WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.400 All right, thank you, Doug. Please take your copy of God's Word and turn to Ephesians chapter 4. 00:00:12.200 --> 00:00:17.339 The cries of our littles brings me joy in a way it has not in a very long time. 00:00:17.339 --> 00:00:20.460 It actually fills me with happiness to have crying in this room. 00:00:20.460 --> 00:00:23.640 So thank you. Glad to have it. 00:00:25.339 --> 00:00:28.940 I'm going to do something this morning that I don't do often for good reason. 00:00:29.600 --> 00:00:32.620 It's done rarely enough, but I think it deserves explanation. 00:00:32.899 --> 00:00:36.420 We most regularly and as a habit exposit a text. 00:00:36.579 --> 00:00:41.760 We take a text, we read it, and explain to you what it means, work to give you application for it. 00:00:42.780 --> 00:00:47.439 This morning we're going to use the text, this text in Ephesians chapter 4 verses 10 through 16, 00:00:47.439 --> 00:00:50.740 as kind of a jumping off point to talk about something broader. 00:00:50.859 --> 00:00:57.880 I'm going to explain to you why I'm doing this, but I just want you to be aware that as a regular thing, 00:00:57.880 --> 00:01:03.760 I know this is not the best way to open up the text and give attention to it. 00:01:03.840 --> 00:01:07.400 From time to time, I think it can be an appropriate thing. 00:01:07.480 --> 00:01:10.680 I hope you'll agree with me by the time we're done this morning. 00:01:10.820 --> 00:01:16.960 So Ephesians chapter 10, chapter, I'm excuse me, Ephesians chapter 4, beginning in verse 10. 00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:26.599 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens that he might fill all things. 00:01:26.599 --> 00:01:34.280 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, 00:01:34.280 --> 00:01:40.799 for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, 00:01:41.239 --> 00:01:45.759 to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 00:01:45.760 --> 00:01:52.719 so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, 00:01:52.960 --> 00:01:57.320 by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 00:01:58.240 --> 00:02:05.140 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 00:02:05.880 --> 00:02:10.340 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, 00:02:10.340 --> 00:02:17.900 when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. 00:02:18.740 --> 00:02:22.439 Now, this text is from our Bible reading this past week. 00:02:22.740 --> 00:02:27.199 And as I read it, it's a text that I normally read with great joy, right? 00:02:27.259 --> 00:02:30.520 This ecclesiological text, what is the church meant to do? 00:02:30.599 --> 00:02:32.020 What's its high aim? 00:02:32.020 --> 00:02:42.680 I couldn't help but note that the body is to be joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, 00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:54.660 verse 16, and to lament the reality that we both feel and are in actuality disjointed in this moment. 00:02:54.659 --> 00:03:01.740 Even when we gather in the largest of groups, they still don't have the whole body, 00:03:01.800 --> 00:03:06.180 this local expression of the church gathered together. 00:03:06.180 --> 00:03:12.759 And so I think it'd be good for us to think this morning, as we find ourselves in the midst of the pandemic, 00:03:12.759 --> 00:03:16.519 as there's restrictions being put on the sizes of groups that we can have, 00:03:16.759 --> 00:03:23.180 as we're anticipating this may drag on longer than any of us hoped that it would, 00:03:23.180 --> 00:03:28.060 how should we be thinking in this time? 00:03:28.580 --> 00:03:35.879 And we'll tell you immediately, I do not have the direct and immediate answer for you about solutions for the problem. 00:03:35.879 --> 00:03:41.460 But I think if we'll come back and we'll start with some clear biblical thinking about what the church is, 00:03:41.640 --> 00:03:47.620 it'll help us to think in this time and it'll help us to draw good conclusions moving forward. 00:03:48.020 --> 00:03:51.420 So I want to talk this morning briefly. 00:03:51.419 --> 00:03:58.539 I hope we'll see how quick I can do this about church membership and church discipline. 00:03:59.319 --> 00:04:02.039 And if you've been around here for a while, you've heard about these things, 00:04:02.039 --> 00:04:05.519 you may be going, oh gosh, church membership and church discipline again. 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:08.979 But all the more in a time like this, 00:04:08.979 --> 00:04:09.879 we need to be really, 00:04:10.019 --> 00:04:15.659 really clear minded about how it is that we are in a fellowship of believers. 00:04:15.659 --> 00:04:21.680 And then how it is that we find ourselves outside of a fellowship of believers, right? 00:04:21.779 --> 00:04:25.639 So why and how do we see people into the life of a local church? 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:29.800 Why and how do we correct people in the life of a local church? 00:04:29.819 --> 00:04:34.959 And why and how do we see people out of the light of a local church? 00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:39.120 This teaching is, of course, for those of you who are not members of our church 00:04:39.120 --> 00:04:42.759 or are not in the process of becoming a member of our church. 00:04:42.759 --> 00:04:48.579 But not only that, it's also for those who are members of our church, right? 00:04:49.219 --> 00:04:56.339 We need to understand, we need to give careful consideration to the degree of our commitment to the church. 00:04:56.339 --> 00:04:59.219 It's one thing to say that you are committed. 00:04:59.399 --> 00:05:03.939 It's another thing altogether to be committed to a local fellowship, right? 00:05:04.279 --> 00:05:10.379 Those of you who are members of our church also need to be able to make kind and compelling cases to your friends, 00:05:10.979 --> 00:05:16.079 roommates, classmates, coworkers, family who profess to follow Jesus Christ, right? 00:05:16.139 --> 00:05:19.959 That they also ought to be members of a local church, right? 00:05:20.059 --> 00:05:22.579 The church is a great grace to us, right? 00:05:22.579 --> 00:05:26.399 It is the church that Christ died for. 00:05:26.659 --> 00:05:32.599 We ought to treasure it properly if we mean to follow Jesus the way he wants for us to. 00:05:33.479 --> 00:05:37.079 Now, before I can make a convincing case to you of your need of church membership and discipline, 00:05:37.079 --> 00:05:40.639 I must make a case to you what the church is, right? 