Tag: ecclesiology (Page 2 of 2)

Commit to the Church: Join a Church

September 27, 2022 / Matthew Wilson

I recently began a new sermon series called Commit at my church on what biblically committed church membership looks like. This post is based off of the third sermon in that series, which you can listen to here.

Sermon Text: Acts 2:41-47; 1 Corinthians 5:9-13; Heb 13:17; others

Two weeks ago, I began a new sermon series called Commit. This sermon series is on the importance for us as Christians to commit to Jesus by committing to a local church. Last week, we saw that baptism is the first step of obedience for a new believer and is a prerequisite for church membership.

Today, I want to speak on the importance of joining a church. When I say that you need to join a church, I do not mean that you attend a church. I mean that you formally become a church member. If the church has a church covenant and you agree with it, then sign it and join.

Church membership has in some ways fallen on hard times. Many people have begun to question whether church membership is even biblical.

As I mentioned in the first sermon of this sermon series, there are several factors that have contributed to a low view of church membership. I want to briefly remind you of three – easy believism, emphasis on a personal relationship with Jesus, consumeristic view of the church.

Easy believism is the unbiblical view that salvation is a one-time decision and thus there is no need for personal holiness or good works. This essentially makes church membership irrelevant because salvation is simply a decision with no need for a changed life. Jesus is simply fire insurance.

Others are apathetic toward church membership due to an emphasis on a personal relationship with Jesus. Some people are so tired of church conflict that they’ve given up on the church and instead believe that personal Bible reading and perhaps listening to a TV preacher are sufficient means to grow spiritually.

And finally, some people view church like consumers view a shopping mall.^[1]For more on this, see Franchising McChurch by John Mark Yeats and Thomas White. They only attend the church when they think it can give them something (e.g. encouraging sermon, good music, fun youth group). These folks attend services with no sense of commitment. They don’t care to be known to be known by anyone and they contribute nothing to the church. Many of these people dropped off during Covid and have not returned.

Thom Rainer writes the following in the Foreword of Membership Matters:

“Most churches view their constituencies in one of two ways. One group of churches has minimal expectations of its members, if any expectations at all. Membership is meaningless in terms of commitment and accountability. These churches typically see significant fallout of members to inactivity. When membership does not matter, the members will care little about their levels of commitment. Another group of churches does not even encourage attenders to become members. For them, membership is an unbiblical concept that they refuse to impose on the local church. This group of churches also sees low levels of commitment among those who regularly attend.” (p. 12)
Thom Rainer, Membership Matters, 12

If you have low expectations of your members, you’ll get low commitment. Neither of the two positions mentioned in Rainer’s quote above are biblical. Jesus calls us to follow Him. The New Testament calls us to join a church and commit to it. We must recover a biblical view of church membership and we as Christ followers are called to glorify God through a local church.

In another book, Rainer writes, “I [believe] that congregations across America are weak because many of us church members have lost the biblical understanding of what it means to be a part of the body of Christ.”^[2]Thom Rainer, I am a Church Member, 5

Today I want to do four things. First, I want to convince you that committed church membership is in fact biblical. Next, I want to tell you why you need to formally join a church. Third, I want to help you know what to look for in a church. Finally, I want to help you know how to be a faithful church member.

While there is no command that says, “Thou shalt join a church,” church membership is implied and assumed throughout the New Testament. I want to give you three reasons that church membership is biblical.

(1) Church membership is biblical

First, we see the pattern of the early church.

Reason One – The pattern of the early church (Acts 2:41-47)

Let’s once again return to Acts 2. After Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost, recall Acts 2:41, which is kind of a summary verse that we’ve read several times already in this sermon series.

Acts 2:41-42

So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Here’s the paradigm we see.

Those who heard Peter’s preaching about Jesus (vv. 14-36) repented of their sin and trusted in the person and work of Jesus.
These same folks were baptized and then “added” to the church (v. 41).
Verses 42-47 show how these new believers “devoted” or (committed themselves) to one another.

Acts 2:41-47 is enough for me to see the importance of church membership, but I will give you two more reasons why church membership is biblical.

Second, the practice of church discipline assumes church membership.

Reason Two – The practice of church discipline assumes church membership

In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul condemns the Corinthian church because they are associating with a sexually immoral man.

1 Cor 5:9-13

9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

Notice in verses 12-13 that Paul differentiates between those who are inside and outside the church. There are plenty of people in the world today that are living in sexual immorality. But Paul says that we aren’t to judge outsiders, meaning that we should expect those outside the church to be living in sexual sin. Rather, Paul says we should judge those inside the church, because they should be living holy lives in obedience to Christ.

You cannot remove someone from the church unless they belong to the church in the first place. It seems obvious that the Corinthians knew who was a church member and who was not. Church discipline assumes church membership.

