Covenant Fellowship -- March 15, 2009

Sunday, March 15, 2009

THE JOY OF COVENANT RELATIONSHIP IN THE BODY OF CHRIST

By the grace of God, I desire to speak the truth in love this morning. I am speaking on behalf of Norman and myself, who are privileged to serve you as pastor/elders in this church.

John 13:34-35… "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
Rom. 13:8… "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law."
Gal. 5:13… "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another."
1 Cor. 12:25… "That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another."
Heb. 3:13… "But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin."
Rom. 15:14… "And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another."
Rom. 12:10… "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;"
Col. 3:13… "Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye."

Hebrews 13:17 and a grave responsibility

We have come to believe that the carrying out of these “one another” principles is what the church is all about. Now please listen to Heb. 13:17, "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you." I’m not reading this to tell you that you need to obey and submit to your leaders in the church, though you are commanded by the Word of God to do so. But I am reading this verse to assure you that Norman and I are aware that we must give account for you, because we have been appointed to watch over your souls. And if you think that phrase “watch over your souls” is rather heavy, I assure you that we feel the weight far more than you do. I believe I can say that Norman and I love every person who attends services here. However, we don’t bear the same responsibility for everyone who attends. We must give account for the souls over whom we have the rule.

That raises the question: Who are those souls, those lives? Not everyone who attends. Some who attend here are not yet believers. We praise God that you come and that you are seeking the Lord. We love you and we pray for you, but we are not responsible for you in the same way that we are responsible for those for whom we must give account. The souls of Heb. 13:17 are a part of the local church.

The Centrality of the Local Church -- Ephesians and Acts 2:42

And that raises another question: So who is a part of this local church? At that point, there is much confusion. I must take the responsibility for much of that confusion. In my lack of wisdom, I have not led us to carefully define this local church. With all the sincerity of my heart, I ask you to forgive me. I have hindered the Lord’s work at La Luz. But praise God, there is forgiveness with Him, that He may be feared (Ps. 130:3-4).

Since Norman and I are to be held accountable for the souls of men, we want to know for which souls we are accountable. We will love all who come, but we have a unique responsibility for those who are a part of this local church. The local church is not well defined by simply saying that it consists of those who attend services.

At this point some of you may have questions about the emphasis on the local church. Why not just talk about the church at large, the universal church, which is made up of all true Christians in the world? Isn’t that the church Jesus had in mind when He said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18)? It certainly is, but how will Jesus build His church? The New Testament reveals that He will do it through local assemblies just like this one.

The word ekkesia (Greek word translated “church”) is used about 115 times in the New Testament. I went through those references and found some 14 that might refer to the universal church, and 11 of them are in Ephesians and its companion epistle Colossians. That is, about one in ten references refer to the universal church. Nine of the 14 are in Ephesians, that letter in which Paul gives us the grand sweep of God’s eternal plan. But even in Ephesians, there is no hint that God’s work on earth is not done through the local church. For example, consider Eph. 1:22-23, "And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23. Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all." God gave Jesus to be the head over all things to the church. We read in Col. 1:18 that He is the head of the church. Yes, Jesus is the head of the entire church, made up of all Christians. But let me ask you a question: How does Jesus Christ exercise His headship? In the local church. We can talk all we want to about Jesus being the head of the church, but it means nothing unless we in the local church submit to Him as our head. Or consider the conclusion of that great prayer in Eph. 3:14-21. Let’s read Eph. 3:21, “Unto him be glory in the church by (or “in”) Christ Jesus…” Yes, glory goes to the One who is head of the universal church, but where will that glory be seen? It will be seen in and through the local church.

Understand that God works through the local church. That is where the rubber meets the road. It was that way in the New Testament and it is that way today. But don’t we read in Acts that God added daily to the church? We certainly do (Acts 2:47), but when you read the context, you will discover that these new believers were added to the local church, where they “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). Christ builds His church, as He works through Christians who are assembled into local churches, where they are clearly seen and observed by a watching world. The one another principles of the New Testament are not carried out in the context of the universal church. While I may say that I love all my brothers and sisters in China, I am limited in showing that love. Where that love is demonstrated and seen is with my brothers and sisters in the local church.