00:05:40.899 --> 00:05:45.459 We live, after all, in a day of very poor ecclesiology, right? 00:05:45.500 --> 00:05:50.120 This moment is proving that to be so incredibly true, right? 00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:54.019 To begin with, we used the word church to speak of buildings and property. 00:05:54.220 --> 00:05:55.699 Should never be the case. 00:05:55.860 --> 00:05:59.860 But now we're using it of all kinds of meetings online, right? 00:05:59.980 --> 00:06:02.879 So you have multi-site church that's already existed. 00:06:03.019 --> 00:06:05.019 Now you have church at home. 00:06:05.319 --> 00:06:06.840 You have online church. 00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:13.100 All kinds of perversions of the very word and what it means. 00:06:13.100 --> 00:06:19.820 Far too many people for far too long have thought of the local church as a club. 00:06:20.320 --> 00:06:27.120 Far too many people for far too long have thought that to be a member of a local church means that you show up at significant meetings, 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:31.460 that you pay your dues, and that you believe in the cause of the organization. 00:06:32.320 --> 00:06:38.600 Far too many people for far too long have joined local churches because the church agreed with their political ideology, 00:06:38.600 --> 00:06:44.300 or met some stylistic preference, or offered them an affinity-based friend group, 00:06:44.460 --> 00:06:47.480 or made them feel good about themselves. 00:06:48.300 --> 00:06:50.740 But beloved, the church is not a club. 00:06:51.160 --> 00:06:54.480 It is not a fraternity or sorority. 00:06:54.939 --> 00:06:59.280 The church is not an organization that puts on events and supports causes, 00:06:59.280 --> 00:07:02.460 and your participation is optional. 00:07:02.459 --> 00:07:09.739 The church is God's people, called together by grace through faith around an event, 00:07:10.419 --> 00:07:12.699 the completed work of Jesus Christ. 00:07:13.439 --> 00:07:19.099 And because God's global church cannot meet under the same roof, this side of heaven, 00:07:19.819 --> 00:07:22.039 we will one day, praise God, 00:07:22.679 --> 00:07:28.959 but because we can't do it now, we gather in local fellowships to worship God in word and deed, right? 00:07:28.959 --> 00:07:32.259 This is the form of church most mentioned in the scriptures, 00:07:32.359 --> 00:07:35.819 talking about the local gathering of believers. 00:07:36.739 --> 00:07:40.039 Jonathan Lehman, editorial director for Nine Marks, said, 00:07:40.139 --> 00:07:42.019 the local church is not a club. 00:07:42.500 --> 00:07:47.000 It's where we Christians go public to declare our highest allegiance. 00:07:47.240 --> 00:07:54.379 It's the outpost or embassy giving a public face to our future nation. 00:07:55.039 --> 00:07:58.259 Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2, verse 9 and 10, 00:07:58.259 --> 00:08:02.599 You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, 00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:04.620 a people for his own possession, 00:08:04.740 --> 00:08:10.620 that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:14.939 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. 00:08:15.360 --> 00:08:20.159 Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 00:08:20.159 --> 00:08:24.719 And so we as a church are meant to be a people, right, 00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:31.100 who represent Jesus' coming kingdom in a strange and foreign land, right? 00:08:31.320 --> 00:08:36.620 And we ought to then gather regularly, as allowed in our current state, 00:08:36.740 --> 00:08:43.399 and declare who is part of that kingdom and who is not a part of that kingdom, 00:08:43.399 --> 00:08:48.259 and to go and recruit people to be a part of that kingdom, right? 00:08:48.360 --> 00:08:53.120 Freely offering God's kindness to them in Christ. 00:08:54.199 --> 00:08:55.759 Martin Lloyd-Jones once said, 00:08:55.879 --> 00:08:59.559 We must cease to think of the church as a gathering of institutions and organizations, 00:08:59.559 --> 00:09:05.259 and we must get back to the notion that we are the people of God. 00:09:06.299 --> 00:09:13.000 A Christianity devoid of life in the local church is found nowhere in the scripture, right? 00:09:13.419 --> 00:09:18.699 New Testament Christians would think so much that happens in our day incredibly odd. 00:09:18.700 --> 00:09:22.640 Even in those cases of frontier mission work, 00:09:23.259 --> 00:09:26.040 the missionaries are commissioned and prayed for by the church, 00:09:26.520 --> 00:09:28.400 the missionaries are starting churches, 00:09:28.700 --> 00:09:34.560 and the missionaries are received back to their sending church to hear the account of God's working. 00:09:34.840 --> 00:09:37.540 Look at Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey. 00:09:37.660 --> 00:09:39.600 They're sent by a church, they start churches, 00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:45.040 they come back to a church, right, to tell of all that God had done. 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:48.280 Mission without the church is missing. 00:09:48.700 --> 00:09:50.000 The main ingredient, right? 00:09:50.120 --> 00:09:54.920 We gather in order to go, and we go in order to gather. 00:09:56.040 --> 00:09:57.879 Christ died for the church, 00:09:57.960 --> 00:10:03.460 and it is his intention to make himself known through it and by it, right? 00:10:04.259 --> 00:10:08.300 Ecclesiology, the study of the church, is not just some sideline thing for some people. 00:10:08.300 --> 00:10:16.400 All people who belong to Christ ought to be particularly concerned about this beautiful thing that he instituted called the church. 00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:22.579 God intends for the world to be able to look around and say of a people, church, 00:10:22.740 --> 00:10:32.199 and to say of another, not church, right, which frames our concern for church membership and for church discipline, right? 00:10:32.200 --> 00:10:35.000 So, what is church membership? 00:10:35.580 --> 00:10:40.740 Church membership is a formal relationship between a local church and a Christian, right? 