WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.500 As mentioned previously, we had originally planned for Clay to preach from Daniel 5 this morning, but he's homesick. 00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:14.620 ! So, we're going to put our study of Daniel on hold to consider a bit the doctrine of the church. 00:00:15.679 --> 00:00:23.039 This form of study is known as ecclesiology, comes from the Greek word for church, ecclesia, 00:00:23.679 --> 00:00:29.039 that we see often in the text, this is the Greek word, and it simply means gathering. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:34.240 I find that most Christians today have a very weak ecclesiology, 00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:40.500 and I would suggest to you that we all need a much more robust ecclesiology. 00:00:41.039 --> 00:00:44.240 We've seen that challenge just over this past year. 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:50.679 What is the church? Can you do online church? 00:00:50.679 --> 00:01:00.840 This is not just a study for those people who lead churches, but for anyone who is a part of one. 00:01:01.880 --> 00:01:05.239 I have determined across time, just in ministering here, 00:01:05.879 --> 00:01:13.599 that there's four extremely important questions that we want to answer for you during your time with Christ Family Church. 00:01:13.599 --> 00:01:17.899 And there's big and expansive answers to all of these questions, but those questions are, 00:01:18.399 --> 00:01:19.299 who is God? 00:01:19.939 --> 00:01:21.399 What is the Bible? 00:01:22.219 --> 00:01:23.519 What is the gospel? 00:01:23.899 --> 00:01:27.239 And what is the church? 00:01:28.339 --> 00:01:32.840 We find ourselves at a particularly crucial juncture to have a robust ecclesiology, 00:01:32.840 --> 00:01:35.740 ecclesiology, to be able to answer the question, 00:01:36.380 --> 00:01:38.840 what is the church with great clarity, 00:01:38.840 --> 00:01:43.900 because our church is growing and we are running out of space. 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:48.159 A lot of things can just be assumed when nothing has to change, 00:01:48.180 --> 00:01:52.540 but if things need to change, how should they change? 00:01:52.540 --> 00:02:00.680 What will inform our decision-making in the coming months, years, Lord willing, decades? 00:02:02.060 --> 00:02:06.520 Beloved, the Bible is sufficient for the task at hand, 00:02:06.700 --> 00:02:12.480 and it should always be the labor of our church to bring ourselves into conformity with it. 00:02:12.700 --> 00:02:16.120 It has the answers for us. 00:02:16.960 --> 00:02:19.800 So today I'm going to run you around the New Testament 00:02:19.800 --> 00:02:23.480 as an ecclesiological primer. 00:02:24.280 --> 00:02:25.939 I think that's the biggest word I'll use this morning. 00:02:26.360 --> 00:02:27.400 Ecclesiological primer. 00:02:27.500 --> 00:02:29.100 Just a starting point, right? 00:02:29.900 --> 00:02:34.480 This is just meant to keep or to get us thinking in the right direction. 00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:38.520 We're going to need to have many, many more Bible conversations about the church. 00:02:39.180 --> 00:02:42.760 In fact, I'm purposing, we'll see if time will allow, 00:02:42.860 --> 00:02:45.420 but this fall to do an ecclesiology class, 00:02:45.540 --> 00:02:49.280 to really spend some time really, really digging into the doctrine 00:02:49.280 --> 00:02:50.740 of the church. 00:02:50.740 --> 00:02:57.240 So, we'll both begin and end with Matthew chapter 28, verse 18 through 20, 00:02:57.360 --> 00:02:59.199 but I am going to take you all over the scripture. 00:02:59.319 --> 00:03:01.460 If you just want to camp here, that would be fine. 00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:05.920 I'll move fairly quickly because I have a lot of references this morning. 00:03:06.920 --> 00:03:10.159 But I'm going to make five observations about the church 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:11.939 from the New Testament this morning. 00:03:11.939 --> 00:03:20.099 Number one, the church arises from the gospel. 00:03:20.560 --> 00:03:23.400 The church arises from the gospel. 00:03:23.500 --> 00:03:29.560 The good news of Jesus Christ preached results in churches. 00:03:29.560 --> 00:03:32.219 Matthew 28, verse 18 through 20. 00:03:33.020 --> 00:03:36.599 Jesus came and said to them, to the apostles, 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:41.520 all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 00:03:42.599 --> 00:03:45.780 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, 00:03:46.439 --> 00:03:50.379 baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:53.939 teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you. 00:03:53.939 --> 00:03:58.520 And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. 00:03:58.579 --> 00:03:58.680 Right? 00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:00.719 If you have been a Christian very long, 00:04:00.819 --> 00:04:03.919 you are likely familiar with this, the Great Commission. 00:04:04.300 --> 00:04:04.439 Right? 00:04:04.859 --> 00:04:08.039 Used most readily in mission kind of context. 00:04:08.219 --> 00:04:10.159 But I just would ask you to take a look at the text 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:13.879 and see if you can see the church in this text. 00:04:14.860 --> 00:04:18.319 When you look at Matthew chapter 28, verse 18 through 20, 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:24.879 is there an ecclesiological lesson to be learned from this text? 00:04:26.040 --> 00:04:27.819 And of course, because I'm presenting it to you in this way, 00:04:27.879 --> 00:04:30.920 the answer is that yes, there is absolutely an ecclesiological lesson 00:04:30.920 --> 00:04:32.899 to be learned here. 00:04:33.779 --> 00:04:36.039 Many years after becoming a pastor, 00:04:36.039 --> 00:04:38.500 did I realize that this was teaching us something 00:04:38.500 --> 00:04:42.439 about what we're to be as a church. 