The Local Church and True Discipleship -- Matt. 28:18-20

So the question becomes: How can the Lord Jesus Christ be glorified through this local church? It happened in that first church of Jerusalem, as believers met together regularly, were grounded in the Word, fellowshipped together and prayed together. That’s what they did. When Acts 2:42 tells us they fellowshipped together, that doesn’t mean that they just came to meetings. The word “fellowship” speaks of sharing something in common. But what did they have in common? That they were members of the same local church? No. They shared in common the life of Christ and they gloried in that truth. Listen to what John writes in 1 John 1:3, "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." They longed for others to join their fellowship, which was a sharing of the life of the Father and the Son Jesus Christ. So the local church is to be a group of people who rejoice together, as they share the life of Jesus Christ. When you read the early chapter of Acts, you cannot escape the reality of that truth.

Please turn to Matthew 28. Remember that we want to take our model for “church” from the New Testament, not from the world’s view or from our traditions. I am not condemning traditions, because traditions can be very good. Even in the New Testament, Paul speaks of healthy traditions. The word itself simply refers to things that are passed down. Nevertheless, all traditions must be subjected to the Word of God. The Word judges traditions; traditions must never judge the Word. Let’s read from Matt. 28:18-20…

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

At this point we need to be reminded of what Jesus said shortly before He ascended back to heaven. There is one command in these verses. In the King James, it is the word “teach” in verse 19. “Teach all nations.” However, this is not the same word that is used in verse 20 – “teaching.” It is unfortunate that the King James didn’t preserve that distinction. The “teach” of verse 19 is a form of the word that is commonly translated “disciple.” Literally, Jesus said, “Make disciples of all nations.” Jesus did not command them to make converts, but to make disciples. A disciple is literally “a willing learner.” A disciple follows his master with great devotion and continually learns from him. Then in the rest of verse 19 and in verse 20 we come to the brass tacks of what is involved in making disciples. And what is it? “Baptizing them… and teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” We are really big on baptizing those who profess Christ, but notice that “teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you” is perfectly parallel with “baptizing them.” Baptism is the one-time act; teaching them to observe all things is a lifelong process. Both are the work of the local church.

So what? Does this truth have implications? It certainly does. Jesus didn’t tell us to baptize them and make sure they come to the Sunday morning meeting. He didn’t tell us to baptize them and make sure they pray, read their Bibles, and give some money to God’s causes. He told us to baptize them and teach them to observe everything that Jesus commanded. But didn’t Jesus want new converts to assemble together in meetings? He certainly did, but He wanted them to assemble with purpose, to assemble that they might exhort one another, care for one another, love one another, pray for one another. Didn’t He want new converts to read their Bibles and pray? He certainly did, but our Lord desires more. He wants new converts to read and obey what they find in the Bible, to pray that they might bring glory to God, no matter what the cost. These are some of the things that must be taught to Jesus’ disciples.

Do you see it? This is the work of the church. The church must be about the business of making and developing disciples of Jesus Christ. But who are these disciples? Everyone who attends the services of a local church is not necessarily a willing learner in the school of Jesus Christ. While the church certainly desires to love all those who assemble in meetings, does it not have a special responsibility to those who want to follow Jesus and eagerly learn from Him? And as pastor/elders in this local church, we have a special responsibility to those disciples.

Thinking about Accountability – Heb. 10:24-25 and Eph. 5:18-21

During the past few years, we have thrown around the term “accountability” a great deal. We have stressed the importance of being accountable to brothers and sisters. But what does that mean? It means that you are responsible for actively helping your brothers and sisters to love one another, care for one another, exhort one another, submit to one another, etc. You are responsible for coming alongside them and aiding them in this endeavor, and you are responsible for welcoming them to do the same in your life. If that rubs you the wrong way, then you haven’t yet caught the New Testament concept of the church. I realize that it isn’t the American way or the code of the old west, but it is the way of our Lord. We must pray that the Lord would continue to renew our minds through the truth of His Word.

