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THE BIRTH OF THE CHURCH
Acts 2 records the birthday of the church, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the 120 believers who were assembled in the Upper Room.
It also records the growth process of the infant church.
On the Day of Pentecost, about 3000 people believed the gospel, repented of their sins, and were baptized as followers of Jesus Christ.
Acts 2:42
THE NEW BIRTH
And the last sentence of Acts 2:47 reports,
God did not add people to the church without saving them and He did not save them without adding them to the church.
Notice that God did not add people to the church without saving them.
And God did not save them without adding them to the church.
This organic union of personal salvation and church membership is the unchanging pattern of the New Testament.
And throughout church history, whenever biblical Christianity has been practiced, Christians have had a high view of the church.
A NEW CHURCH PERSPECTIVE
Unfortunately, this is not the case in the day and times in which we live.
There are many today – both unbelievers and professing Christians – who question the necessity, relevance, and importance of the local church.
And our generation has created a new category that biblical and historical Christianity never conceived of: UNCHURCHED CHRISTIANS.
UNCHURCHED CHRISTIANS
In contrast, the position of historic Christianity can be summarized in the words of CYPRIAN who said, “Outside the church there is no salvation.”
Outside the church there is no salvation.
In other words, the biblical answer to the question “Who needs the church?” is this: Whoever wants to be saved.
This does not mean that church membership, attendance, and participation can save you.
God forgives our sins by grace alone through faith alone because of Jesus Christ alone.
But God has made the church the stewards of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
A person can be a church member without being a Christian yet a Christian cannot be a healthy, growing, fruitful Christian without active participation in a local church.
The assembly of the saints is essential for your assurance of salvation.
Hebrews 10:24-25 gives four biblical reasons why Christian assembly is a requirement for every follower of Jesus Christ.
THE CONFESSION OF SALVATION REQUIRES ASSEMBLY.
The Epistle of Hebrews was written to a group of at-risk Jewish Christians who were tempted to turn away from Christ because of severe persecution.
The anonymous author of Hebrews wrote this letter to challenge them to persevere in their faith.
He does this by emphasizing one word: BETTER.
BETTER
He wants them to know that what they have in the Lord Jesus Christ is better than what they had in the religious system of Judaism.
In Hebrews 10:19-21, the writer summarizes the argument he has been making since chapter three;
LET US
Then, on the basis of the Person and Work of Christ, he calls the readers to hold fast to Christ with three commands that begin with words “Let us.”
THE FIRST COMMAND RELATES TO GOD.
THE SECOND COMMAND RELATES TO SELF.
THE THIRD COMMAND RELATES TO OTHER BELIEVERS.
What do you say to a person who is ready to give up on Jesus?
This chapter gives divinely inspired instructions for those who are ready to throw in the towel.
Specifically, our text teaches that you need to commit yourself to some local assembly of believers, so that you can submit to the accountability and responsibility that will help you to persevere in faith.
WARNING
Then verses 26-27 issues a warning about apostasy:
APOSTASY
This warning about apostasy does not mean that it is possible to lose your salvation.
God’s preserving graces ensures that every true believer is eternally secure, which means that true believers will not apostatize or fall away from Christ.
They will endure until the end.
The perseverance of the saints is not only tied to the preservation of the saints.
It is also tied to the partnership of the saints.
Church membership, corporate worship, and Christian fellowship are primary means through which God’s preserving grace sustains true believers.
This refutes those who say that church does not have anything to do with salvation.
The fact is that it has everything to do with your salvation.
In 1 Timothy 3:15,
THE CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD
The pillar and foundation of a building hold it up.
If the foundation gives or the pillars fall, the building will not stand.
Likewise, the church is the pillar and foundation of the truth.
Your faith in the truth of the gospel will not be able to stand without the church in your life.
Or as WILLIAM WILLIMON puts it:
The gospel does not make sense without the church that makes it make sense.
The confession of salvation requires Christian assembly.
I learned about the spiritual epidemic called “MORBUS SABBATICUS.”
In laymen’s terms, it is known as “Sunday Morning Sickness.”
The symptoms are quite interesting.
It never interferes with the appetite or affects the eyes.
The Sunday newspaper can be read with no pain.
And watching television seems to help the victim.
The only symptom is that you cannot get up and go to church.
MORBUS SABBATICUS
Strangely you usually do not feel it on Saturday.
But it hits when the morning comes.
And it never lasts more than 24 hours.
About the time Sunday morning services are over, the patient feels better.
Monday morning, the patient is able to get up and go to work.
But it has a way of striking again the next Sunday.
And after a few weekly “attacks,” it may become chronic.
MORBUS SABBATICUS
I am talking to someone who suffers from MORBUS SABBATICUS.
And I stand to tell you that you need to ask the Great Physician to heal you today, once and for all, from the dreaded disease that can strike a deathblow to your faith walk with Jesus Christ.
THE COMMUNION OF THE SAINTS REQUIRES ASSEMBLY.
California redwood trees are the tallest and oldest trees in the world.
They stand hundreds of feet high and some of them are said to be over 2,500 years old.
As a result, you would think that redwoods have tremendous root systems reaching deep down into the earth.
But compared to other trees, redwoods do not have many roots and they do not go very deep.
THE COMMUNION OF THE SAINTS REQUIRES ASSEMBLY.
Yet the redwoods have stood for centuries, because their roots are intertwined and interwoven with each other.
So when the winds blow, the redwoods stand, because they are linked and locked to each other, holding one another up.
That is the way Christians stand against the storms of life that assault our faith in Jesus Christ: We hold each other up.
THE COMMUNION OF THE SAINTS
THE APOSTLE’S CREED refers to this as “the communions of the saints.”
It is the internal disposition and external demonstration of Christian fellowship that is succinctly summarized in verse 24: “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.”
THE INTERNAL DISPOSITION OF CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP.
Verse 24 commands us to consider one another.
The verb “consider” means to perceive clearly, understand fully, or consider closely.
It is the same word used in Hebrews 3:1,
CONSIDER
You must set your mind on the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ if your faith is to be strong, stable, and secure.
But our text teaches us that Christians should also set their minds on one another.
And this verb “consider” is in a grammatical emphasis that denotes continual or repeated action.
Literally, the reading is, “And let us constantly consider one another…” Just as we are to always be thinking about Jesus, we also are to always be thinking about one another.
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