00:04:43.439 --> 00:04:46.199 First, we're meant to be under the lordship of Christ. 00:04:46.199 --> 00:04:50.740 He says in verse 18 that all authority has been given to him. 00:04:50.839 --> 00:04:56.899 Heaven and earth, all of the authority has been given to Jesus Christ. 00:04:57.500 --> 00:05:00.839 And after giving us this grand task, he says, 00:05:00.980 --> 00:05:07.860 and behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. 00:05:08.579 --> 00:05:11.039 But in the middle, we're meant to be doing things. 00:05:11.040 --> 00:05:16.800 We're supposed to be going about making disciples, 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:18.660 faithful followers of Jesus Christ. 00:05:18.960 --> 00:05:26.300 We're to be baptizing them and teaching them to observe all that I've commanded. 00:05:27.080 --> 00:05:30.780 And beloved, this happens in the life of a church. 00:05:31.840 --> 00:05:36.500 Discipleship accompanied by discipline is how we grow people in holiness. 00:05:36.500 --> 00:05:40.319 Welcome them into the fellowship of the church is baptism. 00:05:40.920 --> 00:05:46.339 And we're meant to be teaching one another all of the ways of Jesus. 00:05:46.819 --> 00:05:52.939 So this text says a lot about the activity of the church. 00:05:53.540 --> 00:05:55.079 So let me point out some other texts to you. 00:05:55.139 --> 00:05:57.319 The church arises from the gospel. 00:05:58.579 --> 00:06:01.000 Note that Jesus builds the church. 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:06.540 In Matthew chapter 16 and verse 18, after Peter declares that Jesus is the Christ, 00:06:06.699 --> 00:06:08.759 he says to Peter, I tell you, you are Peter. 00:06:08.920 --> 00:06:11.899 And on this rock, the truth that Jesus is the Christ, 00:06:12.040 --> 00:06:19.300 I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 00:06:19.720 --> 00:06:23.000 Jesus Christ builds churches. 00:06:24.040 --> 00:06:30.000 We ought to care deeply about the church and be about the work of building churches 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:35.100 churches because this is the work of Christ in the world. 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:41.040 Secondly, Jesus purchased the church with his blood. 00:06:41.720 --> 00:06:47.879 In Acts chapter 20 and verse 28, Paul is saying goodbye to the Ephesian elders. 00:06:48.100 --> 00:06:49.439 It's the last time he'll see them. 00:06:50.339 --> 00:06:53.759 And he says to them, pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock 00:06:53.759 --> 00:07:00.500 in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the church of God, 00:07:00.500 --> 00:07:04.860 which he obtained with his own blood. 00:07:05.719 --> 00:07:13.120 So if the gospel is precious to us, if we in fact understand the redemption that we have in Christ, 00:07:13.539 --> 00:07:19.839 what his blood purchased on our behalf, we will care about the church. 00:07:19.839 --> 00:07:24.939 Third, Jesus identifies with the church. 00:07:25.579 --> 00:07:31.139 In Acts chapter 9 and verse 4, it's recorded that when Saul is traveling, 00:07:31.359 --> 00:07:33.500 later going by the name Paul, 00:07:34.739 --> 00:07:38.959 he falls to the ground and hears a voice saying to him, 00:07:39.179 --> 00:07:40.620 and this is Jesus Christ speaking, 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:46.379 Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? 00:07:46.379 --> 00:07:50.540 Here's Saul going to persecute the church, 00:07:50.639 --> 00:07:52.819 those who were professing faith in Jesus Christ. 00:07:52.939 --> 00:07:55.779 He's going on a mission to go and arrest them. 00:07:56.139 --> 00:08:01.480 And Jesus says, why are you persecuting me? 00:08:02.980 --> 00:08:07.920 Beloved, the church is a precious thing in the sight of God. 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:14.120 Fourth, the church is the body of Christ. 00:08:14.120 --> 00:08:18.040 It is his extension here on earth. 00:08:18.639 --> 00:08:25.740 We are meant to be the point of activity for Christ's work in the world. 00:08:25.959 --> 00:08:27.319 He had an earthly ministry. 00:08:27.519 --> 00:08:30.939 He now has a heavenly ministry going about this work. 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:32.080 He purchased it with his blood. 00:08:32.200 --> 00:08:32.980 He's building the church. 00:08:33.080 --> 00:08:34.019 How does he do that? 00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:37.820 He does that by the means of his church. 00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:41.360 Paul writes 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 27. 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:45.720 Now you are the body of Christ. 00:08:48.039 --> 00:08:53.200 Fifth, the church is the dwelling place of the spirit. 00:08:54.159 --> 00:08:57.539 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 16 and 17. 00:08:57.820 --> 00:08:58.200 Paul says, 00:08:58.200 --> 00:09:05.780 Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's spirit dwells in you? 00:09:06.740 --> 00:09:09.200 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. 00:09:09.300 --> 00:09:13.640 For God's temple is holy and you are that temple. 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:21.740 The dwelling place of God in the Old Testament was in a tabernacle and then in a temple. 00:09:22.040 --> 00:09:25.680 Paul references that here in verse 17 of 1 Corinthians 3. 00:09:25.679 --> 00:09:26.699 But he says, 00:09:27.339 --> 00:09:29.479 Now it is God's people. 00:09:30.079 --> 00:09:32.959 The church, not a building, but the people. 00:09:33.359 --> 00:09:35.120 The church is not property. 00:09:35.219 --> 00:09:36.379 The church is not programs. 