Third, we see that the relationship between pastors and the flock assumes church membership.

Reason Three – The relationship between pastors and the flock assumes church membership

Elders (or pastors) are called to shepherd certain people. In 1 Pet 5:2, Peter tells the elders to “shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight.” As a pastor, I am commanded to shepherd the flock of my local church. I am not commanded to exercise oversight over every Christian in my town or my county. Rather, I am called to shepherd FBC Harrisburg. In the same vein, Christians are called to submit to their leaders.

Heb 13:17

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.

Christians can only obey this command if they know who their leaders are. Obviously, we could say more about this verse, but the point is that Christians know who their leaders are. Donald Whitney writes, “A flock of sheep isn’t a random collection of ewes, rams, and lambs. Shepherds know their flocks. They know which sheep are theirs to care for and which are not.”^[3]Spiritual Disciplines within the Church, 48.

Pastors are called to shepherd the people in their specific flock. Those in the flock are called to submit to the leadership of their shepherd-leaders. This relationship only makes sense when pastors know which Christians are members of their flock.

By now I hope you see that formal church membership is indeed a biblical idea.^[4]For more, see Church Membership by Jonathan Leeman. Consider once more:

Church membership can be observed in the early church throughout the book of Acts.
Church membership is assumed in the practice of church discipline. You cannot remove someone from the church if they were never inside the church.
The relationship between pastors and the flock assumes that pastors know who they are supposed to shepherd and members of the flock know which leaders to follow.

(2) Why should you join a church?

When you join a church through formal church membership, what does that mean? For most congregational churches, it simply means that you get a vote at business meetings. But biblically, does it mean more?

Put simply, church membership means that a local church takes responsibility for you and you are take responsibility for others within that local church. The church commits to helping you grow as a disciple of Christ, and you commit to helping others in the church grow as disciples of Christ. We are taking responsibility for one another’s spiritual growth.

When you join a local church, you are responsible to the other believers in that local church in a way that you are not responsible for other believers that you know. We could think of it like the county police. Poinsett County police has jurisdiction in Poinsett County but not in Craighead County. Both are county police departments. Both have the same function. While the Poinsett County Police is concerned about the safety of Craighead County, it’s ultimately responsible for promoting safety in Poinsett County.

Similarly, while we care about Christians in other churches (even in our own town), we are formally responsible only to those Christians in our local church. Even if we see someone living in unrepentant sin (such as adultery), we only have jurisdiction over members of FBC Harrisburg.

Five Reasons to Join a Church

When you join a church, pastors watch over your soul. (Heb 13:17; 1 Pet 5:2-3)
When you join a church, other believers help you to not be deceived by sin. (Heb 3:12-13)
When you join a church, you have other believers to regularly assemble with. (Heb 10:24-25)
When you join a church, you can build others up with your spiritual gift(s). (1 Pet 4:10)
When you join a church, you commit yourself to “one another” ministry. (For example, see Rom 12:10; 14:19; Gal 5:13; 6:2; Eph 4:15, 25, 32; Col 3:13; Jam 5:13; 1 John 4:18-19.)

So far, we’ve seen the biblical case for church membership and that joining a local church helps us grow in spiritual maturity. In the rest of my post, I want to briefly explain what to look for when joining a church and how to be a faithful church member.

First, what should you look as you seek to join a church?

(3) What to look for in a church^[5]Also see these articles from G3 and 9Marks.

Obviously, what to look for in church could be a sermon or even an entire sermon series. I want to boil it down to three non-negotiables.

First, join a church that submits to the Word of God. By this, I mean the church draws a line where Scripture draws a line. The church will be marked by expositional preaching through books of the Bible. The church knows and preaches the gospel. The church has a clear statement of faith. The church’s music is faithful to the Word of God.

Second, join a that has biblically qualified pastors (elders) who will shepherd you. After attending for a period of time, get to know the pastor(s) and their families. As best you can tell, do they meet the pastoral qualifications found in Titus 1:5-9 and 1 Timothy 3:1-7? Pastor(s) should be approachable and willing to care for you.

Third, join a church that will help you grow in spiritual maturity and equip you for ministry. We are called to grow in spiritual maturity (Col 1:28). We are called to be actively ministering to other believers as well as nonbelievers (Eph 4:12-16; Matt 28:19-20).

I’m begging you, don’t choose a church because your kids like it. Don’t choose a church because the music is hip. Don’t choose a church because you think the pastor is funny. Choose a church that is faithful to Christ and His Word!

I want to finish today by giving you some encouragement to be a faithful church member.

(4) How can you be a faithful church member?

Once again, in Acts 2:41 we saw that after people were converted and baptized that they were added to the church. After they were added to the church, we saw in Acts 2:42-47 that these new believers devoted themselves to one another.

