Acts the second chapter. My message
this evening is three gospel ordinances. That subject may
seem familiar to you, and it should. I preached a message
very similar to this three years ago here, but I am confident
that things that were said then will bear repetition now, and
there will be some enlarged upon as well. In this second chapter
of Acts, Peter had preached the gospel of the grace of God to
a great multitude. He simply told the wondrous story
of redemption and grace by Christ Jesus, and proclaimed the glorious
exaltation of Christ as Lord and King as the result of his
obedience to God as our substitute. Peter preached on that day of
Pentecost, very simply and plainly and clearly, the same message
of God's grace that I preach to you continually. But he preached
to a large crowd, and he preached with the power of God's Spirit
upon him. And after he had finished preaching,
there were three thousand people who were converted by the grace
of God, baptized, and united with the Church of Christ in
one day. What a remarkable demonstration
of God's grace. In our text, we read of three
things which characterized that early church. Three things which
were tokens of God's blessings upon his people at Jerusalem.
Those three things are baptism, church membership, and the Lord's
Supper. Begin reading with me at verse
41. Then, that is after Peter had finished preaching, Then
they that gladly received his word, that is, they believed
the gospel that Peter had preached. He had told them who Jesus Christ
is, the Son of God, the Lord of Glory, the Son of David, the
King of Israel, and how that Jesus Christ by his death had
accomplished all the purpose of God. And those who heard received
the word gladly. They were glad to hear the good
news of redemption by the blood of Christ. the good news, the
salvation accomplished by the grace of God, they that gladly
received the word were baptized. After they heard and believed
the gospel, they were baptized. And the same day, there were
added unto them, that is added to the number of the disciples,
added to the membership of the church, about 3,000 souls, somewhere
around 3,000 men and heard and received the word of God, were
baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, and received into the
church on that day. And they continued steadfastly,
that is, they continued day after day, perseveringly, steadfastly,
they continued in the apostles' doctrine, the doctrine of the
grace of God, and in the fellowship the fellowship of the apostles,
the fellowship of the gospel, the fellowship of that doctrine,
and in breaking bread, that is, in observing the Lord's table
and in prayers. These were the activities of
that early New Testament church. They had no entertainment. They
had no committees and no programs and no shows and no ball teams
or anything of the kind. They simply enjoyed the blessed
instruction in the apostles' doctrine, the fellowship of the
saints, and the breaking of bread, and the prayers. And fear came
upon every soul. That is, the reverence of God
seized their hearts. As they heard the apostles' doctrine,
as they walked together in sweet fellowship in the gospel, As
they observed the Lord's ordinance, as they continued in prayer,
they grew in reverence for God. Fear came upon every soul, and
many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. Those men of
special supernatural calling from God had special supernatural
gifts from heaven by which they were confirmed as the apostles
of Christ. And all that believed were together. and had all things in common.
In those days, there was only one church, one local assembly
of believers, and that one church was all united, one body of believers
in Christ Jesus. And they had everything in common. That is, everything they possessed
was mutually possessed. Now, these disciples do not here
give us a precedent for living in communes. It would be wrong
for believers to isolate themselves from the world and to live in
a commune. You see these television preachers
building their big retirement villages and building their big
parks and their big complexes so that God's people supposedly
can come apart from the world and live together in a holy community
in a blessed environment. That's wrong and it's pretentious. The holiness which we possess
is not a holiness that we possess as a result of our separation
from unholy people because you and I by nature are but unholy
people. The holiness we possess is that
holiness which we have in Christ by imputation and that which
God gives us by the new birth making us new creatures in Christ
Jesus. And we are responsible not to
separate ourselves from the world, but to live soberly, righteously,
and godly among the men and women of this world. But the apostles
do give us, by their example here, and this early church by
their example, an example of how that you and I should live
together, mutually caring, one for the other. using that which
God has put in our hands for the mutual benefit and good of
the whole church and of the ministry of the gospel. Verse 45, and
they sold their possessions and goods, that is they sold their
houses and their properties and parted them to all men as every
man had need. Those who were wealthy took care
of those who were poor. Those who were prospering took
care of those who were in adversity. They had all things in common
and parted all things to every man according as their needs
were. And they continuing daily with
one accord, with one accord, one in heart, one in purpose,
one in mind, one in will, with one accord in the temple and
breaking bread from house to house. They didn't even have
a public building like we have, where they would gather together
in the name of God. They met at the old Jewish temple.
They met in one of the rooms in the temple and continued daily,
breaking bread from house to house. Obviously, they had other
places where they met around the city in various houses, and
they met together wherever they did, breaking bread in the name
of the Lord Jesus, that is, observing the Lord's table. And they did
eat their meat with gladness and with singleness of heart.
