The Actions of the True Church & Her Living Members
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Dear Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
The Bible is really love story - it starts out spelling out the main characters, and the setting. Then the plot like a tragedy our fall into sin, and the true fairy tale, the comedy of our salvation by the seed Jesus Christ. And our first of the Reformed Confessions, with such clarity and specificity,remember like an outer-space shot,zooms to planet earth, then one city, one hill outside the city - cross empty tomb - the heart of the drama with you and me is this reconciling work of Jesus Christ - justification - not just as if I’ve never sinned, but totally accepted too. And sanctification not just , \god’s work was to save me, my work now is to try to be good and Christian on my own steam as a way to pay back God, or to stay Christian;but just like my status changed in being declared righteous real access back into God’s presence, so too my nature, my affections, really changed within - when the Holy Spirit gave me a new heart and will united to Christ - with new motivation of love, to by faith in union in Christ to do His will His commandments. That’s the first 2/3rds of our confession of faith.But the last third is rather a surprise particularly to NA Christians. You might think by how NA Christians do their faith, church is kind of an optional take it or leave it thing,s that just supplements individuals relationship with God. But as you keep your eye, on the camera of this love story with God and His people, pow, seemingly out of no where - a new character is introduced - the NT Church. Sure if eyes to see it always there in the OT people of God Israel - but in terms you getting salvation - God, Jesus and you and summarizing this love story - God says, now not saved individualistically - saved into a people - looked at what the body of Christ the church is saved into. Looked at why you much obliged to join and unite yourself to it - both in experiencing Christ’s work, but also i serving as member. But not we actually come to what the Church and those who are living members in it actually do!
Using our text, we could say when you hear the gospel, individually respond to Jesus - that’s salvation,that’s coming in through the gate, the door - to the very presence of God - that’s being saved. But there is a whole life to be lived with Jesus that now can only happen by joining His flock and being shepherded as as a people. This is what John 10:9 calls: going in and out and also finding pasture.
I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
It’s what Rev14 calls following the Lamb where ever he goes, suffering, witnessing, loving - completing the application His saving work, as His body in this world. And Jesus tells us that the main activity of that body is hearing His voice together, being guided, commanded, directed. He says of all who will join with the apostles in being discipled by the Saviour: John 10:16b
And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
And as we look at three key actions that mark and distinguish this flock, the true Church, they are all summarized in this one. Our Confession says:
In short, it governs itself according to the pure Word of God, rejecting all things contrary to it and holding Jesus Christ as the only Head. Belgic Confession Art. 29
Do you get this? Those saved by God, being joined and united with God’s people now have to have some action in their life together to be and do the work of God. We’re not talking right now about which individuals have salvation, but about how those who have salvation are to act and be acted upon by Jesus as a group. And its quite remarkable that both Jesus in this passage and our confession make it clear that - there will be individuals that are truly saved but so far have not joined a true church, and there will be individuals who are in a true Church but don’t really have salvation yet. Both Jesus and our Confessions calls them hypocrites, only in name but not inwardly, in the OT same thing not all Israel is true Israel. Circumcision in the flesh, but not the heart. But like Jesus our confessions say - not our job to separate the wheat from chaff, always a mixed assembly - only judge by a person's confession and apparent outward fruit.
But the burden of this passage is not to be on the look out for which individuals are truly saved, but whether you have joined and united yourself to a body of people, a fellowship that is the true church with the the true shepherd actually exercising His actions among us. Our confession urges us “we ought to discern diligently and very carefully, by the Word of God - what is the true church.
And the key truth this evening is that The True Church is discerned by three actions of Jesus in our midst by preaching, sacramental action, and discipling!
A. Discerning the True Church is vital because their is a false church
A. Discerning the True Church is vital because their is a false church
There is a sense in which all spiritual groups calls themselves a church, and they are certainly not all manifestations of that True Mystical Body of the Lord Jesus Christ in local gathering of believers. For instance in Victoria BC - went passed Unitarian Church - call themselves a church - but so obvious that they only believe in distant spiritual being over all, but certainly not in Jesus Christ as a Saviour and the incrante Second Person of the Trinity, nor of the HOly Spirit as Person indwells you and makes Christ and all His blessings applied. So to we could say about what orthodox Christianity have called sects, JW, Mormons. But what of asemblies, denominations that believe much of what historic Christiansity belives or a least has that on paper. What of the Roman Catholic Church which represents about 1 Billion people? I am not asking whther they are Christain whether individuals have savlation, but the way they gather worship serve, as an ogranization, instituion, even a body - are what they doing true church?
