Secret Church: The Body of Christ - Part 2
SECRET CHURCH 9 - Part 2
The Body of Christ
11/5/10
Dr. David Platt
So we've looked at definition of the church. Now I want us to dive in and see description of the church; just these multiple ways, images that we see and how they come together in some different ways, so sometimes when the Bible's talking about the church it's talking about it one way, and other times it's talking about it in a totally different way so flying through this here.
But the church is universal and local. This is important. We see both in the church. We see the church meeting in a house. We see the church meeting in a city. We see the church meeting in a region, church in the world, and so we see both of these pictures in Scripture universal and local, but I want to make sure to emphasize the dominant emphasis in the New Testament is on the local church. Out of the 114 time Ecclesia is mentioned in the New Testament, at least 90 of them refer to specific local gatherings of believers, so almost all the time that New Testament's referring to the church it's talking about local churches. The local church is a clear expression of the universal body of Christ, and we're going to talk about it in just a second whether or not it's important to be committed one local church or if it's okay on just part of that universal church.
We're going to talk about that in a second but feel the weight of this right here. The dominant emphasis in the New Testament it's on local churches, so the church is both universal and local. The church is both visible and invisible. What I mean by that invisible church the church as God sees it from heaven. The Lord knows who are his 2 Timothy 2 says so that's all true believers. The reality is though visible church the church as we see it on earth, so we identify ourselves in different churches, but the visible church includes some false believers, and you see Paul warning about this in Acts 20. He's talking about some in 2 Timothy 2 too about false believers who come in who are not truly followers of Christ were apart of the church. Augustine said, "Many sheep are without and many wolves are within."
So the picture is only God really knows who is in I'm talking about the universal church here. We come together in churches, and it's important that we guard what we say or who we say is in the church. We're going to talk about that in a second why that's important, but still it's not going to be perfect. The church includes both the New Testament believers and Old Testament believers. Now some would debate this and I think part of it would be semantics, but when you take the definition that we're using for church, the church as the body of people called by God's grace through faith in Christ to glorify him by serving him in this world that would include both New Testament and Old Testament.
We see evidence of Old Testament gatherings even referred to in the New Testament, and we see examples of Old Testament faith. You say well about called by God's grace through faith in Christ, and Old Testament believe in Christ? Well, look at Hebrew's 11 verse 26 talking about Moses. Moses considered the reproach of Christ or suffering for Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt. That was Moses linked here to Christ. The rest of Hebrews 11 and the Hebrews 12 talks about how Old Testament believers were looking forward. The key difference here is Old Testament believers trusted in the coming Christ. Sure, they didn't know all the details, and they didn't know all that we know now, but they were looking forward to the fulfillment of the promise that had been given all the way back in Genesis Chapter 3, verse 15, so they trusted in the coming Christ. New Testament believers trust in the crucified Christ looking back to the cross. They were looking forward to the cross. We looked back to the cross.
Old Testament believers are ethnically distinct. In other words for the most part with a few exceptions, Old Testament people were the Jewish people; the people of Israel, and New Testament believers are ethnically diverse, and so we see that's one of the huge things that we see all over the New Testament letters and in the Book of Acts the bringing together of Jews and Gentiles together into the church.
Old Testament believers lived under their own government with God given laws. New Testament believers lived among the rulers of that nations 'cause the reality is we're not theocracy anymore like we see a theocracy; a rule under God given laws; the Old Testament people of God even God as their king and God designated kings; different in the New Testament. We live among the rulers of the nations.
Old Testament believers were required to circumcise their male offspring. New Testament believers are required to baptize all believers, so there are some key differences there and key distinctions, but there is some continuity there between Old Testament and New Testament believers, which we'll talk about it in just a second with Israel. The church includes we just talked about this both Jews and Gentiles brought together, and that was a picture of the gospel. It was the mystery of Christ bringing Jews and Gentiles together.
The church is unified and diversified. We've talked about that. We work for unity in the local church; we see unity, and we see that prayed for by Christ and that longed for all over the agony in Paul's voice in 1 Corinthian's 1 when he's saying, oh you're so divided, and division is dangerous. Paul says watch out for those who cause divisions. They're devoid of the Spirit Jude 19 says. Division is dangerous and division is deadly.