They ate their meat with gladness. That is, they lived in their
daily lives receiving the daily benefit of God's providence with
gladness. There is a gladness, a peace,
a joy that comes to God's people as they walk in this world in
obedience to Christ. I assure you, men and women,
as you endeavor to follow Christ, as you endeavor conscientiously
to do that which you know God would have you to do in the fellowship
of Christ, in the fellowship of the church, in the fellowship
of the gospel, there will be the result of gladness in your
day-by-day life. This gladness was reflected in
their singleness of heart. They were a sinful people. It
didn't take much for them to be happy. didn't take much for
them to be glad. They weren't seeking after the
riches of this world. They weren't seeking after the
approval of this world. They weren't seeking after the
pleasures of this world. They were seeking the glory of
God. And living for the glory of God, they lived simple lives. Simple lives with this singleness
of heart. Oh God, give us that singleness
of heart that seeks the glory of Christ above all things and
seeks the glory of Christ in all things that we may here in
this world live with simplicity and live with gladness and joy
before our Savior. In verse 47, their singleness
of heart, their gladness is seen in their praising God and having
favor with all the people and the Lord added to the church
daily such as should be saved. Now, I want this evening to preach
to you about these three very practical things. Baptism, church
membership, and the Lord's Supper. I trust that God the Holy Spirit
will make this message a source of profitable instruction and
edification to each of us. We're going to examine what the
Word of God has to say about our responsibilities as believers
to the ordinances of the gospel. Now there are these things which
should be of great interest and great concern to every believer.
There are these matters which every local church needs to be
informed and well established in. We recognize the fact that
the Church of God is made up of all true believers in every
age. We do not by any means suggest
that the church of God is limited to this one local assembly or
to just local assemblies like this assembly, we recognize that
God's church is made up of God's elect in every age. Some are
in heaven and some are upon the earth, but we are all one body
in Jesus Christ. Now the scriptures Frequently
speak of the church in this manner. We won't look at the scriptures,
but you can jot them down. In Matthew 16 and verse 18, our
Lord Jesus says, upon this rock, that is upon the foundation of
Peter's confession, I will build my church and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it. And that church, which is built
upon the confession of faith in Christ, is the church of God
universal. That church against which the
gates of hell shall never prevail is the church of the living God,
the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. In
Ephesians 1 verse 22, the apostle tells us how that Christ had
been made to be head over all things to the church, which is
the fullness of him that filleth all in all." In Ephesians 5,
the Apostle Paul tells us how that Christ loved the church
and gave himself for it. And that, of course, speaks of
the church universal. And then in Hebrews 12, verses
22, 23, and 24, The Apostle shows us how that
we have come unto Mount Zion, the City of the Living God, the
New Jerusalem, to the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn,
the spirits of just men made perfect, and the blood of Jesus
Christ which speaketh better things than that of Abel. In
all those passages, he's referring to the Church in its universal
aspect. And let us ever have our hearts
united with God's children scattered throughout the world wherever
they are so that we look upon our brethren everywhere as being
one with us and we show our concern for them as God in his providence
gives us opportunity. But we also recognize that the
New Testament places great emphasis upon the importance of the local
assembly. This local assembly in the Word
of God is given a place of highest priority, and you and I ought
to recognize that. The apostle, our Lord Jesus,
tells us in Matthew 18, verse 20, that where two or three are
gathered together in my name, two or three men and women, gathered
together for my glory, gathered together by faith in my name,
gathered together to promote my name, gathered together to
worship in my name, there am I in the midst of them. So that
every time the local assembly comes together, God the Holy
Spirit comes in our midst, God the Son meets with us, God the
Father meets with us, we are the temple of the living God. The apostle tells us that the
church is the pillar and ground of the truth. And he's talking
about the local church, the house of God. Our Lord Jesus spoke
to his church when he said, Go ye therefore into all the world
and preach the gospel to every nation and baptize men and women
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.
And he said, Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the
world. Now, all of those passages of
scripture refer to the local assembly. and they tell us plainly
of the importance of local churches such as this. The Great Commission,
which was given in Matthew 28, was given to and is carried out
by local churches as men and women gather in a concerted effort
for the preaching of the gospel. Local churches such as send out pastors, missionaries
and evangelists to preach the gospel around the world. We give
of our means and we give to men in various parts of the world
so that the gospel of God's free grace may be published abroad,
that God's elect may hear the gospel and believe. Local churches
administer the ordinances of Christ. People accuse us of being
soft on the local church or being weak on the local church. They
say, well, you fellows don't Don't believe in the local church.
Anybody who says that to you is either a liar or is ignorant.
You know very well what importance we've placed upon the local assembly.
In this local assembly, we administer the ordinances of the gospel.