00:09:36.479 --> 00:09:38.919 The church is a people. 00:09:39.159 --> 00:09:44.419 We are the dwelling place of the spirit of God on earth. 00:09:46.139 --> 00:09:46.739 Six, 00:09:47.319 --> 00:09:52.240 The church is the chief instrument for glorifying God. 00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:55.580 Paul writes in Ephesians chapter 3 in verse 10. 00:09:56.539 --> 00:09:59.759 So that through the church, 00:10:00.460 --> 00:10:09.000 The manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in heavenly places. 00:10:09.399 --> 00:10:15.379 This is the vehicle by which God is making himself known in the world. 00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:20.440 A people that he has redeemed for his praise. 00:10:20.440 --> 00:10:23.740 Seventh, these are all sub points by the way. 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:25.640 The seventh sub point for the first point. 00:10:26.800 --> 00:10:28.040 Sorry if I messed up your outline. 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:36.000 The church is the means of bringing the gospel to the nations. 00:10:37.140 --> 00:10:38.300 Again, this is the way. 00:10:38.420 --> 00:10:39.260 God is being honored. 00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:40.540 God is being glorified. 00:10:40.539 --> 00:10:44.419 If we are God's people, redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, 00:10:44.500 --> 00:10:49.240 If we find the gospel precious, then we will find the church precious. 00:10:50.639 --> 00:10:57.279 You cannot be a Christian on your own and reject that God is saving a people. 00:10:58.279 --> 00:11:00.279 He has saved you, certainly, as an individual. 00:11:00.839 --> 00:11:03.360 But he died for a people. 00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:06.860 The church takes the gospel to the nations. 00:11:06.980 --> 00:11:09.220 Romans chapter 10, beginning in verse 14. 00:11:10.220 --> 00:11:12.000 Remember a letter written to a church. 00:11:12.159 --> 00:11:14.919 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? 00:11:15.340 --> 00:11:18.399 And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:22.440 And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 00:11:23.220 --> 00:11:27.659 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? 00:11:27.659 --> 00:11:33.299 As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news. 00:11:33.620 --> 00:11:35.500 The church is the vehicle for this. 00:11:35.579 --> 00:11:42.419 The sending of people to every peoples that they might hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:47.039 The church is the mission sending agency. 00:11:48.159 --> 00:11:51.159 Proper proclamation of the gospel makes it audible. 00:11:51.819 --> 00:11:53.399 This is absolutely necessary. 00:11:53.399 --> 00:11:58.959 Proper living in a church makes the gospel visible. 00:12:00.039 --> 00:12:01.840 Also necessary. 00:12:02.500 --> 00:12:04.879 John 13, verse 35. 00:12:04.980 --> 00:12:13.679 Jesus says, by this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. 00:12:14.500 --> 00:12:17.159 So the church arises from the gospel, right? 00:12:17.240 --> 00:12:18.240 And hear me just again. 00:12:18.240 --> 00:12:19.980 The point I'm trying to make to you is this. 00:12:19.980 --> 00:12:35.539 That if you love the gospel of Jesus Christ, if you have been saved by this good news of Jesus' person, sacrificial work on your behalf, then you should love the church. 00:12:35.920 --> 00:12:37.840 It's the very thing that he loves. 00:12:37.879 --> 00:12:39.940 It's the very thing that he laid his down life for. 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:44.600 It's the very thing he's using now to take that gospel message forward. 00:12:44.600 --> 00:12:52.080 Second, the church is visible and invisible. 00:12:53.220 --> 00:12:58.740 This is less a Bible observation and more of a logical conclusion. 00:12:59.420 --> 00:13:07.259 But if Jesus Christ died for a people, those are people we will both be able to see and people that we won't be able to see. 00:13:07.259 --> 00:13:12.159 In the pastoral prayer earlier, I prayed for people that have met before us, right? 00:13:12.259 --> 00:13:16.639 We have a family that is spread across the globe right now, right? 00:13:16.639 --> 00:13:23.240 People that we will never know this side of glory that are part of the church. 00:13:24.519 --> 00:13:33.539 Wayne Grudeman, his systematic theology, says the church is the community of all true believers for all time. 00:13:33.539 --> 00:13:46.519 So we have a family that even expands beyond those people who are currently in the world redeemed to those who have been previously redeemed. 00:13:46.620 --> 00:13:48.779 That's why we encourage you to read old books. 00:13:49.339 --> 00:13:53.779 And those who will be redeemed, praise be to God. 00:13:53.879 --> 00:13:56.539 The church is visible and it is invisible. 00:13:56.539 --> 00:14:04.980 Third, the church is local, it is regional, and it is universal. 00:14:05.579 --> 00:14:06.939 I'll take those in opposite order. 00:14:08.299 --> 00:14:11.599 Its universality relates to its visibility and its invisibility. 00:14:13.559 --> 00:14:17.319 Jesus, or excuse me, Paul says in Ephesians chapter 5, verse 25, 00:14:17.320 --> 00:14:23.500 Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. 00:14:23.680 --> 00:14:24.160 Universal. 00:14:24.879 --> 00:14:25.600 All church. 00:14:25.940 --> 00:14:26.700 For all time. 00:14:26.900 --> 00:14:30.220 Those who have are will be saved. 00:14:30.320 --> 00:14:34.480 Jesus' sacrificial work saved the church. 00:14:34.960 --> 00:14:35.140 Right? 00:14:35.280 --> 00:14:35.760 Universal. 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:43.340 What we also see in the scripture, some evidences of the church being referred to regionally. 