 So it's friend day and we're going to Consider the theme of the glory of a true church throughout the morning and the call to worship the call to repentance during the Sermon and parts of this afternoon That will be the the theme that we'll be talking about and in that We'll be looking at a lot at the book of Colossians Which Sometimes is described as one of the most Christ-centered books of the Bible There is a handout Tina made copies I'm not sure where they are, but if someone could find them and hand them out that would be good I know she was making copies earlier So in the essentials class Most of you have been through it, but some of you may not have or maybe it was a long time ago we look at essentials of the faith We cover things topics the gospel conversion Counting the cost Discipleship assurance of salvation sanctification and and and so in the Course of The classes church membership is one of the topics and so we're going to look at that today If you haven't been through essentials you should if it's been a long time Maybe you should think of we have some folks in the church. You've been here a long time. We're going back through it But it's an amazing blessing To be in a church that will you know For people who are Either new in the faith or who have come from other churches that weren't good It's good to just get Grounded in the basics and I know that when I first started coming to church not not here, but in the 90s And just went years without even understanding the gospel I Had arrived at sort of an intellectual understanding of Who Christ is and You know had a sense that as long as I Didn't disagree with that that well, I must be a Christian and I should join the church So it would have been helpful to have have a class like this and so I'm grateful that we have it here I Want to just start by reading this passage and in Colossians in chapter one Christ is the glory of a true church and In Colossians one we see Particularly in verse 18, but I'll read 15 through 20 That Christ is is the head of the church. He's the head of this church So let's just look at that verse chapter one Colossians 1 15 He is the image of the invisible God the firstborn of all creation For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth Visible and invisible whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities All things were created through him and for him and He is before all things and in him all things hold together and he is the head of the body the church He is the beginning the firstborn from the dead that in everything he might be preeminent For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and Through him to reconcile to himself all things Whether on earth or in heaven Making peace by the blood of his cross, you know, you could preach for years on just that but I wanted to start with just you know pointing you to the fact that Christ is the head of this church. He is the glory of a true church and If we keep the right view of Christ, then we will avoid all kinds of error That threatened to encroach the church and There is a lot of error when it comes to What is a biblical and correct view of church membership? So let's start with the definition of a church membership and This is drawn from some of the passages that we'll be looking at today I The handout that that you're getting is a lesson that Brother Dinger put together here. He is so I called him this morning and I said what yeah Where do we attribute this this membership definition and It's actually one that he put together But so let's look at it Church membership is a visible expression of one's union with Christ and his bride Whereby a professing follower of Jesus Christ formally commits to join serve support and Submit to one local assembly and its leadership laboring to obey God's will for the edification of the body of Christ and the salvation of the lost to the glory of God I'm gonna repeat that And and and we will see The truth of that as we go through this lesson today, but Church membership is a visible expression of one's union with Christ and his bride whereby a professing follower of Christ formally commits to Join serve support and submit to one local assembly and its leadership laboring to obey God's will for the edification of the body of Christ and the salvation of the lost to the glory of God There's a lot there and it is Counter-cultural, right? I mean churches or what pass for churches today Well, they start with a different gospel and so they end up with you know a different idea of what church is In churches that I have been in before one of the things that people prized about the church that Was that they could remain anonymous? That no one would get in their business that you know, no one would Know whether they had come or whether they had gone and That's it's a sad thing when when you know, that's that's what is prized about a church You know, frankly, that's how first Baptist Orlando is which is where I came from 11 years ago praise God It's a church of 14,000 That Starts with the wrong gospel and and so they The wrong gospel, you know carries out and influences everything else they do We start with the right gospel the true gospel Then the church has a completely different Meaning and importance to you For the unconverted The this definition this idea of church is foolishness But for those who Have been set apart by God Who you know are among the few in in the history of All of the world and of the billions of people who have lived over the centuries to know that God has set his love on you and Orchestrated every detail of your life so that at The time that he appointed You would hear the gospel Understand the gospel Respond properly to the gospel in repentance and faith Be saved from your enslavement to sin Saved from the eternal torment that you deserve and To be come To to possess the the righteousness of Christ without which you have no place in heaven To receive the promise of Fulness of joy