In this local assembly, we commit ourselves to the preaching of
the gospel and the support of missions around the world. In
this local assembly, we gather together to break bread. We administer
the ordinance of baptism to believers, and we carry on the work which
God has committed to his churches. The local church is a family,
a brotherhood, a body of believers united together in Christ. And
every local church should be a miniature of the church universal. Turn to Ephesians 2. I want you
to look at these two passages. Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 20. The apostle tells
us that we are built upon the foundation of the apostles and
the prophets. That foundation is Jesus Christ
himself, the chief cornerstone. We're built upon the foundation
upon which the apostles and prophets were built. They were built on
the same foundation as we are, Jesus Christ himself, in whom
all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy
temple in the Lord, in whom ye also are built together for an
habitation of God through the Spirit. God make us to be that. Building together, each member
placed where God would have it placed, in His holy temple, an
habitation of God through the Spirit. Look in Ephesians 4,
I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you, that you walk
worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called, with all lowliness
and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love,
endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace. There is one body and one spirit, even as you're called
in one hope of your calling. one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
one God and Father of all who is above all and through all
and in you all. But every one of us is given,
unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure
of the gift of Christ. That is, in the body of Christ,
every believer is given grace to fulfill his particular place
in the kingdom of God. And in this local assembly, Every
believer is given grace by the Spirit of God to fulfill his
or her place in the kingdom of God in this local assembly. Now, our relationship to the
Church of Christ is a matter of obedience to Christ himself.
It is a great privilege and a great blessing to be a part of a true
gospel church. I have said so many times in
other places to other people, I say it in your hearing without
any hesitancy. I count it to be one of my greatest
blessings on this earth to be a part of this local assembly. How God has blessed me and blessed
my family to be a part of an assembly of believers dwelling
together in peace and unity. What a great blessing God's given
us. What a privilege. I would to
God that every man and every woman in this world who knows
Jesus Christ might know the blessedness in this world of a church fellowship
such as God has given. I can't say enough, I can't say
enough to make you understand how great and rare the privilege
is. How few there are in this world
who know what it is to gather with God's saints as often as
they gather in peace and one accord. Most of you have had
experiences in other churches and most of your lives. Most
churches just kind of mutually exist with one another. People
have their schisms and their spats and they don't speak and
they're hard and mean and gossipy and slanderous. Not in this place. God prevent that it should ever
come here. God prevent that it should. God
has greatly blessed us in an assembly of believers where there
is a mutual accord in the fellowship of Christ Jesus. And with that
privilege comes a great responsibility. It's our responsibility, Lindsay,
to keep the unity of the Spirit. It's our responsibility to keep
this bond of peace That peace, oh, that makes you strong. It's
a bond of peace. You take these little springs
here, I don't have any idea what they're made of, but you take
those things and I won't do it, but you can break them just easily. Break them between your fingers.
But you take 50 or 100 of them and tie them together. Tie them
together in one strong bond and then try to break one of them.
They form a unity of strength and that's the bond of peace
in God the Holy Spirit. That bond of peace is our responsibility
to keep by the grace of God so that we do those things and behave
in such a way as to promote that unity and that peace which God
has given us. Our relationship with the Church
of Christ in great measure reveals our relationship with Christ
himself. And I want to speak to you in that regard this evening.
Now, obviously, I can't begin to explain all that the Bible
teaches about baptism, church membership, and the Lord's supper
in an hour. And I don't intend to. Lord willing,
over the next few weeks, I will be dealing with each of these
things in more detail. But tonight, I want to briefly
define what these three things are. First, I want to show you
that baptism is the believer's confession of faith in Jesus
Christ. Turn to Romans chapter 6. Romans
the 6th chapter. Now, you'll remember what I said
to you last Sunday morning or Sunday evening, Juan. A principle
of biblical interpretation, a principle of interpreting the Scriptures
truthfully, is this. Whenever you want to know what
the Bible teaches about any given doctrine, go to that place in
the Word of God where that particular doctrine is taught. Now, if you
want to know what the Bible teaches about baptism, you go to Romans
chapter 6 to understand the meaning of baptism. For in Romans chapter
6, the Apostle Paul explains to us what baptism is and what
part baptism plays in the life of the believer. Here in Romans
6, let's begin reading with verse 3. Know ye not that so many of
us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his
death. Now that's the meaning of baptism.
Being baptized, we are baptized into the death of Christ symbolically. Verse four, therefore we are
buried with him. That's the reason we perform
baptism by immersion. We are buried with him by baptism
into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by
the glory of the Father, Even so, we also should walk in the
newness of life. This is what we profess in baptism. Now, let me try to just answer
some questions. I want to answer some questions
for you. I hope that you'll clearly understand what this thing of
baptism is in the New Testament. What is it? Baptism is the believer's
public confession of faith in Jesus Christ. It is a symbolic
picture of the gospel. Turn to Acts chapter 22. Let me show you this. Baptism
does not save. Baptism does not regenerate.