Please come to that familiar passage in Hebrews 10. After concluding a marvelous section on how our High Priest Jesus has opened the way for us into the presence of the living God, the author then comes to some practical applications of that truth. Let’s read Heb. 10:24-25, "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." All too often we have lifted out the middle part of that passage and forsaken the rest. Many of us grew up hearing “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is.” However, we can assemble ourselves together week after week and be totally disobedient to this passage. But how can that be? Because the emphasis of this passage is not on meeting together, but upon considering one another that we might stir each other on to love and do good works. And how do we do that? By exhorting one another (verse 25). And, of course, we cannot exhort one another unless we come together. The word translated “exhort” literally means “to come along side.” This is what the church is all about. We come alongside one another so that we can help and be helped to do what Jesus told us to do. This is what we mean when we talk about accountability.

It is impossible for the church to function this way unless it is made up of people who are willing to share their lives together. We can’t do this unless we are willing to work at knowing one another. Now I acknowledge that this will come easier for some people than others. You may say, “But I just have a very hard time sharing my life with others. I have been hurt. Or, I’m just a private person.” BUT, if you love Jesus Christ and His church, you will have a longing to come alongside brothers and sisters more and more. It may be hard, but you want the Lord to keep chipping away on you. On the other hand, if you say, “I’ll tend to my business and let others tend to their business,” then you are not a part of the church, no matter how many meetings you come to. Oh yes, keep coming to the meetings and hearing the Word, but understand that this is not the meaning of the church.

The idea of exhorting one another, coming alongside one another, captures much of what it means to be a part of the local church, but there is another concept that is also key in defining the local church. Please turn to Ephesians 5. Let’s read Eph. 5:18-21, "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21. Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." Closely associated with the filling of the Spirit are four actions. We often associate the Holy Spirit with some great miraculous work, but that is not the most common work of the Spirit. When you see a brother or sister thanking God for that which the world would curse God, you know the Spirit is at work. And so it is with submitting to one another.

We have already read a passage about submitting to the leaders is the church, but this goes beyond that. Here Paul speaks of submitting to one another. Perhaps the best way I can communicate this idea is by sharing a personal illustration, so please allow me to do so. Rhonda and I had a decision we had to make. It didn’t seem to be a really big deal, but it was important because it affected someone we loved. We agonized over it and prayed about it, and finally we made the decision. It was difficult, but the person it affected seemed to be okay with it, at least outwardly. Later that day a brother came by to visit. After a while, he asked me what was going on in my life. That brother loved me enough to intrude into my life. He wasn’t just being polite; he wanted to know what was going on with me. He had no clue that we had been struggling with a decision.

At that point, I had to make another decision. Do I say, “Oh, not much. Been pretty busy. I’ve had some good visits with folks this week…”? Or do I tell him what has been occupying our minds the past few days. I made the decision to simply be honest. I told him the situation. Then he said, “Can I ask you some questions?” After five minutes of him asking me questions and bringing some things to my attention, it was clear that we had made the wrong decision. Fortunately, it wasn’t too late to change it. Had it not been for this brother’s interest in my life and my willingness to submit to his probing questions and gentle counsel, we would have hurt a person we love dearly and would have missed a wonderful opportunity.

Now I must say that it was not difficult to submit to my brother. Why not? Because the Lord had been blessing me with those kinds of relationships in the body of Christ for years. On the other hand, I could have thought, “You know, I’ve been a Christian almost 30 years longer than this brother. And, after all, I am a pastor. I think I can handle this without his help. The bottom line is that this is really our business, not his.” To my shame, I could have availed myself to counsel before we made the decision, but God was merciful and sent this brother to come alongside and help me.

As I see it, this concept of submitting to one another is one of the most difficult areas for Christians in our society. And that is one of the greatest reasons for the weakness of the visible church. As long as I tend to my business and you tend to yours, then we will never be the church. Regardless of what your background has instilled within you, God calls you to submit to your brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. But what if someone asks me to do something I don’t want to do? Do I have to do what a brother or sister thinks I ought to do? If a brother or sister comes to you prayerfully and lovingly and asks you to consider something, that ought to stop you in your tracks. That is occasion for the most serious prayer. Our problem is often this: By default, we figure we are most always right. Our ideas are better than the ideas of others. Before you dismiss that idea, get honest with yourself. What if you had the attitude, “When my idea conflicts with a sister or brother, most likely I am wrong and she is right”? That is absolutely foreign to us, isn’t it? Our default setting tends to be: Most likely, I am right.