and pleasures forevermore I mean if that is if that is your experience in salvation Then everything changes, right? You are indwelled by the Spirit of God and your whole life your world of you Did you find them Noel? Okay, everything changes and your desires change your Emotions change your will changes and You want To be with the people of God and you want to worship God and you want to know God Because you've been born again in our Weekly Bible study And which I hope everyone's you know trying to make time for either Tuesday or Wednesday nights Jeffrey Johnson Says in the book is the church why bother and it just you know Was a Happy thing that this week's lesson happened to be on on church membership, but he said Scripture teaches that when believers are united to Christ by the new birth they are also mutually United together into one body This union is not merely symbolic or hypothetical, but is purposeful and Productivity and functioning of every Christian Christians are interwoven together in such a fashion That they cannot properly function apart from one another And You know you if you're genuinely converted you you you can't Be apart from from the body of Christ for a long time without feeling like you know things are just not right You need you need the other parts of the body for you to function properly and That's exactly what we read in 1st Corinthians 12 So turn to that please 1st Corinthians 12 12 Where this metaphor of the body is Explained to us by Paul and It's It's worth reading The whole passage 12 through 26 So 1st Corinthians 12 12 for as the body is one and has many members But all the members of that one body being many are one body So also is Christ For by one spirit We were all baptized into one body whether Jews or Greeks whether slaves or free and Have all been made to drink into one spirit for in fact the body is not one member But many if the foot should say because I am not a hand I am not of the body. Is it therefore not of the body if the ear should say Because I am not an eye. I am not of the body. Is it therefore not of the body if the whole body were an eye Where would be the hearing if the whole were hearing where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members each one of them in the body just as he pleased and If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members yet one body and the eye cannot say to the hand I have no need of you nor again the head to the feet. I have no need of you No much rather those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary and those members of the body Which we think to be less honorable on these we bestow greater honor and Our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need But God composed the body having given greater honor to that part Which lacks it that there should be no schism in the body But that the members should have the same care for one another and if one member suffers all the members suffer with it Or if one member is honored all the members rejoice with it That's a just a beautiful and and remarkable Description of the interdependence that we have as Christians Among each other And There are several metaphors that we see in the Bible for the church The body certainly is one that Helps us to understand you know how we're to interact with each other. I know that over the years and being in small group which I Guess here you're doing it here in the church Tuesdays and Thursdays or Wednesdays on the west side over the years We've done it in homes We're going back to homes starting next week, but You know there have been people who have have come and gone over the years and have been consistent for a time and then been you know disappeared and You know When I was trying to exhort them to You know to be sure that they were there to be part of that Meeting together during the week. I would always go to this passage Because the I cannot say to the hand I have no need of you You cannot function properly as a Christian apart from being Connected to the body of Christ so we do that I mean we come here on Sunday mornings and we You know listen to the preaching and we sing praises to the Lord and we give as a form of worship and we do all of those things together and it's good and and It's just another way in which we can be amazed at the wisdom of God in establishing his church but in that time we don't often have the time to Talk to each other to find out what Is going on in each other's lives How I can be praying for someone Sorry, I've got cotton mouth It's probably because I'm nervous So in this church the philosophy the way that we try to live these things out and Then it's you know, it's done differently in different churches, but in our church this The way that that we have have set about trying to obey the Scripture in terms of what is the church? So how is it supposed to function? We do that You know small groups are a big part of what we do But we take our our Instruction from scripture and I want to take just a second to look at Acts chapter 2 Thank you chapter 2 Versus 40 and Following so acts is the history of The church or the the foundation of the church The first church and it says in Acts 2 40 and with many other words He bore witness and continued to exhort them Saying save yourselves from this crooked generation So those who received his word were baptized and they were and there were added That day about 3,000 souls and They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship to the breaking of bread and the prayers and All came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles and all who believed were together and had all things in Common and they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need and Day by day attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes They received their food with glad and generous hearts 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 does that sound like cornerstone to you It praise God it is what happens