Baptism does not wash away sin. But baptism symbolically saves. Baptism symbolically regenerates. Baptism symbolically washes away
sin, just as it is a symbol of us When we're buried in water,
the scripture says we're buried into the death of Christ. Now
that's not literal, that's a symbol. When you're buried in that watery
grave, you're buried symbolically into the death of Christ. And
when you follow Christ in baptism, symbolically, you confess the
whole faith of the gospel. Look here in Acts chapter 22
and verse 16. And now, why tarryest thou? Arise,
and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling upon the name
of the Lord. Now Campbellites jump on this
text of Scripture and they say, you see there, Ananias commanded
Paul to be baptized and wash away his sins. The text is not
telling us that baptism literally washes away sin. My soul knows. The text is telling us that baptism
by symbol shows us the washing away of sins by the death and
the burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord. Our
sins are washed away by the blood of Christ. Turn over to 1 Peter
chapter 3. 1 Peter the third chapter and
verse 21. The Apostle Peter shows us the
same thing in other words. 1 Peter 3.21, the like figure whereunto even baptism
doth also now save us. Now, Peter gives a word of explanation,
not the putting away of the filth of the flesh. Now, baptism can't
possibly put away the filth of the flesh. Baptism doesn't really
save us, literally, but symbolically, for it is the answer of a good
conscience toward God. Baptism does now save us by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We come before
God in obedience to Christ and we are buried in the waters of
baptism, confessing how that we have been saved by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead. Do you see that? It's a symbolic
picture of our salvation. Baptism is the believer's public
confession of faith and his public identification with Christ and
with his people. Let me show you the importance
of it. Believers confess their faith in many ways. You confess
your faith on the job. You confess your faith before
men as God gives you opportunity, bearing witness to others concerning
what Christ has done for you by his saving grace and his almighty
blood. But as you speak of the confession
of faith initially, it is by baptism. By this, we draw a line
of distinction between the children of God and the people of this
world. By the waters of baptism, we
draw a line of clear distinction between ourselves, the church
of God, and all the religious world outside these walls. Whenever the early believers
were converted, let's suppose that Hubert here was a pagan
Greek, a worshipper of the goddess Diana. And he began to come to
the house of God and hear the word of God expounded. And God
saves him by his grace. And God reveals Christ to him. And Hubert may tell his wife
and his children and his neighbors, he may tell them all, but have
that the Lord has saved him by his grace. And have that he now
worships the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Well, that's
good. That's good. Everybody ought
to worship, ought to worship and be sincere in their worship.
And then Hubert comes and he says to his family and his friends,
now tomorrow is the Lord's day and I'm going to be baptized
in the name of Jesus Christ and identify with those men and women
who follow Christ and obey him in this world for this is the
way of life. You do that and you're cut off.
You do that, we'll have nothing more to do with you. You do that,
you can't work down here in the idol shop anymore. You do that,
you can't buy and you can't trade over here. You do that, you take
on yourself the name of Jesus Christ and you will not any longer
be welcome around here. And so when he confesses Christ
in baptism, he cuts himself off from all the rest of the world.
For he is saying to the rest of the world, your religion is
false. Your religion cannot be held
in cooperation with or in conjunction with the way of faith in Christ
Jesus. The same thing was true of the
Jews. When a Jewish man or Jewish woman was converted by the grace
of God, that was fine. The Jews did not raise great
objection to it. But as soon as those men and
women identified themselves with Jesus Christ by public baptism,
they were then cut off from the rest of the family. And I'm saying
to you, men and women, that baptism is the means by which believers
publicly identify themselves with the kingdom of God and with
Jesus Christ. I'll give you an example. Lisa
Hart sitting here. I hope you don't mind me using
you for an example. She was raised in papacy. She
was raised to worship at the footstool of the Virgin Mary.
She was raised to worship according to the dictates of the Pope of
Rome. And I've not even discussed this with you. If I'm guessing
wrong, you tell me. I'm just supposing. As long as
she came here and heard me preach, that's all right. But baptism
makes a difference with the whole family and the whole situation. Because now she has come and
confessed this is the way of life. That former way is all
heresy and damning to the souls of men. And that causes a confrontation. That causes difficulty. And you
just have to be willing to bear the conflict. That's what baptism
does. Baptism is a publicly avowed
commitment to the glory of God in Christ Jesus. Somebody says,
well, who should be baptized? That question's easy enough answered.
Believers. Believers, that's all. The Reformers
say believers and their children. The Word of God says believers.
The Pathists say believers and their children. The Word of God
says believers. The religious world says believers
and their children. The word of God says believers. The Apostle Peter says concerning
those who heard the word, repent, and believe the gospel, and be
baptized. We read there how that those
who gladly received the word were baptized, but never one
time in all the word of God was anyone baptized until that person
personally received the word of God in saving faith. When
the eunuch asked Philip, here's water. What doth end me from
being baptized? Philip said to the unit, If thou
believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And that's the one
condition and stipulation of baptism. If you believe with
all your heart, you may and should be baptized. If you don't believe,
baptism would be but a mockery to God and a mockery to your
soul. How is baptism to be performed?
