The Marks Of A Faithful Church Member FBCAM Filename: LJD-Topic-Church Membership-The Marks Of A Faithful Church Member

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Erica Davidson
6 years ago
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1 The Marks Of A Faithful Church Member FBCAM Filename: LJD-Topic-Church Membership-The Marks Of A Faithful Church Member INTRODUCTION I don t think I have ever worried about the number of members of the church. As a matter of fact, I would rather have fewer, committed members than to have a large membership. Why? The first church I ever attended had a membership roll of maybe two or three hundred people, but only coming on Sunday mornings. Looking back on that, I have to wonder how many of those people were even true believers. What does the Bible say about what a church member should look like? When a person truly places their trust in Christ, they are instantly made part of the body of Christ. They become part of the invisible or universal church. The only one that determines their membership in the invisible church is Christ, and he knows their hearts perfectly, so he can make a perfect judgment. But when the person comes to join a local church, you need to understand that it s going to be different. A local church is a visible expression of the invisible church, of the body of Christ. It s not going to be perfect, because we re human and we can make mistakes in our judgments. So a local church will unfortunately have members that are unbelievers. Every local church needs to look at who joins that church and determine, to the best of their ability, if that person is truly a member of the invisible church are they truly a member of the body of Christ? We want the local, visible church to reflect, as much as possible, the invisible church. That means that we ll have to make judgment calls about a person s salvation. That s not very acceptable in today s culture, but it s biblical. 1

2 The Bible helps us here by giving us guidelines about what a member of Christ s body will look like. These are what I am calling in this sermon, the marks of a faithful church member. If you are a member of this local church or some other local church, you can use these marks to examine yourself. Are you a faithful church member? The first mark of a faithful member is that I. THEY ENTER CHRIST S BODY BY FAITH A. PERSONAL FAITH IN CHRIST 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (John 1:12) Every believer in Christ is a member of Christ s body. How did they get there? By personal faith in Christ. The word for believe here is a present-tense participle in the Greek, so it could be translated as them that are believing on his name. This isn t a past faith or a future faith it s an ongoing, present-tense faith. Faith in Christ that saves is a faith that is trusting Jesus Christ right now. So often, when Christians give their testimonies, they focus on what happened in the past. When they were five or sixteen or forty, they had this experience with Christ. It s not unimportant, I like telling about what happened to me on July 3, 1990, but it s not all. Ask yourself not just, Did I decide to follow Jesus? but also, Am I trusting in Christ? Is he my only hope for eternal life? A true faith in Christ will persevere and not die out like a seed thrown on rocky or thorn-infested soil. I fear that many people claiming to be Christians don t really have a present-tense faith in Christ. Perhaps they were baptized as an infant (or even as an adult), and so they think they are fine. 2

3 3 Perhaps they grew up in a Christian family, were always in church, so they can t imagine that they re not saved. Maybe they had had an experience at Bible camp or at a revival meeting they wept, and knelt, and prayed. But their experience did not bring lasting fruit, and, if they still come to church, it s probably out of a sense of obligation to someone. Faith in Christ is resting in him for your salvation. You don t look to other experiences or your good works for salvation your trust is completely in him, every day for the rest of your eternal life. Do not assume that you are saved because of your past, even if it includes fifty years of church attendance your name can be on a church membership role, but be missing from the Lamb s book of life. Are you trusting in Christ today? B. EVIDENCED BY OBEDIENCE How do you know that you have faith in Christ? The letter of 1 John is full of evidences that you can check your life against. It s a short, five chapter book, so if you are wondering about your faith, I d encourage you to sit down and read it through several times. There are evidences of salvation to look for in nearly every chapter of 1 John. Perhaps the best evidence of a true faith is obedience. It s the evidence Jesus gives us in John 14:15 15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15) Obedience is not merely about keeping God s rules if that is all it is to you, then you ve missed the point. Obedience is an expression an outflowing of your faith in and your love for Christ. Obedience from faith and love is wanting to do what Christ wants. We don t have to keep lists. We don t want to embarrass Christ by our disobedience. When we do disobey, we hurt because we ve disobeyed Christ, not just his rules.