here, you know, we have fellowship together we have meals together We study the word of God together. We pray together I had been in church for 12 years, I think it was yeah before I came here and I had never gotten together with just a group of men to pray and it was just a joy and Privilege and a blessing to you know be part of a church where That happens it doesn't happen everywhere But we see in in this Passage this identifiable people this group of people Who you know if you go back to the definition that we started with formally commit To join serve support and submit to one local assembly So, you know from this point on they are Apostles and and and the other Disciples are going about fulfilling the Great Commission this is What they're doing and what an amazing start right 3000 converts Be amazing to see that happen again So but so the Great Commission is something that we have to look at in terms of you know what What it says about church what it says about church membership So turn with me to Matthew 28 18 through 20 Says and Jesus came and spoke to them saying all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you and Low I am with you always even to the end of the age So in fulfilling that Great Commission You have to have a church you can't do it apart from a church And committed members, so you're gonna go and make disciples. How are you gonna do that? Intentional van evangelism corporate evangelism You know The open-air preaching at Crane's roost Missions to Guatemala You know these things don't happen Well, the right way for them to happen is within the structure of a church It says baptizing them That's there that is that when you are baptized you are baptized into a local body that is you know how you Publicly profess your commitment and and become part of in this church or baptized into the membership of this church So, you know, we we do the evangelism We do some of the disikling, you know, if it's if there's an opportunity Bring them into the church When I first started evangelizing years ago in a in a different church There was the idea that We didn't want to say that we wanted to present the gospel to the people but we didn't want them to think we were just recruiting You know people to our church Well, that's bad thinking I mean I'm recruiting people to this church You know when I preach the gospel I want them to come here and be discipled Because here they'll be properly taught and they will learn to obey all the things that God has commanded So I'm not ashamed to say, you know come to cornerstone But there's so there's a process, you know that We have for members to come in part of it is going through the essentials class and understanding what we believe So that they know that what, you know, what they're joining and so that By the time they join they have a clear understanding that they're they're not coming here to change us They're coming here to join us and submit to the leadership of this church And then teaching them to obey All that I have commanded you is Is you know, that's what we're doing in this church We Have the small groups, which is you know a part of discipleship I mean certainly the preaching is part of the discipleship the essentials class is part of the discipleship there are there's a lot of one-on-one discipleship and And There's also within that context, you know, we do accountability which You know some people bristle a little at the idea of accountability, but it's It's interesting because we're gonna look next at Matthew 18 and and How You know that process of discipline helps us to learn to obey all the things that have been commanded by God But so there is accountability we are exhorting each other to Practice the spiritual disciplines that are means of grace for us And so we check in with each other. Are you reading your Bible? You know, I mean a sure sign that you know, someone is not converted is that they have The they have no desire to know God by reading his word You know, how's your prayer life You know, if you're not praying You're not having communion with God you have Direct access to the holy of holies, which just blows my mind every time I think about it, but To not think that that's worth stopping and Vailing yourself of that and just an incredible privilege Are you evangelizing? Yeah, this is another thing about accountability that we talk about in small groups and You know again, it's it's teaching them to obey all the things. I've commanded you the Great Commission is Make disciples it starts with evangelism if you know, do you not have a desire to preach the gospel to people? Are you doing it? Do you want to learn? I mean these are all things that we talk about in small group and It's you know the mark of a Christian I mean if the pattern of your life is that you don't evangelize then you really need to examine yourself you don't Understand the gospel So there's there's you know the Everything that we do here is designed to teach The people in this church how to obey all the things that God has commanded You know apart from a church, you can't do that apart from your commitment to be here. You can't do that and You know he says In the end of this I am with you always You know what we're teaching here is dependence on the Lord You can't do all of these things in your own strength. You can't just sort of fake it Although people try you know repentance impossible apart from the spirit of God working in you Even evangelism, you know, I mean You can you can force yourself out there And you can go through the motions, but If you want God to bless what you're doing you need to do it prayerfully You know Not relying on your own strength, but relying on the spirit of God to work through you So the Great Commission is worked out in the church Which You know, I praise God we're here in a church where this actually happens I want I want to refer back again to to Jeff Johnson's book if you don't have it I mean, I think there's copies out