And in this day and age, most people pretty haphard answer the question of what is true church if they ask it all, well are they sincere? Do they love Jesus, do they do good things. Well I am not asking whether they are Christian or if they know and love Jesus, I am asking whether they are organized and united and joined and serving the way Jesus, the living Jesus directs.
And Jesus himself, like the OT, like the New Testament epistles says this is about shepherding - haring teh true voice of God and responding to it, it is about being sheephard in such a way that avoids what? John 10:12
He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
This is about whether their is shepherding going on that doesn’t leave people snatched and scattered but living in communion with Jesus together. Do you know why the author of this Confession was arrested and put to death. it wasn’t for writing the Confession. Ultimately it was for - celebrating the Lord’s Supper with both the bread and the wine - with all their significance with true bleiers. I wonder if how LS is celebrated is that imoprtant to us - think of Jan Huss even before the Reformation - preachi in language but cup for the people - . Many evangelical churches hardly emphsize and some even practice Lord’s Supper. I think of baptist churches, not anabaptist - only in last introduced infant dedications - recognize children of vbeliers - but how important is baptism to adult converts and to those of us - signed and sealed with this mark from birth.
And this is about whether sheep are actually following in their life where the shepherd is leading: John 10:4
When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
What are we to make of a church that has an orthodox confession of faith, but is so attracted and adopts non-Christain ways of thinking and living, who throw out God’s law, who. I am not asking whether a church struggles with comproimse temptation and sin, but whether it practices discipleship to actually live in Christ way. This is what the last article means that all truly united to Christ are duty bound to live the ANTITHESIS - separatetion between world and church. Doesn’t mean leave the world, judge those not saved. But does mean - reconize and live out distinction - and those who clam Christ and yet denies HIs ways we are to separate from them!
The rest of the NT makes clear false proephts, churches that apostasize , become synagoues of Satan - and Guido De Bress trying to help us summarize how to approach this issue biblically - says we’re not asking whteher a “sect “ or Church - has people who love Jesus and do good things. They will. And there will be true churches that have hypocrites inthem too; But the only way to discern whether I am joined to the church the way Jesus wants, is by looking at the actions of the church and there are three critical actions that must be there. Of course a continuum, and you will false, apsotate denominations with true congrgations in it, and you will true denominations with false congregatons in it. But how do we discern this?
B. The Foundation-Action is the Preaching of Christ’s Word
B. The Foundation-Action is the Preaching of Christ’s Word
If a church has this mark the others can follow, but if this ig gone it is impoossbile to have the other marks. Paul called this placarding or portraying Christ: Gal 3:1
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.
Pual says I know nothing but Christ crucified. He speaks of Christ’s coming, perfect obedience, his substituting , death and resurrection as everything. That gospel is the pwoer of God unto savlation. It is how salvation comes and how it grows. This is to powerfully declar God’s love reconciilihg siners to hinmself in the person of HIs love. Through that declaration Christ is in the world reconciling siners, saving them from the wrath of God. LIve-Preaching is not a vague talk about Jesus or inspirtational speech, or info-mericial about ltets good deeds activisim - it is hold Christ and all His benefits.
This is the first mark of lively preaching of the true Church it centers on Christ. This is the cornerstone of the Church. Yet a second mark of this kind of preaching is that the apostles and the prophets form a foundation Ephesians. The rest of Scritpure points to this Christ and explains the fulness of both savlation and life-lived out for the glory of God. Why we’ve said that the church must preach both God’s law and God’s gospel. Law to drives us to Christ but also to direct us once saved and empowerd and maede alive in the way of love. So preaching will be not merely spouting human imporessioon,ds ideas and life-hacks but what is it icalled in 2 Timothy 2:15
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
Rightly handling, dividing the word of truth. Understand in our day of tolerance not just as a Christian virutre of not forcing your dieas upon someone by force, but of accepting as equally valid everything relative, that even solid churches can start to take the approach that as long as a church is a Bible Believing church all is well. Well actually the concern is not so much whether a church has a confession of faith, hold to orthodox teaching like Epessus did but lost first love, so orthodoxy not lived out, just sits in the back of their psalter hymnal; the cocern is whether God’s Word, the full counsel, proclaimed With a thus sayeth the Lord, and that is what we degfvote ourselves and hear the very living voice of Jesus within!