00:14:43.340 --> 00:14:47.100 So this Greek word, ekklesia, being used in that way. 00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:48.740 Here's an example of a church in a city. 00:14:48.899 --> 00:14:52.100 First Thessalonians chapter 1 and verse 1. 00:14:53.040 --> 00:14:56.800 Paul writes, Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians. 00:14:57.460 --> 00:15:00.120 And God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:02.720 Grace to you and peace. 00:15:02.800 --> 00:15:11.680 Now, I only know that this is a city reference because there were, church history holds, churches meeting in that city. 00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:15.519 But here Paul is addressing a letter to the church in that city. 00:15:15.939 --> 00:15:18.939 Churches were actually, also actually regional. 00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:21.479 Acts chapter 9 and verse 31. 00:15:23.019 --> 00:15:30.120 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. 00:15:30.379 --> 00:15:35.639 The church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. 00:15:35.639 --> 00:15:41.159 And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. 00:15:42.419 --> 00:15:45.000 And also the church is local. 00:15:45.659 --> 00:15:50.960 And local is the form most often mentioned in scripture. 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:59.240 And in fact, the word for church, we find translated in our Bibles, ecclesia means gathering. 00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:03.019 And it was used broadly in Greek culture to speak of gatherings of any kind. 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:05.900 So it makes sense that they would be local. 00:16:06.120 --> 00:16:08.080 A people who can actually see one another. 00:16:08.180 --> 00:16:12.519 Can be in the same locale at the same time. 00:16:12.519 --> 00:16:17.819 Again, another example, Paul, 1 Corinthians chapter 16 and verse 19. 00:16:18.500 --> 00:16:23.000 He writes, the churches of Asia send you greetings. 00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:29.399 Achilla and Prissa together with the church in their house send you heartily greetings in the Lord. 00:16:29.500 --> 00:16:31.759 So you see both the churches of Asia. 00:16:31.939 --> 00:16:34.500 So he's not referring to the church broadly in the regional sense. 00:16:34.519 --> 00:16:36.519 But there are churches in this region. 00:16:36.519 --> 00:16:44.019 And then he mentions a specific one, Achilla and Prissa, together with the church in their house. 00:16:44.179 --> 00:16:47.240 Send you hearty greetings in the Lord. 00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:51.579 So this brings us to this idea of local church. 00:16:51.899 --> 00:16:58.679 It's the thing that we're going to have to think about most because we're going to be most involved with the local church. 00:16:58.740 --> 00:17:04.200 I think all of us would love to have something to say to the church universal or even the church regional. 00:17:04.200 --> 00:17:09.759 I'd love to say some things to the church regional, but that's not the platform I'm given. 00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:14.080 But here, how do we properly orient? 00:17:14.220 --> 00:17:15.940 How do we properly think? 00:17:16.059 --> 00:17:18.640 What does the Bible say for us? 00:17:20.080 --> 00:17:21.380 So this is very important. 00:17:21.580 --> 00:17:25.980 What is the local church? 00:17:26.920 --> 00:17:27.799 And I have a definition. 00:17:28.240 --> 00:17:29.720 I think it's going to appear on the screen for you. 00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:31.120 I think Alex is going to put it up there for you. 00:17:31.120 --> 00:17:31.600 Hey, you're right. 00:17:31.599 --> 00:17:34.819 This is a working definition. 00:17:35.419 --> 00:17:39.219 It's some semblance of mine versus, I'm sure, some other people's. 00:17:39.279 --> 00:17:42.859 So if you find something similar to this, don't call me a plagiarist. 00:17:45.179 --> 00:17:46.959 But here's my definition, working definition. 00:17:48.019 --> 00:17:51.379 And we'll break this down and look at it in some more particulars here in a moment. 00:17:52.159 --> 00:17:52.799 So here it is, though. 00:17:52.799 --> 00:18:07.980 The local church is a community of believers that gathers regularly around the personal work of Jesus Christ, that rightly preaches the gospel, and that rightly administers the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper. 00:18:07.980 --> 00:18:19.579 I think this is the simplest and most historically consistent definition that, at least I, my finite mind, can come up with. 00:18:20.940 --> 00:18:30.259 There's a lot of other things you could say, but I think if we're going to say, yes, that's a church, no, that's not a church, I think this is the simplest definition that we can possibly work with. 00:18:30.259 --> 00:18:33.440 Let me labor to show you why. 00:18:34.500 --> 00:18:45.579 I'm very thankful that in 2 Timothy chapter 4, when Paul tells Timothy that he should preach the word and be ready in season and out of season, that he doesn't say that you should have perfectly polished notes in season and out of season. 00:18:45.859 --> 00:18:50.059 So this is this morning that I wrote this up for you. 00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:54.940 So first, the phrase, a community of believers. 00:18:54.940 --> 00:19:01.320 Now, what I mean by a community is that we are living life together. 00:19:01.480 --> 00:19:09.980 All of the one-anothers of the Bible, which are dramatic lists of those one-anothers, all of the things that we're meant to be doing together as Christians can be done. 00:19:10.080 --> 00:19:11.880 That's what I mean by the word community. 00:19:12.019 --> 00:19:16.980 Possibly a word that we're going to have to stop using because it gets overused and wrongly used so often. 00:19:17.100 --> 00:19:21.460 But this is what I mean, a people who are living in life together. 