That’s what church membership is in a nutshell. You are committing yourself to Christ and His people. I’m not going to spend a ton of time telling you how to be a faithful church member because I’m going to do that the next several weeks in this sermon series. However, I will quickly go over several ways to be a faithful church member.

First, you must be a follower of Jesus. Church membership means nothing without a personal devotion to Christ. Church membership does not save you. Christ does.

Second, you need to be baptized. Baptism is the first step of obedience for a Christian. For more, listen to my sermon from last week.

Third, be involved. So often, our lives are oriented around the wrong things. Our lives revolve around our work and our leisure time. It’s been said that, “We worship our work, work at our play and play at our worship.” Brothers and sisters, this should not be. In Acts 2:42-47, we see the early believers oriented their lives around Christ and His church.

Acts 2:42-47

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

We need to recover this. Our lives should give priority to Christ and His people. Jesus said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matt 16:18). Our big houses, nice cars, academic achievements, and sports trophies won’t mean anything in eternity. C.T. Studd said, “Only one life, twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.” Give yourself to the local church!

How do you prioritize the local church?

Attend regularly.
Be a student of God’s Word
Pray fervently for the church and its leaders.
Give generously to God’s kingdom work.
Serve faithfully.
Fellowship joyfully with others in the church.
Rescue lovingly those who are being deceived by sin.
Promote unity.
Disciple younger believers to maturity.

Did you catch the last phrase of Acts 2:47? And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Perhaps the reason we don’t as see many people saved as we used to is because we’ve given our lives to other things. Our calendar revolves around our work and children’s sports and activities. Friends, if you want the church to grow, commit to the church. Get built up in the faith so you will be equipped to share the gospel.

When was the last time you attended church Wednesday and Sunday in the same week?
When was the last time you attended Sunday School?
When was the last time you hosted other church members in your home?
When was the last time you prayed for the church?
Do you regularly support the church through giving?
When was the last time you lovingly confronted someone in their sin?
When was the last time you reached out to someone to see how they were doing?

Are you in Christ? If not, repent of your sins and trust in the person and work of Christ.

Have you joined a local church? If not, find a biblical church to join. See the articles I linked below for more help.

Are you prioritizing the local church? For more, see Donald Whitney’s book linked in the footnotes.

References[+]

References
↑1	For more on this, see Franchising McChurch by John Mark Yeats and Thomas White.
↑2	Thom Rainer, I am a Church Member, 5
↑3	Spiritual Disciplines within the Church, 48.
↑4	For more, see Church Membership by Jonathan Leeman.
↑5	Also see these articles from G3 and 9Marks.

Commit to the Church: Be Baptized

September 20, 2022 / Matthew Wilson

I recently began a new sermon series called Commit at my church on what biblically committed church membership looks like. This post is based off of the second sermon in that series, which you can listen to here. I was helped by two books as I prepared this sermon: Understanding Baptism by Bobby Jamieson and Going Under by Jim Elliff.

Sermon Text: Various Scriptures

In our last post, I argued that the local church is not optional for a believer and that we are required by Scripture to join and commit to a local church. We saw this paradigm in Acts 2:36-47.

We saw that the preaching of the gospel creates the church. As the gospel is preached, it demands a response. Those who are convicted of their sin are commanded to repent of their sin and trust in the person and work of Christ. After trusting in Christ, these new believers receive the Holy Spirit and are baptized. Those who were baptized were “added” to the church’s membership.

Acts 2:41

So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

After trusting in Jesus, the first step of obedience is to be baptized. And that’s what we’re going to talk about today.

BIG IDEA: The first step of obedience to Christ after salvation is to be baptized.

In my post today, I have three objectives. The first, is that if you are a professing Christian but have not been baptized, then I want to show you from the Scriptures that you need to be baptized. The second objective is to help all of us better understand what baptism is and why it’s required for church membership. Third, I want you to be able to understand when baptism isn’t really baptism.

We must be baptized because Christ commands it (Matt 28:18-20)

Matt 28:18-20

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

After Jesus was resurrected and sometime before He ascended back to the Father, He gave His disciples what we call the Great Commission. First, He told them that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him (v. 18). Then, He commissioned them to make disciples by going with the good news of the gospel, baptizing those who respond in faith, and then teaching them to obey the commands of Christ (vv. 19-20).

Surely anyone can read this passage and see that the first act of obedience for a new convert is to be baptized. After a new convert is baptized, he is to be taught (or discipled) to obey Jesus in all of life for the rest of life.

Throughout the book of Acts, we see the apostles obeying this command of Christ. They spread the gospel and as they see people converted to Christ, those people were baptized. That’s exactly what we saw last week in Acts 2.

Acts 2:38 – Peter to those Jews gathered in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost.

“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ.”