Well, let's see. When the Lord Jesus came to John
to be baptized, John was in the River Jordan. And the Lord Jesus
went out into the River Jordan and was baptized. Now be saved,
he that believeth not shall be damned. Secondly, it's the answer
of a good conscience toward God. That is, my conscience demands
it. As a believer, my conscience
will give me no peace. until I follow Christ in baptism.
I dare say some of you are at that position right now. It may
be the Lord has saved you by his grace. It may be that he
has given you faith in Jesus Christ and your conscience is
tormenting you day and night over this issue of baptism. When
your conscience is bothering you, I believe I'd do something
about it. I believe I'd answer my conscience and answer according
to the word of God. Get into the watery grave. A
friend of mine in another city, I was preaching some time back,
and he said, you know, I've been troubled about this thing of
baptism for a long time. I said, well, I'd stop the trouble.
I'd stop the trouble. I'd get in the water. That's
the way you take care of it. You answer according to conscience
the command of the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, can a person be
saved without baptism? Certainly. All of God's people
are saved without baptism. Nobody in this world has ever
been saved by baptism. But, now hear me, anyone who
refuses to be baptized is not saved. Anyone who refuses to
be baptized is not saved. Well, how can you say that? God's
people are not rebels. God's people do not rebel against
the Word of God. God's people do not rebel against
that which God plainly reveals. I've had men tell me, now listen,
I understand what you're saying. I believe the gospel that you
preach, but I was sprinkled when I was a baby. I've had them tell
me I was sprinkled when I was an adult, and that's good enough
for me, and I have no intention of being immersed. Well, I say
to you plainly, I say to you plainly, you will either be immersed
or you will perish in your sin. Now that's as plain as I can
make it. I'm telling you, God's people
do not rebel against God's Word. Submission to the Word of God
is but the fruit and result of faith. Another question that
comes up, should believers ever be re-baptized? Absolutely never. Absolutely never. I know that
if you join certain Baptist churches, if you've been baptized by my
hands, they'd never receive you until you've submitted to baptism
again, because they consider you not to have had valid baptism. Now listen carefully to me. If
I have been baptized since I believe the And those are the significant
words. If I have been baptized since
I believed the gospel, there is no reason for me ever to be
baptized again. However, if I was immersed before
I believed the gospel, immersed in some false religion, in some
false profession of religion, then I need to be baptized and
confess Christ Jesus, for I have never been duly baptized. We've
had that happen here with several of you. Several of you have come
to me and you've said, Don, I was baptized when I was a boy, baptized
when I was a girl, baptized when I was a young man, but I didn't
know God. I didn't know the gospel of Christ. I had not experienced
saving faith in Jesus Christ. I want to confess Christ in baptism. That's what you need to do. That's
exactly what you need to do. But if you have been baptized
since you believe, Do not mock the ordinance of God by being
re-baptized simply to satisfy a man or a religious denomination
or a religious system. Do not dare do so. Baptism in
the New Testament is the believer's public confession of faith in
and his public confession of allegiance to the Lord Jesus
Christ. Secondly, I want you to see that
church membership is the believer's fellowship and communion with
Christ in his body. I'm going to spend a good bit
of time on this later, but many people think very little of church
membership. Many who profess faith in Christ
are not identified in any way or committed in any way to any
local church. They offer lots of reasons for
their neglect in this regard. Most of the time, their reasons
amount to nothing but pride. They suppose that there is no
church which is good enough for them to be a part of. Whatever
their reason is, they are wrong. Whatever their reason for neglecting
church membership, they are wrong. In the New Testament, men and
women who followed Christ by one means or another, always
applied for and obtained membership in local New Testament churches.
They publicly identified themselves with and publicly committed themselves
to the Church of God. Let me show you two examples.
Acts chapter 9. Acts chapter 9. The passage is
speaking of the Apostle Paul. He is Saul of Tarsus here. He's
been converted by God's grace. He's been baptized by Ananias. And in verse 26, when Saul was
come to Jerusalem, he has saved to join himself to the disciples.
Now, I don't know exactly how he went about it. The scripture
doesn't say, but by one means or another, Paul showed up one
morning with the disciples of God in the temple, seeking to
be made a member of that church at Jerusalem. But the disciples
were all afraid of him and believed not that he was a disciple. They
knew his reputation. They knew what kind of man he
had been and they were afraid he was trying to dupe them. They
were afraid he was trying to sneak in so he might give an
evil report and bring them to prison and judgment. But then
Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared
unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way and that he had
spoken to him. and how that he preached boldly
at Damascus in the name of Jesus. And then they received him gladly.
Then they gladly extended to him the right hand of fellowship.
