The Church Member's Role

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Welcome guests to the family gathering, introduce yourself. Thank the band and Alvin. Invite guests to parlor after service.

Thank you church family for allowing me to spend a couple of weeks away from the pulpit.

This week has been designated Sanctity of Human Life week, and we stand on the truth that it is God who creates life and all human beings are precious in His sight at every stage of development, including in the womb. We are proud to stand with CareNet pregnancy centers as they minister to women facing the stress of an unplanned pregnancy. This morning, if you grabbed the Page, you should have also received an insert about CareNet’s ministry, and out in the foyer as you leave the building, there is a table with baby bottles to raise funds for CareNet. Please stop by, check out a bottle, fill it with change, and bring it back. There will be a video about CareNet before the offering later in the service.

We have completely smashed our goal of $26,000 for our Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions! We’ve received $33,362 through last Sunday! Thanks so much for giving to support our SBC missionaries overseas… We will still be taking this offering up through the end of January.

Along with that, you can give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, any of our special offerings, and even to individual ministries and the general budget online through our website.

Tonight, we will have our bi-monthly business meeting at 5:30 here in the Sanctuary. We have several important things to vote on tonight, not the least of which is whether to ordain Tony Torres as a deacon. We have a video that Tony and Noreen have made sharing some of their testimony. VIDEO Please plan to be here tonight to be a part of this important vote.

New Year’s Day is this Wednesday, so there will be no regular Wednesday night activities this week, with one exception: the student ministry will still have Prime Time this week—They’ll have a fun night of games and fellowship at the normal time (6:30).

This coming Saturday, January 4, my family and the Salido family would like to invite our church family to celebrate with us as Maggie and Nathan are wed. It’s at 1:30 here in the sanctuary, and all are invited to come to the ceremony and the cookie reception immediately following.

Opening

For a few of months before Christmas, we were working through the book of Galatians, in our series entitled Dear Church. Paul was writing to the churches of Galatia, which God had used him and Barnabas to plant during their first missionary journey. We had just finished Galatians chapter 5 before Thanksgiving, and then we took a break to look at the Christmas story through our Hope is Born series.

This morning, and for a couple more Sundays, we will be returning to Galatians and finishing up Galatians chapter 6. In honor of the Word of God, let’s stand as we read our focal passage today, :

Galatians 6:1–5 CSB

1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted. 2 Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 Let each person examine his own work, and then he can take pride in himself alone, and not compare himself with someone else. 5 For each person will have to carry his own load.

Pray

I’m entitling my message this morning “The Church Member’s Role.” This passage can definitely be applied to anyone who is a follower of Jesus, however, we have to remember that here in Galatians Paul is writing to a particular people in a particular place at a particular time, and these believers made up particular churches in these places. Collectively, I suppose you could say that they were the Galatian Association of churches, but individually they were in places like Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, as we saw when we looked at and 14 during this series.

So Paul is writing to these groups of believers that he has already called “brothers and sisters” over and over in this letter, as he does so here in verse 1. He’s called them “sons of God,” said that they are “adopted as sons” and so are now “heirs.” He refers to them as his “children,” and he struggles with what to do about the issues that are taking place in their church families. The first thing, then, that we need to talk about this morning is church membership.

Throughout this letter, Paul knew exactly who he was writing to—the churches of Galatia. He’s

Church Membership defined

Throughout this letter, Paul knew exactly who he was writing to—the members of the churches of Galatia. He wasn’t writing to a building or a group of buildings. He was writing to the people. The people were the churches.

When we say that Paul and Barnabas planted these churches, we mean that they shared the Gospel first in these places and started the organizational beginnings of the church in these places. Notice what they did as they went back through these towns at the end of their first missionary journey:

Acts 14:21–23 CSB

21 After they had preached the gospel in that town and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith and by telling them, “It is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” 23 When they had appointed elders for them in every church and prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

acts 14:21-

(“that town” in verse 21 is Derbe, the last recorded point on their journey)

They started to set up the organization of the church body. They strengthened the disciples, encouraged them, and appointed elders and committed them to the Lord with prayer and fasting. They appointed those who would continue in the work that Paul and Barnabas had started. They appointed those who would shepherd and lead the rest of the church body. See and as examples.