Acts 2:41

So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

If you read the rest of Acts, you’ll see this same pattern:

The gospel is proclaimed.
People are converted.
These converts are baptized.
These new believers are organized into churches.

So, the first thing we see is that we are commanded by Christ to be baptized. Next, I want to teach you about baptism.

What Baptism Is – A Definition of Baptism

What is baptism? Here’s a definition of baptism from a book called Understanding Baptism by Bobby Jamieson:

Baptism is a church’s act of affirming and portraying a believer’s union with Christ by immersing him in water, and a believer’s act of publicly committing himself to Christ and his people, thereby uniting a believer to the church and marking off him from the world.

Baptism is a church’s act of affirming and portraying a believer’s union with Christ by immersing him in water, and a believer’s act of publicly committing himself to Christ and his people, thereby uniting a believer to the church and marking off him from the world.
Bobby Jamieson, Understanding Baptism

What I’m going go to do for the rest of our this post is to unpack this definition and hopefully help you more fully understand baptism and its importance for individual Christians as well as the church.

What if you were in a swimming pool and your friend came up and dunked you in the water and said, “You’ve been baptized.” My guess is that you would probably have some reservations. You would rightly suppose that your friend is wrong. But why?

The first part of our definition says that baptism is a church’s act.

Baptism is a church’s act of affirming and portraying a believer’s union with Christ by immersing him in water, and a believer’s act of publicly committing himself to Christ and his people, thereby uniting a believer to the church and marking off him from the world.

Typically, we think of baptism as more of an individual act – “You need to get baptized in order to publicly identify with Christ.” Baptism is not something that you do to yourself. There are two parties involved and both parties proclaim something through the act of baptism. Certainly, baptism is a believer’s act, but it’s also a church’s act.

Matt 16:18-19

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Jesus tells Peter and the rest of his disciples that he will build His church upon them. Ephesians 2:20 says that the apostles are the foundation of the church. But notice also, that Jesus gives the keys to the kingdom to his disciples. He goes further and says that whatever they bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever they loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven.

What Jesus is doing here is giving authority to his apostles (and by extension, true biblical churches). Jesus is in heaven right now, but the apostles, and later local churches have the authority to make judgments based on the Word of God. Said another way – Jesus governs the church through His Word and churches are to be faithful to follow Jesus’ words.

In shorthand, Jesus is saying that local churches have authority from Him to bind and loose. One decision that churches make is who to baptize.

Churches have been given the authority to baptize, not individuals.

The main point here is that churches have been given the authority to baptize, not individuals. The only exception is when you are a missionary on the mission field, and you are the only Christian in a particular area. This is what we see in the case of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8.

Even though baptism is performed by an individual such as a pastor, he is acting on behalf of the local church and under their authority.

So, baptism is a church’s act.

Baptism is a church’s act of affirming and portraying a believer’s union with Christ by immersing him in water, and a believer’s act of publicly committing himself to Christ and his people, thereby uniting a believer to the church and marking off him from the world.

When a church baptizes someone, the church is affirming a believer’s profession of faith in Christ. As far as they can tell, the person being baptized has truly repented of his or her sin and placed his or her faith in Jesus.

Very few if any church gets it right 100% of the time. There will always be goats among the sheep and tares among the wheat. But Jesus knows who truly belong to Him and He will sort them out at the final judgment (Matt 25:31-46). As a church, we should do our due diligence to discern whether or not someone has truly been united with Christ. Therefore, as your pastor, I will personally meet with anyone before baptizing them.

So, the church affirms a believer’s union with Christ through baptism. In addition, baptism portrays a believer’s union with Christ.

Rom 6:3-5

3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

In this passage, Paul is saying that believers, because of their union with Christ, experience their own death and resurrection. As Christ died for sin, we have died to sin because we are in Him. As Christ was resurrected, we are raised to walk in newness of life.

Does this happen because of baptism? No. It is our spiritual union with Christ that brings about these benefits, but water baptism provides an outward sign of an inward reality.

Water baptism provides an outward sign of an inward reality.

Because we have come to know Christ, we have died to sin (Gal 2:20). Because we have been united to Christ, we have new life and one day we will experience a physical resurrection. By going down into the water, we act out the death and burial of our old selves. By coming up out of the water, we act out our being raised to new life in Christ. This beautiful picture is lost by those who sprinkle rather than immerse, which is our next topic of discussion.

Baptism is a church’s act of affirming and portraying a believer’s union with Christ by immersing him in water, and a believer’s act of publicly committing himself to Christ and his people, thereby uniting a believer to the church and marking off him from the world.

Why do we as Baptists believe that immersion, rather than sprinkling or pouring, is required for baptism?

Three Reasons Baptism Requires Immersion^[1]Jim Elliff’s book Going Under helped me here.

