Acts and the rest of the NT testify to the importance of the right teaching in the church. Covenants are meant for the good of the membership and the flourishing of the church. Covenants that require more than the Bible requires are detrimental to the health of the church and the membership.
Would Do Differently
BOUNDARIES ALLOW PASTORS TO IDENTIFY WHO THEY ARE TO SHEPHERD
Fortunately, the New Testament makes clear the work God expects pastors to do. On Sundays when they have baptisms or the Lord's Supper, they would be fine if I jump into the baptistery or start passing out plates of bread and juice. If someone just walks in the door one Sunday, I will give an account to God for that person's soul.
This shepherd and sheep metaphor is quite common in the Bible to describe the relationship between the pastor and the church. The word pastor means shepherd, so the pastor must shepherd those in the church, the flock. True shepherds have duties and responsibilities to the sheep in their flock that they do not have to sheep in the next flock.
BOUNDARIES ALLOW CHURCH MEMBERS TO IDENTIFY WHO THEY ARE TO FOLLOW
Let's start with Hebrews 13:17: 17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch over your souls, as those who must give an account. But here's the point, congregation—which souls am I called to guard and which souls will I give an account of before God. Another passage that talks about this is 1 Peter 5:1-3: 1 Therefore I exhort the elders (elder is used interchangeably with minister in the New Testament - the words refer to the same office) among you, as fellow elders and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Feed the flock of God that is among you as shepherds, not under compulsion, but willingly as God wills of you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not to lord it over those under your control, but to be examples to the flock.
17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they guard your souls, as those who must give an account. Scripture teaches that God places leaders, in this case pastors or elders, in churches to lead and lead and . shepherd and counsel, protect and feed, encourage and equip and serve them in the flock. Jesus is the head of the church, and the pastor submits to the headship and authority of Jesus, as does everyone in the church.
BOUNDARIES ALLOW FOR THE PRACTICE OF CHURCH DISCIPLINE It just gets better and better, doesn’t it? Who doesn’t like to talk about church discipline?
But God created the church to have a leadership structure for the good and health of the church, and the leadership structure that God has given to churches includes pastors or elders. But when we formally commit to membership, the membership must be under the pastoral care that God has given the church at that time. Jesus teaches that if the brother still does not repent when brought before the church, the church must treat him as an unbeliever—because he is behaving like an unbeliever.
A man who is part of the church is involved in sexual sin and Paul advises the church to excommunicate the man so that he will repent. They had not done so—in fact, the church was condoning man's sin, according to 1 Corinthians 5:1. 4 When you are gathered in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, by the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you will deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
BOUNDARIES ALLOW THE CHURCH TO PROVIDE CARE WHERE CARE IS NEEDED
If we want to restore meaningful church membership in our church, we must do that first. convinced that the concept of membership is in the Bible. We were in the car heading that way and we talked about how much we would be willing to spend to get a membership. You may remember that last week we started a new series called "Meaningful Membership" and we argued that church membership is a biblical concept, that churches in the New Testament had clear boundaries for knowing who went in and out.
We argued that many passages about the church in the New Testament simply do not make sense apart from membership. Those in the church were first required to listen to and to the teaching of the Word, the teaching of the apostles, which definitely centered on the gospel—the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. If these passages really describe the first church in history, then it is not clear to all to see that the New Testament church is made up of believers.
4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand
This is what is implied in verse after verse, chapter after chapter, book after book in the New Testament. The proofs and further proofs of our key statement are seen one last time in line 47. But first let's look at verse 45 and we will see how the gospel changed those who believed in Jesus: 45 And they sold their possessions. and the possession and distribution of the proceeds to all as anyone needed.
And notice the last sentence of verse 47 and see if that does not strengthen our view - And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were saved. These people may not have had all 3,120 members on an Excel spreadsheet in the upper room in Jerusalem, but it seems they knew who was "in" and who was "out." Those who were "inside" repented and believed, but those who were "outside" had yet to do so. Consider a few more texts in Acts that support the idea of what might be called.
32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul…
I do not believe that a person can fully follow Jesus apart from active membership and involvement in a local church. How do you explain this, other than radical change brought about by the Holy Spirit. This kind of generosity is hard to understand if these people were not believers, if the gospel had not taken root in their souls.
46 And day after day they went together to the temple and broke bread at home. They received their food with a joyful and generous heart, 47 praising God and being favored by all the people.
14 And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women
1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows
7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the
31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in
We also believe and affirm that as Christians we take on the form of Jesus and, among other things, Jesus gathered in the synagogue every Sabbath. This data is actually very helpful for those of us in the church as we think about ways to reach out to those who do not attend. My heart and hopefully your heart is to see how these people get involved again in the life of our church.
Regardless of why we actually attend church, we should be very concerned about what God has to say in the Bible about church attendance. In the New Testament, the church consists only of believers - this was our key statement last time. The curtain in the temple that separates the Holy of Holies is torn from top to bottom immediately after Jesus is crucified.
22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith; verse 23
- Jesus cultivated deep friendships with a relatively small number of people
- Small groups provide the best context for obeying and living out the “one another” passages
- Spiritual growth flourishes in small groups
- If you are not in a small group, you probably will not be part of our church in five years
- We pray for our church and pray with our church
Most commentators believe that what the writer of Hebrews is referring to here happened in the context of the main worship assembly of the church at that time. Apparently it was Jesus' habit to be in the synagogue on Saturdays. Baptism is an ordinance that you must attend when you first come to faith in Christ - this is the pattern and model found in the Acts of the Apostles and the rest of the New Testament.
He creates a wife for Adam and the very first marriage takes place at the end of the second chapter in the Bible. I believe it has everything to do with church membership, because verse after verse in the New Testament refers to the collective dimension, the communal component of our commitment to follow Jesus. Jesus knows well and we see the ups and downs of the relationship He has with them in the four Gospels.
31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy
- We serve others with our spiritual gifts and talents
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them. Let us first think about the context of the Great Commission and then we will think about the content. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you." The church is official and formal and recorded in the pages of the Bible—we are sent.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. Membership means going to our neighbors and nations with the good news of the gospel.
SERMON SERIES T-TEST
Company Worship Sunday School Music and Worship Children's Ministry Youth Ministry Missions/Outreach Women's Ministry Boomers and Seniors Funeral Meals. The Church and the Surprising Violation of God's Love: Reinstating the Doctrines of Church Membership and Discipline. The purpose of this project was to educate members of the Central Baptist Church in Paris, Kentucky, with a biblical understanding and practice of church membership.