00:10:40.759 --> 00:10:43.560 Now here, when I say local church, I mean people, right? 00:10:43.660 --> 00:10:49.300 People who have already made an agreement together to be in a church fellowship together, right? 00:10:49.299 --> 00:10:52.359 Membership adds to that number, right? 00:10:52.719 --> 00:11:00.779 In which the church affirms the Christian's profession of faith and gives oversight of the living of their faith, right? 00:11:01.199 --> 00:11:05.139 Who says to an individual, yes, you're part of the kingdom, right? 00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:07.279 With the confidence we can have, you're part of the kingdom, 00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:12.139 and we want to help you to live as a citizen of that kingdom. 00:11:12.139 --> 00:11:18.059 It is through church membership that we do the one another's of scripture. 00:11:18.559 --> 00:11:19.639 You ready? I'm going to rattle them off. 00:11:19.740 --> 00:11:20.600 Well, not all of them. 00:11:20.679 --> 00:11:23.240 I'm going to rattle off some of them for you quickly. 00:11:24.279 --> 00:11:25.799 Be at peace with one another. 00:11:25.899 --> 00:11:27.379 Mark 9, 50. 00:11:27.860 --> 00:11:28.580 Love one another. 00:11:28.679 --> 00:11:29.799 John 15, 12. 00:11:30.139 --> 00:11:32.340 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. 00:11:32.419 --> 00:11:33.480 Romans 12, 10. 00:11:33.960 --> 00:11:35.799 Honor one another above yourselves. 00:11:35.960 --> 00:11:37.179 Romans 12, 10. 00:11:37.500 --> 00:11:38.919 Live in harmony with one another. 00:11:39.019 --> 00:11:39.960 Romans 12, 16. 00:11:39.960 --> 00:11:43.500 Accept one another then, just as Christ accepted you. 00:11:43.680 --> 00:11:44.960 Romans 15, 7. 00:11:45.280 --> 00:11:46.240 Instruct one another. 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:47.780 Romans 15, 14. 00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:49.780 Have equal concern for each other. 00:11:49.860 --> 00:11:51.019 1 Corinthians 12, 25. 00:11:51.420 --> 00:11:52.560 Serve one another in love. 00:11:52.660 --> 00:11:54.080 Galatians 5, 13. 00:11:54.600 --> 00:11:55.220 Be patient. 00:11:55.379 --> 00:11:56.420 Bear with one another in love. 00:11:56.500 --> 00:11:57.440 Ephesians 4, 2. 00:11:58.000 --> 00:11:59.240 Be kind and compassionate to one another. 00:11:59.240 --> 00:12:00.360 Ephesians 4, 32. 00:12:00.820 --> 00:12:02.920 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 00:12:03.019 --> 00:12:04.120 Ephesians 5, 21. 00:12:04.660 --> 00:12:07.280 Forgive whatever grievances you have against one another. 00:12:07.400 --> 00:12:08.740 Colossians 3, 13. 00:12:08.740 --> 00:12:10.360 Encourage each other. 00:12:10.460 --> 00:12:12.860 1 Thessalonians 4, 18. 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:13.159 Right? 00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:16.419 None of these things are possible if there aren't others. 00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:18.360 All of that. 00:12:18.840 --> 00:12:24.240 And there's many, many more in the Scripture are meant to be done with others. 00:12:24.560 --> 00:12:24.759 Right? 00:12:25.060 --> 00:12:29.960 People that you have said, these things the Scripture commands of me, as I read those things, 00:12:30.060 --> 00:12:35.680 I have people in mind, specific people that I am supposed to be doing that with and for. 00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:43.079 However, if church membership is not membership in a club, then it must be meaningful membership. 00:12:43.379 --> 00:12:43.519 Right? 00:12:43.799 --> 00:12:46.379 That's why we refer to our membership in this way. 00:12:46.479 --> 00:12:46.620 Right? 00:12:46.699 --> 00:12:48.519 It's meaningful membership. 00:12:48.779 --> 00:12:55.239 You make promises to us and we make promises to you when you join our fellowship. 00:12:55.479 --> 00:12:55.599 Right? 00:12:55.600 --> 00:12:57.980 We're saying we are partnering together. 00:12:57.980 --> 00:13:01.620 We are going to do this difficult task. 00:13:01.779 --> 00:13:01.840 Right? 00:13:01.980 --> 00:13:05.980 Grace filled, but difficult task of following Christ together. 00:13:06.899 --> 00:13:07.040 Right? 00:13:07.100 --> 00:13:10.120 And we recognize that Jesus died for this thing called church. 00:13:10.320 --> 00:13:15.440 And he gave it to us that we don't go rogue in this, but we do it with one another. 00:13:15.700 --> 00:13:15.879 Right? 00:13:15.980 --> 00:13:17.659 We need each other in this. 00:13:17.659 --> 00:13:23.120 The church is a wonderful grace to us in following Jesus Christ. 00:13:24.360 --> 00:13:29.699 So, I hope you get some sense of the importance of it. 00:13:29.819 --> 00:13:32.860 But where is church membership found in the Bible? 00:13:33.639 --> 00:13:42.240 The Bible speaks of us being members of one another in Ephesians 4, 25, Romans 12, 5, and 1 Corinthians 12, 25. 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:50.500 Although each of these texts speaks to our unity as a local fellowship and not necessarily the formal relationship called membership. 00:13:51.320 --> 00:13:56.899 In order to note the formal relationship, we must draw conclusions from elsewhere. 00:13:57.340 --> 00:13:57.440 Right? 00:13:57.799 --> 00:14:01.240 So, I hope that the following six places will be satisfactory. 00:14:01.580 --> 00:14:01.680 Right? 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:05.460 And I'm already, I feel apologetic already that you're not looking at Ephesians 4. 00:14:05.580 --> 00:14:09.039 You can flip these if you'd like to or jot notes and look at them later. 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:12.200 And I know that I'm moving very quickly this morning. 00:14:12.419 --> 00:14:13.060 But here we go. 00:14:13.159 --> 00:14:15.779 Ready for six places that membership is found in the Bible? 00:14:16.600 --> 00:14:24.259 First, Matthew chapter 18, verse 15 through 17, which we're going to look at this text again momentarily in more detail. 00:14:24.759 --> 00:14:25.299 It says, 00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:28.060 If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault. 00:14:28.659 --> 00:14:32.820 If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you. 00:14:33.259 --> 00:14:37.000 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:42.600 And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 00:14:42.740 --> 00:14:50.740 So, Jesus was saying in Matthew chapter 18, if a brother is unwilling to repent of sin, then no longer consider him a brother. 