First, there is the meaning of the word “baptize” in its original language (Gk. baptizo). Baptizo has been transliterated instead of translated. The word baptizo means to immerse. So why was baptizo transliterated instead of translated? The reason is that when the Bible was translated into English in the 14^th and 16^th centuries, too many powerful people (one being King James) had already been sprinkled. Therefore, the translators didn’t want to offend King James, who paid for the translation into English.

John Calvin, a leader of the Protestant Reformation (and supporter of infant baptism) said this about the word baptizo:

The very word baptize, however, signifies to immerse; and it is certain that immersion was the practice of the ancient Church.^[2]Allen translation of Calvin’s Institutes, p. 599.

It wasn’t until 1311 that the Catholic Church officially changed the form of baptism from immersion to sprinkling and it wasn’t until 1644 that the Presbyterians approved sprinkling instead of immersion. Even when they approved the change, it only passed by one vote (25-24).

The very first act of sprinkling on record happened in A.D. 250. A man was on his deathbed and wished to be baptized. Since he was too sick to be immersed, they poured a bunch of water on him. They didn’t just sprinkle, the poured water over him profusely.

So, the first reason we immerse is because of the meaning of the word baptize, which comes from the Greek word baptizo.

Second, we see clearly that immersion is what happened in the New Testament.

Much water was used (John 3:23)

John 3:23

John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized.

People came to the water (Acts 8:36).

People went down into the water (Acts 8:38).

People came up out of the water (Mark 1:9-10; Acts 8:39).

Acts 8:36-39

And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.

Mark 1:9-10

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.

Third, immersion rightly pictures what has happened to the believer spiritually.

This is what we just talked about when we discussed Romans 6. Baptism by immersion is a picture of us dying to sin and being raised to walk in newness of life. This picture of a death and resurrection is only possible through immersion.

So, baptism is done by immersion. We previously saw that baptism is a church’s act. Now, we see that baptism is also a believer’s act.

Baptism is a church’s act of affirming and portraying a believer’s union with Christ by immersing him in water, and a believer’s act of publicly committing himself to Christ and his people, thereby uniting a believer to the church and marking off him from the world.

Baptism is only for those who believe in Jesus. It is the first act of obedience for a new Christian. Some churches teach that you are not saved until you are baptized. Friends, baptism does not save you. Water baptism has no power to change us spiritually. I want to show you quickly that in the New Testament, believers were baptized.

Matt 28:18-20 – Once again, we’re told to make disciples by going with the gospel and then baptizing those who respond.

Acts 2:41

So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

Those gathered at Pentecost who repented (Acts 2:38) and believed (“received his word”) were the ones who were baptized.

Acts 9:17-18

So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized;

Before Paul was baptized, he was called brother and filled with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 10:44-47 – Gentiles are converted and receive the Holy Spirit.

44 While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, 47 “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

We see the same thing we see in Acts 2. Peter preached the word. The Holy Spirit fell on these folks and they were converted. Here in Acts 10, Peter and the rest of the Jewish believers were astounded and immediately recognize that these are new believers. Therefore, they should be baptized!

The consistent witness of the New Testament points to the fact that believers in Jesus are the ones being baptized. You don’t get baptized to become a believer. You get baptized because you are a believer. The physical act of baptism doesn’t save us, but the mercy of God. Look at Titus 3:4-5.

Titus 3:4-5

4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

Baptism doesn’t wash away our sins. Regeneration of the Holy Spirit does. Baptism pictures outwardly what has happened inwardly.

Baptism is a believer’s act. But what does baptism accomplish for the believer? That’s the next part of our discussion.

Baptism is a church’s act of affirming and portraying a believer’s union with Christ by immersing him in water, and a believer’s act of publicly committing himself to Christ and his people, thereby uniting a believer to the church and marking off him from the world.

When a believer is baptized, he is going public with his faith. When a big-name professional athlete signs with another team, the first thing that happens is the team has a press conference and gives him a jersey with the team’s name on it. That’s what is happening in baptism.

Baptism is a believer’s public declaration that he belongs to Jesus. Friends, there are no secret disciples of Jesus. We are to follow Jesus in plain sight and the world should know who we belong to. Baptism is where we publicly declare and commit to Christ and his people.

Baptism is one way that we acknowledge Jesus before men in obedience to Matthew 10:32. When we are baptized, we are in a sense swearing an oath of allegiance to King Jesus. Recalling the Great Commission, we have heard the gospel. We have received the gospel. We have been baptized. Now, we are to observe (obey) all that Jesus has commanded.

Notice also, that we are not just committing to Christ. We also are committing to his people.

Recall once again Acts 2:41.

Acts 2:41

So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

To be united to Christ is to become a member of His body. To join ourselves to Jesus is to join His people and commit to loving, serving, and submitting to them. Baptism is where a believer publicly commits to Christ and his people.