The Growth of the Church Pictured in Eph. 4:11-16

Now let’s shift gears and look at a wonderful passage in Ephesians. Let’s read Eph. 4:11-16…
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12. For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13. Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14. That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15. But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16. From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Who gave some? God gave some leaders to the church. Why did He do that? Verse 12, “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Don’t misunderstand what he is saying. These phrases are not parallel; they are consecutive. In other words, these leaders are to perfect (equip) the saints unto the work of ministry so that the body of Christ can be built up. The work of the ministry belongs to the saints, not to the leaders. To the degree that God’s people expect the leaders to do the ministry, to that degree the church will be paralyzed. Christian, if you are expecting me and Norman and a few others to do the ministry, you need to repent and then agree with the Lord that He has called you to be a minister. If the saints as a whole are not taking the responsibility for ministry, the body of Christ will not be built up. The good news is that this concept is very simple. The leaders equip the saints for ministry and the body is built up for the glory of God.

But what will that look like? We find the goal in verse 13, “Till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” This goal is expressed in three ways…
… unto the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God
… unto a perfect man
… unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ

As we are trained and serve together to build up the body, we will ever increasingly be unified in trusting and knowing the Son of God. People will differ on the emphasis here, but I think he is talking about trust and personal acquaintance with the Lord Jesus. To put it another way, we will come to a perfect man, a mature man. To further define that concept, he speaks of attaining the full stature of Christ. Obviously, this will not be completely fulfilled until we meet the Lord. However, as we will see in the verses that follow, he expects a measure of fulfilling that goal in the here and now.

Before we come to verses 14-16, let me emphasize one thing. The context of all this is the body of Christ and the building up of that body. Don’t take this individually. It is as a unified body that will come to maturity in Christ. No Christian comes to maturity apart from the body. When he says “we all” in verse 13, he is talking about a group of individuals; he is talking about us together in the church. Years ago I preached a sermon on this idea of how we as Americans are so prone to take every scripture and individualize it. I actually wore some specially made glasses to illustrate how we need the Lord to open our eyes to the idea that we are not living alone. Together we are the bride of Christ. Together we are His body. Together we are the family of God.

Verse 14 begins, “That we henceforth be no more children…” It is here that we see the expectation of a measure of maturity. As we the church move toward maturity in Christ, we must no longer think and behave as children. Why not? Because children are easily carried about here and there. It is easy to steer a child where you want him to go. That is fine, if you are leading in the right direction. But when it comes to the people of God, there are forces that will attempt to lead us astray. We read in 2 Cor 11:2-3, "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."

So what exactly is the danger? “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.” As the wind tries to alter the course of a ship, so there will be those who try to sway us from the truth. All we have to do is look around. Over the past few decades, churches have tried this program and that program to try to give people what they want, like children trying this thing and that thing. Rather than being tossed about like children, let us be mature in Christ.

And now verse 15. Rather than leading to chasing fads, maturity in Christ will lead us to grow up into our head Jesus Christ in all things, as we speak the truth in love. Again, understand that this is not growth as an individual. This is the growth of the body, of which Jesus Himself is the head. Rather than chasing after various teachings and methods, we grow up into Him. Our eyes are fixed on Christ and we are not easily moved. And that is why we need one another. We must constantly be exhorting one another to follow Christ, to look continually to him.

Let me quickly say a word about speaking the truth in love. It is difficult to translate the original. There is no word for “speak.” Literally, it reads, “But truthing in love.” The Amplified tries to bring this out: “Rather, let our lives lovingly express truth [in all things, speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly].” That’s the idea. We aren’t harsh, but loving. Nevertheless, we must stand for truth rather than being diverted by everything that comes along.

Finally, verse16, "From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." Listen to that again, this time from the New King James: “From whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” Now we see the picture of the church as a human body. Each part works together and causes the body to grow, and the key feature of this growth is the building up of the body in love. Notice that love is the dominant theme. That makes perfect sense in light of what Jesus said: “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (Jn. 13:35).