00:14:50.980 --> 00:14:54.200 There's a process for that that we call church discipline. 00:14:54.200 --> 00:14:58.720 But that's what I want you to see at this moment from that text. 00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:07.019 Next, the ability to exclude someone from the church presupposes that it's known who belongs to the church. 00:15:07.139 --> 00:15:07.240 Right? 00:15:07.240 --> 00:15:15.220 If I'm to go to a brother, how am I to know that they're a brother unless somehow we've included them as a brother to be, right? 00:15:15.639 --> 00:15:19.940 Hopefully not, but maybe excluded at a later time. 00:15:20.120 --> 00:15:20.279 Right? 00:15:20.379 --> 00:15:21.120 So, you see it there. 00:15:21.560 --> 00:15:23.279 Matthew chapter 18, verse 15 through 17. 00:15:23.419 --> 00:15:27.519 Second, Acts chapter 5, verse 12 and 13. 00:15:28.180 --> 00:15:28.860 Luke records, 00:15:28.860 --> 00:15:50.759 So, people faced the decision of whether or not they would join with the group of people, right? 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:52.180 They wouldn't. 00:15:52.440 --> 00:15:54.300 The text tells us that some would not. 00:15:54.299 --> 00:16:01.279 But they had to decide, would they be counted amongst these people that were gathering in Solomon's portico, right? 00:16:01.319 --> 00:16:03.839 The text calls them them, right? 00:16:04.299 --> 00:16:10.939 This joining is more public and definite than an informal association. 00:16:11.259 --> 00:16:14.500 You see that in Acts chapter 5, verse 12 and 13. 00:16:15.159 --> 00:16:18.919 Third, in 1 Timothy chapter 5, verse 9 through 12. 00:16:18.919 --> 00:16:25.620 Paul gives Timothy instructions for enrolling widows on the list of those receiving support from the church. 00:16:25.879 --> 00:16:26.519 He says, 00:16:26.699 --> 00:16:34.719 Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than 60 years of age, having been the wife of one husband, and having a reputation for good works. 00:16:35.439 --> 00:16:38.839 And while this isn't conclusive evidence for formal church membership, 00:16:38.840 --> 00:16:44.000 it's tough to imagine that the church of Ephesus would have kept a list of widows, 00:16:44.600 --> 00:16:49.720 but would not have any formal means of identifying everyone who belonged to the church, right? 00:16:49.899 --> 00:16:56.420 He's writing to a church in order for them to establish those widows within the church 00:16:56.420 --> 00:17:02.160 who should be receiving the benefit of the financial means of the church and who should not, right? 00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:09.659 I just imagine them taking out their parchment list and putting asterisks next to the widows that receive this kind of care, right? 00:17:10.099 --> 00:17:14.019 Fourth, 1 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 12 and 13. 00:17:15.599 --> 00:17:16.420 Paul writes, 00:17:16.519 --> 00:17:19.359 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? 00:17:20.259 --> 00:17:23.779 Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 00:17:23.899 --> 00:17:26.319 God judges those outside. 00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:33.220 So Paul called upon the Corinthian church to judge those who were inside the church, not those who were outside. 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:38.879 They were responsible for the testimony of those who belonged to the church, not those who didn't. 00:17:39.579 --> 00:17:48.879 This passage makes no sense that the Corinthian church did not have some public formal means by which people identified themselves with the church. 00:17:48.879 --> 00:17:51.039 The Corinthian church would have picked up his letter and gone, 00:17:51.419 --> 00:17:51.939 But who? 00:17:52.559 --> 00:17:53.599 Who's he talking about? 00:17:53.679 --> 00:17:55.379 We have no way of knowing, right? 00:17:55.380 --> 00:18:02.700 Clearly they understood what it meant to not judge those outside, but to judge those inside, right? 00:18:03.360 --> 00:18:06.640 The people who randomly show up on any given Sunday and we never see them again? 00:18:06.840 --> 00:18:07.280 No. 00:18:08.060 --> 00:18:11.320 Those who were counted amongst the church. 00:18:12.340 --> 00:18:14.780 Fifth, 2 Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 6. 00:18:15.240 --> 00:18:18.660 Paul writes concerning a man the Corinthian church had excommunicated. 00:18:18.940 --> 00:18:19.640 He says, 00:18:19.800 --> 00:18:23.840 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough. 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:30.599 So you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow, right? 00:18:30.959 --> 00:18:32.659 Much to say about that text. 00:18:33.099 --> 00:18:34.599 We could get into it with discipline. 00:18:34.839 --> 00:18:42.539 But the thing I want you to see is this man's exclusion from the church was a punishment by the majority, right? 00:18:42.539 --> 00:18:48.460 And you cannot have a majority unless you have a definite set of people from which a majority is constituted, right? 00:18:48.500 --> 00:18:55.220 You have to be able to do the math to figure out if it's a majority or not a majority in order to establish such a thing, right? 00:18:55.639 --> 00:18:56.299 That's the fifth. 00:18:56.940 --> 00:18:57.299 Sixth. 00:18:58.019 --> 00:18:58.879 This is the last one. 00:19:00.019 --> 00:19:00.980 This is my go-to. 00:19:01.159 --> 00:19:02.139 That's why I saved it for last. 00:19:02.140 --> 00:19:07.160 Hebrews 13, 7 and then verse 17. 00:19:07.360 --> 00:19:09.960 So 13, 7 and then 13, 17. 00:19:11.420 --> 00:19:12.840 The writer from Hebrews says, 00:19:13.040 --> 00:19:16.400 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. 00:19:16.620 --> 00:19:21.000 Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 00:19:21.320 --> 00:19:22.500 And then verse 17. 00:19:22.500 --> 00:19:30.559 Obey your leaders and submit to them for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who have to give an account. 00:19:31.799 --> 00:19:35.579 Scripture repeatedly commands Christians to submit to their leaders, right? 