Listen to this: “The works of the flesh are evidence sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissentions, divisions” - like you see what it's listed with envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like these I warn you those who do those such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. If someone is being divisive in the church now there's a picture of which we stand on truth, and if falsehood is being proclaimed in the church, then we're responsible for standing up to that and not tolerating that which we'll see in Galatians chapter one, but the reality is we need to promote the unity of the church. Division is dangerous and deadly. We work for local in unity church and universal church.
What about the church and its relationship to Israel, and this could be a whole other Secret Church right here maybe one day, but think about the church and the Israel of God. Galatians 6 Paul uses this phrase upon the Israel of God, and in Romans 2 he talks about how the Jewish people were not Jewish by outwards circumstances as much as by inward faith, and so I want you to think about how the church is referred in relationship to Israel. The church is talked about. We are descendants of Israel's father, Abraham, Roman's four, Roman's nine, so we're descendants or Israel's father, Abraham. We are airs of Israel's promise. You are Christ and you are Abraham's offspring airs according to his promise. The promise that was given to him, passed onto us, Romans chapter four in an incredible passage right there. We're recipients of Israel's blessings.
This passage we've already referred to it a couple of times in first Peter chapter two uses so much imagery that it was for Israel in the Old Testament - priesthood, sacrifices, living stones, chief cornerstone, royal priesthood, holy nation; people for the possession of God, talking about the New Testament, so the reality of the story of the church ultimately begins with Israel with the Old Testament people of God, so there's not necessarily this perfect, exact identity between the church and Israel, but there is clearly continuity between what we see in Israel and then what we see happening in the church; more that we could talk about there maybe one day.
The church and the kingdom of God is the church the same as the kingdom, and the answer's no the church is not the kingdom. Church and kingdom are not synonymous in Scripture. They're very closely related but synonymous. You look through these passages that are put there in Acts. You would not put church where you see kingdom here. They don't preach good news about the church of God. They don't persuade them about church of God; proclaim the church will see my faith again. It's not the picture, so what we see in the New Testament is the kingdom creates the church. As the kingdom of God is proclaimed, the reign of God, the rule of God and the people under his reign and his rule, we come into the kingdom of God, and the church is created.
That's the picture we see, and I put some references there from Jesus' words in Matthew. In turn the church ends up proclaiming the kingdom then, so the kingdom creates the church, and then the church proclaims the kingdom. This gospel of the kingdom is preached from the church. The church is the instrument of the kingdom - the kingdom is advancing through the church. The church is the guardian of the kingdom. When Jesus is talking to his disciples and especially Peter in Matthew 16 about the kingdom of God, he says, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." This is the picture of the church being entrusted as the guardian of the kingdom. Two closing truths church and kingdom; Jesus will return for his church. The king is coming back for his church, and when he does, he will consummate his kingdom. His kingdom, his rule, his reign will be asserted once and for all and finally. So that's just a brief of the church. Some things that I think are important to conversation. We didn't camp out on a lot there.
Now devotion to the church, “What is Scripture saying about how much or how little Christians should devote themselves to the church, and if that should we devote ourselves to a local church, or is it just to be devoted to all Christians everywhere in the universal church?” One of the most common questions here is, “Is church membership necessary?” I was on a plane the other day with a guy who said, "Church membership is nowhere in the Bible. I'm not a member of a church." This guy said, "I'm a follower of Christ but not a member of a church because that's just a manmade thing, this membership thing," and this is where I would grant clearly that membership at a local church is not biblically commanded. You won't find anywhere in the Bible where the word church membership is even mentioned, and you won't find a command for believers to become a member of local church, and so for many people that just seals the deal. We need to be careful. There's also not a place where Jesus explicitly says the words, “I am God.” There's also not a place where we see the Trinity specifically outlined in Scripture in the kind of terms that we're looking for here, so let's not throw it out the window just yet.
I would put before us that membership in a local church is Biblically implied, understood. Now I want to be careful here. Even with this word membership. I think it's the best word. I don't know a better word to describe because what we're talking about is as a body, and there are parts and there are members of a body. Now people say well yes we're just members of the universal body of Christ, but I want you to think about four ways that the Bible implies church membership in a local church and why it's important. Number one, membership is implied by church gatherings. When we see this word ecclesia, the church of God in Corinth, the church that meets in Aquila, Priscilla's house Corinthian 16. That's where 90 of the 114 references to ecclesia come in the New Testament to a gathering a place, and followers of Christ belong to one of those gatherings.