00:19:21.460 --> 00:19:23.200 And they're not just any people. 00:19:23.380 --> 00:19:24.580 It's not a social club. 00:19:24.940 --> 00:19:29.279 It's not a car club or an ultimate Frisbee club. 00:19:29.400 --> 00:19:34.380 It's a community of something specific, a community of believers, right? 00:19:34.420 --> 00:19:40.279 We've come together because we are united by the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:19:41.059 --> 00:19:49.700 The church is, from God's perspective, made up of believers, people who have been redeemed, called his people. 00:19:49.960 --> 00:19:53.820 And therefore, the local church should also be made up of believers. 00:19:53.819 --> 00:19:55.319 I hope you hear me say that. 00:19:55.379 --> 00:19:57.939 And you go, of course, that's a good thing if you're doing that. 00:19:58.279 --> 00:20:01.839 There are many churches out there that don't act in this way. 00:20:02.200 --> 00:20:04.119 I'm not concerned really at all. 00:20:04.439 --> 00:20:09.960 Just want you to sign up so they can convince you to be there, so that you'll give, so that hopefully you'll hear the gospel. 00:20:09.960 --> 00:20:13.579 It's quite a mess out there in those ways. 00:20:13.579 --> 00:20:20.279 But this should be people that are made up of people who have professed faith in Jesus Christ. 00:20:20.539 --> 00:20:30.980 There's a lot of examples in the scripture of the inside and the outside of the church, marking off who is the church and who isn't the church. 00:20:30.980 --> 00:20:33.640 And, beloved, this is good for us, right? 00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:35.980 To be marked inside the church, right? 00:20:36.059 --> 00:20:37.480 To help us with our assurance. 00:20:37.700 --> 00:20:45.279 We've got people who are helping us walk faithfully with the Lord, who are helping us to examine our lives, who are exposing our blind spots. 00:20:45.420 --> 00:20:47.620 We need one another to do this. 00:20:48.079 --> 00:20:49.480 And it's good for the world. 00:20:49.880 --> 00:20:56.980 We need to be saying to others, oh, there's only one way to be reconciled to God, and that is through the personal work of Jesus Christ. 00:20:56.980 --> 00:21:00.360 You must repent and believe, right? 00:21:00.440 --> 00:21:03.079 You can't just claim to be a member of a church. 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:08.860 You have to come through the sacrificial work of Jesus to become a member of the church, right? 00:21:08.880 --> 00:21:13.960 This is important that the gospel is clear in the way we conduct ourselves as church. 00:21:14.220 --> 00:21:17.360 I'll give you an example of the inside and the outside. 00:21:17.860 --> 00:21:22.079 Acts chapter 5, we see a record of the early church beginning in verse 12. 00:21:22.079 --> 00:21:26.980 Now, many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. 00:21:27.819 --> 00:21:31.720 And they were all together in Solomon's portico, right? 00:21:31.799 --> 00:21:35.939 So they, there's a people, there's a recognized people, right? 00:21:35.960 --> 00:21:40.079 As Luke records this, they were together in Solomon's portico. 00:21:40.699 --> 00:21:49.639 And then he goes on to say, none of the rest dare join them, but the people held them in high esteem, right? 00:21:49.640 --> 00:21:54.460 There's a group, an identifiable group that's together that are being held in high esteem. 00:21:54.560 --> 00:22:00.680 And there's another identifiable group that doesn't dare to join them and be counted amongst their number. 00:22:01.640 --> 00:22:07.460 Another wonderful example of this is the author of Hebrews writes in Hebrews 13 and verse 17, the first part of it. 00:22:07.460 --> 00:22:22.220 Again, there's a clear outside and a clear inside here, right? 00:22:22.279 --> 00:22:30.460 The author of Hebrews writes to a little church and says, you, you church, know who your leaders are. 00:22:30.740 --> 00:22:31.440 You know them. 00:22:31.860 --> 00:22:33.400 He doesn't say obey leaders. 00:22:33.400 --> 00:22:37.380 He says, obey your leaders and submit to them. 00:22:37.620 --> 00:22:39.960 They've been given a task of keeping watch over your souls. 00:22:40.160 --> 00:22:46.240 And they're going to give an account for those people to whom they're caring for. 00:22:46.519 --> 00:22:50.120 So there's a clear inside and an outside. 00:22:50.560 --> 00:22:51.380 Praise be to God. 00:22:51.480 --> 00:22:56.620 I have a responsibility in our community broadly to be a proclaimer of the good news of Jesus Christ. 00:22:56.720 --> 00:23:01.500 I'd look for every opportunity to bring about redemptive good in the place that we are. 00:23:01.500 --> 00:23:07.059 But I will not give an account for every single person that lives in a radius of this building. 00:23:07.180 --> 00:23:09.519 I'm so glad of that. 00:23:09.720 --> 00:23:12.299 There's not enough time in my day for it. 00:23:12.680 --> 00:23:17.579 But I will give an account for those of you who are members of our fellowship. 00:23:18.720 --> 00:23:21.680 There's a clear inside and a clear outside. 00:23:21.839 --> 00:23:26.160 It's good for us and it's good for the community around us. 00:23:26.180 --> 00:23:28.940 So it's a community of believers, right? 00:23:28.940 --> 00:23:36.880 That's why we go through some process to both establish if you're in the faith and to regularly work with you to make sure that you are in the faith. 00:23:36.940 --> 00:23:40.860 That you continue in the faith for the good of your soul. 00:23:41.580 --> 00:23:48.620 So there's a community of believers and it's a community of believers that gathers regularly around the person and work of Jesus Christ. 00:23:48.619 --> 00:23:54.979 We see the New Testament example of the regular gathering of the church on the Lord's Day, the first day of the week. 00:23:55.379 --> 00:23:57.519 This was the normative thing that was going on. 00:23:57.639 --> 00:23:59.279 These people saw each other. 