I took you through this passage to emphasize the togetherness that characterizes the church of our Lord. This togetherness does not take place in the universal church, but in each local church body. The Lord intends us to live out this picture in La Luz, New Mexico in 2009 until He comes. Furthermore, He will empower us to do so by His Spirit. Over and over, we must remind each other that this is what the church is all about. And as the church moves toward this goal, what will the world see? They will see unity and love, the two things Jesus said would draw people to Himself (Jn. 17:21; 13:35).

So Where Do We Go from Here?

Through the years, many of us have desired to practice these principles and have sought to do so with prayerful diligence. While the effort has been very rewarding, there has still been a great deal of confusion. We like to speak of the church as a family, for it is the family of God. But unless there is careful definition, even that is very misleading. Why? Because while there is a family gathered here, there are others who are not a part of that family. And though some of you may beg to differ with me, I contend that there are quite a number here who do not know what constitutes being a part of the La Luz church family.

At this point, I want to ask you to be patient with us. Norman and I do not claim to have all the answers. However, we want to humbly but strongly suggest that it is time for us to do some careful defining, to make it clear what it means to be a part of this local church. We believe that the place to start is to invite people to voluntarily enter into a covenant together. That simply means that before God and one another, we would agree by the grace of God and the power of His Holy Spirit to seek to practice the very principles we have talked about this morning. Is this what we are calling “membership”? Yes. The word “member” is not important to us. What is important is unapologetically entering into covenant together before God and one another.

But surely they didn’t sign a covenant in the New Testament? There is no record that they did, although we cannot categorically say they didn’t. Personally, I don’t believe they signed a covenant and I don’t believe they had formal membership. So why should we do this? As Mark Dever puts it, we are doing this in order to have a “clearly defined community.” Though they may not have used a formal covenant during Old Testament and New Testament times, there was always a clearly defined community. In other words, there was a clear division between those who followed Jesus and those who did not. Our desire is to openly invite followers of Jesus Christ to unite in covenant fellowship for the glory of God.

Please allow me to be practical. We would all agree that the church is to be about the business of making and training disciples of Jesus Christ. That is what we talked about in relation to Matthew 28:18-20. Let me ask you this question: Who is to be the focus of our discipleship training? Again, we want to love everyone, but who is eager to obey everything that Jesus commanded?

Now please allow me to come at it from the back side. Many of you have been through this with us, so please be patient with me, as you turn to Matthew 18. Let’s read Matt. 18:15-20…
Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican. 18. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

In our current situation this raises all kinds of questions. Obviously, this can’t be applied to everyone, because everyone who attends is not a Christian. So does it apply to everyone else?

Now let’s read from I Corinthians 5. Paul was dealing with a specific case, with a sexually immoral man who was within the church. Now let’s read I Cor. 5:9-13 (NKJV)…

Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.

Here is the question: How can we put away from ourselves a person unless we know that such a person was truly a part? In other words, put away from what? From whom? We cannot practice corrective church discipline without a clearly defined community. We can’t exclude someone unless he has been included. We find this to be true both biblically and by experience. During the past five years we have been paralyzed regarding this kind of church discipline, because of the lack of a clearly defined community. Not only that, we have also been greatly hindered because of a lack of covenant fellowship, a fellowship in which every individual expresses a strong expectation that the brothers and sisters will pursue him in love when he goes astray.

As we have shared with you, a group of volunteers has hammered out details concerning a constitution and by-laws. They are designed to give us guidance, not to replace the Word of God. The Word of God will continue to be our guide. Since constitution and bylaws are required by law for incorporation, it is our desire to make those documents actually say something, rather than just be a formality. Therefore they are intended to clarify some of the specifics of how we understand the Bible directs us to operate as a church. It is not our purpose to go through that constitution this morning.

As a part of their task, this group has also written up a statement of faith. Basically, this statement of faith embodies what you have heard taught and preached in our meetings through the years. While it does not become too specific, we trust it is pointed enough to state where we are on the major teachings of the Word of God. A person will not be required to agree with everything in the statement of faith, but the person who becomes a part of this church will need to understand that this is what will be taught here and will not undermine that teaching.

What we would like to share with you this morning is the proposed church covenant. This is not original. It is used by the Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C. We are not tied to its specific wording, but we this is the basic concept which we want to portray. So let’s take a moment to pass out the copies of this covenant (pass them out)…

Proposed Church Covenant

Having, as we trust, been brought by Divine Grace to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and to give up ourselves to Him, and having been baptized upon our profession of faith, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy spirit, we do now, relying upon His gracious aid, solemnly and joyfully renew our covenant with each other.

