> lets continue to talk about

church member ship today

The Church: Local, Visible and United
Rom. 12:4-16
Rom. 12
4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the
same function,
5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of
another.
6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to
exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;
7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching;
8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with
diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.
10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;
11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer,
13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate
with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
V.4 many members- 1 body

V.4 different functions

V.5 1 body- all saved

members of one another- unity

many members in one body- Think of this idea. There are man members in one body.
This is very similar language that Paul uses in the 1 Cor. 12 where Paul uses this same
picture to describe the church as a body with different members. He uses human body
parts like eyes, feet and hand t talk about how each member has a gift that works in the
body so that the whole body might operate as it should.
all the members do not have the same function- Again this is repeated in 1 Cor. 12.each part is needed for the whole to work right. If any one part was missing then the
body would not work like it should. If there was no hands the body would not work like
it should. If there was no eyes or feet the whole body would be effected and would not
function like it should.
V.5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ- All the saved of all the ages make
up the body of Christ. We call this the church universal- which is to say that all
Christians every where make up the body of Christ. But these Christians meet together
locally to make up a local body that we call a church.
The word used for body here is the same word used for a physical body but it is used
figuratively. Friberg Lexicon defines the use of the word body here in v. 5 as as a group
of people united by a mystical union body, used of the church as the body of which
Christ is the head.
and individually members one of another- Here we see unity. There is different
members united together- so we are members of one another. This is the local church.
The local church has membership. It is united. And there can be no unity without
membership.

V.6 different giftsV. 6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to
exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;
>for each other
> Each member has a gift (maybe more than one but at least one). This gift is given t us
by God through the Holy Spirit when we are saved. And we are not to hide our candle
under a basket but we are to use it. There purpose of that gift is to use it in the church
for the good of the other members. Each member is united together for the good of each
other. WE unit and use our gifts for the good of the whole church.

Paul in v.6-8 gives some examples of these gifts and how they work in the body of the
local church:

V.6-8 Examples of gifts

6 if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;

7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching;
8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with
diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness
And notice none of these gifts are something that can be used only for ones self. They
are meant to serve others. And the others that should be served by these gifts are the
members of the church who are united together in one local body.
> note: gifts are not for self- but
others
V.9 love- regardless of gift

These commands are given to all the members regardless of their gifts. Love one
another with sincerity. Abhor- hate what is evil and do good. The context is the church
and ministry of the members to each other.
10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love- Notice that the devotion and love to
one another. There is a commitment here. This is not a loose friendship of two people
who are neighbors that might greet each other as they pass on the street in the mornings.
There is devotion- there is commitment. This is more like the relationship between a
husband and a wife. This is more like a bound between brothers and sisters. In fact Paul
uses the language brotherly love. This is not one day we are friends and maybe I do
not see you again for many days. There is a deep relationship here. There is
commitment here. This is not casual - this is serious deep love for each other.

V.10 devotion & love together

> commitment

John 13:35
Love brothers
discipleship

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.

By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one
another.- John 13:35
-

sign

of

The characteristic or sign that a person is a real disciple of Christ is that they love the
other believers. How can there be devotion and love to a stranger? How can you love
someone you almost never see? It is not possible.

-desire:
- strong bond

give preference to one another in honor;- Consider each other better than all others.
What does this mean? It has the idea that we should put these people first. We should
prefer them and prefer to be with them above anyone else. There should be a desire to
be with them. In all our considerations the members of the church are the people we
prefer above all other people. They are number one. We have the strongest bond with
them because we are united by the blood of Christ. We have the same Holy Spirit within
us. They are the family of God. They are our brothers and our sisters in Christ. We will
spend eternity with them.

-not lazy

11 not lagging behind in diligence What does that mean? Very simply, it means not be
lazy. What does it mean to be diligent? This is the word with eagerness - with zeal- to be
excited.

preference/honor-

-deligent
- focused on each other
not lacking behind

With the unity and membership in the body of the church- we should be diligent- we
should be zealous- we should be focused- desirous to do our part in the love and the
ministry to each other in the church. This is one of the reasons we exist. We were saved
for the purpose of uniting together with other people in our place for worship,
evangelism and ministry. And we should be diligent to do that. We should be diligentnot lacking behind- not dragging around- no lazy- but excited to fulfill our purpose of
being together. Just as a mother is diligent to feed, cloth and care for her children so we
should also be diligent t serve and love one another in the church. Just as Christ did not
lag behind but set His face like flint to got o Jerusalem that He might die for the church,
so we should not be lazy in our attitudes toward His church- our brothers and sisters in
Christ.