00:23:59.500 --> 00:24:01.219 They could get together, right? 00:24:01.739 --> 00:24:03.319 They could touch each other. 00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:05.339 It was actually possible to do that. 00:24:05.719 --> 00:24:08.739 You cannot do this online. 00:24:09.199 --> 00:24:09.839 Not possible. 00:24:10.500 --> 00:24:13.299 Absolutely impossible to do such a thing. 00:24:13.299 --> 00:24:19.899 I think we all ought to recognize the fragile and shallow nature of online relationships. 00:24:20.079 --> 00:24:21.019 They're not real. 00:24:21.859 --> 00:24:27.000 They have some essence of relationship, but they're not really what we need. 00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:36.859 And the church especially, called out of a world that is hostile toward it, need to be together that we might help each other progress in holiness. 00:24:37.220 --> 00:24:40.519 And we don't just gather for frivolous reasons. 00:24:40.519 --> 00:24:43.720 We don't gather for just any old reason, right? 00:24:43.839 --> 00:24:46.839 This is not a self-help club, right? 00:24:46.879 --> 00:24:48.339 It's not a social gathering. 00:24:48.440 --> 00:24:49.579 I'm glad we can be social. 00:24:49.720 --> 00:24:52.039 I'm glad we love each other and we like to spend time together. 00:24:52.819 --> 00:24:57.819 But we're gathering around the person and the work of Jesus Christ. 00:24:57.980 --> 00:25:02.879 What he has done, is doing, and has promised to do. 00:25:02.980 --> 00:25:04.440 You'll hear me say that when we take the Lord's Supper. 00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:07.339 Like, that's what we are gathering around. 00:25:07.339 --> 00:25:11.179 This is the purpose for our gathering together. 00:25:11.819 --> 00:25:12.899 Let me give you a text. 00:25:13.019 --> 00:25:16.859 Hebrews chapter 10, beginning in verse 23 and following. 00:25:17.720 --> 00:25:18.619 Author of Hebrews says, 00:25:18.619 --> 00:25:45.779 Already in this day, right, there's hostility towards the church and people had stopped gathering. 00:25:45.779 --> 00:25:50.079 They were neglecting to meet together with the church, right? 00:25:50.420 --> 00:26:00.099 And he is connecting these ideas that for us to hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, without being tossed around, we are going to need to be together. 00:26:00.099 --> 00:26:01.839 And we're going to need to consider. 00:26:01.960 --> 00:26:07.559 We're going to have to be actively thinking about and acting on, stirring one another up to love and good works. 00:26:07.899 --> 00:26:08.259 Why? 00:26:09.119 --> 00:26:10.559 Because the day is drawing near. 00:26:11.019 --> 00:26:13.619 The day of our Lord's return is drawing near. 00:26:13.720 --> 00:26:19.460 And we have a work to do, following him faithfully, until that day comes. 00:26:20.539 --> 00:26:23.519 So, how do we do that, right? 00:26:23.539 --> 00:26:26.200 How do we gather around the person and work of Jesus Christ? 00:26:26.299 --> 00:26:27.900 What might those activities look like? 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:29.559 There is much to be said about this. 00:26:29.559 --> 00:26:39.859 But in the definition, I think in simplest terms, this group that gathers together regularly around the personal work of Jesus Christ rightly preaches the gospel. 00:26:41.139 --> 00:26:47.579 Now, when you see the word preach here, I don't want you to just think of what I and others do from this stage. 00:26:47.639 --> 00:26:49.159 I want you to think proclaim. 00:26:49.679 --> 00:26:50.339 The church. 00:26:50.899 --> 00:26:51.419 All of us. 00:26:51.519 --> 00:26:55.519 Every member proclaims the good news of Jesus Christ. 00:26:55.519 --> 00:26:57.639 And this happens in a lot of different ways. 00:26:58.339 --> 00:26:58.920 It's all vocal. 00:26:59.019 --> 00:27:00.839 I'm not saying in action. 00:27:01.079 --> 00:27:04.579 But you're going to be saying the gospel to one another. 00:27:04.680 --> 00:27:07.279 We need to be doing this work. 00:27:07.420 --> 00:27:10.639 It is the work we've been given to do. 00:27:11.319 --> 00:27:16.960 We need to be reminding one another and telling the world that we have a creator God. 00:27:17.319 --> 00:27:18.400 He made it. 00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:19.779 It's his. 00:27:20.579 --> 00:27:22.000 And therefore, he has the right. 00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:29.480 It is proper for him to order it, to set it up the way in which it should function. 00:27:30.420 --> 00:27:38.680 All of the creation has the responsibility to bow to him in adoration as the creator. 00:27:40.099 --> 00:27:47.880 But if you know the gospel storyline, we know that Adam and Eve, the very first creation, rejected that good rule. 00:27:47.880 --> 00:27:49.120 Did what they wanted to. 00:27:49.180 --> 00:27:51.800 Wanted to become like God. 00:27:52.600 --> 00:27:53.660 And so they fell from grace. 00:27:54.000 --> 00:27:56.180 Brought a curse on the world. 00:27:56.800 --> 00:28:04.840 And the narrative of the Bible is all about this curse working out, but God bringing about redemption through it. 00:28:05.280 --> 00:28:12.760 I hope you know how very rich the Old Testament is as it's constantly pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:28:12.759 --> 00:28:17.819 Christ, constantly saying, these things will not ultimately save your soul. 00:28:17.980 --> 00:28:21.619 This kind of work, this law keeping will not ultimately save your soul. 00:28:21.759 --> 00:28:24.200 But you need to be looking for something that will. 00:28:25.579 --> 00:28:28.440 Christ himself, God incarnate. 00:28:29.440 --> 00:28:31.960 He came and lived the life we couldn't live. 00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:34.019 Kept the law perfectly. 00:28:34.579 --> 00:28:36.000 Died the death that we deserve. 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:40.660 Took all the wrath of God in himself on the cross. 