We will work and pray for the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

We will walk together in brotherly love, as becomes the members of a Christian church, exercise an affectionate care and watchfulness over each other, and faithfully admonish and entreat one another as occasion may require.

We will not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, nor neglect to pray for ourselves and others.

We will endeavor to bring up such as may at any time be under our care in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and by a pure and loving example to seek the salvation of our family and friends.

We will rejoice at each other’s happiness and endeavor with tenderness and sympathy to bear each other’s burdens and sorrows.

We will seek, by Divine aid, to live carefully in the world, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, and remember that, as we have been voluntarily buried by baptism and raised again from the symbolic grave, so there is on us a special obligation now to lead a new and holy life.

We will work together for the continuance of a faithful evangelical ministry in this church, as we sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines. We will contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the Gospel through all nations.

We will, when we move from this place, as soon as possible, unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.

You will notice from the first paragraph the recognition that we cannot carry out these principles without the aid of the Lord. So in essence, everyone of these “we will’s” is prefaced with “by God’s grace.” In reality, all we are doing is expressing our desire before God and to one another to be faithful to what He tells us in His Word.

So how are we planning to go about implementing this plan? With much care and prayer. Specifically, we believe the process will look something like this…

1. We will formally adopt the constitution and by-laws in the April Prayer and Planning Meeting. Those by-laws will include this covenant. They spell out some details about how we will operate as a church. That will be made available to anyone who wants to view it. However, we believe the key in all of it is our willingness to enter into this covenant relationship with one another.

2. All church membership will be dissolved. In other words, we will start from scratch. No one will be a member, including Norman and myself.

3. Those who desire to be a member/part of this local church, will attend the church membership class. We do not yet have the details of that class worked out, but our purpose will be to make clear what this church stands for and invite people to join us.

4. After attending the class, those who desire to be a part of this church will express that desire to the elders of this church. They will then meet with the elders, who will talk with them about their own testimony. The purpose of this is to confirmcthat they have truly been born again. No, Norman and I do not think we can see into the hearts of people, but wevcannot watch over
your souls without delving into your spiritual lives. Our desire is to have the church as much as possible be composed of truly born again believers.

5. Perhaps it goes without saying, but a person must have been baptized, as the scripture pictures baptism as a vital part of the discipleship process (as we saw in Matt. 28:18-20).

6. The final step in actually becoming a part of this body will be the signing of the church covenant.

Now let me be very honest. To the best of my knowledge, our great desire is to glorify God. I am not aware of any ulterior motives in moving in this direction. Norman and I have prayed about this, talked and prayed about it with brothers and sisters in the body, and have waited patiently on the Lord.

Here is what we are asking of you. We are asking you to set aside the consumer mentality that has become so common in our day. It has invaded the Lord’s church. You might be thinking: “Well, I’m just not sure I want to do that. What will be the benefits of being a member of this church? Is there any advantage in being a member/part over just being an attender?” That is the consumer mentality. We are humbly pleading with you to ask one primary question: “Lord, can I glorify your name in this, regardless of the cost to me?”

We want to tell you up front that there will be sacrifice in being a part of this church. If that bothers you, you have not yet understood the call of our Lord Jesus Christ, who said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Matt. 16:24). It is impossible to do that without sacrifice.

I remind you again of those two young Moravian missionaries, who sold themselves into slavery for the glory of God. Yes, they sold themselves to a man who owned a few hundred slaves on an island. He had vowed that these slaves would never hear the gospel. So these two young men sold themselves to the slave owner in order to have enough money to pay their passage to the island. As they were leaving on the ship, never to return, their family and friends watched them go. The last thing they heard was one of those young men cry out, “May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His sufferings.”

But praise God for the opportunity to give our lives for His sake. “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake” (Phil 1:29). Yes, it will cost something to care for our brothers and sisters. Yes, it will be costly to join your brothers and sisters in taking the gospel to a hostile world. But praise God, they will know we are Jesus’ disciples, as we love one another.

Let’s pray…