5 Personal Checkpoints about Church Membership

FIVE EVIDENCES THAT YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH

1. You have publicly confessed your faith and continue to do so. Evidence: You have been baptised and you now speak about your life as Christ-centred. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Romans 10.9
2. You are living a holy life. Evidence: You are throwing off your old life and habits and putting on the new one. 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Colossians 3
3. You are committed to the fellowship. Evidence: You are linked into a home group and you participate regularly in the life of the church. Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10
4. You have a believable Christian testimony out in the world. Evidence: You have an excellent reputation for clean living among non-Christians. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Colossians 4.
5. You fight for the lost. Evidence: You are eager to share the good news about Jesus and you back up others who do so. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Cor 10

Checkpoint 5

Checkpoint number 5: Do I fight for lost people using the Good News?

You are not a Christian merely for your own sake.

You have a mission – a very noble mission.

You are called to defeat the evil that holds your unconverted family and friends and neighbours captive to sin.

You must aim to have a life that advertises the good news of Jesus Christ. You welcome undecided people and struggling Christians to come and learn with us what Christ can do.

Matthew 28. Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

(Acts 20.35). In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'

And outside the church you aren’t ashamed to speak up about Jesus to anyone who will listen.

You pray for those who are taking the gospel to other places and support them as you are able.

Checkpoint 4

Checkpoint Number 4: Do I have a believable Christian testimony in the world?

If I am to show off the goodness of Jesus Christ – I must have a life to match. One that is consistent.

God’s aim is to lift up the reputation of his Son in the world. My life must not undermine that.

You have a reputation outside the church – in your home, neighbourhood, workplace, school or other social settings. You must have a believable Christian reputation if you are a follower of Christ.

Acts 5.13. No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people.

1 Thess 4.10-12. Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

1 Peter 4.3-5. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

You can no longer take part in activities that contradict the Bible description of Christian living.

To do so is to dishonour Christ.

Checkpoint 3

Checkpoint number 3: Am I living a holy life?

This is about you being wholeheartedly committed to defeat sin and grow to your full potential in Jesus Christ.

You are determined not carry on in any known sin but you are quick to put wrong things right with Christ’s help.

Romans 6.12-14. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

Romans 8.14. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,

You are not sinless, but you won’t put up with your sin when you discover it. You never give up on repentance. You want to maximise Christ’s reputation through your life. Your daily life gives evidence that Jesus Christ is your Lord. Your life is worship.

Romans 12.1-5

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Checkpoint 2

Checkpoint Number 2: Am I committed to the fellowship of Christians?

Am I actually plugged in to the Church fellowship – or am I more like a bird that rests on the branches from time to time? Am I a part of the family of God by the way I live?

Do I mix, talk, learn, worship and pray regularly with the others in our fellowship?

An essential part of the Church, right from the beginning time, was to meet in homes.

Of course there is nothing special about a house – except that it is the right setting for family.

A home is not an institution and it encourages the right kind of fellowship – openness, talk, learning and support.

Have you linked meaningfully with one of the Church home groups?

These are the basic groups in the church in which you experience fellowship and receive support for your daily living.

As well as being in a home group – the support system of the church - you are also committed to the fellowship in other ways:

You attend the whole church meeting each Sunday morning for worship and teaching.

You eat the Lord’s Supper with others, to declare that we are all depending on Christ’s life in us.

And you join in other church activities to give or receive. Here is a description of the early church:

(Acts 2.42-47). They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Each of us aims to grow in our capacity to serve God by helping the church. We discover and practise the spiritual gifts that are given for this very purpose: to build up the body.

Ephesians 4.15,16. Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

You also enjoy fellowship with Christians from other places, welcoming visiting Christians and responding warmly to Christians you meet in your daily life, even though they don’t attend your particular church.

3 John 5-8. Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.

Checkpoint 1

Am I sure that I have understood what it means to be a part of Christ’s church?

Checkpoint Number 1: Have I publicly confessed my faith?

Have I actually spoken up to others to say: Without Jesus Christ I am nothing. I have submitted my life totally to him as Lord. I am completely dependent on his death and resurrection to put me right with God. My life belongs to Jesus Christ – I am his servant.

The reason why this is essential is that without faith in Jesus no one can be a member of his Body. You only get a place in the household of God through deliberate faith in Jesus. (No one comes to the Father, except through me.)

So, what will a public confession of your faith look like?

There are two parts to it. One is the same for everyone – the other is unique to you.