00:28:41.180 --> 00:28:51.420 So that by grace alone, through faith alone, in the personal work of Jesus Christ alone, we can have the redemption of our souls. 00:28:51.519 --> 00:28:53.460 We can be saved from the bondage of sin. 00:28:53.539 --> 00:28:58.059 We can be restored to relationship in Christ to God. 00:28:58.059 --> 00:29:06.859 All of that created order that was disrupted by the fall, by the original sin of Adam and Eve, and has been disrupted all along the way. 00:29:06.980 --> 00:29:12.200 But everybody's sin is set right in Jesus. 00:29:13.099 --> 00:29:16.779 And not only that will be fully and finally set right in Jesus. 00:29:17.440 --> 00:29:20.700 Jesus will return and he will judge the earth. 00:29:20.700 --> 00:29:32.400 He will separate his church from the rest of the peoples of the earth and there will be a new heaven and a new earth where those who are in Christ will praise him forever and ever and ever. 00:29:32.759 --> 00:29:34.759 That gospel message. 00:29:35.200 --> 00:29:38.259 The church must preach. 00:29:38.980 --> 00:29:44.920 A church, a local church, must rightly preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:29:45.140 --> 00:29:48.539 There are a lot of perversions of the gospel out there. 00:29:48.539 --> 00:29:54.220 Things that are called gospel, prosperity gospel, that aren't gospel at all. 00:29:54.319 --> 00:29:55.180 They're bad news. 00:29:55.279 --> 00:29:56.879 Very, very bad news. 00:29:57.299 --> 00:30:00.180 And not good news. 00:30:01.159 --> 00:30:04.579 Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 2, verse 14 and following, 00:30:04.579 --> 00:30:12.139 But thanks be to God who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession. 00:30:13.000 --> 00:30:17.639 And through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 00:30:18.539 --> 00:30:24.240 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 00:30:25.240 --> 00:30:27.579 To one a fragrance from death to death. 00:30:28.159 --> 00:30:30.980 To the other a fragrance from life to life. 00:30:31.440 --> 00:30:34.680 Who is sufficient for these things? 00:30:34.680 --> 00:30:39.500 For we are not like so many, peddlers of God's word. 00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:47.200 But as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God in the sight of God, we speak in Christ. 00:30:47.900 --> 00:30:52.880 So the church, the local church, rightly understood, is meant to be preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:30:53.000 --> 00:30:58.500 And rightly administering the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper. 00:30:58.500 --> 00:31:02.799 Now I'm going to have to expound upon this part of the definition at a later time. 00:31:03.420 --> 00:31:14.380 But before we just glance over it, I want you to know that baptism is the sign that the church rightly uses to welcome a new Christian into the fellowship of the church. 00:31:14.740 --> 00:31:23.319 And the Lord's Supper is the sign that the church rightly uses to affirm an individual still belongs in the fellowship of the church. 00:31:23.319 --> 00:31:27.579 It's the way we exercise membership and discipline. 00:31:28.299 --> 00:31:30.559 What I've just stated is oversimplistic. 00:31:30.740 --> 00:31:34.539 But for our consideration today, I think that that'll suffice. 00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:40.220 It is important that we rightly administer these two ordinances of the church. 00:31:40.679 --> 00:31:48.559 I want you to know that baptism and the Lord's Supper are a more important part of the gathering of God's people than many people have believed. 00:31:48.960 --> 00:31:52.859 It means something about the way we order ourselves as a church. 00:31:52.859 --> 00:31:57.579 The way we will need to order ourselves in the future of our church. 00:31:58.559 --> 00:32:09.439 Now when you take this definition, I want you to know that we could do a church versus not church categorizing with the first part of the definition. 00:32:11.500 --> 00:32:15.599 A group of people is not church if they don't gather regularly. 00:32:17.039 --> 00:32:18.919 They're not physically together ever. 00:32:19.599 --> 00:32:20.939 They're not church. 00:32:20.940 --> 00:32:25.279 And hear me say this with a great deal of love, with care, with humility. 00:32:25.799 --> 00:32:28.539 There's no such thing as a multi-site church. 00:32:29.380 --> 00:32:34.860 You cannot say one church, five locations. 00:32:36.120 --> 00:32:36.539 Nope. 00:32:37.259 --> 00:32:38.360 You can't ecclesia. 00:32:38.660 --> 00:32:39.660 You're not doing it. 00:32:39.660 --> 00:32:42.200 You're not doing the very thing that the word says you're doing. 00:32:42.540 --> 00:32:43.440 Not possible. 00:32:44.759 --> 00:32:46.200 Something, something well intended. 00:32:46.800 --> 00:32:49.040 Something the Lord may even be using in spite of its structure. 00:32:49.440 --> 00:32:52.340 But, not church. 00:32:52.840 --> 00:32:53.340 Not church. 00:32:53.460 --> 00:32:57.960 The church must gather regularly and it must rightly preach the gospel. 00:32:58.080 --> 00:32:58.460 This message. 00:32:58.620 --> 00:32:59.560 Grace alone through faith alone. 00:32:59.620 --> 00:33:01.019 And the personal work of Jesus Christ alone. 00:33:01.019 --> 00:33:05.960 If a group of people who claim to be Christ followers are gathering together and they're not preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:33:06.500 --> 00:33:07.440 Not church. 00:33:08.379 --> 00:33:08.980 Something. 00:33:09.680 --> 00:33:10.480 Self-help seminar. 00:33:11.200 --> 00:33:11.519 Something. 00:33:12.619 --> 00:33:13.240 Concert. 00:33:14.200 --> 00:33:14.799 Something. 00:33:15.879 --> 00:33:16.740 Not church. 00:33:17.420 --> 00:33:24.119 We can take the last half of our definition and make a division between normative and abnormative. 