Peter Martyr Vermiglli - Roman Catholic priest who staye in Italy as a pirest led reformation from within - but like Luther eventually booted out. In his later discussion about Rome says this first mark ““They have undoubtedly corrupted doctrine, since they deny what Scripture affirms: that we are justified by faith alone.”
In the church at Galatia some came and Paul says they were preaching another gospel by distorting the gospel of Christ and he calls the strongest curse upon them: Gal 1:6-7
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
And John says in 2 John 9 that false teachers are coming and they don’t come with or abide in the teaching of Christ! This is what Jesus was warning of, what Paul t Miletus, what pastoral epsitles, book of Revelation warns us of.
Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
And in our day, even in our own classis we too hear that the heart of the gospel is love and acceptanc, not faith and repetnance. Now of course the root of the gospel is God’s love and acceptance and we ought to mirror that, but even Jesus comes saying Repent and Belive for the Kngdom of God is near,
But postively where ever this true and livigely preaching of God’s Wrod happens, where a minstry like Pauls says, where we stweard God’s Word, there the very voice of Christ is heard and is at work.
But then on the foundation of the powerful actual preaching of God’s Word is the second mark that arises fromm.
C. The Accompanying-Action is the Pure Administration of the Sacraments
C. The Accompanying-Action is the Pure Administration of the Sacraments
Now just like a confession that has a lot to say about Church as vital character for God at work in this world, 10 articles! That is surprising to typical NA Christian. Even more startling is a Church is effective and true to its calling, based upon wheterh it actually does baptism and Lord’s Supper at Christ’s direction. That the action of Bpatism in your life, your children , new converts - that the sealing and the sign - is given to the right people the right reaosn, but hen that ist is also given the right significatnce and job in your life and mine. That Christ is doing something with your baptism.
As a covenantal sign, not power in the sacraments theselves, but in what they signifiy and how God uses those promises. It is wrong to add to the two sacraments Jesus has given - to say that Jesus is working through mass as elements turn into his body and blood, or in penance, or in marriage or annointing sich, holy orders. Nor are we free just to ignore and not use these confirmations o the gospel, welcoing and strengthening ordinances as for instance the Salvation Army has done. Not saying not Christian not saying weren’t right to react against the formalism and presumption - why Booth got rid of them. But as even one of the higest ranking officers of Salvatino Army in Canada - has confined in me - has had all his children baptized and partakes in the Lord’s Supper when he can. Way Christ comanded His church to operate . Matthew 28. If see contnihuation o sign for God’s people as COl 2 shows with circumcsion as outward sign of inward reality that needs to happen circumscsion of the heart - understand Like with Abraham and all who are of the faith of Abraham this is a sign not just given indivduallisitlclayy in Gen 17: , but was to be administered to believers and all of their offspring!
Romans 4:11-12
He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Both of these sacraments are to have continuing ongoing signiacance in our lives as sign and seal - for all part of the covenan comunty - call to be united to Christ, find gospel - to lve in ti - Call to unity with the body and pariticpation -
Don’t mistake what I’m saying, its is not that the particular mode - wether baptism in swimming pool, river in ukraine, springkling 1 or 3x or ; but that baptism in the name is indeed active ; and its not whetehr as Calin says people sit, kneel or stand , but at the lord’s command as memorial sa spariticaption , with wrods of instriution discernin body of Christ that the Lord Supper is Christ’s action in our midst here! False church, no matter how many sincere Chrstian in it, no matter how orthodox their doctrine, adds or subtracts from basic but vital regular use of these sacraments.
But again positively true CHurch, you ove away find a church that LS and Baptism vital , make a point here in participating whoelheartedly expecting covenatnla action and blessing form Christ in our midst here. It may be a pastor’s hand adminstering the water or bread and cup - but kid yourself not it is Jesus speakinng the gospel, confimring its meanig to his church in to our lives by those simple acts.
But now we come to third way we are to diginetly discern whether we are pariticpants with Jesus in His earthly body, wehther we are a living member of a true church.
