We are the Church (Membership of the Church)
Notes
Transcript
Good morning everyone! It is another beautiful Sunday because we get to be together. We get to spend some time worshiping together and fellowshipping together and growing in the Scriptures together. I have to say I am so grateful to be here and to be able to spend my Sundays in this place. I am also super excited to get to be here…I am excited becuase ever week we come together and we get to spend this time with our Spiritual family…I am excited because God is doing some amazing things all around LRBC. You may not see it all yet, but I am telling you that God is working here, and we all get to be a part of that work. That is exciting! Im also excited becuase it’s Mothers Day today. Now I know that for some of you Mothers Day is hard…maybe you are not with your mother today becuase of illness, or some other circumstances. Maybe you are unable to be with your kids and that makes it hard to celebrate becuase you feel alone. However, here is the thing about mother’s day. There is someone that has acted like motherly to you. Maybe it is your mom, your aunt, your good friend. Maybe there is a neighbor or a person right here in church that has filled the spot of mom, even temporarily. Well, today is a great day to honor those women in your life. Husbands, listen, your wife has been mother to you at times, I am sure. She helps to make sure you have the things you need, she cleans up after you, she makes sure dinner is ready, maybe she does your laundry or reminds you about important dates or health issues. Whatever it is, she deserves your honor today as she has taken care of you for the last 364 days and so she deserves at least 1 day a year off…right? Well, maybe two days, after-all she has a birthday also… Anyway, as a token of our appreciation as a church, we have a small gift for all of the ladies in the church today. All of the ladies that have cared for so many people whether kids, or adults, all of the ladies that have ensured that all of the men have had food and clothes and that have ensured that all of the men leave their houses looking appropriate for public viewing. All of the ladies that give the kids in their lives love and support that they need in order to survive in the world. Thank you ladies for putting up with the men, children , and men that act like children in your lives! I hope that you all are honored today in the way that you deserve!
So, today is not going to be a traditional mothers day sermon though, and I apologize for that. I did not schedule that very well this year. You see, we have been in this series about the church. This series is called “We are the Church” and we have looked at all types of things so far. We have looked at the nature of the church and the difference between the visible and the invisible church. We have talked about the purpose of the church. I reminded you that there are three main purposes of the church. We are called to exalt God first…Then we are called to edify fellow believers, and finally we are called to evangelize the lost. Then last week we looked at the ordinances or the sacraments of the church and I showed you the importance of beleivers baptism, as well as where we should be focused during communion. It was just a good time to be able to partake in communion and refocus our minds on the Father and celebrate the Lord together as a church. Well, this week we will be finishing up our time looking at the church and then we will move on to some other topics later. However, this morning we are going to look at church membership. I am briefly going to look at the case for church membership and remind us all about the commitment we have made to each other, and then exhort you to consider making LRBC your church home officially and making a membership commitment. I know that we have a number of people here this morning and joining us online that have not taken that step into membership and I would like to encourage you to consider this topic again this morning. We are working on a membership class and I would like to invite you all to attend that class if you are thinking about joining LRBC.
Now, when we think about church membership, I want to share a couple of kind of scary facts that are very real. We all know that Covid hit small businesses really hard last year, and really it is still greatly affecting many businesses today. However, what we don’t hear in the media, maybe becuase they are happy about it, is the fact that churches were also greatly affecting by Covid last year. As a matter of fact, the stats that I have been hearing, and I have told you all before is that 1 in 5 churches will completely close down within the next four years. As a matter of fact, I know of several churches that I believe will likely be a part of those churches that are closing down. It is really sad to think about…there are reasons for sure. Some of those churches will be closing becuase they have had to many people pass away or move from the area that they are not able to maintain their responsibilities. Other churches will close becuase they have been unable to connect with new people and they have been unable to evangelize the lost or maybe they have not be focused on edifying beleivers. Many times these purposes are not filled even though the leadership is proudly serving and attempting to fulfill the purpose of the church, but those that are part of the church are not willing to do their part. Well, that speaks largely to church membership. You see, church membership is the way that these purposes are achieved, not church leadership. But, what is church membership…and why does church membership even matter, or does it? That is what I want us to look at this morning. Now, I will not be going as in depth as I did in 2019. As a matter of fact in 2019 our We are the Church series was all about church membership and what the purpose and what a healthy church member looks like. So, this morning I would mostly like to look briefly at the Biblical mandate of church membership, and why church membership is in fact important.
However, to start out, I would like to share with you John MacArthur’s definition of a church member. You see, when a person is saved, he/she becomes a member of the body of Christ, the invisible church. As this happens you are unified with Christ and other members of the bod. Then, you area qualified to become a member of a local expression of that body. Here’s what John MacArthur says,
To become a member of a church is to formally commit oneself to an identifiable, local body of believers who have joined together for specific, divinely ordained purposes. These purposes include receiving instruction from God’s Word [exalting God], serving and edifying one another through the proper use of spiritual gifts [edifying believers], participating in the ordinances [exalting God, edifying believers, evangelizing the lost], and proclaiming the gospel to those who are lost [evangelizing the lost]. In addition, when one becomes a member of a church, he submits himself to the care and the authority of the biblically qualified elders whom God has placed in that assembly. — John MacArthur
Now, with this in mind, I should ask you…are the purposes of the church accomplished through the membership of the church? Absolutely…Can you accomplish the purposes of the church without church membership? Yes…but it is a bit more complicated. Let’s look at why that is by looking at the
Biblical Basis of Church Membership
Biblical Basis of Church Membership
Now, here is where there has been some conversation about church membership. You see, Scripture does not explicitly command a Christian to formally join a church. However, Scripture also never explicitly defines the Trinity. There are times when Scripture does not explicitly tell us something, but we are able to see the truth based on careful exegesis of a preponderance of Scripture. In other words, Scripture does not have to say, “The Trinity is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit” for us to see that is true. The same is true about church membership. The Biblical mandate of church membership is seen throughout the New Testament. We see this in four specific ways that we are going to look at this morning. First of all,
The Example of the Early Church
The Example of the Early Church
Here is the truth, the early church met together on a regular basis and they were focused on the purposes of the church uniquely together. As a matter of fact, the ver concept of experiencing the christian life away from the church is not even something they would understand. Throughout the New Testament we read that new beleivers repented and were baptized and brought into the early church. Look at
So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.
