continuing our study where we are go through John Owen’s book The Duties of Christian Fellowship: A Manual for Church Members where we are hoping to grow to be the church together.

And this week we are going to be looking at Section 2: Rules 12 & 13

Rule 12

In church affairs, believers must not discriminate between persons but condescend to the weakest brother and perform the least of service, for the good of fellow believers.

Speaking to salvation Paul wrote for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

What this passage reminds us is that we are all equal in Christ. There is no class, hierarchy or division that is meant to divide people with in a church.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Rich poor, high low, man woman, we are all new creatures in Christ.

This rule says that in our spiritual life together as a body of Christ, the outward appearances that the world values are of no value in the church.

Now this doesn’t mean that we still don’t hold these positions in the world. For example, someone who is rich through their business is still rich when they enter the church.

What it means is that all believers are to be considered saints. They are all equal before God.

We are all brothers and sisters of the same family, serve the same Lord, at work for the same mission, all have the same eternal life.

Churches that make distinctions and prejudice based on age, race, wealth, gender, and education are sinful and wrong.

We must see ourselves as one in Christ and refuse to give into the value systems of the world that distinguish between class, race, wealth, gender, and education as to which people are worthy and which are unworthy of our love and service.

According to the Bible there are those in Adam, that is unbelievers, or those in Christ.

Therefore, no one should be above any act of service or serving any other person in the name of Christ no matter what our position might be in the world.

We are called to serve and love others just like Christ loved us.

Rule 13

If any member is in distress, persecution, or affliction, the whole church is to be humbled, and to be earnest in prayer on his behalf.

This rule seeks to obey Paul’s command in Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

What this means is that as we live life together following the Lord, each other’s spiritual health and growth should concern us.

If a member of our church is under some form of suffering or affliction or even suffering persecution from the world, then we should band together to pray for that fellow member.

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

We should treat there suffering as our own. To see ourselves as someone who shares in what God is doing in their life and to do whatever we can to help.

So when a brother or sister talks to you about struggling with anxiety or depression, or they are suffering because their parent recently passed away or their spouse was diagnosed with cancer, we should labor in prayer on their behalf.

Think about in your own life how much it means to you when you are suffering to know other Christians are praying for you.

If that is the case, then love others like you would want to be treated. Pray for them. Send them a next or give them a call to check in and tell them how you are praying for them to encourage them to persevere in the Lord.

Paul said, If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

Because we are one body with one another, each other’s suffering should affect us directly to such a degree where we actually show our concern and love for our brother or sister through prayer and encouragement.

Summary

Alright. So the two rules we focused on in this video talked about rejecting pride and elitism and to see ourselves as equal members in Christ and to pray for one another that the name of Christ might be glorified in us.

Both of these rules help us to remember that we are truly one body where we all remember that awe are not better than anyone else in the church no matter who we are or what our role is in the body, and that just like we want others to pray for us, we should also pray for them.

That is it for this video, the next one we will be continuing our focus on how believers interact with one another in our last video of this series by looking at Section 2 Rules 14 & 15. Thank you for taking the time to watch this and learn how we can grow to be the church together.

7 minutes (1 hour 17 minutes)

Video 11: Guarding the Holiness of the Church and Living as a Holy Witness

Alright. This is our last video going through John Owen’s book The Duties of Christian Fellowship: A Manual for Church Members.

Throughout this whole series, our hope as been that we would see, from Scripture what it means for us to grow to be the church together.

And this week we are going to be looking at the last two rules from Section 2: Rules 14 & 15

Rule 14

Believers must watch one another’s behavior carefully and warn one another to avoid all disorderly conduct. If any offending member will not accept such warning their case must be brought to the church.

What this rule says, at its core, is that the holiness of every member of the church is everyone’s concern.

There are two ways we go about guarding the holiness of the church. One is through warning our brothers or sisters when they are in sin, and the second is encouraging them towards greater obedience.