00:33:24.919 --> 00:33:29.000 This rightly administers the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper. 00:33:29.000 --> 00:33:36.139 So, you may have a group of people who gather regularly and preach the gospel who just aren't getting these ordinances quite right. 00:33:37.419 --> 00:33:44.500 I'm very thankful that we have a lot of churches that are just abnormative churches and haven't quite sorted that out and figured that. 00:33:44.579 --> 00:33:47.439 And I hope by grace that they will. 00:33:48.199 --> 00:33:50.379 I think our church has gone through that process. 00:33:50.380 --> 00:33:54.000 I don't know that I would have said that we were church normative at the beginning. 00:33:54.100 --> 00:33:55.480 Probably more church abnormative. 00:33:55.660 --> 00:34:01.200 And I hope we are following ourselves in the category of church normative now. 00:34:01.600 --> 00:34:03.580 These things matter immensely. 00:34:03.740 --> 00:34:10.220 We must think carefully and clearly about what the church is as we order the church. 00:34:10.619 --> 00:34:15.599 Because, fifth and last, and briefly, the church has a mission. 00:34:16.980 --> 00:34:18.019 The church has a mission. 00:34:20.380 --> 00:34:23.680 Beloved, the church gives to us many benefits. 00:34:24.420 --> 00:34:26.880 I am so grateful for the church. 00:34:27.599 --> 00:34:29.980 The more I mature in Christ, right? 00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:31.599 The more I'm growing up in Him. 00:34:31.680 --> 00:34:34.800 I'm not outgrowing my need of the church. 00:34:35.160 --> 00:34:39.119 I'm recognizing more and more and more how much I need it. 00:34:39.820 --> 00:34:43.480 I need each and every one of you, right? 00:34:43.660 --> 00:34:45.160 I have blind spots. 00:34:45.320 --> 00:34:47.039 I need to be told when I err. 00:34:47.039 --> 00:34:51.039 I need to be brought to repentance and continued faith. 00:34:51.199 --> 00:34:52.219 I need to be taught. 00:34:52.340 --> 00:34:54.139 I learn from you guys. 00:34:54.300 --> 00:35:00.340 Watching the way that the Spirit of God applies to the Word of God in your life. 00:35:00.840 --> 00:35:03.559 We need one another. 00:35:03.719 --> 00:35:05.139 But it's not about us. 00:35:06.139 --> 00:35:08.940 The church is not ultimately about you. 00:35:09.740 --> 00:35:11.139 It's not about your feelings. 00:35:11.559 --> 00:35:16.579 It's not about your life and the success or failure of it. 00:35:16.760 --> 00:35:19.360 Ultimately, it's not about you. 00:35:20.159 --> 00:35:24.179 All the things we do together as a church ought to be expressions of the way that we're loving one another. 00:35:24.360 --> 00:35:25.220 We're helping each other. 00:35:25.300 --> 00:35:26.159 We're meeting needs. 00:35:26.320 --> 00:35:27.519 We're progressing in holiness. 00:35:27.519 --> 00:35:31.239 But all of that is about the glory of God in the world. 00:35:32.619 --> 00:35:39.719 We are meant to be a church because there's too little praise of our great God in the world in which we live. 00:35:40.460 --> 00:35:47.759 There are not enough people proclaiming the excellencies of God in our community to the very ends of the earth. 00:35:48.059 --> 00:35:50.900 Because our God is worthy of all the praise. 00:35:51.480 --> 00:35:52.759 He is great. 00:35:52.900 --> 00:35:54.420 We ought to be driven by that. 00:35:54.820 --> 00:35:56.079 Look at our God. 00:35:56.079 --> 00:36:00.119 He is a God who is merciful and gracious. 00:36:00.400 --> 00:36:04.500 Look at the way that he has loved us in Christ. 00:36:04.799 --> 00:36:05.960 We have a mission. 00:36:06.319 --> 00:36:07.460 We have a place to go. 00:36:07.559 --> 00:36:10.119 A thing to accomplish. 00:36:11.480 --> 00:36:13.139 There's some old language. 00:36:13.440 --> 00:36:17.079 So I hope that you'll give me a little time to use the language with you. 00:36:17.500 --> 00:36:19.940 Two ways that the reformers talked about the church. 00:36:20.179 --> 00:36:22.539 They talked about the church victorious. 00:36:22.880 --> 00:36:23.579 I'll start with that one. 00:36:23.579 --> 00:36:26.219 The task has been accomplished. 00:36:27.119 --> 00:36:29.599 Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth. 00:36:29.679 --> 00:36:30.500 It's been given to him. 00:36:30.779 --> 00:36:32.319 He's going to be with us at the very end of the age. 00:36:32.579 --> 00:36:33.500 He's going to build this church. 00:36:33.579 --> 00:36:36.440 The gates of hell will not prevail against that advance of the church. 00:36:37.440 --> 00:36:37.880 Victorious. 00:36:38.719 --> 00:36:42.500 But also, the church is to be militant. 00:36:43.799 --> 00:36:45.440 I'm not talking about BDUs and guns. 00:36:45.519 --> 00:36:47.099 I'm not talking about any of that. 00:36:47.099 --> 00:36:54.960 We are to go forward in love, proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, recognizing that we are not on the defense. 00:36:55.179 --> 00:36:56.880 We are on the offense. 00:36:57.599 --> 00:37:02.079 Taking this news to the world around us. 00:37:02.259 --> 00:37:04.019 We have a mission. 00:37:04.159 --> 00:37:07.799 And it ought to be driving everything we do as a church. 00:37:07.800 --> 00:37:11.640 Again, Matthew 28, verse 18 and following. 00:37:12.180 --> 00:37:14.080 Jesus came and said to them. 00:37:14.220 --> 00:37:16.280 He's saying this to us this morning. 00:37:17.240 --> 00:37:20.120 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 00:37:21.260 --> 00:37:21.980 Go, therefore. 00:37:22.519 --> 00:37:23.680 Because I have all the authority. 00:37:23.920 --> 00:37:24.080 Go. 00:37:24.940 --> 00:37:26.780 And make disciples of all nations. 00:37:26.780 --> 00:37:31.019 Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 00:37:31.260 --> 00:37:34.040 Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. 00:37:34.720 --> 00:37:39.080 And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. 00:37:39.620 --> 00:37:40.360 Let's pray together.