You see, we can see this picture of new believers being joined together with other beleivers and finally seeing that the churches were strengthen in the faith and they increased in number.
We also see the Epistles being written by Paul to specific churches. Look at
Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
You see, in the early church we see that Christians would join together and they would devote themselves. Well, let’s take a look at
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
This was done within the life of the church specifically. Throughout the book of Acts there is so much terminology that really only fits with the concept of true, formal church membership. Look at what I mean here in
And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.
We also know that there are times when the whole church must come together…Read this in
If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?
The thing is that if there is no formal church membership, then how does anyone know if the whole church has come together? In other words, knowing that the “whole church” has gathered implies that the leadership is aware of everyone who belongs to that local congregation, which, in turn, implies recognized membership.
The early church is not the only way we can see an understanding of church membership. We also can look at the
Existence of Church Government
Existence of Church Government
Throughout the New Testament we see a consistent pattern of having a plurality of Elders overseeing a group of beleivers. However, if there is no formal membership, then the role of the Elder becomes impossible to actually accomplish. You see look at
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
Now, I am your pastor, which is basically the main Elder that has been charged with overseeing this local church, or this local flock. So, let me ask you, how can I know who to watch over if there is no formal church membership. It’s not just for my benefit also, look over at
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
The question for each believer is, “Who are your leaders?” You see, the one who has refused to join a local church and submit to the care and authority of the elders has no leaders. For that person, obedience to this passage is impossible. To put it simply, this verse implies that every believer knows what leaders to submit to, which in turn assumes a clearly defined church membership.
We are not done yet though, becuase you see we also see in the
Exercise of church Discipline
Exercise of church Discipline
Now, this is not a thing that anyone leader or church member is eager to experience. However, church discipline is a necessary part of church membership in the New Testament, and an equally necessary part of church membership today. We read in Matthew the basic idea of how to handle conflict. In this passage there is a place to bring this to your church. Look with me over at
“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.
This passage specifically details how to achieve restoration of a believer that has fallen into sin. This is a four step process that begins with simply having a conversation with the person that you are hoping to lead to restoration. This process is known as church discipline becuase it is the discipline that comes from the Lord to bring about salvation. The thing is that without a formal relationship between a congregation and her leaders, there is no basis for “taking it to the church”. There is no basis for spiritual accountability that is required in the New Testament. Additionally, when the unrepentant person is excluded as we read in 1 Corinthians 5, the very thing that they are excluded from is church membership.
Now, I should also clarify that there is more than one way to experience church discipline. You see, every true church should be a church that is practicing church discipline on a regular basis. There is both corrective church discipline which is discussed here, as well as formative church discipline which is the active discipling of beleivers. Corrective church discipline confronts sinning church members. Formative church discipline teaches and exhorts them. Corrective is negative; formative is positive. Both are part of making disciples.
Finally we will look at the task of
Mutual Edification
Mutual Edification
Now, this is a pretty clear statement. One of the purposes we looked at last week was to edify the saints, and now we see that mutual edification is directly impacted by church membership. Look at
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 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.
Let us see how to stir up one another to love and good works…Here is what John MacArthur says about this idea of mutual edification,
Mutual edification can only take place in the context of the corporate body of Christ. Exhortations to this kind of ministry presuppose that believers have committed themselves to other believers in a specific local assembly. Church membership is simply the formal way to make that commitment. — John MacArthur
Church membership is the formal way of making a commitment to stir each other up to love and good works. That is fantastic. Listen, this morning we have just blown through alot of thoughts about church membership and the reality is that there is so much more to church membership that what we have had time to discuss this morning. I do however have a couple of final thoughts that i would like to encourage you with.
Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Living out a commitment to a local church involves many responsibilities: exemplifying a godly lifestyle in the community, exercising one’s spiritual gifts in diligent service, contributing financially to the work of the ministry, giving and receiving admonition with meekness and in love, and faithfully participating in corporate worship. There is alot that is expected because there is alot that is at stake. Only when every believer is faithful to this kind of commitment is the church able to live up to her calling as Christ’s representative on earth.
Im going to leave you with three perspectives to show why church membership is important: (1) It helps a church’s elders know whom they will give account to God for. (2) It helps a church’s members mature as Christians and enables them to practice church discipline on fellow members. (3) It helps the world know who professing Christians are. Look, submitting to a church is not like joining a club; it is more like an embassy in a host nation declaring that a person is a citizen of their home nation. A church declares that a person is a citizen of God’s kingdom, not a citizen of this world that we are living in now.
As we close this morning I am going to ask everyone to do something a little special. When you sat down you saw an index card on your chair. I am going to ask you to pick up that card and write your name on it. Then on your way out of the door I am going to ask you to drop your card in one of the offering plates at the back door. Now, If you are already a member then write down one thing you love about this church family this morning. If you are not already a member, and you would like to talk about becoming a member, then write down that you are interested in membership. Those of you joining us online, I would invite you to do the same thing by messaging the church today. You will see a prayer request button on the bottom of your screen or send us a message through the messaging system. Anyway that you can connect with us here at LRBC, I am asking you to make a connection this morning and let us know what you love about LRBC… Let’s pray...