4 We should note that rule-keeping obedience and obedience from faith often look identical on the outside. The primary difference between the two is a person s heart what is their motivation for obedience? One area of obedience that should happen after a person rests their faith in Christ is to follow him obediently in baptism. Every church member in the New Testament was baptized when they joined the church (Acts 2:38-41). The reason that baptism is a requirement for membership in a local church, is because, as we said earlier, the local, visible, church should reflect as much as possible the invisible church. When a person comes to faith in Christ, they are automatically baptized in the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). Water baptism is a physical representation of a Christian s invisible baptism in the Spirit. So a member of a local, visible, church should be baptized to join. A faithful church member enters Christ s body by faith, faith that responds in willing obedience, including the obedience of baptism. Another mark of a faithful church member is that II. THEY RECEIVE CHRIST S WORD FROM ONE ANOTHER A faithful church member loves Christ and Christ s word like a lover loves both his beloved and her letters written to him. But this is not just a private love of Christ s word, it s one shared with all those who also love Christ and his word. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16) I want you to notice in this verse that the you is plural; it s referring to a group of Christians. We are not just to let the word of Christ dwell in us only as individuals, but as a group. Bible teaching in church is especially important. 4

5 That s why here at First Baptist, we spend a lot of time going verse by verse through books of the Bible. We are also to be teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. That says something about the music that we sing. It must be biblical. It must be worthy of teaching and admonishing the Word of Christ to one another. Fluff need not apply The point is clear: we are to come together to receive Christ s word from one another. That s why it says in Hebrews that we are to be 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. (Hebrews 10:25) Faithful church members should come to church, not just for social fellowship, but primarily to partake in the Word of Christ. The Word is to be our bread, our meat, our milk. We are to come to feast together of the Word. It s sad when some Christians (or at least they say they are Christians) claim that they are on a diet, or that they prefer spiritual baby food. The preacher s sermons are too long. He doesn t tell enough stories. They don t need to go to Bible study. Whatever. But for the faithful church member, she or he comes eager to feast on God s word. They have a hunger for the Word. They know that it is by Christ s word that they can grow. And the faithful church member knows that it takes more than sitting through a sermon and hearing the words. They are active listeners. Jesus told his disciples: 18 Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have. (Luke 8:18) 5

6 Active listening is like the difference between being spoon-fed and being able to cut and chew your food for yourself. It may involve taking notes to remember the main points or the applications. It means that you take time to examine yourself and reflect on what you might change or what you delight in. A third mark of a faithful church member is that III. THEY ARE JOINED TO OTHERS IN CHRIST S BODY There is a wonderful and mysterious bond between Christians. When I visit other churches or meet another Christian for the first time, there s a connection between us that I don t find with non-christians. Strangely enough, I think the connection is even deeper than biological family. If I were to meet a cousin for the first time, I think the connection wouldn t be as strong as meeting a Christian for the first time. To understand what that bond is, we look at: 16 From whom [Christ] 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. (Ephesians 4:16) The word joint refers to the ligaments and tendons that hold together the bones of the body. When you become a Christian, you become part of the body of Christ. 5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. (Romans 12:5) If you have truly received Christ, becoming part of his body is not voluntary, it s a fact of being a Christian. One person wrote: 6

7 7 Being connected in the body of Christ is more than formal association. My shoe is associated with my body. It is attached to my foot for many hours a day. But it is not a member of my body; I can take it off and I won t be hurt. If you try to take off my foot, however, I would strongly object because my foot is organically joined to other members of my body. It shares the same life-blood and the same nervous system. 1 When someone leaves a local church, especially under bad circumstances, there is a pain that doesn t seem to go away it is a chronic pain. There are people who, each time I think of them, I still hurt inside. What this means practically is that we should care for one another. Not to do so would be like deliberately hitting your thumb with a hammer you are hurting yourself. What does this caring look like? 1) Sharing emotionally: 15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. (Romans 12:15) 2) Limiting your liberty for the sake of others: 21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. (Romans 14:21) This is especially important for American Christians to humbly consider because we are so prone to exert our independence, our liberties, and our rights. We tend not to care what others think. 3) Showing hospitality: 9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging. (1 Peter 4:9) 1 Joel R. Beeke, A Faithful Church Member (Darlington, England;Carlisle, PA: Evangelical Press, 2011), 24.

