Scripture Reading: Articles 29, 31 from the Belgic Confession
Sermon Text: Various
From The Belgic Confession (1561)
Article 29 - The Marks of the True Church
We believe that we ought to discern diligently and very carefully, by the Word of God, what is the true church—for all sects in the world today claim for themselves the name of "the church."
We are not speaking here of the company of hypocrites who are mixed among the good in the church and who nonetheless are not part of it, even though they are physically there. But we are speaking of distinguishing the body and fellowship of the true church from all sects that call themselves "the church."
The true church can be recognized if it has the following marks: The church engages in the pure preaching of the gospel; it makes use of the pure administration of the sacraments as Christ instituted them; it practices church discipline for correcting faults. In short, it governs itself according to the pure Word of God, rejecting all things contrary to it and holding Jesus Christ as the only Head. By these marks one can be assured of recognizing the true church—and no one ought to be separated from it.
As for those who can belong to the church, we can recognize them by the distinguishing marks of Christians:
namely by faith, and by their fleeing from sin and pursuing righteousness, once they have received the one and only Savior, Jesus Christ. They love the true God and their neighbors, without turning to the right or left, and they crucify the flesh and its works.
Though great weakness remains in them, they fight against it by the Spirit all the days of their lives, appealing constantly to the blood, suffering, death, and obedience of the Lord Jesus, in whom they have forgiveness of their sins, through faith in him.
As for the false church, it assigns more authority to itself and its ordinances than to the Word of God; it does not want to subject itself to the yoke of Christ; it does not administer the sacraments as Christ commanded in his Word; it rather adds to them or subtracts from them as it pleases; it bases itself on men, more than on Jesus Christ; it persecutes those who live holy lives according to the Word of God and who rebuke it for its faults, greed, and idolatry.
These two churches are easy to recognize and thus to distinguish from each other.
Article 31 - The Officers of the Church
We believe that ministers of the Word of God, elders, and deacons ought to be chosen to their offices by a legitimate election of the church, with prayer in the name of the Lord, and in good order, as the Word of God teaches.
So everyone must be careful not to push himself forward improperly, but he must wait for God's call, so that he may be assured of his calling and be certain that he is chosen by the Lord.
As for the ministers of the Word, they all have the same power and authority, no matter where they may be, since they are all servants of Jesus Christ, the only universal bishop, and the only head of the church.
Moreover, to keep God's holy order from being violated or despised, we say that everyone ought, as much as possible, to hold the ministers of the Word and elders of the church in special esteem, because of the work they do, and be at peace with them, without grumbling, quarreling, or fighting.
What is the Church?
The word "church" comes from the Greek term "ekklesia" which is formed from two Greek words meaning "an assembly" and "to call out" or "called out ones." In summary, the New Testament church is a body of believers who have been called out from the world by God to live as His people under the authority of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23).
The Mission of the Christian: Matthew 22:36-40
The Mission of the Body of Christ: Matthew 28:18-20
The Mission of the Church: Ephesians 4:11-16
- To help Christians love the Father through Christ by the Holy Spirit with their whole heart and to love others as themselves through formal and informal evangelism and discipleship.
The church is to produce mature disciples – described by Matthew 22:36-40 - and shown through rightly motivated obedience or fruit (John 14:15; Galatians 5; II Corinthians 5:14-15; etc.) who can in turn reproduce themselves.
Is Formal Church Membership Biblical?
While we do not find indisputable proof texts for local church membership, we do find passages that imply formal membership in local assemblies.
- Paul called for the exclusion of this immoral brother, which would imply that it meant something to be included in that church. He would lose the privileges of membership previously conferred upon him. Formal exclusion presupposes formal inclusion (1Cor 5:2, 7, 12-13).
- The church in Corinth consisted of a definite number of believers, such that Paul could speak of a punishment inflicted by the majority (2 Cor. 2:6).
- Scripture repeatedly commands Christians to submit to their leaders (Heb. 13:17; 1 Thess. 5:12-13). The only way to do that is by publicly committing to be members of their flock, and saying in effect, “I commit to listening to your teaching, following your direction, and to submitting to your leadership.” There’s no way to obey the scriptural commands to submit to your leaders if you never actually submit to them by joining a local church.
- Also, it is significant that certain apostles wrote to and traveled to specific churches and noted specific issues in each local assembly. Local assemblies are a microcosm of the universal body of Christ. Matthew 18:15-17 also points to belonging formally to a local body.
- Paul addressed his epistles to individual bodies with specific instructions for them. Also, see Paul’s instruction to Timothy in Titus 1:5.
- Church membership signifies a Church's corporate endorsement of a person's salvation. If we believe that only genuinely converted Christians are to be members of the local church, then it makes sense to take time to hear people's testimonies and listen for evidences of godly fruit and increasing holiness in their lives. When the church approaches membership in this way, membership can function as the church's corporate witness to the fact that the new member does indeed increasingly display the fruit of a genuine Christian.
