These are my notes from last Thursday night. I did, of course, expound on them and would not expect these to give a complete explanation of what we discussed. Given more time I would elaborate in text, but I must post as promised, so here they are. Please ask me any questions you may have.
We live in an age where radical individualism is highly valued. Where you are expected to make it on your own, without the help of anyone else. Church has become nothing more than a place to visit where our holy club meets and hands out bits of morality to its guests. Our words to one another are very important and at the root of this crisis in the Christian faith called individualism, we can trace much of our thinking to the phrase “personal relationship with Jesus Christ”. This phrase is found no where in scripture, and while I agree that it is an individuals responsibility to respond to the gospel, we are saved into the body of Christ and become part of a family that we cannot function without. New Testament Christianity leaves no room for individualism.
· Acts 2:42-45- And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe 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.
Not only do we not seek help from the beloved we have become unwilling to offer help to the beloved, in so doing, echoing the words of Cain when he asked God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Tonight, I wish to show you two things from scripture:
1) The necessary things that must be in place for a group of believers to be considered a church.
2) That all those who profess to know Christ should be involved in a church.
My hope is to speak to both of these truths simultaneously, so let us first discuss the term “church”. In Aramaic Greek the term used for church is ekklesia and means literally assembly. In scripture it refers to the assembly of God’s people. A number of places in the New Testament the term is used universally, referring to all those in the world who have repented and believe in Christ, but more often than not, the term is used to refer to a local body of believers in geographical proximity to one another.
A church must:
1) consist of believers to whom Christ is supreme
· Colossians 3:5-11- Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
2) worship God in their meeting together
· Hebrews 10:19-22- Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
3) have the Word of God expounded in their meeting together
· 2 Timothy 4:1-5- I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
4) live in covenant with one another (Baptism)
· One Another Verses
· Commit to a people, not a program, building, style of music, etc.
· Hebrews 10:24- And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, …
o Stir up- insight, motivate
o Love (each other and the world, seeks the best thing for the object of love) and Good Works (practical outflow of love)
o Two things I want you to see:
§ 1) this is the responsibility of all Christians (us)
ú you cannot wake up and plant your butt in a seat at your meeting house and think that you have fulfilled your part of church that morning
ú while we all play different roles, no role is more important than another
§ 2) these relationships do not happen on accident (let us consider)- present active- continually fix your gaze
ú Do you seek for those who need your insightment?
ú Do you think that you are the only one that feels pain in this life?
ú Have you become so self-focused that the needs of those around you have drifted into the background of your own life?
ú Did you know that right now there are people sitting around you dealing with chronic pain, depression, loneliness, problems with their parents, bad grades, difficult times at work, we all have some aspect of our lives in which we need
5) meet regularly and take meals together (Lord’s Supper)
· Verse 25 tells us how verse 24 takes place
· Hebrews 10:25- …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.
o Let’s be clear, church attendance is not required for salvation, but Arturo Azurdia said it well when he said, “You don’t have to go to church to be a Christian, neither do you have to go home to be married, but something is seriously amiss in both occasions if this is the emotion one holds.”
o Not neglecting- some in the Hebrew church had already formed this bad habit and we know some of the reasons from other, historical accounts, but none of these reasons are listed because none of them matter.
§ The people of God will love the Church of God and long to be with their family
o Encourage one another- very elastic word which can mean exhort, help, comfort, urge, all of which require personal relationships with one another. The word encourage requires us to meet together regularly, without fail.
o Lord’s Supper
6) have a pluralistic, qualified, appointed leadership
· 1 Timothy, Titus
Why has God arranged the church in such a manner?
· To His glory and praise! How could we possibly work all this out on our own?
So, let us gather together for the right reasons and experience the grace of God to us through His church and ask ourselves if our relationships are centered around the right things?
For His Acclaim,
Nathan