The part that is the same is baptism.

That is the public action by which you declare your faith in Jesus Christ.

Romans 6.3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

The second part to your public confession of your faith in Jesus Christ is that you are always ready to explain the reason why you are trusting Christ 1 Peter 3.15:

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

You are willing to talk about your experience of Christ. You do not remain silent.

A member of the Church has publicly confessed his/her faith in Christ by being baptised and continues to make the confession by talking about his or her faith in Christ.

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Too tough? Not for Christ - therefore, not for you

Who is able to live like this? Jesus lives like this! He won for you the Holy Spirit so he could reproduce this life in you. Each Christian operates in the church and in the world by depending on Christ working in and through him by the Holy Spirit. There is nothing here about programmes or technology or religious ceremonies. It is all about quality of character- Christ’s character. THAT is the evidence that someone belongs to Christ’s church. Do you love this life described here? Are you are working intently towards it? Are you are supporting your brother and sister Christians to do the same? Membership of the church means you have needs that your brother and sister Christians can meet for you and you have grace that they need from you. Jesus works actively in his church managing and coordinating this sharing for the good of the whole body. Being a Christian, must start with a personal encounter with Christ, and new birth links us not only to Jesus, but to his Church. No genuine Christian can live outside the church - and the local church is the group in which we express that unity.

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True Christian behaviour from Romans 12.

Walking the Word

• V9 Genuinely loving. There is no room for love as a mere display or performance. Forced smiles and polite language that covers up selfishness, competitiveness or dislike is not genuine love. Love must be the starting point for all Christian behaviour (1 Cor 13).
• V9 Hating evil. True Christian character expresses itself in aggressive opposition to the remains of sin within us. A genuine Christian fights against his/her sin, putting it to death (Rom 8). We don’t fight against people, but we show no mercy to sin. We fight it first in ourselves and we attack the mind-set of sin in others by using the Sword of the Spirit – the Word of God – to demolish strongholds in peoples’ thinking that hold them in slavery to sin.
• V9 Holding onto good. We will not sacrifice good in order to make money or win friendships. Good is non-negotiable. The genuine Christian treasures good and will let go of everything else to hold onto it. The greatest good is Christ himself – our highest treasure from which all good flows. Anything we enjoy in life must act as a springboard to higher appreciation of Christ – if it can’t do this is ought to be avoided.
• V10 Treating Christians as family. Our relationships are those of brother and sister. We learn to know each other well. There is an avoidance of formality. We open up our lives to let our brother and sister Christians in.
• V10 Giving respect and attention to other Christians. The only competitiveness amongst us is to outdo each other in showing interest, honour and attention. We do not overlook or undermine our brothers and sisters.
• V11 Spiritually energetic – serving the Lord. We keep the fires of our passion for the Lord and his people and his work always burning. We are not flat, bored or disinterested. We feed our passion by devouring the Word of God and engaging with Christians.
• V12 Joyful. Genuine Christian character is happy. It delights in God and is always striving to experience Christ and his work more fully in order to be more joyful. Being joyful in God is a huge priority. Increase your joy by knowing Christ more.
• V12 Hopeful. Real Christians have an unquenchable optimism. They believe the promises of God and set their sails into that future. They are not defeated by storms and setbacks.
• V12 Patient through troubles. When trials come, as they must, we do not give up and turn to our own methods or complain. Real Christians see trouble as necessary learning and refining that must occur within our lives.
• V12 Always praying. (Constant = unbroken). Genuine Christians pray and pray often. They understand that although much of God’s grace comes like rain on all people, there is special grace that God will give to his people to enable them to be Christ-like and share in his work. This grace must be received deliberately. He sets out his intentions in promises and we must turn those into prayers – asking and receiving, seeking and finding, knocking and having the door opened to us.
• V13 Generous to other Christians in need. Christians believe Jesus when he said there is more happiness in giving than receiving. We are quick to come alongside Christians who need material help and support them as we are able.
• V13 Hospitable. Because we are a family, we open our homes to one another. We do not keep our stuff for private comfort, but use our resources to make others feel at home and welcome.
• V14 Blessing trouble-makers, not repaying trouble on them. We love our enemies by seeking opportunities to help them. We refuse to get into payback.
• V15 Empathetic in joy and sorrow. Genuine Christians are not jealous of those who are enjoying success, nor do we stand back from those suffering grief. We involve ourselves with people.
• V16 Harmonious. Christians try to avoid clashes with each other and aim to work alongside each other rather than against each other. We may differ on some things but we aim to do so with respect and humility.