- Church membership signifies an individual commitment to grasp hold of one another in mutual love and discipleship. By identifying ourselves with a particular church, we let the pastors and other members of that local church know that we intend to be committed in attendance, giving, prayer, and service. We increase others' expectations of us in these areas, and we make it known that we are the responsibility of this local church (Hebrews 13:17). We assure the church of our commitment to Christ in serving with them, and we call for their commitment to serve us in love and to encourage us in our discipleship. In short, we enter a covenant relationship with that church and its leadership.
To be obedient to Christ by doing all of what is listed below:
- To be accountable (Matthew 18:15-19)
- To be trained (Ephesians 4:11-16)
- To worship and serve (Romans 12:1-2)
- To make disciples (Ephesians 4:11-16)
- To be encouraged (Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:19-25)
- To evangelize (Matthew 28:18-20)
- To help the body of Christ (I Corinthians 14:12; II Corinthians 8)
Biblical conversion and baptism. At Orange Park Bible Church, we desire members to first go through the new member’s class and to sign a church covenant.
What is expected of church members?
- Attend services regularly. Hebrews 10:25 commands Christians not to forsake assembling together. Attending services regularly is one of the basic commitments of membership and one of the basic ways that a church member can grow in the faith, get to know other Christians, and allow the church leaders to shepherd and watch over his life.
- Attend communion particularly. Members should strive to be present when Christ’s death is commemorated and the church’s unity is displayed in communion.
- Attend members’ meetings consistently (if the church is congregational). This is when the church makes decisions as a church that affect the whole church.
- Pray regularly. If your church has a membership directory, consider encouraging members to use it as a prayer list.
- Give regularly. The apostle Paul writes, “One who is taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches” (Gal. 6:6).
- Build relationships with other members. Being a member in a local church is like being a hand or an eye (1 Cor. 12:21). You can’t function without all the other parts of the body. Just as a body functions when each part does its job and works together with all the other members, a local church is built up into maturity in Christ as the members minister in an intimately interrelated way (Eph. 4:15-16, 1 Cor. 12:12-26). So a church should expect that its members will build relationships with other members.
- Submit to the church’s leaders. The Scripture says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Heb. 13:17).
- Serve as God gives opportunity. God has given spiritual gifts to every member of the body of Christ so that everyone would use his or her gifts to build up the entire body (1 Cor. 12:7). A church should expect that all of its members will serve the whole church as God enables.
- (Some of this material has been adapted from Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever, pages 161-163)
Paul lays out the qualifications for elders in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. Passages that evidence a plurality of elders in one local church include Acts 14:23, Acts 20:17, 1 Timothy 4:14, 1 Timothy 5:17, and James 5:14.
What do Elders do?
God gifts churches with elders to do the following:
- Feed God’s sheep God’s Word (Jn. 21:15-17).
- Guide the sheep by overseeing the affairs of the church (1 Tim. 4:16; 1 Pet. 5:3, Heb. 13:7).
- Protect the sheep from attackers or false doctrine (Acts 20:27-29; 2 Tim. 4:3-4; Tit. 1:9).
- Protecting both themselves and the church through the wisdom of their plurality (Prov. 11:14; 24:6).
- Hebrews 13:17 teaches that Elders are accountable for how they lead those committed to their care.
- Elders are equippers. Equip or train for the work of the ministry: evangelism and discipleship (Ephesians 4:11-16).
Paul lays out the qualifications for elders (only males may be elders – 1 Timothy 2:12) in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. In short, a superior ability to read, interpret, and communicate God’s Word and exemplary character.
Here the process is:
- congregational recommendation
- is there a desire?
- observation
- participation
- perpetual training
- unanimous Elder recommendation
- presentation and congregational confirmation
"Their [godly elders] humility makes them difficult to offend; their holiness makes them easy to trust; their gentle speech makes them easy to hear as sources of correction or critique; and their hospitality provides a context for spiritual encouragement and edification."
-- Mark Dever and Paul Alexander. Why Character is Crucial, taken from The Deliberate Church, © 2005, Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton Illinois 60187, p. 154, www.crosswaybooks.org.
"According to Scripture, virtually everything that truly qualifies a person for leadership is directly related to character. It's not about style, status, personal charisma, clout, or worldly measurements of success. Integrity is the main issue that makes the difference between a good leader and a bad one."
-- John MacArthur. Grace to You Newsletter, Oct. 15, 2004.
"The fact is, the higher up we find ourselves in terms of power, influence, and wealth – the more people look up to us – the more vulnerable we are to pride and self-deceit, and the more prone we are to be blind to our spiritual needs and deficiencies. Once we are established in a position of influence, we have a reputation to maintain. We have a lot to lose if we get honest about our real spiritual needs. For most of us, the subtle encroachment of pride is more dangerous, and more likely to render us useless to God and others, than any other kind of failure."
-- Nancy Leigh DeMoss. Brokenness, The Heart God Revives, Moody Publishers, Chicago, 2002, p. 81-82.
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