You can read it in Galatians chapter 1. Turn to Romans chapter
16. I'll show you another example.
Here's a lady who has been converted, who's been an instrument of God's
grace in many ways, but now she's come to Rome. And the apostle
Paul is commending her to the church at Rome to be received
by them and helped by them. Romans 16 in verse 1. I commend
unto you, Phoebe, our sister, which is a servant of the church
which is at Cyntria, that you receive her in the Lord as becometh
saints, and that you assist her in whatsoever business she hath
need of you. For she hath been a succorer
of many, and of myself also. By one means or another, believers
in the New Testament always found their place in the membership
of local churches. You see, church membership also
is for believers only. A local church is a body of believers
voluntarily united together in the name of Christ for the glory
of Christ, for the furtherance of the gospel, for the salvation
of God's elect, and for mutual edification one of another. It is a voluntary union, a voluntary
uniting, a voluntary assembling together of believers. In many
ways, church membership is similar to baptism. Let me try to give
you an example of it. When I came to Danville, I had
been baptized long before I moved here. But I joined Grace Baptist
Church by public identification. And in doing so, I publicly identified
myself with this congregation and with its doctrine. I publicly
committed myself to this church. I said, like Ruth said to Naomi,
thy people shall be my people and thy God shall be my God. That's what church membership
is all about. And the fellowship of believers
in a local church is vital to their spiritual welfare. Your
spiritual growth in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ in many ways, in many ways is dependent upon your relationship
with this body of believers right here, in many ways. This is a
true story. I read it a long time ago. A pastor went to visit one of
the men under his ministry who had begun to neglect the assembly
of God's saints for whatever reason. It had been quite some
time since he had regularly been a part of the assembly. It was
on a cold winter evening when the pastor went by to visit them
and they chatted a while. After a while, the pastor took
some tongs and reached into the fireplace and pulled out One
red hot coal set it out on the edge of the hearth. The man sat there with the pastors.
They just stared at that coal. And the pastor said, now, that's
you. That's you. That fire is the
church of God. And that brother with weeping
eyes said, Pastor, I understand. I'll be back in my place. I'll
be back in my place. Because you see, when that red-hot
coal was pulled away from those burning embers, that red-hot
coal cooled off and cooled off, cooled off in a little while,
he just reached over and picked it up. Had no fire left in it.
And I'm telling you, that you and I need each other. We just need each other. We need
one another's fellowship, encouragement, and strength. We need each other. The first signs of apostasy are
usually the neglect of the assembly of God's saints. Church membership
basically involves these three things. First, it is an avowed
commitment to the body of Christ. Turn to Philippians chapter 4,
or chapter 2 rather. Philippians chapter 2. If there be any consolation in
Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit,
if any bowels and mercies, fulfill ye my joy that ye be like-minded,
having the same love, being of one accord and of one mind. Let
nothing be done through strife or vain glory, but in lowliness
of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look
not every man on his own things. Don't be so busy looking after
yourself, but rather every man also on the things of others.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." Maybe a good illustration would
be that of a marriage ceremony. A man and a woman may fall in
love with one another and want to spend the rest of
their lives together, but if that gal's got any sense, she's
going to insist on a marriage ceremony, if she's got any sense
at all. I know in this day, folks think
they're brilliant if they don't. That's just dumb. That's just
dumb. You see, that marriage ceremony,
not only is it wise, but it's right. For in that marriage ceremony,
a man and a woman publicly, mutually, pledge themselves forever to
one another. If you just sleep together, you
hadn't got that. If you just meet together now
and then and shack up a few weeks in time or a few years at a time,
you hadn't got that. But when you come together before
God and public witnesses, and you publicly pledge yourselves
forever to one another, you have committed yourself by vow to
that woman, to that man. And in the family of God, men
and women come together in church membership, and we here, every
one of you here who are members of this assembly, pastor included,
all the way back. Every one of us, we have mutually
pledged ourselves by public vow, either in baptism or by statement. We have mutually pledged ourselves
to one another. Now, that's the way it is. That's the way it is. You see,
the Church of Christ is my family, and I'm committed to my family.
I prefer my family to myself. I seek the welfare of my family
above my own welfare. I seek the happiness of my family
above my own happiness. I seek the comfort of my family
above my own comfort. God's people are a family and
the members of God's family are committed to one another. Most places I go I see very little
commitment and most people who profess to be believers Commitment. Bob and I talked
about it just a little bit this afternoon. Commitment. Boy, that's rare. It's called dependability. Just
dependability. It's called faithfulness. It's
called loyalty. Loyalty. Charlotte and Merle Hart have
been married Good long time. And I happen to know that Charlotte
doesn't have to worry about whether Merrill's going to get up and
go to work tomorrow morning or not. If he's able to drag himself
out of bed to work, he'll go because he's got a commitment
to take care of that family. He's dependable. He's dependable. He's faithful. He's loyal. Just go do it. Hell, just don't
feel like going today. But if I don't go, my wife and
kids are going to go hungry. If I don't go, who's going to
pay the bills? If I don't get out and scratch up something
to sit on the table, how on earth am I going to eat? They're my
responsibility. I'm going to go. And I'm telling
you, that's exactly the attitude God's people ought to have towards
the Church of God and toward one another. Commit. Thick or
thin, God's people are committed to one another. with faithfulness,
dependability, and loyalty. Now, that always requires a measure
of self-denial. It always requires a measure
of self-sacrifice. It always requires some effort.