• V16 Humble and willing to serve. Christians do not seek status, except to outdo one another in serving. We mix willingly with people of all backgrounds and don’t distinguish between people because of their levels of education of wealth.
• V16 Willing to learn – teachable. A genuine Christian is a disciple – a learner. We never consider ourselves beyond learning, but keep a humble estimation of our own abilities.
• V17 Free of retaliation. We never put trouble back on people who put trouble on us. We are deeply forgiving – though we do not condone the evil people do.
• V17 An honourable public testimony. Our lives are seen to be good. We are not hypocrites, but have a good reputation among unbelievers as consistently good people.
• V18 Peacemaker. Although we will face people who oppose us for doing good, as far as it depends upon us we try to keep the peace. We avoid entering into pointless arguments and feuds.
• V19 Not aggressive. We make no threats and do not use abusive language. When spoken to hatefully, we respond with patience and respect.
• V19 Confident in God’s justice. We commit our cause to God, happy to leave our enemies in his hands.
• V20 We love our enemies by helping them when they are in trouble, because we hope that our love will bring about a burning conviction in their minds that might lead them to repentance.
• V21 Fighting righteously. We loathe evil and kill it with good. We begin with our own lives and extend the same principle out through our families and into the world. For every evil we come across, we seek to eat it’s oxygen with the fire of good deeds inspired by God’s Spirit.

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The distinguishing marks of Christian character.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul outlines the basic character and behaviour standards for church membership. He is describing the quality of fellowship that the church strives for. It describes the character of Christ. This is the kind of living we commit to when we follow Christ. This is Christ’s vision for our church. These qualities are what we have seen in Jesus Christ and that we want. The challenge to us is: Will I chase after these qualities to live them, or will I attempt to water them down to my comfort or interest level? God forbid!

Romans 12.9-21

9 Let love be genuine. Hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

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Joining the Church is not a casual thing

Acts 2.37-41 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

People are added to the church through crisis. You don’t just slide into the family of God. You come to the end of yourself and become immersed in and sold out to Jesus Christ. Then you confess your faith in Jesus through baptism demonstrating your willingness to commit to him, his people and his magnificent unstoppable work.

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The church Meets Locally

1 Corinthians 1.2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.

The members of the body meet together in every place where they live. There are local churches everywhere and we all look up to Jesus Christ. No Christian can afford live in his or her locality without been linked up with other Christians in that place.

The church is centred in Homes not Special Buildings

1 Cor 16.19; Col 4.15; Philemon 1.2

Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.

Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.

Greet Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house.

The church is centred on family homes – rather than special buildings. The church is not like the institutions of the world – so it should not try to copy them. Institutions have policies, budgets, building programmes, qualifications, hierarchies, rules, complicated technologies, promotions, advertising, and competition. The church has a totally different focus. We do not wage war as the world does. We have spiritual gifts as the tools of our work. The church is nimble and responsive – not weighed down by property and possessions. Where groups gather in the name of Jesus Christ – he is there among them. God deliberately chooses the simple approach so that all the power can be seen to come from his Son, Jesus Christ.

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The church has One Head

Col 1.18 And Christ is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

The head and Lord of the church is Jesus Christ. He does not relinquish that position to anyone. All the plans and power come from him into the members. He makes these plans known to us through the Bible. Christian leaders are little people – anyone who wants to be great in Christ’s church must serve others more – spend themselves as Christ spent himself for us.

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The church is a body.

Romans 12.4,5. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. We are all so closely and spiritually connected to Christ and to each other that we are called a ‘body’. We each have a part to play for the good of the whole body. We each have spiritual gifts that we use to build up the whole body. That is why sleepy, distracted or inactive Christians makes the rest of the body unwell, too. Each must play his part. You go into training – it requires self-discipline. Paul says to Timothy: Train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

Being a member of the Body, means you must pull your weight – you cannot be a passenger – your spiritual muscles must work for the good of the whole body. If you have a speaking gift – use it! If you have a serving gift – use it! And do it all to maximise the glory of Jesus Christ.

