Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe.
So, in this series, next steps in following Jesus, I'm saying that the church is of the utmost importance. You cannot be an authentic, growing, balanced follower of Jesus without a vital relationship with his body, the church. Welcome to The Verdict, the Bible teaching ministry of Pastor John Monroe. Many people say they love Jesus Christ, but opt out of attending a local church. Today we'll learn that the church isn't a building or denomination and it's certainly not perfect.
but it is God's community for followers of Christ. We're rediscovering the importance of the church as we study next steps in following Jesus.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe with today's message. Have you ever heard someone say, I really am quite a spiritual person, but I've rejected organized religion. I don't go to church, but that doesn't mean that I'm not spiritual. It sounds to me like a married man saying, I'm a really good husband and father, but. I don't spend much time with my family.
If you love God, And love the Lord Jesus, how can you ignore your brothers and sisters in Christ? In our next steps in following Jesus, we come today to this very important subject of the church. There are no perfect churches, just as there are no perfect people. But the church is God's idea, it's God's new community.
So, Today let's think of the importance of the church. We're continuing this morning with a series of Next Steps in Following Jesus. And today the subject is the church. What does the word church conjure up in your mind? What do you think?
What do you feel? When I say the word church, What has been your personal experience of the church? It's very easy, isn't it, to be critical of the church. But to criticize the church is a bit like criticizing family or marriage or our country, because no marriage, no family, no church is perfect. But marriage, family, the church are divine institutions.
By that, we mean that they are ordained by God. And when it comes to the church, we know from Scripture that Jesus Christ is the builder. and is the head of the church. He said to Peter, I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Yes, there is opposition to the church, there always has been.
But Jesus Christ is saying, I am building my church. And while there is going to be great opposition against it, the church Of Jesus Christ will prevail. Paul writes in Colossians 1, verse 18, and he, Jesus, is the head of the body, the church.
So, to despise the church or to think poorly of the church. is to despise and think poorly of Christ who Who is the head? Of the church. In the New Testament, the word church ecclesia is never used to refer to a building. This word church is never used in the New Testament to refer to a denomination.
But rather, the word in the New Testament most frequently refers to a gathering of believers in Jesus Christ.
So Paul can say to the church in Corinthians, he writes, In chapter 1, verse 2, to the church of God. in Corinth.
So, this Greek word ecclesia emphasizes that the people of God are a gathered people. We are gathered out of the world and we're gathered to the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. My grandparents, interestingly, as I thought about this, never talked about going to church. They talked about going to the gathering, going to the assembly, going to the meeting. The emphasis was not on the building.
But was on the thought that the true church is an assembly is a gathering. of authentic followers. Of Jesus.
So biblically, This word church. is not so much a place you attend. But rather as a community, to which we belong.
So if a bomb dropped on the campus of the church, And the building and the campus were obliterated. Church would still continue. We are the church. We happen to meet in this wonderful sanctuary. We're very thankful for our facilities.
But these facilities are not the church. These are where the church meet. We are the church. And so in this series, Next Steps in Following Jesus, I'm saying that the Church is of the utmost importance. And I'm surprised when I meet people, even those who are sometimes in full time ministry, who may be in a parachurch, who may even be missionaries, who have such a weak view of the church.
Martin Lloyd-Jones writes, we must grasp once again the idea of church membership as being the membership of the body of Christ. And it is the biggest honor which can come a man's way in this world. I agree. Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes: It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community. with Christian Believers.
I count it one of the greatest privileges to serve. as a pastor in a local Church. And as a pastor, you don't need to remind me of the faults of this church. I live and breathe the church. And confess that sometimes it's very frustrating.
Sometimes the pettiness, the lethargy, sometimes even the sheer meanness of some church members can be threatening to overwhelm us. Yet I love the church. I'm saying to you this morning. that you cannot be an authentic, growing, balanced Follower of Jesus without a vital relationship with his body, the church. When God in His grace saves us and our sins are forgiven, He does not leave us as isolated individuals.
Going our own way, forming our own little groups, but rather he calls us to himself. He calls us. Community. He calls us. to the church.
If you have your Bible, turn with me to Acts chapter 2. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, the book of Acts, where we will see in the New Testament belonging to a local church as a sign that you belong. to Jesus. Acts chapter two. Verse 41, this is the day of Pentecost.
Peter has preached the gospel. And notice what happens. Acts 2.41. Those who received his word were baptized. And there were added that day about 3,000 souls, that is added to the church.
And they devoted themselves to the Apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the Apostles. And all who believed were Notice they work together. and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need.
And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day. Those who are being saved. Those saved by the grace of God became part of a local church. The 3,000 souls saved at Pentecost were added to the church, and they joined others who shared their beliefs.
who had a common faith in Jesus.
So each person who receives Christ As their personal Saviour and Lord. becomes a member of the great universal church. But the visible manifestation of the universal church is seen in membership of a local church. I realize there are some people who dispute that, but to me, The New Testament makes that abundantly clear. Our enemy wants to isolate us.