Now, I’m going to be clear here and say that church membership is an important issue for me. I haven’t figured out exactly how all of the various aspects of church membership work themselves out practically yet, but I believe that it is a critical issue for us to understand as the body of Christ. Before I go any further in this message this morning, I want to be clear that this is not a ploy to get anyone to join the church formally. There are many here who are not formally members of this church family, but who attend faithfully and even serve in various ways. I’m not up here trying to twist anyone’s arm.

However, on the other side of that coin, I have to teach the Scripture, and I believe that Scripture holds up that formally covenanting with a particular body of believers is a vital part of our understanding of the church universal, the church local, and our relationship with our Lord. So while I’m not doing any arm-twisting, I am making a brief case for the importance of formal church membership. And after that, we will look at three roles or parts that Paul gave to the members of the churches of Galatia that fit this picture of formal church membership.

On my phone, I have various “membership” cards stored in my Apple Wallet. I have my rewards program cards from various hotel chains, gas stations, stores, and restaurants. I have my gym membership card. In my physical wallet, I have a couple of other membership cards. Sam’s Club, Costco, the library. I’m connected to these organizations through my “membership.” I have voluntarily chosen to connect with these places so that I can receive a benefit of some kind, and oddly enough, some of them I even pay for the privilege of being a “member.” Do I HAVE to be connected with these? No. I choose to. And I have a contract of sorts with these organizations: I can leave whenever I want. I can cancel my membership at any time. I can choose not to make use of the benefits of my memberships if I would like to. I don’t really have much responsibility, either. For those that cost money, I have to pay, but I never have to GO. If I kept paying Costco for the next 3 years and never stepped foot in the place, they wouldn’t bat an eye. If I go fill up at a different gas station or buy a different type of donut, no one is going to call me or check up on me in any way. It’s my choice. I’m free to do what I want.

The problem is that this is how we see church membership, too. We see the church as perhaps a club that we belong to. We all share a common interest in Jesus, so we pay our dues (or don’t), and come hang out with the other people who like Jesus. Or we see the church as a service organization. We even call what we’re doing right now a “service.” We show up at the designated time and get our spiritual tune up. Maybe EHBC has the worship or the class or the preaching or the ambiance that we like, so we decide to stay because it’s our choice. We’re free to do what we want.

Anyone else’s toes hurting?

The church isn’t a social club or any other kind of club. It’s not a really a voluntary gathering of like-minded folks. The church isn’t a service organization, either. It doesn’t exist for us.

A better picture of the church is that the local church is as a nation. A nation that we become citizens of when we swear allegiance to her King, the Lord Jesus Christ. The two go together: to take the King is to become one of His subjects, one of His people, and to become part of the collective called the church.

We are family. We are body. We are the church.

Another picture that’s better than a club or service company is the picture of the local church as family—brothers and sisters, belonging to one another and caring for one another. We’re all members of families, and likewise, the default for a believer in the Bible is to be a member of a church family, and if there’s not a church to be a member of, to proclaim the Gospel to those around so that there can be more believers and so those believers can covenant together and become a church family.

That’s because we belong to Him, individually AND collectively. And when we refer to “the church,” we understand that we’re talking about a particular group of people. Without the people who are here, Eastern Hills Baptist Church isn’t a church. It’s a building. WE are family. WE are body. WE are the church.

You see it over and over in Scripture if you’re looking for a more national identity or family identity than a club or a service company. On the day of Pentecost in , there were a particular number of believers, 120. And then Peter preached, and about 3,000 were added to their number that day according to . Did they have a database and all of that? No. But did they know who was in the church, and who wasn’t? Yes. And those same people then continued AS the church. They did a bunch of stuff after that. I’m going to fly through this, so hang on:

Acts 2:42–47 CSB

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. 44 Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. 45 They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

acts 2:42

Verses on membership (Acts?)

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, the fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer (v. 42). They were together (v. 44). They took care of each other’s needs (v. 45). They met every day in the Temple (v. 46). They were seen as different in a good way, and people came to the Lord because of their testimony (v. 47). Later on in Acts, we see them calling themselves this: “News of this reached the church” (), “Barnabas and Saul met with the church” (), “The church was earnestly praying” (), “They gathered the church together” ()…

Notice that each of these instances was a particular group of believers in a particular place at a particular time. Yes, the church is universal—all of the believers throughout time in every place... but what is its address? When does it meet? The nation is the universal church. The outposts or embassies of that nation are the local church families.