here, but on page 110 you know, he elaborates on how we are to interact with one another in the church and these are responsibilities of church membership that You don't see in in a mega church usually or you know, sometimes it's even a small church They don't just that don't understand that the the responsibility that we have to each other to exhort each other and Encourage each other and love each other And I'm just gonna read briefly through this on page 110 He's got several sections he talks about the response our responsibilities toward God Responsibilities toward one another responsibilities toward the elders Responsibilities toward unbelievers, but I want to look specifically now at the responsibilities toward one another Does everybody have this book are you reading this book? Good Responsibilities toward one another We're to be active in loving one another I'm not gonna read all of these Scripture references that he has here, but I encourage you to do that active and accountability And in that submitting to one another Edifying one another exhorting one another Admonishing one another And if necessary following through with church discipline Responsibilities include being active and fellow shipping with one another Caring for one another Attending the assemblies of the church with one another and supporting the work of the ministry So You know look at your life look at yourself look at how you're interacting with the church and You know are you are you obeying These commands of Scripture to do these things You know sometimes You know a new Christian comes in and is just all fired up and yeah, you know we're gonna do all these things And they do and then over time You sort of lose some of that initial zeal and so I here to exhort you to Not do that You know your growth and maturity Is at stake, but so is the growth and maturity of the other people in this church to whom you have a responsibility A couple of weeks ago when we were reading the chapter on worship I It was really it was it was awesome I just I learned a lot as we as we went through that chapter, but one of the things about worship That I hadn't really thought about Until I read this this book was that we come in to sing and worship in the in the context of singing Praises to God right so that is one way in which we worship there's something real special about that because we know that right now in Heaven There are real people singing real songs to our real God and when we worship God here in this church we are joining that heavenly choir and Just amazing right But there's something else that we're doing and that is edifying each other in song so You'll you may have noticed in the last few months at least one of the songs that we sing on Sunday mornings They've toned down the music Quite a bit so that you really all you can hear are the voices of the people here singing and That is an encouragement To hear you know our fellow believers here in this church singing praises to God and It should cause you to Worship in song more robustly than perhaps you normally do You're you're edifying each other when you're singing Did you think of that? So that's what we're that mean that that's part of what we're doing all the time in church I mean, that's what these one another's are about We are here to you know Help each other get through The challenges of this life focusing on Christ our Savior and Exorting each other so that we might persevere to the end and get to heaven. I mean We have that responsibility to each other And so that that kind of brings us to I wanted to point your attention to the 1689 Which I was it was you know as I was thinking about this class and thinking about church and You know the biblical Mandate for for being a member of a local church I looked at section 26 which is on the church and I was Surprised to be honest that When you read section 26 and Chapter 5 I'll read it to you if you don't have this I think there's someone the shelf you really ought to ought to read the confession This is sort of a synthesis of you know our understanding of What the Bible says about how we should live and and the doctrines that it teaches Chapter 5 says in the exercise of the authority which has been entrusted to him The Lord Jesus calls to himself from out of the world through the ministry of his word by his spirit Those who are given to him by his father So that they may walk before him and all the ways of obedience which he prescribes to them in his word Those who are thus called he commands to walk together in particular societies or churches For their mutual edification and for the due performance of that public worship which he requires of them in the world So if you if you read this and I know many of you are familiar with it the proof text for this passage is Matthew 18 15 through 20 Which is the one that we all know is is about church discipline It helps me to understand As I considered The fact that you know, that's that's the text in which they're supporting the idea that that you know, we are Responsible and commanded to walk together in particular churches Comes from the the text on church discipline Why? I'm gonna there's a there's an exposition of this Confession of that Sam Walden wrote it's a modern exposition of the 1689 well first. Let me read just 15 through 17 it says Moreover if your brother sins against you go and tell him his fault between you and him alone if he hears you You have gained your brother But if he will not hear Take with you one or two more that by the mouth of two or three witnesses Every word may be established and if he refuses to hear them tell it to the church But if he refuses even to hear the church let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector As a proof text for why you should be in church. This is this is what the exposition of the 1689 says This precept people walking together in churches creates the structure or context in which the Great Commission is carried out Jesus