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You must be Re-born to be a member of Christ’s church:

1 Peter 1.3-5. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

To share in God’s inheritance (and what an inheritance!) you have to be a family member. To be a family member you have to be born into it. We don’t become sons and daughters in God’s family by our religious upbringing. We are born into his family spiritually. It is a second birth. We are all born of water – that’s our natural birth when we emerge from a watery womb. But we must be born again to claim membership of God’s family - we must be born of the Spirit. Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water AND the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.(John 3). We have to be made spiritually alive – enlivened and motivated by Christ’s life in us. Without second birth, we remain under God’s judgement, destined for death and hell. New birth defeats the sin that controls you and sets the Holy Spirit to work in you to give you a new way of thinking, feeling, willing and acting. The church is made up of all genuine believers in Jesus Christ who have been born twice. Bottom Line? Without new birth you are not a member of God’s household. You are a very welcome visitor, but it is the children who have a secure place in a family, not the visitors. Visitors go back to their own place; the family home belongs to the children. If you have no assurance of your new birth – that is your pressing priority.

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When you join the church you join the fellowship that God already enjoys – the fellowship between God the Father, Son and Spirit. The church is not just a human fellowship – we are added to an existing fellowship: God’s fellowship that each member of the Godhead enjoys and wants to share. Jesus explained this carefully to his disciples just before he went to the cross. John records it in chapters 14-17:

• Jesus promises to come again and take us with him so that where he is we may be also – and that place is his Father’s household in which there are many positions available.
• He explains that he is in the Father and the Father is in him – a tight fellowship.
• He said he would send the Spirit so that we could enjoy our part in their fellowship: “I am in my Father, and you in me and I in you.” “You will know the Spirit because he will be in you.”
• Jesus said: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Stay and live (abide) in my love”.

When you are spiritually reborn, you are included in the totally satisfying, brilliantly joyful and absolutely secure fellowship that already exists between Father, Son and Spirit. Nothing can separate us from his love. And this love creates brother and sister relationships with all real Christians in that fellowship.

Listen to Jesus’ prayer for us:

John 17.20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

So, know this: Church is an existing fellowship – not a programme, not an institution, not a denomination, not a social service and not a duty. Church is at the heart of your relationship with God and all the others who call him Father, too. Church will mean nothing to you until you have discovered Christ to be the highest value in your life. Until his brilliant goodness and power (his glory) becomes your deepest satisfaction and your highest joy - being in fellowship with him and his Father and the Holy Spirit will seem slightly awkward - or vague - or downright confusing. Why? Because you are still an idol worshipper. You have set up other things – things that God made but removed from him – as your objectives and loves in life. Satan has blinded you to your Creator and his plans. On the other hand: Church is fellowship – fellowship with God and with his people. It is you living in God’s family.

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In summary, the church is God’s own people living in a family relationship with each other and him, who exist to make a big deal of God’s glory revealed to the world in Christ. And we do that by explaining, living out and holding high the truth as God has revealed it. We do it by defeating the enemy and rescuing people into God’s family. Our lives are important! It takes words AND lives to maximise the glory of Christ in the world.

Don’t be deceived into thinking that the church is ineffective or too small to count. A little bit of yeast causes the entire lump of dough to bubble and rise into a loaf. A tiny mustard seed when planted in the earth becomes a very large garden bush. A tiny spark of faith in Christ’s mighty word can cause a mountain to tremble and landslide into the sea. One Christian in a family can shake it to its core and lead many to safety. One local church in a community can restrain evil and bring strong light into a dark place, converting many to come over to Jesus’ side.

This very exalted definition of the Church suddenly makes a preoccupation with programmes, cups of tea, collecting money, buildings and religious routines seem far short of the mark; and so it should.
That is far too small an idea of what Christ has in mind for his church.

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The Church holds up and holds out Christ to the world

Jesus gets most glory when people are rescued from serving Satan as slaves to sin and set free to live as God’s children and serve his righteousness. The Church fights for the truth that sets people free. Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8.34-36. The Church can not afford to go to sleep because lost people are depending on us to fight for them. Using spiritual weapons we have to demolish the strongholds of lies that the enemy builds around people. We have to wield the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, to cut them free from their bondage.

The truth that the Church holds up is summed up by Paul in a short poem. He calls it the mystery of godliness which is that God has revealed himself in the person of Jesus Christ. 1 Tim 3.16

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:

He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.

The truth that the church family holds up wherever it is placed is Jesus Christ. Godliness (that is, God’s holy and good character) is a mystery to the world. It always settles for far less, based on the best (and worst) that man can do. When Jesus came, the mystery of godliness was revealed and the church family now has to reveal the character of Christ in its daily living. Jesus Christ is our focus, the centre and source of our lives. We show him off.