00:19:35.640 --> 00:19:37.559 Here's some wonderful examples of that here. 00:19:38.539 --> 00:19:44.039 The only way to do that is by publicly committing to be members of their flock and saying, in effect, 00:19:44.660 --> 00:19:50.519 I commit to listening to your teaching, following your direction, and submitting to your leadership. 00:19:50.519 --> 00:19:58.639 There is no way to obey the scriptural commands to submit to your leaders if you never actually submit to them by joining a local church. 00:19:59.319 --> 00:20:02.319 So I would say to somebody who's not a member of a church, who are your leaders? 00:20:03.019 --> 00:20:06.379 And if that person said to me, you, I'd go, nope. 00:20:07.420 --> 00:20:09.319 I will not give an account for your soul. 00:20:09.420 --> 00:20:11.180 I will give an account for everything that I teach. 00:20:11.579 --> 00:20:13.440 I will give an account for the way that I treat you. 00:20:13.599 --> 00:20:15.180 Of course, those things, right? 00:20:15.420 --> 00:20:18.720 But as your leader, I disagree, right? 00:20:18.720 --> 00:20:24.220 I have a list in the front of my Bible right now of people that I am accountable for. 00:20:24.779 --> 00:20:29.059 And I take that very, that's a weighty, weighty thing. 00:20:29.360 --> 00:20:32.620 If you are a member of our church, I am committed to you. 00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:36.059 I hope you to me and to one another. 00:20:37.100 --> 00:20:39.019 Scripture also tells leaders, right? 00:20:39.140 --> 00:20:43.519 We're going to have to be accountable for those that we lead, right? 00:20:43.519 --> 00:20:49.079 And how are we to know if we don't have some form of membership, right? 00:20:49.119 --> 00:20:53.619 How are we to know who we're going to be accountable to and for? 00:20:54.259 --> 00:20:56.940 Now, who should join a local church? 00:20:57.579 --> 00:20:58.359 Simple answer. 00:20:58.660 --> 00:21:00.759 Anyone who is a disciple of Jesus Christ. 00:21:01.240 --> 00:21:05.420 If you profess to know Christ, you should be part of a local church. 00:21:05.420 --> 00:21:08.640 John 17, verse 20 through 23. 00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:10.960 It's Jesus' high priestly prayer. 00:21:11.080 --> 00:21:11.279 He says, 00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:41.259 Jesus established the truth. 00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:48.779 To publicly declare those who belong to him in order to give the world a display of the good news about himself. 00:21:50.019 --> 00:21:52.359 Don't think you can do this by yourself, right? 00:21:52.440 --> 00:21:55.220 This is the thing meant for the church to be doing. 00:21:55.940 --> 00:21:59.559 Jesus wants the world to know who belongs to him and who doesn't. 00:21:59.940 --> 00:22:02.799 And how is the world to know who belongs to him and who doesn't? 00:22:02.799 --> 00:22:11.700 They are to see which people publicly identify themselves with his people in the visible public institution he established for this very purpose. 00:22:12.099 --> 00:22:13.799 They're to look at the members of his church. 00:22:13.799 --> 00:22:22.359 And if some people claim to be part of the universal church, even though they belong to no local church, they reject Jesus' plan for them and for his church. 00:22:22.659 --> 00:22:24.440 It's a flat rejection of it. 00:22:24.440 --> 00:22:35.519 Jesus intends for his people to be marked out as visible public people, a group gathered together, which means joining together in local churches. 00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:38.480 So how do you join a local church? 00:22:38.559 --> 00:22:40.279 Of course, it depends broadly. 00:22:41.099 --> 00:22:44.799 We could talk at length about simple versus complex Christian societies. 00:22:45.500 --> 00:22:46.519 We have a process. 00:22:46.519 --> 00:23:01.500 I think healthy churches in America will have some kind of process because where we are in a complex Christian society, if someone says, I am a follower of Jesus Christ, they can mean all sorts of things, right? 00:23:01.579 --> 00:23:07.980 They could be a Mormon or a Jehovah's Witness or a Seventh-day Adventist, or they could simply mean my grandma was a follower of Jesus Christ, right? 00:23:08.039 --> 00:23:12.339 Therefore, I must be because I was born into her family, right? 00:23:12.339 --> 00:23:23.240 There's a lot of things that that could mean, and so we have a process, and again, I think any healthy church will, just to establish, what do we mean when we say that? 00:23:23.439 --> 00:23:24.740 I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ. 00:23:24.919 --> 00:23:27.740 Who is this Jesus Christ that you're talking about, right? 00:23:27.779 --> 00:23:34.799 It's either a Jesus of the Bible or a Jesus of your own making or some false teacher's making. 00:23:34.799 --> 00:23:37.240 So there are processes for that. 00:23:37.359 --> 00:23:42.960 I'll spare you our process because I think most of you are already very aware of that process. 00:23:43.059 --> 00:23:46.019 So this is how we find people in the church, right? 00:23:46.019 --> 00:23:53.799 We go through a process of welcoming people who profess faith in Jesus Christ, saying to them, we're going to commit to you to help you follow Jesus faithfully. 00:23:54.559 --> 00:24:01.139 And the ordinance that's connected to this, everybody know, is baptism, right? 00:24:01.140 --> 00:24:06.780 We are a credo-baptist, and the ordinance that's tied to membership is baptism. 00:24:08.220 --> 00:24:12.000 Second, let's talk a little bit about church discipline. 00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:13.720 What is church discipline? 00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:19.040 Some people get really uncomfortable when they hear the word discipline because it sounds harsh to them, right? 00:24:19.039 --> 00:24:27.659 Whether through just a misunderstanding of the very word or possibly because of childhood hurts who weren't raised in a home where discipline was done appropriately, 00:24:28.460 --> 00:24:32.700 the word discipline is largely in our culture distasteful, right? 00:24:32.759 --> 00:24:36.619 It sounds like, whoa, whoa, you're trying to take my autonomy from me? 00:24:37.440 --> 00:24:37.740 Mm-hmm. 00:24:38.019 --> 00:24:39.019 Yep, that's what's happening. 00:24:39.599 --> 00:24:44.519 For your good in a loving, kind way, this is what churches are meant to do. 00:24:44.519 --> 00:24:50.019 The word discipline can be synonymous with the word train, right? 