READ>>>>

fervent in spirit- [Friberg] literally well up, bubble, boil; figuratively, of spiritual
fervor be very eager, show enthusiasm

>Ethuesiastic:
To be together
-unity: deligenceEnthusiastic

We should be eager to be together in the church. We should be excited to serve one

another in unity. We should look forward to coming together as the body of Christ. We
should be diligently and enthusiastically using our gifts in the body of Christ to serve
one another. So there is unity- there is service and this should be done diligently and
enthusiastically.

serving the Lord-

serving the Lord- In the church we serve the Lord directly in ministry as we worship,
as we serve each other and as we serve the world.

V.12 rejoicing in hopeLook forward Christ coming

(v.12) rejoicing in hope- What hope do we have? We have hope in Christ. We can
rejoice together as the body of Christ looking forward to His coming where all things
will be made right. We can rejoice in the hope we have now that God sees our needs are
cares for us. That He is a loving Father and is concerned about His children. And also
we are not alone. The members of the church body can come together to rejoice in how
the Lord has cared for, protected, comforted and provided for us.

-God cares
- and through His people
persevering tribulation
- much against us

> we are not alone

- committed to ea. other

devoted to prayer
- together
-for each other
V.13 READ>>>>
Meet each other needs
-as we can

>hospitality-

> common
-sharing
- fellowship

persevering in tribulation - the world. The flesh and the devil are working against us.
The servants of Satan are working to destroy the church of God. Satan and his demons
are working to distract, sabotage, hinder, discourage, side-track, the saint. Satan desires
that you would be lazy- not be diligent- not be enthusiastic in your love for the
brothers, for Christ and His church. And we must persevere. We must over come and
press on in the duties that God has given us to each other.
One of the beautiful things about the church is that we are not alone. When we are
members of a local church we can work together, play together, and persevere together.
We are not alone. We are united as committed members of a local church body.
devoted to prayer- certainly there should be much prayer in the life of every Christian
but the context here is the church. So that the members of the church are united together
and devoted to praying together.
13 contributing to the needs of the saints- As we see needs in the body- as we see
needs of the members of the church, we should unite together to meet those needs. We
all have times of need. That is one of the reason God ordained that churches would have
membership so that we can unit together to take care of each other. This contribution
can take place through the offering. When you give your offering you are meeting the
needs of your pastors and paying for the needs of the church. We see offerings being
given in the church to meet the needs of the widows, to meet the needs of other
churches and to meet the needs of ministry. We will talk more about that later when we
talk about tithes and offerings in the New Testament church.
Meeting the needs of the saints can also take place through special offerings. And it can
take place through simple individual giving. We could find all these examples in the NT.
practicing hospitality.- We are to practice hospitality to all people. We are to practice
hospitality even to strangers.
Hospitality- [Friberg] - which comes from the root word k,- which
means common. It is the idea of having things in common- the idea of sharing. It is
taking part of what you have and giving it to someone else. This is the practice of the
church. Sharing things in common with each other. Taking what we have and giving it
to each other. This word also carries the idea of fellowship. This includes having each
other in our homes together.
> relationship to world
(outside the church)

- enemies

there those in the world are not our friends and family.

V.15 rejoice/weep
- share goods but also
emotions
-common

15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. - Paul now returns
to our relationship to each other. Sharing all things in common includes sharing our
burdens and our blessings with each other. Having all things in common, we share not
only the physical and the spiritual things with each other but also the emotional things
with each other.

V.16 unity-thoughts/care

16 Be of the same mind toward one another- There is unity not only in the
membership- not only in the physical- not only in the sharing but in our thoughts and
attitudes to each other. We are to esteem each other better than our selves. We are to
think highly of each other. There is unity of though of attitude to each other.

not haughty/lowlyWorlds class has no place

In the church- we are equal at the
cross.
-no division

not wise- not self

But Bible says

>may wise in themselves

& ignore Scripture
--church membership ex.
--hand/foot needed

--no cammand join churchAgree: it is assumed

-No universal apart from the
local

-church not a place- but a people

_ cant go to church but we
Can meet our family
-No building -still a church
> spiritual kingdom meets
physically