And that is what we are. We are the family of God here at Eastern Hills. We are an outpost of the Kingdom of God, an embassy full of ambassadors in a foreign land called the world. We are citizens of that other Kingdom, and we have collectively been given the authority, the responsibility, and the mandate to proclaim that Kingdom, and even been told that the gates of hell will not overpower us ()! I could go on and on about this, but I’ll save that for another time.

So back to our focal passage, we see that Paul is writing to these particular churches, who are close enough in geography that they are sharing the same issues. Here in the first part of chapter 6 of Galatians, the most practical part of the book, Paul addresses those who are members of the church with three roles that they are to fill with one another, and those three roles still exist for us today:

Church Member Role 1: Restoration

Some of us hear the term “church discipline,” and we get all upset and nervous. Well, of course we do! We’re free people who get to make our own decisions, aren’t we? “Who are you to tell me how to live my life? I can do what I want! You’re not the boss of me.” That’s club talk. Our problem comes from our perspective that we really only belong to ourselves, and that we can take or leave the church. This is why we’re just so bad at communicating church discipline, and why we are even worse at practicing it.

is a one-sentence primer on church discipline:

Galatians 6:1 CSB

1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted.

Church discipline is first and foremost to be restorative. Why? Because we’re not just people—we are fellow citizens of a united Kingdom under a loving King who has asked us to be like Him. Because we are family, sons and daughters of that King through adoption. Because we belong to each other, and we want to see each other walking in holiness and making the most of our Kingdom citizenship. When you look at your friend in the church and lovingly share your concern about the sin you see in their life, you’re doing church discipline correctly. That’s always the first step. And it’s a vital first step, because our sin is a big deal to God! Look at how James spoke about this same idea:

James 5:19–20 CSB

19 My brothers and sisters, if any among you strays from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let that person know that whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

We belong to each other. We submit to the care of the church.

When we approach church discipline correctly, we lovingly want to see our brother or sister restored to the truth. When we become members of the church, we agree to submit to the care of the church. We must take care of one another. When someone becomes a member of EHBC, we ask certain questions, and get a covenant pledge from the existing membership: to pray for, walk with, serve alongside… We aren’t just asking that for no reason. We’re entering into a covenant with those who are covenanting with us by formally joining. That’s why I go over our Statement of Faith with everyone who joins the church. These are things we must be doing, because we promise to do them. How do we hold each other accountable if we have no agreement to do so? Church membership provides that agreement, that covenant.

james 5:19

We belong to each other. We submit to the care of the church.

Church Member Role 2: Assistance

I watched a video this week of a group of 17 people who got out of their cars on a busy highway just after an accident had happened, and a motorcycle driver was unconscious and trapped under a car that was actually ON FIRE. The people run up, and basically PICK UP the car. The guy underneath was in BIG trouble, and these people put their own necks on the line to save him. He was incapable of managing that car by himself.

Sometimes, we are going to face weights that we need the rest of the church to come along and help us lift. This is what Paul is getting at in verse 2:

Galatians 6:2 CSB

2 Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

We are to help each other bear the crushing weights of life.

The Greek here for “burdens” is the word baros. This word refers to a tremendous weight, according to my Greek dictionary, “a high point on a scale of extent.” So on a scale of 1 to 10 of weights of life, this “burden” is a 9 or a 10. Church, we are to help each other bear the crushing weights of life.

Isn’t this one of those beautiful ways that we are like Jesus? In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus knew He was preparing to bear the greatest burden imaginable—a weight that we couldn’t possibly hope to bear—the weight of our sin and the cup of the wrath of God against that sin. So great was His strain that Luke records that His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. But He said:

Part of that is to LET the church come and help. That’s why we need to see verses 2 and 3 together.

Church Member Role 3: Humility

Matthew 26:42 CSB

42 Again, a second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”

Jesus willingly died on the cross, taking the burden of our sins in our place, so that the wrath of God would be poured out on Him so that we could be forgiven. So that YOU could be forgiven. And He beat death by the power of the Holy Spirit, rising again so that we could be saved. When we surrender our lives to Jesus, we are forgiven and set free from sin and death, according to Scripture. When we help each other carry those crushing weights of life, we are acting like Jesus. That’s what it means to fulfill the law of Christ.