When Paul writes to the church in Corinth it's a certain defined people. He's not writing. Although obviously the implication is there in Scripture, and they're for all of this, but this is a letter written to a local church in a specific time and a specific place; a specific gathering of believers, and so it begs the question as a Christian what gathering are you a part of, with what church do you gather? Membership is implied here that you are a part, member, whatever you want to call it. You are identified with a gathering of believers. Some people say well I gather with all kinds of churches. I go to a different every Sunday, so I get all the different letters, and it's all the better. I'm in this church and this church well, okay.
Second, membership is implied by church discipline. Now we're going to talk about church discipline later on, but when Jesus talks about confronting a brother in sin, listen to how he relates it to the church. He says in verse 17 if he refuses to listen to the them, tell it to the church," so you confront a brother and his sin. If that doesn't work, you take two or three others along, and then if that doesn't work; if he refuses to listen; tell it to the church, so who is the church there; a universal body of Christ? My bro over her is unrepentant in his sin so announcement to the entire universal body of Christ that this guy is unrepentant. No. This clearly tells it to a gathering of believers, the local church.
Yet to First Corinthian's five, which we’re also talking with church discipline, and basically Paul, talks about excommunicating someone from the church. We'll talk about what's going on there in a little bit, but the reality is in order to be excommunicated, taken out of the church, you got to be what first, in the church. You got to be a member of the church, and apparently it was a big deal to not be a member of the church, to be basically kicked out of the church; sent out from among them. How would it be possible to do what Jesus, Paul are talking about there if you weren't defined as a member of the church in the first place; identify it with a gathering.
Third, membership is implied by church leadership. Hebrews 13:17 says, "Obey your leader and submit to them for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give an account." That's a command for Christians in the Bible. Now again this is something we're going to talk about later but think about this for a second. Leaders they will give an account, so leaders in a church will give an account for those whom they lead, so I'm a pastor of a church; who do I give an account for; who will I give an account for; every person in the universal body of Christ? Am I responsible for pastoring, shepherding and accounting to God for every single Christian on the face of the planet or in all time? No. I'm responsible for the church that I pastor, the gathering, the people.
Now obey your leaders; submit to them; that's a command, so follows of Christ are commended to obey the leaders in the church. Now who does that mean that you obey; every single Christian that's out there; turn on the TV you've got some bro; whatever he says I got to do it. No. You obey the leaders of the church that you're identified with. This whole accounting language, being shepherded over a flock in Acts 20, 1 Peter chapter 5 the reality is you're not supposed to obey just any Christian leader. We're going to talk about what this means obeying leaders, submitting to leaders, and I'm not supposed to be accountable for every single person in the universal body of Christ. That totally implies a local church.
Next, last implication church membership is implied by church accountability. You look at these passages below, and you see God holding the church accountable for choosing leaders in Acts chapter six they're supposed to choose leaders among them. The church is accountable for preaching the gospel in Galatians chapter one. If they're not, somebody's not preaching the gospel. The church is accountable for shutting them up. The church is accountable for identifying members. That's picture in first Corinthians five. It's interesting the church is the one that defines who's a member in First Corinthians five not the individual; the church defines that. The church is accountable for sending missionaries in Acts Chapter 13.
And so all these passages you put them together they beg the question from every follower of Christ in this room are you an accountable member of local church. Now I'm not just saying is your name somewhere on a roll; do you attend somewhere. I'm saying who is your life committed to. What body, what gathering of believers are you committed to being with, spurring on, holding fast to the hope of God; Hebrew's chapter ten. Who were the leaders that your life in submission to who are accountable for your spiritual growth, and if you can't answer that question the reality is you are living contrary to the pattern of the New Testament. I know that's not particularly popular today, but it's what's in Scripture. Guys this is important. Local church for all these different reasons God's designed it this way for our good and for his glory. We don't shop and just hop around from church to church, and we certainly don't ignore the church altogether. That's not an option.
There are no believers in the New Testament who are not associated with a church, with a local gathering of believers, so my encouragement is if you are here and you are not committed to a local gathering of believers that you would walk out of here with a firm commitment to make that priority in your Christian life to leave your ways behind and follow his ways. This is a commitment of your life to a gathering of believers. That's church membership.