14 Bless those who persecute you;

bless and do not curse. - And this
is the relationship t those outside
of the church. This is how each
member of the church should
behave to our enemies. And this is
not easy. But we should
understand that our friends and
family are those in the church and

do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly- We are to esteem - we are to
think of each other in the church as equal. At the foot of the cross all men are equal.
There are no great and there are no small in Christ. There is neither rich nor poor- there
is neither slave no free- there is neither male nor female- there is neither We are all
equal in Christ. And we do not look at each other the way the world looks at other
people. There is no division in the body of Christ.
Do not be wise in your own estimation.- we are not think of our own ways but we are
to follow the pattern and commands of the Bible. Perhaps this seems like a strange
saying in the context but not really. If you think about it this phrase makes a lot of sense.
So many people have their own ideas about what church should be. There is a very
popular idea today that one can be a member of the universal church without being a
member of the local church. Such an idea is unknown in the Scripture.
Remember that Paul uses the illustration of a human body whose member make up
different parts of the body. We do not see a hand by itself. We do not see a foot or a leg
walking around on its own. No, we see members of the body attached to the body and
working with and in the body for the good of the whole body. In fact a hand or a foot
that is not attache to a body cannot live on its own. If a hand or a foot is ever cut off
from the body in a very short time it will die. And the idea of a Christian who is not a
member of the local church is not known. It would be a like a hand without a body. It
cannot survive on its own.
Some might try to argue that there is no command in the New Testament that a person
must join a church. I would agree that there is no command. No where does the Bible
say join a church. And there is a reason for this. When one is converted-when a person
is saved they are a member of the church. The church is universal but there is no
universal church on earth apart from the local church. Membership in the local church is
not commanded in the Bible- it is assumed. A Christian who is not a member of a local
body is alien to Scripture. The saved are the church and the church is local and the
church has members.
There is a very modern idea that we have to go to church. That is not possible. If you
have been saved you are the church. And the church identifies itself as the people of
God when they meet, minister and share their lives together. If there were no buildingif there was no meeting place- there would still be a church. And that church would still
meet someplace for worship, for service, for ministry and to share with each other.
Please see that there is no universal church without a local church. There is no invisible,
spiritual church without a visible, functioning, working, identified church.
Who benefits from our gifts?
Where do we show the gifts?

READ>>>

according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly. Who will
be the people who benefit from the exercising of our gifts?
V.7-8 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts,
in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who
shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Ans: Church
All people in Christ?
Not possible>
Every Christian every where?
Not possible.
> The local Body-committed to
Saved/Baptized but no church?
Not Scripture>
Body: together
> not scatered
> joined together
>every Christians in a body
-committed
- no hand or foot w/o a body
No Christian not committed to
A local church
V.10 READ>>>>>

Who is the ones being served?

Who are the ones being taught?
Who are the ones being exhorted?
Who are the ones being given to?
Who is being led?
Who is mercy being shown to?
Where are these things taking place and who are the ones receiving these things?
The only answer that makes any sense- the only way we can answer this is to say the
church. There is no other way to see this. What church? The all the people in Christ
since the beginning of time who are in heaven and on the earth? I do not think so. There
is no way we who are here could led, teach, exhort, and give to them. It must be the
local church. The local church (according to this passage and others by Paul) is a body
which has members who serve so that every one else benefits. There are no
permanent visitors in the church there are formal, real, committed members. And
those members operate in their gifts to serve others.
Where does this idea come from that people can be saved- baptized- confessing
believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and never commit themselves to membership and
service in a local church? It is not in Scripture.
The idea of a body is that it is connected together. I can look at you and you can look at
me and we see each others body. And we see the individual members of that body. We
are not a person with parts scattered around- no our body is connected. I see your hands
and you feet and they are connected to all the other parts of you. And that is the picture
of the local church that Paul gives us here. We can identify the body and the parts of the
body. And just like that, we can see a church and the members of that church. There is
no hand floating around that one day the hand is connected to this body and the next day
the hand is connected to another body. No the hand is a part of a particular body. And
every Christian is to be a part of a particular church.

Who devoted to?

Who loving?
> not a member- you have no
shepherd
-no family
-not living in same house
If adopted

V.10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love- how can we be devoted to one
another if we do not know who we are? Are can pastors minister to members if there are
no members? If someone were to ask you who is your pastor what would you say? If yo
are not a member of a church you have no church and you have no pastor. You have no
family. If you are not a member of a church you are like an orphan. How can you say
you have been adopted by God when you are not living in the same house with your
brothers and sisters? How can God be your Father when you are not connected with
your family?