00:24:50.099 --> 00:24:50.799 To be trained. 00:24:51.579 --> 00:24:55.779 So when someone is disciplined, they are being trained, right? 00:24:55.940 --> 00:25:02.039 Our Ephesians 4 text talks about us growing up into Christ so that we're not children any longer, 00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:06.440 tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, right? 00:25:06.460 --> 00:25:10.619 This doesn't happen unless you're trained to be discerning, right? 00:25:10.619 --> 00:25:11.639 To have maturity. 00:25:11.640 --> 00:25:18.680 In a broad sense, discipline is everything the church does to help its member pursue holiness and fight sin. 00:25:19.080 --> 00:25:27.960 Preaching, teaching, prayer, corporate worship, accountability relationships, and godly oversight by elders are all forms of discipline. 00:25:28.600 --> 00:25:30.980 Some have called this formative discipline. 00:25:31.680 --> 00:25:36.080 The narrower sense of the term church discipline has been called corrective discipline, 00:25:36.540 --> 00:25:40.100 and it is this narrower sense that I want to consider a bit further this morning. 00:25:40.099 --> 00:25:42.599 So that's what we're talking about, this narrower sense. 00:25:43.679 --> 00:25:48.579 Church discipline is the church's act of confronting a church member's sin and calling them to repent, 00:25:48.779 --> 00:25:54.519 which, if the person does not repent, will lead to excluding them from membership in the church, right? 00:25:54.559 --> 00:25:55.379 That's where it heads. 00:25:55.439 --> 00:25:56.659 That's its eventuality. 00:25:57.699 --> 00:26:04.699 Remember, church membership affirms the Christian's profession of faith and gives oversight of the living of their faith. 00:26:04.700 --> 00:26:08.480 So discipline is the way we press people on in holiness, 00:26:08.480 --> 00:26:15.180 and if they show themselves not to be Christian, it's the way the church removes that confidence from them. 00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:20.880 It says, we once were, but we no longer are confident that you're a Christ follower, 00:26:21.240 --> 00:26:23.680 and we do this for the good of their soul. 00:26:24.840 --> 00:26:26.400 Matthew chapter 16. 00:26:27.080 --> 00:26:29.340 I'm going to read you a big section here, so why don't you turn there with me. 00:26:29.400 --> 00:26:32.220 Matthew chapter 16, beginning in verse 13. 00:26:32.220 --> 00:26:45.299 Hang on tight. 00:26:45.380 --> 00:26:45.920 I'm going to move quick. 00:26:46.019 --> 00:26:49.920 I'm going to land the plane soon, so stick with me. 00:26:55.460 --> 00:26:56.839 Beginning in verse 13, Matthew 16. 00:26:56.839 --> 00:27:00.519 Now, when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, 00:27:01.079 --> 00:27:02.819 who do people say that the Son of Man is? 00:27:03.599 --> 00:27:08.339 And they said, some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. 00:27:08.699 --> 00:27:12.099 He said to them, but who do you say that I am? 00:27:12.339 --> 00:27:12.500 Right? 00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:16.480 And Peter, who always bumbles his answers, nails it this time. 00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:17.220 Right? 00:27:17.339 --> 00:27:18.199 Verse 16, he says, 00:27:18.200 --> 00:27:39.120 Now, the rock that he is referring to is not Peter. 00:27:39.480 --> 00:27:41.759 He's referring to the truth that Peter has just proclaimed. 00:27:41.980 --> 00:27:44.319 Jesus is the Christ. 00:27:44.319 --> 00:27:45.980 Verse 19, 00:27:46.480 --> 00:27:48.359 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, 00:27:49.220 --> 00:27:51.220 and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, 00:27:51.579 --> 00:27:54.939 and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 00:27:55.259 --> 00:27:55.339 Right? 00:27:55.779 --> 00:27:59.639 So Jesus says that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church, 00:27:59.720 --> 00:28:00.839 and then tells Peter, 00:28:01.359 --> 00:28:03.399 he'll give him the keys of the kingdom of heaven. 00:28:03.539 --> 00:28:05.939 What in the world is he talking about? 00:28:06.119 --> 00:28:10.579 What is this binding and loosing that he's referring to here? 00:28:10.579 --> 00:28:15.319 That is so ignored in the American church. 00:28:15.419 --> 00:28:17.879 This is a significant moment in the mystery of Jesus. 00:28:18.659 --> 00:28:22.099 Because of the gracious work of the Father in the life of Peter, 00:28:22.339 --> 00:28:23.480 he gets the answer right. 00:28:23.619 --> 00:28:26.279 You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. 00:28:26.379 --> 00:28:27.039 And Jesus says, 00:28:27.159 --> 00:28:29.000 On that truth, I'm going to build my church. 00:28:29.139 --> 00:28:29.240 Right? 00:28:29.279 --> 00:28:31.220 It's going to go forth militant, 00:28:31.319 --> 00:28:32.980 and it will be victorious. 00:28:33.379 --> 00:28:35.879 And I'm giving to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. 00:28:36.899 --> 00:28:38.259 We've got to understand that. 00:28:38.259 --> 00:28:38.559 Right? 00:28:39.079 --> 00:28:40.740 We've got to know our part. 00:28:41.359 --> 00:28:44.000 Jesus has just declared his church is going to be victorious. 00:28:44.359 --> 00:28:44.759 Right? 00:28:44.900 --> 00:28:45.819 It's going to be militant, 00:28:45.960 --> 00:28:47.379 but it's going to be victorious. 00:28:47.500 --> 00:28:50.660 The gates of hell will not prevail against the church. 00:28:51.539 --> 00:28:51.980 How? 00:28:52.180 --> 00:28:52.940 What do we do? 00:28:53.099 --> 00:28:54.140 What's our part? 00:28:54.200 --> 00:28:56.960 What's our responsibility in that? 00:28:57.960 --> 00:29:01.339 If you go just a couple of chapters later with me to Matthew chapter 18, 00:29:01.339 --> 00:29:07.579 we get a picture of what we're meant to do. 00:29:08.139 --> 00:29:10.179 Beginning in verse 15. 00:29:10.399 --> 00:29:12.619 I read a little bit of this to you previously. 00:29:13.419 --> 00:29:14.859 I read through verse 17. 00:29:15.079 --> 00:29:17.099 We're going to go a verse further right now. 00:29:17.179 --> 00:29:19.279 So again, here, beginning in verse 15, 00:29:19.279 --> 00:29:20.500 if your brother sins against you, 00:29:20.619 --> 00:29:22.619 go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. 