Finally, through baptism, believers are united to the church and marked off from the world.

Baptism is a church’s act of affirming and portraying a believer’s union with Christ by immersing him in water, and a believer’s act of publicly committing himself to Christ and his people, thereby uniting a believer to the church and marking off him from the world.

When someone is baptized, both the believer and the church are making a statement. The believer is declaring that he belongs to Christ and he is willing to submit to Christ’s people. The church is declaring that they believe that the person being baptized is truly a Christian and that based on that credible profession they are receiving him into their membership.

As a church baptizes a new believer, he is marked off from the world. When the church baptizes a believer, they are saying to the world, “Look here! This one belongs to Jesus!” He is given the jersey of Christ. He no longer belongs to the kingdom of darkness. He has joined the kingdom of light. He belongs to Jesus.

Conclusion

This morning, we’ve seen that baptism is commanded by Christ for believers. If we profess faith in Christ, then we’re commanded to be baptized.

I’ve given you many Scriptures to give you a biblical view of baptism.

As we conclude today, I want to give you some examples of when baptism isn’t really baptism.

The first is if you were “baptized” as an infant. We’ve seen that baptism is by immersion and is for believers. Even though churches might use the word baptism, by definition, it was not a baptism.

Second, perhaps you were “baptized” before you truly became a Christian. Some people were “baptized” at a young age but later come to realize that they were not saved when they were baptized. Remember, only true believers are to be baptized. Therefore, if you were not a Christian at the time of your “baptism”, your “baptism” wasn’t baptism. But you should only be “re-baptized” if you are strongly convinced you were not a Christian when you were baptized.

Third, perhaps you were baptized at a church that does not preach the true gospel. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. If you were baptized at a church that doesn’t preach salvation by grace through faith, then a “baptism” by a gospel-denying church is not really baptism.

The fourth example is when your baptism has no connection to a church. Where there are gospel preaching churches, new believers should be baptized in connection with one of those churches. The location of the baptism, whether it’s in a church building or a pool or a river isn’t important. What is important is that the gathered church is affirming this believer as a Christian and that the believer is making a public profession before the believers he will be committing to as a member.

If one of these four scenarios fits you, then I would encourage you to visit with your church’s elders (pastors) and receive their counsel.

In closing, baptism expresses several truths.^[3]Donald Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines within the Church, 35-39 When we’re baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we are proclaiming that God is triune and that all three persons of the Trinity share in the work of salvation.

When we are baptized, it is a visible picture that our sins have been washed away. The water that washes the body is a picture of the cleansing that the soul has experienced.

When we’re baptized, it is a picture of our union with Christ. We have been united with Christ in His death and His resurrection. It’s a picture of the new life we have in Jesus. We have died to ourselves and we have been raised to walk in newness of life.

Have you trusted in Christ?

Have you publicly committed yourself to Christ and His church through believer’s baptism?

As a church, we need to take great care regarding who we baptize.

References[+]

References
↑1	Jim Elliff’s book Going Under helped me here.
↑2	Allen translation of Calvin’s Institutes, p. 599.
↑3	Donald Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines within the Church, 35-39

Commit to the Church – Acts 2:36-47

September 12, 2022 / Matthew Wilson

I recently began a new sermon series at my church on what biblically committed church membership looks like. To see the posts based on that series, click here. This post is based off of that sermon, which you can listen to here.

Sermon Text: Acts 2:22-24, 36-47

In this sermon series, I’m going to make this argument: being committed to a local church is required by Scripture. During our this series, we’re going to look at what biblical church membership looks like.

What does it look like to be committed to Christ by being committed to other believers?

How can we be faithful to Christ by loving and caring for our brothers and sisters?

Maybe you’re asking, why do we even need a series like this?

The church I pastor is like many others. There are many people in the church that have a very low level of commitment to the church. Here are six reasons I came up with about why my church needs a sermon series on church membership.

Six Reasons Why We Need a Sermon Series on Biblical Church Membership

(1) Easy believism

Easy believism is a doctrinal view that salvation is a one-time decision and that there is no need for personal holiness or good works. Adherents believe that because they cited the sinner’s prayer and were baptized that they are okay with God. They dismiss the need to follow Jesus as Lord.

(2) Emphasis on a personal relationship with Jesus

In America, many have so emphasized the need to have a personal relationship with Jesus that they’ve essentially downplayed the need for committed church membership. Some of these people sit at home every week, reasoning that they can read their Bible and listen to preaching in the comfort of their home.

(3) Covid

Most churches, including ours, shut down for a period of time. When they re-opened, many did so in a limited way. Covid has no doubt had some negative effects on many churches. Many folks have been slow to return to church or if they have they are even less committed then they once were.