Last Sunday: pastor knows his

flock

The ministry of a pastor is not to stray goats who wonder around in different fields but
to the flock of sheep that God has given him. And the pastor needs to know who his
sheep are. With the influence of individualism- that is the idea that each person is their
own person with their own rights and no institution should violate their rights- with the
influence of dispensationalism (which has created so much confusion as to who the
people of God are and has made the church in this time a Spiritual body disconnected
from the history of the Bible and the history of redemption- and just human rebellious,
lazy, selfish nature- there are those who will try to say that there is no formal church
membership. They will say that there are meeting places of the church and these

Who is the we that Paul is talking

about? Where are we to exercise
these gifts? And to whom are we
to exercise these gifts to? Who V.6
v.6Since we have gifts that differ

meeting places do not have formal members. The Bible says otherwise. Let me give you
a few examples.
Remeber>>>>>>
Shepherd knows his flock and
Sheep know their shepherd
- No sheep roaming around

Acts 20:28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy
Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with
His own blood.

READ>>>>>

A shepherd knows his flock. And an overseer (a pastor) knows his members. This is
showing that there is a formal membership in the church. It is assumed by Scripture.
There is no Christian without a church just as there is no sheep without a flock and a
shepherd. We do not see sheep roaming around alone. They are with their flock being
led by their shepherds.

Leaders & members

Hebrews 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your
souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief,
for this would be unprofitable for you.

Assumed-

Some: no list of members

We have here two parties. There are leaders and there are members. Members are to
obey and submit to their leaders and leaders are to watch over the souls of their
members. This is God speaking. This is not an option. This is not voluntary. There is a
church that has formal members. If there are no formal members how will the pastor
know who are the souls he is to watch over? All will the people know who their leaders
are?
Some may wish to argue against a formal membership. Maybe they would say that there
is no list of members. But that is not true.

READ>>>>
1 Tim. 5

> List of widows: had to know

Who their members were

Why would you not want to join?

Why not share life?
Why not share gifts of ministry?

9 A widow is to be put on the list only if she is not less than sixty years old, having been
the wife of one man, 10 having a reputation for good works; and if she has brought up
children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints feet, if
she has assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work. 11
But refuse to put younger widows on the list, for when they feel sensual desires in
disregard of Christ, they want to get married,
We have a list of widows for the church to minister to. If we partner this verse with the
verses we have from the book of Acts where deacons were installed in the Church to
serve widows we can see that the church had a list of widows to minster to. It is logical
to assume that they did not minister to just anyone but only to the members of their
church.

1) Dont know

The question I have is why would a person who have been saved by God NOT want to
join a church? The only reasons I can think of are three.

2) Not saved

1) They simply do not know. Maybe the person is a new Christian...Maybe the person
has never been taught this before. Maybe they just do not know. Well, after today that is
no longer an issue.

3) no love (dont care)

-selfish and maybe immature

2) They are not saved. By this they will know that you are my disciples that you love
one another. These are the words of Jesus. How can we love each other if there is no
unity. Visitors are strangers they are not family.
3) They are selfish. There are some people who simply do not want to be committed to
anything. They are selfish. They are not willing to invest their time, their tithes and their
talent. They do not want to be involved in a church. They just want to come when it is
convenient. They dont want to be bothered. They just come to attend worship. They are
content to sit and do nothing. They dont want to be involved. They dont want to

Want benefits w/o the cost

minister to others. But they want all the benefits of being a part of the church. They
want the benefits but not the responsibility.

> READ:

Local church membership is a question of biblical obedience, not personal preference.

- Matt Chandler

>OT to NT people o God united

= sharing
= minsterin
= loving each other

From the OT to the NT we see the people of God united together in one local body
sharing their lives with each other. That is the way it has always been and the way it
should be. What identified the people of the nation of Israel was that they were unied
and that unity included the worship of YHWH. What identifies the New Testament
Christian

= GOd commited to save

= Jesus committed to die
= Holy Spirit - live in you
= Pastor/deacons to serve

God has committed Himself to save you. Jesus has committed Himself to die for you.
The Holy Spirit has committed Himself to change you and live in you. The deacons
have committed themselves to serving you. The elders and pastors have committed
themselves to serving you. But you will not commit to be a part of the church? How can
this be?

= will you not commit also?

>Membership in church shows
Membership in Christ.

Church membership is not voluntary. It is required. It shows that you are saved. Church
membership shows that you are committed to serve in a body. Church membership
shows that you are willing to submit yourself to the leadership of God and of His Word.

= Commitement to body shows

Commitement to God
- connected
Matt. 25:31- 46 <???>