D. The Resulting Action is Discipleship
D. The Resulting Action is Discipleship
Here we come to a bit of a controversy - some early Reformers like Luther & Mellanchthon in Germany, Bullinger and Calvin in Switzerland belived those first two are the only essential marks. They wanted to be careful to say - not schimatics, but carrying on true gospel proclaiming, sacrament celebrating church. Not like radical Anabaptists through out proclaiming Word to proclaim new revelation from the Spirit. Not throwoing out God-ordained LS and Baptism as NT has always taught it. And we are not replacing the authority of God’s Word with just bare human authroity be it ANabaptists say foolow these human made rules - very extreme rigour and discipline, or the RC church’s heirarachy.
But with some distance, most Protestants, taught the church isn’t just about your private bleief sna d aticket to heaven, but when you believe also born to new life, repentance ongoing life work. And the church given so your walk - whether blessing or pain - joy and sorrow, but also your progress tied to the church too. A group project the Chrstian faith. So Jesus taught: Matthew 18:15-17
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
That is the context of Jesus saying, where 2 or 3 in your miodst there I am with you. iIn Church dicipleship, taking our lives and our struggle with sin and saying not private indivudal affair. But I need you to come into mey life and preach the gospel in personal way, remind me of how foriggnvess, ohwo ne wlife in Christ works. In need that saccoutnablity . Discileship not an optional addon after your saved, for the most spirtually mihnded, it is the basics of Christainity we rare to be engaged in together.
Do you know what this means - first one to one interperosanlly - actually deal with sin when it happens, in oour hoes at work, in relatinoships at church. Not surprised but realisitic, and follow Christ’s teaching us this need to repent and confess one to aoither and appy the gospel Follow his procedure here.
Seldom works if just some unitive after the fact measure - can only disdciple and discipline as brothers and sisters in Christ, in relatiahisp. And so we see how this works when one to one fails. And someone pushes on a away from Christ in sin. You do bring it up with those who are cahrged by Christ to oversee and nurutre the faith life of indiviual members, elders. And wee see how this works in 1 Cor 5:4-5, 13
When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”
Very extereme cases, very slow 3 step procedure in our denomination - here a case of a man who took his step mother as his own wife. Now why deal with that, why not let that person shuffle off to another church otlerate that kind of violation.
That perosn was reotred we see in 2 Cor 5 gospel in remarkable way applied to thei lives - always teh goal . But to ignore such behaviour for example abuse - is to silent bystanders to the one being sined against, and ithat siun affects the whole assembly. And so for the ruputation of the Lord’s Holiness, the seriuosness of rebelling against Christ’s ways; and to protect the church from infection , to open the door to restore the rebellious by namig sin but even more naming the gospel thet freess and restores.
We are not to be slow, nor timid in ignoring such sin in each others lives. If gentley but firmly, if calmly and livingly addressed not sswept under the carpet. Church really the hosptial for sinners , repentnance siners, and not those pretending to have it all together. And Christ and his gospel will be eaxalted here.
I ask about sexual sin every premarital couselling - not to tell other=s - but to find wholeness that Christ can retore - that couple s need. Deliverance from fear and guilt - but that requires repentance and comiitment , can’t happen if we are not engaged in discioleship against sin and for holiness together!
Hebrews 12:15-16
See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.
True churches see God’s action in their midst not just in the Word and Sacraament but also as they lives their lives for Christ togher. 1 Cor 12:26
If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
Do you get that. How you live your life affects all. And so we give attention to the lives of mutual members. Weare to care for those who have gone astray - some hruting, some hardened, some starving. But wihtout discipleship we are missing what it means to follow the shepehrd together, to be boudn up and protected as one flock!
And when we have all three our confession, then describes though all of us still have great weakness in us, to fight agianst by the Spirit, and though even hypocrites populate our churches, stil none thel ess when attach yourself to a true church and experience Christ the Great Shepherd action in oniogn and livinely preaching of the eor dinto your life, and the great strength and cofmirming work of hte sacraments, and the onoign and lively - you can absolutely know that you r are united to Christ and flieeing sin and pursig righteouenss - you are working together with faith by love - and . If you are partifipating in those 3 actions, don’t see those marks,, call out to the shepehrd today - ready to save and also to lead that you might follow!