(4) Prosperity

Material prosperity has hurt the American church. Because we can afford to travel and have fun, church is put on the backburner. You could lump travel sports, vacations, lake houses, and more under this reason.

(5) A bad ecclesiology (a misunderstanding of the church)

Here’s a statement some might make: “I am going to church.” Someone might use that phrase to mean they think of church as a place or a building. Others think of the church as an event that they attend. Both groups are likely to compartmentalize their Christian lives. They live like Christians for an hour on Sunday, but they don’t live for Him the rest of the week.

(6) A consumeristic view of the church

Some people think that church is like a religious shopping mall. Donald Whitney says, “[These people] attend services as religious consumers who feel no more sense of commitment to the church than does a consumer to a mall.”^[1]Donald Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines Within the Church, 13 They are not committed to the church in any way except perhaps they give a small amount of money because they feel obligated to do so.

Summary

Perhaps you or someone you know isn’t committed to the church because of one of these reasons. Here is the underlying assumption with these six reasons: The church is optional for my relationship with Jesus and my spiritual growth.

Thom Rainer writes, “I [believe] that congregations across America are weak because may of us church members have lost the biblical understanding of what it means to be a part of the body of Christ.”^[2]Thom Rainer, I am a Church Member, 5

The reality is that church is not optional. Being committed to a local church is required by Scripture and it is essential for our spiritual growth as believers. In this series, we’re going to look at what biblical church membership looks like.

As I get started today, I’m going to begin in Acts 2 with the formation of the early Christian church. Before I do, I want to give you a little bit of context.

Acts 1:1-5 – Jesus tells the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:6-11 – Jesus commissions his disciples to be his witnesses a final time and then ascends back to heaven.

Acts 1:12-26 – 120 Christians were devoting themselves to prayer and Matthias was selected to replace Judas.

Acts 2:1-13 – The 120 Christians received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. The day of Pentecost, also known as the Festival of Weeks, was 50 days after the Passover. At this festival, God’s people celebrated the first of the wheat harvest. Because of the festival, many Jews from all over the known world had traveled to Jerusalem. We see this specifically in Acts 2:5.

Acts 2:14-36 – Peter preaches a sermon at Pentecost to the Jews who are gathered for the festival. He discusses three Old Testament texts – Joel 2:28-32, Ps 16:8-11, and Ps 110:1. Peter uses the two texts from the Psalms to present Christ as the Messiah.

Through Peter’s preaching and the work of the Spirit, the Christian church was born. We’re not going to read the whole sermon, but I want to share some of it with you and see what happened at Pentecost and how the early Christians committed themselves to one another.

Sermon Text: Acts 2:22-24, 36-47

The reason I chose this text to begin our series is because this text gives us a paradigm of commitment to Christ and His church.

The first thing we see is that the preaching of the gospel creates the church.

The preaching of the gospel creates the church (14-36)

There is no church without the gospel. There is no church without gospel preaching. In Peter’s message, he showed that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus is the Messiah. He is the Anointed One of Israel. Look again at Acts 2:22-24.

This gospel didn’t originate with man but was according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God (v. 23). And God raised him from the dead, for death could not hold him (v. 24).

In case there was any doubt, Peter concludes his sermon (v. 36) by definitively declaring that Jesus is the Christ, and he shows them their guilt (“whom you crucified”).

There is much more we could say about Peter’s sermon and one day I will when I preach through Acts. But today I want us to simply see that Peter preached Christ. Notice how they respond (v. 37)

The preaching of the gospel produces conviction of sin (37)

37 – Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

The text says that “they were cut to the heart.” That’s conviction.

This is what gospel preaching does. When God’s Word is preached correctly, it cuts our hearts if we are living contrary to it. Paul calls God’s Word a sword (Eph 6:17). Just as a sword is used to cut flesh, the sword of God’s Word cuts our hearts. It’s only when we’re cut down by God’s Word can we be healed by the gospel message. Until we understand our sin, the cross of Christ doesn’t make sense.

Friends, every one of us here this morning has sinned against a holy God. We all deserve God’s judgment. While we were not the ones who physically put him on the cross, He died for our sins just as much as anyone who was there. After these Jews were convinced of their sin and were convicted of it, they ask the apostles a question: “Brothers, what shall we do?”

The preaching of the gospel demands a response (38)

38 – And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The first thing Peter told them to was to repent. Repentance is often lacking in American churches because some “churches” don’t speak of sin. But friends, the gospel message demands that we repent. Repentance means to change your mind. Our minds need to be changed and renewed according to God’s Word (Rom 12:2). To repent of your sin means that you have remorse for your sin, and that you are choosing to turn to Christ.

We are to repent of our sin and be baptized into Jesus Christ.

Peter continues: “be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ.”