This mystery of godliness was manifested (which means came out into the open) when Jesus lived it out through a human life.

The Holy Spirit proved (vindicated) him to be God in flesh by the miracles and by the authority of his words and most powerfully by his resurrection.

Angels saw him raised and witnessed to it to the disciples who came to the empty tomb.

Christ was and is now proclaimed among the nations of the world; his message radiating out from Jerusalem as the disciples took the gospel out.

The world at large (people from every culture) have believed on him - put their faith in him.

Currently he is enthroned in the spiritual world in glorious triumph.

This poem, or hymn, emphasises how everything in heaven and earth is brought together under one Lord: Jesus Christ. This is the truth that the church lives out. We are the family of God broadcasting the good news about Jesus.

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Thirdly, the church is a pillar and buttress of the truth. Pillars hold up heavy weights. Consider the pillars that hold up the front of the Auckland Museum. Buttresses are massive supports that hold the sides of a building rigid so it won’t crumble and collapse outwards under its own weight. So, Paul describes the church as that which holds the truth high and in place – immoveable and rock solid in the world. Each church (including ours) has this vital task to perform: to hold high and keep steady against all tremors and attacks the truth of God. We do so by teaching and sharing the Word of God and by confirming it through lives lived by faith in Jesus Christ – your life has to be evidence. This is the same thing Jesus spoke of when he said that the church was like a city set on a hill that can be seen at night by its sparkling lights. He said that the church is to the earth like salt is to meat – preserving it and fighting off the rot. The church lifts high the truth as it is in Jesus and he is a reference point which shows the way to God and a light that exposes the evil at work in the world.

And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. John 12.32 Jesus was first lifted up in shame on the cross. Now we lift up the truth of that gospel which includes the truth that Jesus has been raised up to give his life to everyone who repents and turns to look on him in faith. (Remember the bronze serpent!).

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The church is God’s household. 1 Timothy 3.15

First and fundamentally, the church is the people of God; not just a random group of people assembled together, but God’s household . The church is a family with God as our Father. Now, a family is not an institution or organisation held in place by charters and rules. A family is relational. Its members share the same blood! A family is dynamic and living, able to adapt to circumstances. A good family is conversational, full of talk, advice, sympathy, correction and comfort. A family values experience, paying attention to its more experienced members and raising up its younger members to behave well. So it is with God’s family, the church. We are not joined together around an external programme or set of rules; we are joined together by blood. We share the life of Christ spiritually. Like a family tree Christ is the vine and we are the branches. The same juice runs in us all. We share the same Spirit.

Secondly, the church belongs to the living God. It is not a man-centred or man-ordered organisation. God is its reason for existence and it exists to fulfil his purposes. God has not handed over his church to men to run as they please. God has appointed Jesus Christ to be head of the church and he speaks his word into it to correct and train it.

2 Timothy 3.14-17 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP (4)

To answer the question What does it mean to be a member of the church? We must answer a prior question:

What is the Church?

The New Testament has absolutely nothing to say about the design or facilities of church buildings. There is no mention of altars, candlesticks, robes or even styles of music. It is all about people and how people can be transformed into new Spirit-filled persons and be added to the church. The only church ‘building’ mentioned in the New Testament is one of living stones – people. Sure, people met together in homes and hired halls, but it was what was going on in their lives that gave evidence that they were the church. 1 Peter 2.4,5 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

The church is not a building but a household. A household is a family. Hang onto that truth.

Here is a text to help us get the idea of what the church is:

1 Timothy 3.14,15. I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

Paul was writing to a young Christian leader, Timothy, who was working hard to build up the church in the city of Ephesus. He gives him advice about the different roles people should have in the church and especially about the need to get strong Bible teaching going amongst the people in order to fight off the false ideas floating around and make them very strong in Christ. He hoped to visit Timothy there soon but realised that he might be delayed. In this sentence he sums up the main purpose of his letter. He says in a nutshell what the church is, because all his advice is directed to helping the Christians in that town to know how to behave as the church. Paul defines the church as a household – God’s household. He describes it as a pillar that holds the truth up high and firm in the midst of a shaky and confused world.

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP (3)

My aim is that we will all have a good understanding of what the marks of a member of Christ’s church are and how that might be expressed in our local church here. Let’s pre-empt that right now by stating that the marks of a member of Christ’s church are Christ’s life!

The aim is to exclude no one.

