The Importance of the Local Church

Well, I chose a passage of scripture to preach from tonight that would be in harmony with the testimonies that I knew we were going to hear tonight, so that's why I chose this passage from Acts chapter 2.

And I'm also mindful of the time and I will be fairly brief this evening. So in this passage in Acts chapter 2, I want us to note some things. First, I want you to note the biblical pattern that we see here that is consistent throughout the New Testament. You will not see a pattern different than this.

It's what we heard this evening. And what is that biblical pattern? Notice with me, in response to the preaching of the Word of God, then, verse 41, those who gladly received his word were baptized, and that day about 3,000 souls were added to them. What is the biblical pattern?

The biblical pattern is receiving the Word of God, believing the Word of God, and in response to that, obedience to the Lord's command to be baptized and to identify publicly with a local church. That's the biblical pattern. And you will not find anything in the New Testament that contradicts that. That's the biblical pattern. But secondly with me, the reference to church, and that is in verse 47. It's important you understand that this is in the context.

It's not referring to the exact same thing. There were 3,000 souls added to the church in verse 41, it tells us. And then we read about the activity, the church gathering together, they're breaking a bread together, they're praying together. Verse 46, so continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart. Verse 47, praising God and having favor with all the people and the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. And that suggests further activity of the work of the Spirit of God in regenerating people and birthing people into the kingdom of God.

That's something that was happening daily. The Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. Now there has been and continues to be a lot of debate about the idea of the visible church versus the invisible church or the universal church versus the local church. So let's clarify these four different expressions of the church.

I think we need to be clear about this. The invisible church, what is the invisible church? Well the invisible church includes everyone who has ever been born again from every age of church history. It includes all those who have come to Christ, that is the invisible church. The visible church in contrast consists of believers who are alive and meeting together right now like you and I are in this local assembly. So the invisible church, the visible church. Then the universal church. The universal church is not any particular local assembly but it's all of God's people around the world. That is the universal church. And then lastly the local church. The local church is a regular gathering together for worship and ministry of a specific group of people in a specific area. Beacon Baptist Church meeting here in Burlington, North Carolina.

That expression of this local assembly. So when we see references in the New Testament to the church, how do we know in any given reference of scripture which of these four aspects is the correct interpretation? Well what makes this challenging is that there is only one Greek word that means church, that's translated church in the New Testament.

And you probably know what that word is, it is the word ekklesia. It's the same word used for each of those four expressions or aspects of the church. Whether we're talking about the universal church or the local church or the visible church or the invisible church. And it is the context surrounding the reference that is the key to understanding which aspect of the church is the correct one in a given situation. We have a reference there to church in verse 47. The Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. You might find it interesting that there are only 110 references in the New Testament of church.

And each time it is that Greek word ekklesia. Those who have done careful study of those 110 references have determined that 93 of the 110 references are clearly referring to the local church. Not the universal church, not the invisible church, but the local church. If you do the math on that, that is 84.5% of all the references of church in the New Testament are references to the local church.

That is very important to keep that in mind. So when the New Testament Scriptures speak of church, the vast majority of the time they're references to the local church and not the universal church. And in verse 47 that I've made reference to several times, the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

It's clear the references to the local church. The Lord was adding to the church in Jerusalem daily those who were being saved. Now, there's a principle that I think we can derive out of that verse.

And what is that? Well, it is this, that not only does the Lord require those who are saved that they unite with the local church. That's the biblical pattern.

Receive the Word of God and in response to the Word of God obey the Lord in believers baptism and be identified with the local church. That's the biblical pattern. But notice He Himself joins them to the church.

The Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. There's a human side to this. There's a divine side to this. We've seen the human side of that, the sharing of testimony this evening, following the Lord in believers baptism.

That's the human side, but we don't want to miss the divine side. When people are obeying the Lord in His instructions, God Himself is adding people to the church. He's adding them to this local assembly, Beacon Baptist Church, for which we give Him thanks and praise.

An amazing thing. So the conclusion here is that church membership applies to and should be a part of every true believer's Christian life. You will search the scriptures in vain to find an example of someone who is not a member of the church who has repented of their sins.

There's nobody in the New Testament, you can't find an example of a non-church believer. Believers become parts of local churches, wherever that might be. You see, it is not enough for us to merely say that we are a part of God's universal or invisible church. And as I've talked to people, there are myriads of reasons. Well, I wouldn't say myriads of reasons, but there are many reasons that people give as to why they've not joined a local church.

So I don't want to oversimplify the matter here, but as I've talked to people, it seems to me that there is this one reason that seems to rise above other reasons, and it's this. Well, I really don't see the need to join a local church. I'm already a part of the invisible church. God has already made me a part of His church through the new birth. Well, you're going to have to reconcile that with the instructions in the New Testament, where 85% of the references to church are not to the universal church. They are to the local church. So though we are a part of that, what, that universal church by virtue of salvation, we must also make a commitment to a specific local group of God's people.

And that's what we witnessed this evening. And that's what we covenant together concerning. I have a church covenant here in front of me, and this is what our church covenant says when people join the church.

This is what they're coveting with others of this local assembly. Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and on the profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we do now, in the presence of God in this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another as one body in Christ. We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit to walk together in Christian love, to strive for the advancement of the church in knowledge, holiness, and comfort, to promote its prosperity and spirituality, to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines, to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expense of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the gospel through all nations. We also engage to maintain family and secret devotions, to bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, to seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances, to walk circumspectly in the world, to be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements, and exemplary in our deportment, to avoid all tattling, backbiting, and excessive anger, to be zealous in our efforts to glorify our Savior. We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love, to remember one another in prayer, to aid one another in sickness and distress, to cultivate Christian sympathy and feeling and Christian courtesy in speech, to be slow to take offense but always ready for reconciliation and mindful of the rules of our Savior to secure it without delay. We moreover engage that when we remove from this place, we will, 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. And then we ask people to sign that covenant.