What about church covenant. That's a discussion. We have a church covenant here at Brook Hills again not in Scripture. There's not a command to it. There's not a prohibition against it either, so we have asked, “Is it valuable?” Definitions of covenant define just a kind of a secular definition of covenant a written agreement or promise usually under seal between two or more parties especially for the performance of some action.
So church covenant defined and this certainly a divine definition. This is a David Platt definition. A clear expression of church's covenant to love one another as a community of faith, and basically we've said as a church here that we want to. There's some in Scripture. I mean from cover to cover from Genesis to Revelation about what it means to be the people of God, and so we wanted to make sure to remind ourselves clearly biblically, “Hey what does it mean for us to be really committed to another and something we celebrate together?” It's not some realistic code that you have to abide by. It's just saying hey we want to love one another in these different ways. I think we see foundations for that in the Old Testament. You look in Nehemiah 9:38 because of all of this we make a firm in covenant in writing. This is not on the level of mosaic covenant Abraham and covenant Abraham and new covenant. Now I'm adding another covenant or adding covenant not at all. This is just the relationship with one another, and you look in Hebrews in Nehemiah chapter nine, and we're not going to spend time here, but the church is a community grounded in the Word of God.
So this doesn't in any replace the Word of God by any means. The Word is central. It forms the foundation for our commitment to love on another. The church is a community sustained by the grace of God. You see that in Nehemiah nine and just a confession in the people of God of their need for God. The church is a community promoting the good of one another. The whole covenant that they affix their names and seals to is for how they're going to spur one another on. How they're going to love one another, and the church as a community demonstrating the glory of God.
What I did at the end of that section is I just put as an illustration our church covenant at The Church at Brook Hills. Feel free if that's helpful to you in any way feel free to use it however you want, but it just it's a picture of what I mean when I talk about church covenant. I don't think that, that is essential because we don't see it commanded anywhere in scripture. I do think it's valuable especially when it comes to this; summary of the church.
What is the church, so we use this definition, “The church is a body of people called by God's grace through faith in Christ to glorify him by serving him in this world.” What is a local church? The local church is a local body, a gathering of believers in Christ covenanted together to glorify God by serving him in this world. Now here's why I want to emphasize that. By that I don't mean and in order to be a local church you have to have a church covenant, but this Word I just don't know a better Word to describe of when you have a gathering of believers, and they have said, they have identified themselves as a church, so this is why Matthew 18 where 2 or 3 are gathered there you've got a church. As long as you got Christians in the plural, you got a church. No. That's total abuse of Matthew 18, and it misses the point. The church is a gathering of believers but not just sitting down having coffee together. The church is a gathering that is committed to one another; that is committed to loving each other and caring for each other and spurring each other on towards Christ and doing all the activities we're about to walk through they do together, and they identify themselves as a church, and they align themselves with what God's Word says is the church, and so when you've got a local body of believers that gathers together and see this popping up all over the book of Acts; we see instructions and Acts and the New Testament letters. As believers gathered together, they identify themselves with each other, and they commit to each other, and they grow together. And they give themselves to the mission of God together. They worship together. They're baptized together. That's what's happening a local church. That's what I mean by covenanted together, so Christians and local churches as followers of Christ we commit our lives to one another as a member as a part of a local church for the good of ourselves.
If you live the Christian life, try to live the Christian life apart from the local church, you will starve spiritually, and you will love contrary to the New Testament. It's not good. The New Testament knows nothing of Christianity disconnected from local churches. God says it's a priority. Now it's not perfect. Obviously local churches aren't perfect, and the reason why they're not perfect is because you're in it, and I'm in it, and that's why they're not perfect. And it's going to be perfect when you get there. It's going to be worse 'cause you're a sinner, and you're adding one more to the more mix, but God is gracious right. And that's the whole picture of the church like that's why this is the announcement of his glory. Only God could take that group of people and make something good out of it. That's the point.
For the good of ourselves, for the good of other Christians, you need other Christians, and they need you. They don't need to just sit next to you in a worship service either. They need you to commit your life to them. You say well what about people outside the church if we're all committed to each other. No. This is the beauty. We join the church. We're part of a local church for the good of non-Christians because God's design in the church is to create a loving community that will be a public display of the gospel to the world; a community that shows the different that Christ makes and that draws people to Christ by our love for one another. The world is not drawn to Christ by seeing casual, anonymous church attenders everywhere and undo it. The world is drawn to Christ when they see people sacrificing their lives in love for each other and committed to each other in a way they don't see in any other place in the world. That's God's design so do that for the good of non-Christians and ultimately for the glory of God.