Warning

Speaking to this, the author of Hebrews says Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

We are called to encourage one another in holiness and to rebuke sin if the Spirit reveals it to us so that our brother or sister will not be enslaved to the very sin that tempts them.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Owen helpfully gives three stages of what this looks like.

First, we must watch out on behalf of other members.

Now this does not mean we have a license to go idol hunting in other’s lives.

We should not be so concerned with other’s holiness that we become legalistic pharisees who lose sight of the gospel.

Our desire to watch out for our brothers and sisters is not borne out of religious pride, but rather a loving concern.

We should desire each other’s holiness because we should desire that all of us love God by living lives that glorify him.

Also, we should desire each other’s holiness for the honour of the gospel. If the world sees Christians living in wanton sin, they label them as hypocrites and it puts a stumbling block in front of the gospel.

Third, we should desire their holiness out of concern for their soul, because sin is a deadly temptress that will only grow to destroy their life.

So as we watch on behalf of the brethren, if we see sin in the life of a fellow believer , we have a duty to go to that brother or sister and using God’s Word show them how we fear they are living out of step with the gospel and encourage them to put their sin to death and live for Christ.

And how we can do this in a biblical way is by guarding our own hearts from pride and selfishness.

Generally why rebuking one another tends to go bad is

one, some Christians only do so in order to judge others and feel superior to them in their faith

Or two they rebuke them out of anger because that person’s sin annoys them.

The motivation for true biblical rebuke that will bear fruit must be out of a concern in recovering the other member’s soul.

Also, let this be a warning to us all to be humble and accept rebuke when other members love us enough to confront us with our sin instead of growing defensive in pride.

Thirdly, if the brother or sister fails to listen to the private warning and repent, we are to follow Jesus’ instructions on church discipline in in hopes that they will repent of their sin.

Encouraging

Guarding the holiness of the church is more than just rebuking when sin is revealed. It is also proactively spurring one another on towards greater obedience.

Again the author of Hebrews says And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

We should be willing to share with other believers how God is maturing us in Christ and encourage them from the Word with how they can grow in Christ as well.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

If a church only practices the warning side of guarding their holiness, then that church will always lean towards religious legalism. Following Christ is not just about those sins we give up, it is also about living for him and his kingdom.

My practical wisdom for you says, make it your habit to encourage other brothers and sisters so often, that when you do come to them with a warning, they trust your love for them enough that they are willing to listen to you.

Rule 15

Believers should live and walk in an exemplary way in all holiness and godliness, to the glory of the gospel, the edification of the church, and the conviction of those outside the church.

This rule speaks to why it is so crucial that we guard our holiness as a church.

First our holiness honors Christ for living a sinless life on our behalf, dying our death on the cross under the wrath of God as a pure sacrifice paying for our sins, and rising again 3 days later to give us eternal life.

Second it edifies, or builds up the church because it gives those weaker in the faith godly examples of what it means to die to ourselves and follow Christ.

And third, our holiness is a way in which we might convict the world about the truth of the gospel.

As God’s holy people live holy lives, it displays the wisdom of his kingdom to those outside the church because they see a way of life that is different and superior to the life and sin the world offers.

This is why Jesus said You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

When the world witness the holiness of the people of God, they are invited to glorify God themselves because we are the testimony that God truly changes lives through the gospel.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

If the church is to be anything, it must be holy.

May we live out which says For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Summary

Alright. So the two rules we focused on in this video talked about how we are called to help one another walk in holiness so that our church as a whole can exist as a Holy witness to the gospel’s power to save.

Both of these rules help us to remember that the God who loved and saved us is holy, and because he is holy, we are to declare his glory by living holy before him.

In doing so, we honor Christ and his sacrifice for our sins as well as show the world what it looks like to live for the will of God instead of the will of our sinful flesh.

That is it for this video series on the Duties of Christian fellowship.

7 minutes (1 hour 17 minutes)

I hope that you’ve been blessed and grown through Owen’s book as well as these videos and you see how God invites you to engage in the life of the body of Christ through meaningful church membership.

Thank you for taking the time to study this and may God bless our church to move from just learning how we can grow to be the church together to actually being the church.