Is there evidence of adhering to it? Here's a couple of formal definitions of church that I thought were helpful to just keep before us so we know what we're talking about. We're talking about the local church here. The church is a group of Christians who dedicate themselves to meeting together for the regular preaching of the Word of God, who submit themselves to biblical eldership as described in 1 Timothy 3 and Hebrews 13-17, who regularly celebrate the ordinances of the church, that is baptism and the Lord's Supper, and who practice and submit themselves to church discipline as laid out in Scripture, Matthew 18, 15-17. That is one definition of the church.

Here is another from Nine Marks. A local church is a group of Christians who regularly gather in Christ's name to officially affirm and oversee one another's membership in Jesus Christ and His kingdom through gospel preaching and gospel ordinances. So as we think about local church and local church membership, let me say a few things as we're moving along quite nicely here this evening. Church membership, what is it? What have we witnessed this evening?

What have we heard? Church membership is, number one, a public declaration of one's faith in and allegiance to Jesus Christ. It's public. A public declaration of one's faith in and allegiance to Jesus Christ. Number two, it is the biblically described, prescribed way of identification to Jesus Christ and His church. It is the biblically prescribed way of identification to Jesus Christ and His church.

That's what He's given to us. That's the way we identify ourselves with the local church. In Acts 2, this passage that we're looking at, church membership is the clarifying means between believers and unbelievers. On the day of Pentecost, in response to the preaching of the Word, we're told 3,000 people repented and believed on Christ. Verse 40, and with many other words, He testified and exhorted them saying, be saved from this perverse generation, then those who gladly received His word were baptized and that day about 3,000 souls were added to them. It also says in the passage that they were together and they were added to the number of those who believed.

Again, it is what? The clarifying means of distinguishing, making the difference between the believers and the unbelievers. We see the same thing in Acts 5 and verse 14, which tells us, and believers were increasingly added to the Lord multitudes of both men and women so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them.

But the important thing here, believers were increasingly added to the Lord, added. It's clear that the early church had a membership role or a count of the people who were part of their group. They knew who was part of that group and they knew who was not a part of that group.

You say, well, I don't see anything about, well, it's a logical deduction. In 1 Corinthians chapter 14 and verse 23, Paul says, therefore, if the whole church assembles together, and he gives instructions concerning the manifestation of the gift of tongues, but the important part there is, therefore, if the whole church assembles together. This statement implies that there was some way of knowing who belonged to the church and who did not belong. Otherwise, how could it be determined if the whole church was there or not? You see, so it seems obvious that there was some kind of formal membership role that served to distinguish believers from unbelievers. And I want you to listen to this quote from Charles Spurgeon because it addresses what's often a common argument for those who profess to know the Lord Jesus Christ, but for whatever reason have not publicly identified themselves with a local church. This is what Charles Spurgeon said, quote, I know there are some who say, well, I've given myself to the Lord, but I don't intend to give myself to any church. I say, now why not? And they answer, because I can be just as good a Christian without it. I say, are you quite clear about that?

You can be as good a Christian by disobedience to your Lord's commands as by being obedient? He says, there's a brick. What is the brick made for? It's made to build a house. It is of no use for the brick to tell you that it's just as good a brick while it's kicking about on the ground by itself as it would be as part of a house.

Pretty vivid illustration, isn't it? No, we're made for fellowship. We're made to be part of a body. We're made to be part of a local church. Now, I want to be clear, church membership does not save anyone.

But while it is not a prerequisite for salvation, it seems to me it is a necessary consequence of salvation. I do not understand how a genuine believer can continually justify abstaining from joining a church for whom Christ died. You say, oh no, wait a minute, he died. He died for the invisible church. He died for the universal church. Well, listen to what Paul said. Paul speaks of Christ dying for his church, and I have a hard time not seeing this in the context of a local church. Keep in mind, 110 reference to local church in the New Testament.

Ninety-three of those 110 are reference to the local church, not the universal church. Listen to what Paul said to the elders in Miletus. He says, therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God. Now, here's instructions to elders about shepherding the church of God. I don't see how you can take that word church and apply it to the universal church. It is a reference to local church. Therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.

Again, I do not understand how a genuine believer can continually justify abstaining from joining a church for whom Christ died. We're going to sing in a moment. Timothy Dwight's hymn, I love thy kingdom, Lord. I love thy kingdom, Lord, the house of thine abode, the church our blessed redeemer saved with his own precious blood. I love thy church, O God, her walls before thee stand, dear as the apple of thine eye and graven on thy hand. For her, my tears shall fall, for her, my prayers ascend. To her, my cares and toils be given till toils and cares shall end. Beyond my highest joy, I prize her heavenly ways, her sweet communion, solemn vows, her hymns of love and praise.

Sure as thy trust shall last, to Zion shall be given, the brightest glories earth can yield and brighter bliss of heaven. Bow with me as we pray. Father, thank you tonight for the testimony of two who have identified themselves publicly of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and their allegiance to him. Father, deepen our love for your church, deepen our commitment for your church, grow the number of your church, safeguard your church, build your church, and may the gates of hell not prevail against it. Thank you, Father, for what you're doing in your church and the authority you've given your church. Thank you for the incredible privilege to being made a part of your church, that which we know will succeed, that which we know will triumph in the end. Thank you that you are gathering a bride for your son from all the four corners of this earth. And, Lord, thank you for the incredible privilege of being part of that bride. Bless your word to our hearts, Lord, we pray tonight, in Jesus' name, amen.