If I'm truly committed to this local assembly, I pray for you. I support it. I serve its interest
wherever I can. I do whatever needs to be done.
Around my house, we don't have a job list. There are certain
things I'm not accustomed to doing. I don't wash many dishes,
but I wouldn't let them stack up too long either. I'd either
do it or hire it done, one of the two. I wouldn't leave them
standing in the sink. I'd get tired of looking at the
mess. And whatever it is that needs to be done, we just do
it. We just do it. We serve one another. That's the way it is in the family
of God. If I'm committed to this family,
I speak well of those who are in it. Speak well of my family. You
speak well of yours, don't you? I'd have serious questions about
a man's love for his wife or a woman's love for her husband
if they spoke ill of one another. We speak well of family members.
See that you speak well of the family. See that you do. I don't want my daughter or my
wife to ever hear me speak evil of any man or woman in this city. Don't want it to happen. God
helped me to brighten my tone. Never to speak evil of God's
family. I promote my family. I enjoy the company of my family.
Church membership involves commitment to the family of God. And church
membership gives me the privilege of communion and fellowship with
the body of Christ. Behold how good and how pleasant
it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. I love the fellowship
of God's people because I find fellowship with Christ and fellowship
with his church. Our Savior still walks in the
midst of the seven golden candlesticks and still reveals himself to
his churches. Oh, how the Lord has blessed
us. How we ought to zealously guard and promote that blessed
unity of the Spirit and bond of peace which you've given us.
It is a unity of doctrine, but it's more than that, it's an
agreement of heart. It's a dedication to the pursuit of one thing,
the glory of Christ. It's a willing submission to
one another for Christ's sake and fellowship in real, sincere
love. It's not just words. It's not
just pretense. It's a real, sincere love, one
for another, because of love for Jesus Christ, our Lord. Church
membership is care for the body of Christ. Look over in 1 Corinthians
12. 1 Corinthians 12, verse 24. God has tempered the body together,
having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked, verse
25, that there should be no schism, no division in the body, but
that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer,
all the members suffer with it. Or one member be honored, all
the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ,
and members in particular. See the Jack Plotkin. See the
Jack Plotkin. The people of God care for and
take care of one another. That's what we read in Acts chapter
2. Those believers just taking care of each other. Just taking
care of each other, that's all. Not only is it true in the local
church, it begins there. But it's true with regard to
the church universally as well. I don't know any other word to
put for it, and I hope it's not in an evil way. I don't think
it is. I'm so very proud of you, every
one of you, for your generosity in helping to relieve our Mexican
brethren after they'd gone through that down there a few months
ago. You've never seen their faces.
Don't know their names. Don't know the names of the churches
where they meet. Never been there and probably
never will on this earth. But because there was need, you
rallied to the need. That's what Paul's talking about.
One member suffers, we all suffer with them. One member's in need,
we're all in need. Take care of one another. Let
me remind you briefly of the fact that the Lord's Supper is
the believer's blessed remembrance of Christ. One of the most blessed privileges
we have in this world is the privilege of coming together
at the Lord's table to celebrate our redemption by Christ, eating
the bread and drinking the wine. Now, what's the meaning and significance
of this ordinance? It's not something that's shrouded
in mystery. It's a very simple but a very
precious picture of our redemption by Christ. If you'll turn to 1 Corinthians
11, let me read a few verses of Scripture to you, and they'll
help you in understanding this. Verse 23. I've received of the Lord that
which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same
night, that's important, the same night at which he was betrayed,
took bread. And when he had given thanks,
he breaketh, and said, Take ye, this is my body, which is broken
for you, this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner
also he took the cup, and when he had sucked, saying, This cup
is the New Testament in my blood, this do ye as oft," notice it,
this do ye as oft, as you drink it, in remembrance of me. For
as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, You do show
the Lord's debt till he come." Why was the Lord's Supper given? Well, it is a symbolic remembrance
of our Lord Jesus Christ and what he's done for us. It's a
vivid pictorial proclamation of the gospel. When I was in Springfield, Missouri
the year that Shelby and I were engaged, I had a picture hanging
back here on my office wall now. And boy, I spent a lot of time
looking at that picture. Now, I don't often look at it
now. If I want to see her, I just
turn around and look at her. But I had an unusual experience
today. She was sitting beside me. We were proofing some things
she had typed up. And I looked over and saw that
picture of that lady in her wedding gown. And I remembered a few
things. I remembered our first meeting,
and I remembered our courtship, and remembered that day I saw
her come through those back doors and walk down that aisle to meet
me. The smile on her face. So the picture serves a great
useful purpose, even though she was sitting right beside me.