Sin isolates us. There are some people who go through life, I've met them, they never become a member of a church because they never find a perfect church. It's like a young man who never marries because he never finds the perfect woman. What is he missing? A lot.
God wants you to belong. to a local Church. Don't be wiser than God. Be a member of a local church. Paul, as he writes in Ephesians 3, verse 10, he says that God's wisdom, in fact, he says the manifold wisdom of God is made known through the church.
Not through us in isolation, but through the church. Writing in Ephesians 5:25, Paul says that Christ loved. The church. Does he love us as individuals? Yes, he does.
But he loves the church. and gave himself up for her.
So the church is God's new society. It is God's new community. And the New Testament writers use rich metaphors to help us to understand this concept of community. And to help us understand that Christ is the head. It is His church, the Church of Jesus Christ.
And the New Testament writers also emphasize the interdependence that we need one another. An order. to bring glory to God. and in order to grow in a mature and a balanced way.
So for example, the church is described in the New Testament as the body of Christ. What a wonderful description. Christ is the head of the body. And we are members of the same body. The church is also described as the flock of God.
Here Jesus is the chief shepherd. And we are sheep of the same flock. The church is also described as the building of God, the temple of God. Christ is the chief cornerstone. But we, in turn, we are stones being built up.
In the same building. The church is described as the household of God by Paul. God is our Father, He is our Heavenly Father, and we are children of the same family. Notice the emphasis in all of these metaphors and more in unity. In hardship, in interdependence, we need one another.
We are so individualistic in our society. We're Want to be independent of people, that is not God's way. There's a beautiful interdependence. The New Testament is full of one another's. We are to pray for one another.
We are to bear one another's burdens. We are to admonish one another and encourage one another. As I read the New Testament church in Acts 2. devoted themselves, among other things. to fellowship.
Over 10 years ago, when I came to Calvary as pastor, I was told by the search committee, I was told by elders, I was told by many people, by one of the church consultants, that Calvary had a lot of. Silo ministries, little mini kingdoms. And people like that. The world says birds of a feather flock together, but we're not birds. We are sinners saved by the grace of God.
And some people like to have their little group with their little friends. Meeting in a little corner. Doing some little ministry, isolated from and with no accountability, doing their own thing and their own way. That's not the biblical. Pattern at all.
The scripture emphasizes the unity. of the body. And in the true church, young and old, male and female, married and single, whoever you are. Whatever your background, whatever country you come from, we all come together in a beautiful and meaningful harmony. Paul says it is the church which is the pillar and ground of the truth.
It is a church where the purity of God The purity of doctrine is preserved, not in a little group. It is the church where discipline is exercised. It is the church where mutual accountability is practiced. It is the church where biblical leadership functions. It is the church where missionaries are commissioned.
It's the church where we gather for worship and prayer. And it is. I believe it is an incredible privilege to be part of a local church. I know it's easy to point out the faults. of a church.
All of us All of us have feelings. All of us are frustrated sometimes as we work with people in the body, but one of the great ways that God has for us to mature. And to be balanced and to grow. is to work. with our brothers and sisters.
And if you're involved in a ministry with others, you know that that has been the source of one of the greatest ways of you growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so Christ gives us this body, the church. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter four. where Paul talks about the unity of the body. And says we are to do all we can to preserve, to maintain the spiritual unity of the church.
Ephesians 4. The whole of Ephesians really is about the church, about the body of Christ. Here Paul writes, Ephesians 4 verse 1 I therefore A prisoner for the Lord. Urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you've been called. With all humility.
and gentleness, with patience. Bearing with one another in love. Eager. Knows that word eager? eager to maintain the unity of the spirit and the bond.
of peace. Who creates spiritual unity? The Holy Spirit. This is something supernatural. We are all indwelled by the same Holy Spirit if we are authentic followers of Christ.
And so we don't create the unity, but we're called. to be eager to preserve it and to maintain it. Remember One of Jesus' great sayings. Blessed are they. Peacemakers.
For they shall be called sons of God. Are are you a peacemaker? Are you a reconciler? Paul writes to a church at Corinth where there was division, where they were focused on man rather than God. He says in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 10, I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree.
And that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. You know if you're a mother or a father, one of your Greatest source is of pain. is if your family is divided. What a joy for a human family to be united. What joy it brings to our heavenly Father when the unity which the Holy Spirit gives us is preserved again.
Paul writes In Philippians 2, on that great chapter again in Philippi, there were a couple of women who didn't get on too well. And Paul writes in Philippians 2, verse 2: Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant. Than yourself. That's what each one of us has to do as we function in the church.
It's very easy to destroy unity, isn't it? Any fool can do that. Any Fool can Get people arguing with each other. It takes no talent to divide, to gossip, to criticize. to point the finger, to accuse, to spread rumours, that takes no Skill at all.