Christians among us need to wake up to realise who we are and what it means to be the church – God’s people in this time and place.

The uncommitted, the uncertain and the seekers need to be encouraged to come amongst us, learn from God’s Word and confess their faith in Jesus Christ. We are not judging you. We were like you. We are called to bless you!

The cynical and rebellious unbelievers need to come amongst us to have their man-centred ideas challenged and the good news of Jesus Christ sown in their thinking and in their hearts.

Christians, we have work to do. We must build a church. If we fail to build a church in our lifetime we have failed our main calling. We must build a church that can do the work described in the New Testament. We have to recover the way our Christian brothers and sisters did church at first. There are layers that need to be scraped away so we can find a firm foundation to build on. We have to prepare a church that will be effective and dynamic when the current small children among us are young adults.

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We need to go to the Bible to find out what it means to be a member of a local church – in our case: this church.

Here are some reasons why it is important to work out whether you are a member of Christ’s church:

1. You won’t and can’t build the church and make it stronger if you are not personally built into it – attending, turning up or visiting church is like a bird that lands on the branches of a tree – it is not being part of the tree itself.
2. It is unfair (and dangerous for them) if we encourage people who aren’t disciples of Jesus to assume they are members of his church. We are warned in the Bible that the church is like a watchman and if that watchman fails to warn people that they are in danger and that danger comes and sweeps them away, then that watchman should pay with his life (Ezekiel 33).
3. It is extremely discouraging to genuine Christians if people who are not followers of Jesus are treated as though they are - even though their lives contradict what Jesus teaches. It weakens the call to be holy and therefore shuts out massive blessing.
4. If people who are not born again put in their best efforts to work in the church, it will always be unspiritual activity with no life-giving energy – it will turn into stressful, hard and fruitless work. Nothing will come of it in the end. Unless the Lord builds the house, the workers labour in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. Psalm 127.

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What does it mean to be a member of this church?

How do you enter and what are you entering?

This is a question that I hope we will individually and together think very carefully about over the next few weeks. It is critical to your Christian growth and the growth of this church that you know where to place yourself on this question.

Are you a church member simply by turning up? Is attendance at church meetings sufficient to identify you as a member of Christ’s church? Do you belong to Christ’s church by being found inside this building? Are you a member of the church if your name and address gets printed on the church contact list? Are you a member of the church if you are doing something for the church programme, such as cleaning, providing a flower arrangement or helping with transport? What things do you have to know and believe to be a church member? How do you join? What happens if you leave? What standards of behaviour do you have to maintain? What do you have to do for other church members? Are there a minimum number of meetings you have to attend? What if you haven’t been baptised? Can anyone eat the bread and wine? What does the church actually do?

Living with a little or a lot (ii)

CHRISTIANS WITH A LOT

Although we may have been raised in privileged circumstances and never lacked anything in life – a good upbringing, stable family home, plenty of food, a good education, leisure time, money to spend – well off believers can take pride in the suffering and humiliation that we experience through our association with Christ. It seems strange at first, but when you have your eyes opened to the final end of lives built on material and worldly privilege, we will bless God that we have been enlightened.

Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
For I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,

until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.

Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors! (Psalm 73.1-3 & 16-19)

God opens our eyes to the shame of building our lives on material wealth, blindly going on assuming that material things will protect us. It is a healthy thing to come to terms with our mortality and fjnd security in Christ.

We have been humiliated by our association with Christ, and that is a good thing! To humiliate is to expose the human failings of someone. Humiliation quite frequently comes to the rich, famous or influential when their private lives are exposed to be unworthy. Well off Christians do not have to wait nervously for a time when they may be put to public shame, because they are willingly and deliberately associated with Jesus Christ who has already been put to the most public of humiliations. He was wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53.5.

As James said, we who are well off boast in our humiliation through our association with Jesus and his death, because his death exposed the frailty of our humanity and the complete failure of material things and human reputation to either cover up its flaws or guarantee its future. Humanity drops like a flower after briefly blooming. As the lowly Christian boasts in the vast distance he has been lifted up to share in Christ’s glory, the well off Christian (and remember that at some time in our lives we may experience both these extremes) boasts in the depth of the grave into which his private shame has been and what a vastly superior treasure Christ is to him than fading material things.

Paul spoke about these two extremes of Christian living and all the points in between: I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Phil 4. He learned to be content with whatever circumstances God prepared for him and he depended on Christ to strengthen him for each of them.