But there’s another part of this: That is to LET the church come and help. That’s why we need to see verses 2 and 3 together.

Part of that is to LET the church come and help. That’s why we need to see verses 2 and 3 together.

Verse 3

Galatians 6:3 CSB

3 For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

We are to walk in humility

Admittedly, this verse is a good one to memorize and store in your heart all by itself. But look at the context.... It’s right in line with us carrying each other’s burdens. If we think we can handle the crushing weight without the church, or WORSE, if we intentionally keep the truth of the crushing weights FROM the church, we miss it completely. We NEED the church to come alongside us.

This is, admittedly, one of my greatest weaknesses. I have a tendency to NOT want to let others come alongside me, to think that I should be able to handle whatever comes my way. But that’s not how I am to be as a part of the church—because we belong to each other.

We are to walk in humility, and that includes being willing to let the church come and help when you are under a crushing weight. Look at Romans 12:3:

Romans 12:3 CSB

3 For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one.

It is thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought when we think we have it all together, that we can handle anything that comes our way, when we think that we don’t need the rest of the body.

It is thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought when we think we have it all together, that we can handle anything that comes our way, when we think that we don’t need the rest of the body.

1 Corinthians 12:21–23 CSB

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that are weaker are indispensable. 23 And those parts of the body that we consider less honorable, we clothe these with greater honor, and our unrespectable parts are treated with greater respect,

1 cor 12:21-

Hmm...

Romans 12:3 CSB

3 For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one.

Maybe extend this to outside of the church? When we come alongside those outside of the church and help them bear their burdens, we act like Jesus, which is what our calling is as ambassadors of His Kingdom.

Church Member Role 3: Responsibility

Church membership isn’t to be taken lightly. Entering into a covenant relationship with the rest of the church body creates a responsibility for the body. Finally in this passage, we see the role of the church member being one of responsibility.

Finally, in this passage, we see the role of the church member being one of responsibility.

Galatians 6:4–5 CSB

4 Let each person examine his own work, and then he can take pride in himself alone, and not compare himself with someone else. 5 For each person will have to carry his own load.

We are to be responsible for the places in the church and the individual calling that God has appointed us to.

This might seem like a contradiction to what Paul just said. That’s because we see “burden” and “load” as synonyms. But what Paul is saying here is that we are to be responsible for the places in the church and the individual calling that God has appointed us to. This “load” is a completely different Greek word. It’s phortion, which is a responsible amount of cargo to be carried by the thing carrying it. In our case, it’s like a backpack-sized load. The phortion is what we should be able and responsible to carry.

Each of us has a role to play in the body. Look at what Paul said to the church at Corinth when they were debating about who was most important:

1 Corinthians 12:12–20 CSB

12 For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body—so also is Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all given one Spirit to drink. 14 Indeed, the body is not one part but many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I’m not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I’m not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But as it is, God has arranged each one of the parts in the body just as he wanted. 19 And if they were all the same part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

1 cor 12:12-

1 cor 12:12-20

It matters if you’re here. It matters if you’re engaged. It matters if you are building and maintaining relationships within this family of believers. It matters if you pray. It matters if you give. It matters if you serve. That’s the backpack.

Closing

Change terminology. We use words like “join” when we talk about church membership, like we would talk about Costco or the gym. But truly, that’s not really what it is. It’s not a club. It’s a family that we’re born again into. It’s a nation, a Kingdom under the ultimate King of Kings. And the local church is that Kingdom’s outpost, its embassy. You can “join” Costco and never shop there. You can “join” a gym and never work out. That’s not how the church should be. We should take care of one another and care for one another, as Paul wrote to Corinth still in chapter 12:

1 Corinthians 12:25 CSB

25 so that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other.

1 cor 12:

1 Corinthians 12:25–27 CSB

25 so that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other. 26 So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it.

1 cor 12:25-

Invite those who have been praying to make a decision.

Invite those who have been praying to make a decision to declare themselves to be members of this local body and to come in submission to the rest of the body.

Reiterate the Gospel message. Jesus took the crushing weight of our sins so that we could be set free from them to live in this Kingdom, to be a part of this family, to be His ambassadors in the world. Trust Christ for your salvation today, and surrender yourself to His Lordship.

Invite the band

Pray

Remind about the parlor.