00:29:23.139 --> 00:29:25.639 If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 00:29:26.539 --> 00:29:27.559 But if he does not listen, 00:29:27.660 --> 00:29:29.059 take one or two others along with you 00:29:29.059 --> 00:29:32.319 that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 00:29:33.079 --> 00:29:36.079 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. 00:29:36.559 --> 00:29:38.619 If he refuses to listen even to the church, 00:29:38.759 --> 00:29:42.200 let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 00:29:42.339 --> 00:29:42.500 Right? 00:29:42.500 --> 00:29:45.900 I read an abridged version of that earlier for the sake of time. 00:29:46.000 --> 00:29:49.160 But you see, here's this process that's being walked out. 00:29:49.279 --> 00:29:49.420 Right? 00:29:49.480 --> 00:29:51.779 To help someone live in holiness, 00:29:52.059 --> 00:29:55.559 we're meant to bring this corrective discipline to them. 00:29:55.940 --> 00:29:57.660 And then, verse 18. 00:29:59.059 --> 00:29:59.619 Jesus says, 00:29:59.759 --> 00:30:00.940 Truly I say to you, 00:30:01.680 --> 00:30:03.920 whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. 00:30:04.420 --> 00:30:07.319 And whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 00:30:07.440 --> 00:30:09.019 That sounds very familiar, doesn't it? 00:30:10.960 --> 00:30:12.400 Wield the keys of the kingdom. 00:30:12.700 --> 00:30:13.700 Binding and loosing. 00:30:13.980 --> 00:30:18.059 Declaring who is in the church and who's not in the church. 00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:18.660 Right? 00:30:18.900 --> 00:30:23.200 Through this process that he outlines for us in Matthew chapter 18. 00:30:23.380 --> 00:30:26.339 And it's a four-step process, if you note carefully. 00:30:26.819 --> 00:30:28.380 Number one, if your brother sins against you, 00:30:28.480 --> 00:30:30.180 go tell him his fault between you and him alone. 00:30:30.259 --> 00:30:32.559 If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 00:30:33.099 --> 00:30:34.660 I've said to you all repeatedly 00:30:34.660 --> 00:30:37.799 that our church is constantly doing this kind of discipline. 00:30:37.980 --> 00:30:39.839 We ought to be all the time. 00:30:40.079 --> 00:30:40.180 Right? 00:30:40.480 --> 00:30:41.880 All of us need help. 00:30:41.880 --> 00:30:43.580 If no one's coming to you in this way 00:30:43.580 --> 00:30:45.060 and you're not going to anybody in this way, 00:30:45.120 --> 00:30:47.260 then you're really not following Jesus together. 00:30:47.760 --> 00:30:52.860 You're going to need people to help you identify those blind areas of sin in your life. 00:30:52.960 --> 00:30:53.760 I need this. 00:30:53.980 --> 00:30:54.060 Right? 00:30:54.160 --> 00:30:55.520 People come to me this way. 00:30:55.780 --> 00:30:55.900 Right? 00:30:56.240 --> 00:30:58.860 And I'm not so sure that what you said was good and appropriate. 00:30:58.980 --> 00:30:59.760 You're probably right. 00:30:59.759 --> 00:31:01.980 I think my motivation was wrong in that. 00:31:02.079 --> 00:31:03.000 And I confess that. 00:31:03.119 --> 00:31:03.299 Right? 00:31:03.500 --> 00:31:03.859 Repent. 00:31:04.379 --> 00:31:04.599 Right? 00:31:04.640 --> 00:31:06.460 That we might continue to follow Jesus well together. 00:31:07.299 --> 00:31:08.660 Step two, if he doesn't listen, 00:31:09.420 --> 00:31:11.099 take one or two others along with you 00:31:11.099 --> 00:31:14.539 that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 00:31:14.539 --> 00:31:18.579 This also happens more regularly than I wish it would in the life of our church. 00:31:18.680 --> 00:31:19.500 But it does happen. 00:31:19.680 --> 00:31:19.859 Right? 00:31:20.200 --> 00:31:22.180 I get looped in on these things sometimes. 00:31:22.399 --> 00:31:23.279 Like, could you come help me? 00:31:23.559 --> 00:31:27.700 This person is not hearing the case that I'm making to them from the scripture. 00:31:27.819 --> 00:31:30.420 Would you help in this process? 00:31:30.420 --> 00:31:30.900 Right? 00:31:31.340 --> 00:31:39.220 I'm very thankful that we see the very, very, very rare third and fourth step. 00:31:39.440 --> 00:31:42.740 And often, sadly, that's because people will remove themselves from membership 00:31:42.740 --> 00:31:46.600 when they realize that we actually take sin seriously in the church. 00:31:46.940 --> 00:31:48.660 That we actually take the scripture seriously. 00:31:48.920 --> 00:31:52.420 And there are, in fact, some black and white issues in the scripture. 00:31:52.539 --> 00:31:53.680 And we point them out to people. 00:31:54.360 --> 00:31:57.940 People, from time to time, have removed themselves from membership. 00:31:58.039 --> 00:31:59.900 And we haven't gone on to these further steps. 00:31:59.900 --> 00:32:02.500 But we have also had to do so. 00:32:02.759 --> 00:32:07.820 So the third step is, if you refuse to listen to them, tell it to the church. 00:32:08.060 --> 00:32:08.220 Who? 00:32:08.320 --> 00:32:10.820 We've got to have in mind, who is the church? 00:32:11.040 --> 00:32:11.200 Right? 00:32:11.240 --> 00:32:11.880 When this is said. 00:32:12.460 --> 00:32:16.660 Certainly, Jesus is not talking about the universal church in this moment. 00:32:16.820 --> 00:32:17.000 Right? 00:32:17.080 --> 00:32:18.900 How could that be possible? 00:32:19.080 --> 00:32:21.040 He's talking about a local expression. 00:32:21.180 --> 00:32:26.220 A group of people who have covenanted together to walk in holiness for the glory of God. 00:32:26.400 --> 00:32:27.680 This is who you're to bring it to. 00:32:27.680 --> 00:32:29.940 And then the fourth and final step. 00:32:30.519 --> 00:32:35.060 If he refused to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a Catholic. 00:32:35.120 --> 00:32:38.720 That is outside of the fellowship of God's people. 00:32:39.140 --> 00:32:39.279 Right? 00:32:39.400 --> 00:32:41.980 So there's four steps that we walk through. 00:32:42.140 --> 00:32:45.920 And this is this action of binding and loosing. 00:32:46.080 --> 00:32:48.259 And it is a thing that we are meant to do. 00:32:48.400 --> 00:32:50.259 The church is supposed to be about this work. 00:32:50.259 --> 00:32:50.519 Right? 00:32:50.560 --> 00:32:53.360 For the glory of God and the good of people. 00:32:53.359 --> 00:32:56.419 So let's talk a little bit about what the aims of church discipline are. 00:32:56.539 --> 00:33:00.979 I want you guys, if you're not familiar with this, although I know most of you are, but just a refresher. 