8 8 Joel Beeke relates the story about a woman who attended a church more than an hour s drive from her home. Every Sunday after morning worship, she would eat a lunch by herself, then go to a park or library until it was time to go to the evening service. She did this for four years. Not one family in the church invited her to their home. On her last Sunday at that church, an elderly woman invited her to her house. Beeke then writes: Friendly handshakes at the church door can only go so far; true relationships require spending time together. 2 There are, of course, many other practical ways that we can care for one another. But the primary thing is to remember we are part of one body what happens to one part will affect all of us. The fourth mark of a faithful church member is that IV. THEY SERVE OTHERS FOR CHRIST S SAKE 16 From whom [Christ] 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. (Ephesians 4:16) A faithful church member does more than warm his portion of the pew every Sunday. A key portion of a Christian s life is service the effectual working in the measure of every part of the body. We each have different gifts, and we can each serve in different ways, but we will serve if we are a member of Christ s body. We ll serve because Christ serves, and we share in his life as a Christian. He makes us more and more like him. 2 Joel R. Beeke, A Faithful Church Member (Darlington, England;Carlisle, PA: Evangelical Press, 2011), 27.

9 Consider with me three aspects of a faithful member s service to Christ. A. THEIR SERVICE IS TO BE ZEALOUS 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1) Because God has given us mercy, we respond by making our bodies living sacrifices for him and his work. We are to be zealous in our service for him. B. THEIR SERVICE IS TO BE A WITNESS Why are we still here? Why didn t Jesus, the moment we trusted him for salvation rapture us to Heaven? He left us here to be witnesses of his glory and his gospel. Paul uses the term ambassador. 20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ s stead, be ye reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:20) Most Christians, it seems, are afraid of being a witness for Christ. We fear being made fun of, or of losing a friend, or of saying the wrong thing. We need to think about what the apostle said in Romans 1:16 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16) Why was he not ashamed of the gospel? Because it is the power of God for salvation to those who would believe (the word believeth here is also presenttense). 9

10 Our culture tells us that every truth is equal and to say that we have the only way to salvation is arrogant. But the truth is: we do know the only way of salvation We don t have to be arrogant about it, but we mustn t be ashamed about it C. THEIR SERVICE IS TO BE A STEWARD A steward is someone who takes care of another s possessions for them. God has given Christians many gifts: time, talents, and treasures. How are we to use these gifts? Jesus describes the Christian s stewardship: 19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matthew 6:19 21) I ve noticed the trend to build bigger and bigger houses even as families grow smaller and smaller. Why? It s the lure of a affluent and materialistic society and Christians aren t immune to it. A faithful church member will consider what it means to be a good steward of what the Lord has given him or her. They will ask themselves: how will this affect eternity? Is this a need or a want, and if it is a want, is it a purely materialistic want? A member of Christ s body will see that, in the end, the only thing that doesn t break, burn down, get stolen, or lose it s value is the eternal human soul. They will then focus their time, talent, and treasure into winning souls for Christ and building up souls for Christ including their own soul. That doesn t mean that we can t buy or do fun things, but I ask you: What is your treasures in Heaven to treasures on earth ratio like? What do you spend your time and talent and treasure on the most? How does that compare to the amount of time and talent and treasure you spend on storing up treasures in Heaven? 10

11 CONCLUSION So these are four marks of a faithful church member. I don t mean that to become a member of a church, one has to exhibit these marks perfectly. But these marks should exist in their lives at least in seedling form. For the rest of us, I challenge us to think about them and ask, Am I a faithful church member? 11

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