desires that his disciples be taught to observe all that he commanded How shall this be accomplished by the creation of local churches with local teacher elders? Jesus commands such churches in this passage if Jesus commands that Offenses be brought to the church and commands the church to rebuke such offenses and ultimately to exclude the impenitent Then necessarily he commands the existence of such local churches the stated purpose of the church in this passage is to teach an airing member one of Christ's commands by calling him to repentance and if necessary by its disciplinary action So again here. We we have a responsibility to one another And it is not You are not fulfilling that responsibility if you do not Speak to a brother who is either in sin or has sinned against you And you know for the most part that doesn't happen in churches I mean you know, it's everything from You know, you shouldn't judge me and Don't get in my business and you know all kinds of things are said But the loving thing to do is to go to your brother and to you know, call him to repent from sin And this is how one of the ways in which We are taught To obey all of the things that That God has commanded us to do, you know, I hadn't my mindset about discipline is You know hasn't been so much that it is just a part of the way we're to operate the way we're to function the way We're to interact You know, usually when you think of church discipline, it's some monstrous horrible thing that But part of the wisdom is is dealing with things before they become monstrous and horrible What I read Calvin's commentary on this passage And it was really helpful and I would encourage all of you to to look at it because And I'm not gonna read the whole thing here. By the way, you can get all of Calvin's commentary for three dollars and ninety nine cents in the play store Which just boggles my mind too, but so Calvin's commentary on this section is Helpful and understanding just the delicate nature of this process of Holding each other accountable and of Rebuke each other when it's necessary He gives a Just a nice Description of the wisdom of God and how he's laid out these steps and the you know, it's a step at step step there There's you know, it's a process and You know, what he's saying in effect is we need to speak the truth and love to each other in that process We can all learn from each other how to obey all the things that God has commanded us Part of that process and and this is another thing that Well a church discipline in general, you know, just it isn't practiced you you know The the general perception is it's just a mean-spirited hateful thing to do And you know, why would you well you would because God said to But he also says that you know part of church membership is you when you come into a church you are submitting yourself to its leadership and There's you know clear instruction on that If you look at Hebrews 13 7 and in Hebrews 13 17 It says remember your leaders those who spoke to you the word of God consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith and In 17 he says obey your leaders and submit to them for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will give an account Let them do this with joy and not with groaning for that would be of no advantage to you you know, we are rebels by nature and You know when somebody says so you submit, you know It's it doesn't come naturally to you but it is In a way, you know, you need to practice submission as a way of learning to submit to the Lord And and you know that doesn't mean submitting to abusive unreasonable sometimes unconverted leaders Where we're talking about doing this in the context of a real church and so there's instruction to the leaders And first Peter 5 1 through 5 he says So I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ As well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed Shepherd the flock of God that is among you exercising oversight not under compulsion But willingly as God would have you not for shameful gain But eagerly not domineering over those in your charge But being examples to the flock and when the chief shepherd appears you will receive the unfading crown of glory So, you know all of these things inform, you know, what what church membership involves and it's a very different thing than Just church attendance We're glad that people come and attend our church We want them to become members of our church so that they can understand What they're how they're to live as Christians you You're just hard-pressed to to do that and The way that God meant for us to Love each other and to love him outside of a church in the last two Sections here from Romans and we see the instruction of You know, how we're to live how we're to live together love each other Exercising, you know our spiritual gifts with each other I'll just look at Romans 12 verses 9 through 16 Let love be genuine Abhor what is evil whole fast to what is good love one another with Brotherly affection out do one another in showing honor Do not be slothful in zeal be fervent in spirit serve the Lord Rejoice in hope be patient in tribulation be constant in prayer Contribute to the needs of the Saints and seek to show hospitality Bless those who persecute you bless and do not curse them Rejoice with those who rejoice weep with those who weep live in harmony with one another Do not be haughty but associate with the lowly never be wise in your own sight So I hope that it's helpful to you and I hope that it Causes you to be more grateful to God For having established this church and brought you to it So let's pray Father in heaven, we are grateful for your kindness toward us in so many ways and Just we are amazed it at your wisdom and how you've Done just what we need in establishing your church and given us clear instruction on how to Order it and how to glorify you through it We just pray your blessing on the rest of our time this morning in Jesus name. Amen