00:33:01.099 --> 00:33:02.719 Why do we do church discipline? 00:33:02.899 --> 00:33:06.179 Why is it important in the life of a church? 00:33:07.319 --> 00:33:10.519 First, church discipline is aimed at the good of the person disciplined. 00:33:11.319 --> 00:33:16.379 The discipline warns a person of the danger of sin and calls him or her to repentance. 00:33:16.639 --> 00:33:16.759 Right? 00:33:16.839 --> 00:33:17.719 It's for their good. 00:33:17.879 --> 00:33:21.619 We want them to know that there's a danger ahead. 00:33:21.619 --> 00:33:25.579 Second, church discipline is aimed at the good of other Christians. 00:33:26.299 --> 00:33:33.059 As the church speaks and acts against sin, the whole congregation sees the serious nature of sin and its consequences. 00:33:33.299 --> 00:33:33.419 Right? 00:33:33.519 --> 00:33:35.500 We are warned as others are warned. 00:33:35.679 --> 00:33:35.759 Right? 00:33:36.219 --> 00:33:41.019 Smart people learn from other people's mistakes and don't make all those mistakes themselves. 00:33:41.979 --> 00:33:43.119 I hope that you're smart people. 00:33:43.259 --> 00:33:43.739 I think you are. 00:33:44.559 --> 00:33:48.819 Third, church discipline is aimed at the good of the church as a whole. 00:33:48.819 --> 00:33:54.059 Church discipline keeps the local body pure by protecting it from moral decay. 00:33:54.859 --> 00:33:59.779 It also addresses sin that could potentially lead to strife and conflict in the church. 00:34:00.919 --> 00:34:05.179 Fourth, church discipline is aimed at the good of non-Christians. 00:34:05.379 --> 00:34:06.599 Hear this carefully. 00:34:06.759 --> 00:34:09.960 It's aimed at the good of non-Christians. 00:34:09.960 --> 00:34:13.960 It powerfully protects our corporate witness and evangelism. 00:34:14.179 --> 00:34:19.880 Because people notice when there is a whole community of believers whose lives are different from the world. 00:34:20.159 --> 00:34:24.280 This is good for unbelieving people to see holiness in the church. 00:34:24.699 --> 00:34:26.639 Not perfect holiness to be sure. 00:34:26.980 --> 00:34:27.099 Right? 00:34:27.099 --> 00:34:29.619 But heading off in that direction. 00:34:30.039 --> 00:34:32.119 Trending in that way. 00:34:32.799 --> 00:34:35.460 And it helps to produce a community of changed people. 00:34:35.900 --> 00:34:38.079 A community that gives hope to non-Christians. 00:34:38.199 --> 00:34:40.880 That people really can change. 00:34:41.860 --> 00:34:44.920 And then fifth, church discipline is aimed at the glory of God. 00:34:45.880 --> 00:34:47.000 Christians are called to be holy. 00:34:47.139 --> 00:34:48.519 Not for our own reputation. 00:34:48.799 --> 00:34:50.099 But for God's. 00:34:50.420 --> 00:34:52.839 Our lives are meant to display God's character in the world. 00:34:52.960 --> 00:34:55.360 And we want him to look magnificent. 00:34:55.360 --> 00:35:03.820 One important part of that is the responsibility to address sin in the church that would bring dishonor to his great name. 00:35:04.579 --> 00:35:06.220 So, membership and discipline. 00:35:06.740 --> 00:35:08.720 The ordinance tied to discipline? 00:35:09.860 --> 00:35:10.440 The Lord's Supper. 00:35:11.340 --> 00:35:13.599 We welcome people to the table. 00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:16.680 Or we exclude them from the table. 00:35:17.039 --> 00:35:20.920 This is this regular re-upping of our commitment to one another. 00:35:21.140 --> 00:35:21.260 Right? 00:35:21.320 --> 00:35:22.240 We say to each other, 00:35:22.519 --> 00:35:23.460 You are welcome here. 00:35:23.460 --> 00:35:25.539 The thing that Jesus did for you. 00:35:25.659 --> 00:35:27.740 We're calling together to commemorate. 00:35:27.980 --> 00:35:28.099 Right? 00:35:28.780 --> 00:35:29.880 It applies. 00:35:30.340 --> 00:35:31.760 It applies to us. 00:35:31.980 --> 00:35:34.780 As we gather together and take the Lord's meal. 00:35:35.740 --> 00:35:36.639 So, in conclusion, 00:35:36.840 --> 00:35:38.360 Jesus Christ died for the church. 00:35:38.440 --> 00:35:42.420 And it is his good purpose that we should follow his good instruction as individuals. 00:35:42.800 --> 00:35:45.159 And as individuals gathered in local churches. 00:35:45.159 --> 00:35:52.579 It is for our benefit and for his glory that we are about the work of biblical church membership and church discipline. 00:35:53.539 --> 00:35:55.079 Both have been neglected and abused. 00:35:55.379 --> 00:36:04.819 So, join me in praying that our churches will continue to care well for souls, both within and without the church, to the praise of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. 00:36:04.820 --> 00:36:10.640 And join me in praying that, particularly in this time. 00:36:11.600 --> 00:36:12.820 We are disjointed. 00:36:13.800 --> 00:36:18.320 And it seemed that we would be disjointed for a very brief amount of time. 00:36:18.620 --> 00:36:24.320 I think I approached the entire canceling of our regular gatherings with a bit of pessimism. 00:36:24.420 --> 00:36:27.380 I think most people were a lot more optimistic than I was. 00:36:27.380 --> 00:36:31.160 But we have passed the date that I thought we would get to. 00:36:31.380 --> 00:36:34.680 We've come to a place where I went, oh, this is still going on? 00:36:35.700 --> 00:36:44.619 Rather in reality or just in perception, right, wherever you are on the spectrum of things, right, it is still going on. 00:36:44.619 --> 00:36:57.579 And I don't know what it's going to look like exactly for our church to be disjointed, not able to do membership, welcoming people in, baptism, or the Lord's Supper. 00:36:57.980 --> 00:36:59.579 How do we do this, right? 00:36:59.960 --> 00:37:06.359 Can we do fourth step discipline, third and fourth step discipline, as we currently are? 00:37:06.420 --> 00:37:11.579 I don't think that we can, but maybe some of you are more creative than I am. 00:37:11.579 --> 00:37:14.639 So at the very least, we need to be thinking clear. 00:37:14.759 --> 00:37:22.480 We need to have really, really clear minds, right, for what the church is and isn't in such a strange time. 00:37:22.639 --> 00:37:25.679 So I hope that you'll join me in praying continually for this. 00:37:26.099 --> 00:37:28.980 And I hope that you'll join me in praying now as we pray together. 00:37:29.039 --> 00:37:29.779 So please join me in prayer.