There’s much we could say about this verse on baptism. Those in the Church of Christ use this verse and a few others to say that you are not saved until you’re baptized (this is called baptismal regeneration). I don’t believe that’s what this or any other verse teaches and that is not the focus of this sermon. If you want to know more about baptism, then come back next week.

While baptism doesn’t save us, we are still commanded to be baptized. Baptism is where we “go public” with our faith.^[3]For two readable books on baptism, see Understanding Baptism by Bobby Jamieson and Going Under: Discussions on Baptism by Jim Elliff. When we’re baptized, we are proclaiming the new life that we have in Jesus Christ. Our old self has been crucified and buried with Christ. We are raised to walk in newness of life. Baptism is a picture of the cleansing of sin that has taken place within us at conversion.

In verse 38, we see that the preaching of the gospel demands a response. We respond in repentance of sin and place our faith in Christ. After trusting in Christ, we are commanded to be baptized as we identify with Jesus.

The reception of the gospel leads to forgiveness and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (38-40)

38-40 – And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” ⁴⁰And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”

When someone receives the gospel, their sins are forgiven. That can be you as you read this blog post. If you’ve never repented of your sin and trusted in Christ, then you can. If you do, you’ll have forgiveness of sins.

Not only will you have the forgiveness of sins, but you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (v. 38). The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, comes to live inside believers in Christ. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, guides us in truth, and helps us to live for Christ.

Here’s the beauty of the gospel of message that is becoming evident in Peter’s sermon. This message is not just for Jews. The gospel is “for all who are far off” (39). In verse 40, Peter continued to exhort those who were present to be saved.

So far, we’ve seen that the preaching of the gospel creates the church (14-36). The gospel creates the church by producing conviction of sin (v. 37) and demanding a response (v. 38). The reception of the gospel leads to forgiveness and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (38-40).

After receiving Christ through faith and being baptized, what happens?

Those who respond to the gospel and are baptized are added to the church (41)

41 – So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

Verse 41 is a summary statement.

“Those who received his word” – believers (those who believed Peter’s message about Christ in vv. 14-36)
“were baptized” – baptized
“added” – added to the church in Jerusalem

Someone must have been keeping records because Luke writes there were “about three thousand souls.”

One thing we’ll see in a couple weeks is that church membership defines who is a member of the church and who is not. Having a membership roll is a biblical practice and we’ll see that in our sermon on church membership.

Finally, we see that those who were added to the church committed to one another.

Those who are added to the church commit to one another (42-47)

42-47 – ⁴²And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. ⁴³And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. ⁴⁴And all who believed were together and had all things in common. ⁴⁵And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Again, in v. 41 the new believers were baptized and added to the church. Look at the very next phrase, found in v. 42.

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

Friends, these Christians didn’t just walk an aisle, make a profession of faith, and call it good. On the contrary, they devoted (committed) themselves to the church. They committed to its leaders (the apostles) and its members.

Look at the early church in vv. 42-47.

They were committed to the apostles’ teaching.
They were committed to fellowship.
They were committed to breaking bread together.
They were committed to prayer.
They were committed to hospitality.
They were committed to giving to others.
They were committed to worshiping together.
They were committed to loving one another.
They were committed to seeing the gospel go forward.

Here are the sermon topics for the next 11 weeks.

Commit: Be Baptized
Commit: Join a Church
Commit: Attend Regularly
Commit: Submit to God’s Word
Commit: Pray Fervently
Commit: Give Generously
Commit: Serve Faithfully
Commit: Fellowship Joyfully
Commit: Rescue Lovingly
Commit: Evangelize the Lost
Commit: Disciple the Saved

Friends, that’s what this sermon series is all about. We all want the church to grow, but it starts with us. It starts by us looking in the mirror. We need to first of all examine ourselves and make sure that we’ve truly committed to Jesus Christ (2 Cor 13:5). After that, we need to examine if we’re committed to Christ’s people.

As I said in the introduction, being committed to a local church is not optional for a follower of Jesus.

Have you been slacking in your commitment to Christ?

Have you been slacking in your commitment to the church?

I’ve heard it said, “The church is God’s plan A and there is no plan B.”^[4]I’m not sure the source of this quote.

Have you made the church optional in your life?

What is more important that Jesus?

Is there something you’re committed to more than God’s people?

If so, repent confess your sins to God and then build your life upon the church, which will never be defeated (Matt 16:18).

References[+]

References
↑1	Donald Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines Within the Church, 13
↑2	Thom Rainer, I am a Church Member, 5
↑3	For two readable books on baptism, see Understanding Baptism by Bobby Jamieson and Going Under: Discussions on Baptism by Jim Elliff.
↑4	I’m not sure the source of this quote.

Tag: ecclesiology (Page 2 of 2)

Commit to the Church: Join a Church

Commit to the Church: Be Baptized

Commit to the Church – Acts 2:36-47

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