That's the work of our enemy, who is the accuser of the brothers. Spirit of God, on the other hand, unites us and binds us.
So, all of us. As followers of Jesus, you'd be committed to being peacemakers, reconcilers, unifiers. That's why Paul says in Ephesians 4 why patience and forbearance are so important. He recognizes that there's going to be tensions. If everyone agreed with you, there would be no need to be patient with them.
If everyone saw everything the same way as you did, brother, there'd be no need for forbearance. But we have different personalities, different perspectives, look at things differently. And so, how important it is as we function in the body of Christ that we show humility. that we look on others' interests rather than Over on So belonging to a local church is a sign you belong. to Jesus Christ.
Now having said that, I want to say just A word or two about the ordinances. The New Testament church. practiced The ordinances.
So I want you to go back. In your Bibles to Matthew chapter 28. The first gospel And the words of our Lord. Just prior to his ascension. That will be a good thing.
Talk about an ordinance. An ordinance is something which was taught by Christ, practiced by the early church. And explained by the apostles. And in the New Testament, there are two ordinances: baptism. and the Lord's Supper.
Let's read First of all, In Matthew chapter 28. Verse 19. Jesus says, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. Notice what he says next. Often forgotten, By those engaged in evangelism.
What does he say? Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Notice it is the name, one God. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you, and behold, I'm with you always to the end of the age. Part of making disciples.
is Baptism. X2. Verse 38, which I already Red, we saw what happened there. As Peter preaches the gospel. Notice verse thirty eight of Acts two.
Peter is preaching. And they say to him, What shall we do? When you're telling us about Jesus. What do we do? Notice what he says, verse 38.
Peter said to them, repent. Repent. Do you need to repent of your sins? 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. Verse forty-one So those who received this word were baptized Go over to Acts chapter 10.
There's a man in Caesarea. Cornelius is From Caesarea, he's a centurion, he's a Gentile, he's not Jewish. And the gospel is presented to him. Notice what Peter says in verse 48 of Acts chapter 10. He commanded them.
to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Commanding. John Calvin writes, Whenever we see the Word of God purely preached and listened to, and the sacraments administered according to Christ's institution. It is in no way to be doubted that the Church of God exists. One of the characteristics of the true Church is that it celebrates the ordinances of baptism.
And the Lord's Supper.
Now, first of all, the ordinance of baptism. What is baptism? In the New Testament, It's never administered to babies. Absolutely not. In the New Testament, baptism is the outward sign that an individual is an authentic follower of Jesus.
How did you know in the first century if someone was a follower of Jesus, not because they walked denial, not because they put up their hand? None of these things, it was through baptism. The gospel is preached. The apostles preached the gospel. People respond by saving faith and they're baptized.
In Acts chapter 8, here's a man, he's from Ethiopia. And he's gone up to the temple to worship God, and he's on his way home. He's a wealthy man, he's got his own chariot, and he's reading the Bible, he's reading the Old Testament, he's reading from what we know as Isaiah 53. Philip Preaches Jesus to him. The man believes, and then the man says, Look, there's water here.
I need to be baptized. No doubt when he'd been in Jerusalem he'd learned about Christian baptism, and so Philip and he they stop the chariot, they get down into the water and Philip baptizes him. Baptism means immersion. He is immersed. As a visible sign.
That he is now a follower of Jesus Christ. Please note. That in the Bible, baptism is not an optional extra. This is a command. This is an ordinance of the church.
It is a public confession of your faith in Jesus Christ. This is the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us. From matters of truth and identity, to the subjects of love and grace, our world seems more confused than ever. but to find truth and certainty about who we are and find peace, we must turn our attention away from the world and look to the Word of God.
To help you do that, John wrote a booklet titled Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World. Through this special resource, John shares his personal testimony, along with a careful examination of Scripture, to offer us clarity on matters of eternity. Get your copy today by visiting our website at the verdict. org. While you're there, consider making an investment in this Bible teaching ministry.
Whether it's $5, $50, or more, your gift today helps cover the cost of sharing these gospel messages to listeners around the world. And if you haven't already, be sure to subscribe to The Verdict Podcast, featuring John's weekly podcast exclusive called Avizandam. It's available wherever you get your podcasts, or simply go to our website. Again, that's theverdict.org. The verdict is a ministry of Calvary Church in South Charlotte.
We're located on the corner of Highway 51 and Ray Road. If you've been looking for a church home or a community to help you grow in your walk with Christ, we invite you to join us for our Sunday services. For more details about Calvary and our service times, visit theverdict.org.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Did you worship with your fellow believers this past Sunday? Remember, the church is not a building, it's a community of those who have been saved by God's grace and are gathered to the person of the Lord Jesus. Paul writes that Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Love what Christ loves.
Love the church. Be part of a local church where you worship God, have fellowship and are built up in your faith. Join me next time as we think again of the church. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies.
Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