She was sitting right beside me. and the elements of the Lord's
table, the bread and the wine. While the Lord is himself present
with us, they serve a very useful purpose, for they tell us what
Christ Jesus has done for us. And while he is here in our midst,
when we break the bread and drink the wine, they remind us vividly
of his great atoning sacrifice for the remission of our sins.
And that's the reason he's given it, as a remembrance of him.
What are the elements to be used? I know there's some matter of
controversy here, but there shouldn't be any if you understand the
meaning of the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper can only be
observed by eating unleavened bread and drinking wine. Why? Well, that's what Melchizedek,
the type of Christ brought to Abraham in Genesis 14. But also,
when our Lord originally instituted the supper, and when the New
Testament churches gathered to observe the supper, they used
unleavened bread and wine. Just read the Word of God, just
in the passage we read here in 1 Corinthians 11. Only these
elements, unleavened bread and wine, can properly portray our
Savior and our redemption by Him. The unleavened bread represents
the spotless, sinless, holy body of Jesus Christ. The breaking
of that bread represents the crushing of our Savior's body
to death as our substitute when he was made to bear our sins
in his own body on the tree. The wine represents the pure,
holy, sinless blood of Emmanuel by which our sins were washed
away and the covenant of God's grace was ratified. And the two,
the bread and the wine, separate Bread sits one place, the wine
sits another. The two separated, the body and
the blood separated, declared that our Lord Jesus Christ most
certainly died as our substitute. Who should observe the Lord's
table? All of the Lord's children, all of them. People want to restrict
the Lord's table. They say, now you can't come
here. This is the Lord's table, Joey. That means you can eat
at it if you're here. Occasionally, I guess she figured
the best way to punish me was to beat me good and send me to
bed without any supper. She did that, not too often as
you can tell, but she did that occasionally when I was growing
up. The Lord Jesus disciplines his family, but he never forbids
his children to eat at his supper. Never. Not one time in the word
of God does he do so. As a matter of fact, he not only
says we're welcome to come, he commands us to come. When should
the Lord's table be observed? The scriptures don't lay down
any specific times, and we don't insist upon any. But there are
three things of this. Number one, it was on the Lord's
Day. Read the book of Acts. When the
disciples came together on the Lord's Day, they observed the
Lord's Supper. Because it's called the Lord's
Supper, because it was originally instituted in the evening, I
rather suspect that it should be observed in the evening. And
it is to be observed often. A few years ago, I did something
that I had been, like I said about baptism, troubled about
for a long time. I'd read through the Book of
Acts and I saw that it was observed every week by the early church.
And I made lots of excuses for not doing it, because it wasn't
commonly practiced, and it's still not commonly practiced
in this country. But I became convinced that we
must observe the Lord's Table in this place at least every
Lord's Day. And I have not regretted it for
a second. Not for a second. What a blessed
way to end and begin every week of life in this world in blessed
celebration of redemption and in the remembrance of our Lord.
Pastor, am I worthy to observe this holy order? if you're worthy
to be baptized, y'all. But what makes us worthy? You're
worthy to be baptized and confess Christ if you believe the gospel.
That's all. Our worthiness is not in ourselves.
Our worthiness is not in something we feel or something we do. Folks
say, well, I just don't feel worthy. Fully on your feelings. If you believe Christ, if you're
in Christ You're worthy to eat the bread and drink the wine
and are commanded to do so. You're worthy for you discern
the Lord's body. That is, you discern your need
of a substitute and you understand how the substitute has accomplished
redemption by the sacrifice of himself. Those who do not believe
are not worthy and they dare not partake of the Lord's table.
You who do not believe the gospel don't dare receive the Lord's
table. For you do not yet discern your
need of a Savior. You do not discern the need of
the Lord's incarnation. You do not discern how that he
has established righteousness by his obedience. And you do
not discern the satisfaction of justice which was made by
the sacrifice of his body upon the cursed tree. Now these things
are three gospel ordinances God has given us. Baptism, the believer's
confession of faith in Christ. Church membership, the fellowship
and communion of believers with Christ in his body, and the Lord's
Supper, the believers' blessed remembrance of Christ. Now, the
basis of our faith is the Word of God alone. We must add nothing
to it and take nothing from it. We must obey every precept of
the Word, follow every precedent of the Word, And we must reverence
every ordinance of Christ given us in the world. It's our responsibility
to obey Christ and keep his ordinances exactly as he gave them. And we need never fear doing
what our Lord commands us to do. God bless his word now to
your heart and mine for the glory of Christ and the comfort and
edification of our souls. Amen.