Let me just ask this question, and hopefully, if you're not convinced, this will convince you. How will we display the glory of the one who died for the church if we devote nothing to the church; do it for your good and for the good of others who need you and the good of the lost who need to see Christ in the church and do it for the glory of God.
What does the Church do?
God’s Design for His People
So what does the church do; God's design for his people. What I want to do is I want to define seven core activities of the church and this passage Acts 2:38-47 as a foundation, so I want to read this. This is right after Jesus is down on the cross. He's risen from the grave. In Acts chapter one he ascends into heaven, and in Acts 2 Pentecost he sends the Spirit Peter and starts preaching, and you get to the end of the sermon. It's Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—everyone in the who our Lord calls to himself." See this is the picture we've already talked about. "And with many other Words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation, so those who received his Word were baptized, and there were added that day about 3,000 souls. “
This is the inauguration of the New Testament, church of the New Testament, and “they devoted themselves to the new Apostles teaching and the fellowship to the breaking of bread and the prayers, and awe came upon every soul. The many wonders and signs were being done through the Apostles, and all who believed were together and had all things in common, and they were selling their possessions and belongs and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need and day by day attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes. They received their food with glad and generous hearts praising God and having all the favor with all the people, and the lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
So I want us to take that one passage, and I want to show you seven essential activities of the church, and when it comes down to okay biblically and try to throw aside traditions and preferences; what is necessary for the church to evangelize us, baptize us, teach us, nurtures, worships, prays and multiplies, and the bulk of the rest of our time together is spent on those seven. I'm just going to walk through them one by one.
So let's start with the church evangelizes, and this whole reality starts in Acts chapter one. It all starts the church beholds glory of Christ and really not just Acts chapter 1 but the Great Commission text in Matthew and Mark and Luke. Acts chapter one says Jesus is with them, and they thought he had died. He arises from the grave and I think yes, but here in Acts Chapter one he says in verse nine, "When he had said things they were looking on, he was lifted up in a cloud; taken out of our sight while they were gazing in the heaven as he went. Behold two men stood by them in white robes and said men of Galilee why do you stand looking into heaven." Well, clearly, that's rhetorical question. You've just seen a man launched into the sky; you look up. It's a great question.
“This Jesus” there's the promise set up by the rhetorical question “this Jesus is taken up from you into heaven and will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven,” so this is where it all starts. They see Jesus. He's the risen Savior, the exalted Lord and the coming King, and this vision don't miss it. This is vision is going to drive them from here on out through the rest of the book of Acts and should drive the church today and until he comes back in the same way he went into heaven; passion for the kingdom is fuel by passion for the king. The church is fueled by passion for the king. This is what I love about Daniel seven which prophesized the Son of Man would come, be given authority, dominion, rule and reign, and then you got to Stephen first Christian martyr he's being stoned, and he looks up and he sees glory of God, and Jesus is standing at right end of God. And Stephen gives his life; why because he's gripped by the glory of king, and this is it. This is why we do what we do in the church. This is why we evangelize.
Now I know that's not a popular word, and this is why we tell good news. This is why we proclaim the gospel. This is why everybody in the church proclaims the gospel. Why? Because there are people all over Birmingham and people all over the cities and communities where you live that do not know Jesus is Savior and King, and he deserve every single of their glory. That's why we tell them, and it's why we don't stop there. It's why we go to Africa because there's 3,000 animistic tribes in Africa that are worshipping all kinds of different spirits and gods, and there's only one king who's worthy of all their worship. And so we go tell them in Africa, and we go to Japan and Laos and Vietnam 'cause there are 350 million Buddhists in those countries who are following Buddha's rules and Buddha's regulations, and Buddha's not king.
Jesus is king, and he deserves their praise, and this is why we go to India and Pakistan and Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and Maltese and Nepal 'cause 950 million Hindus in those countries that are following more gods in here I can even fathom, not one of those Gods is true. There's only one king who's true, and he deserves all their praise. It's why we go there. It's why we go to communist nations like China or Laos or North Korea or Cuba because there's over a billion people in those nations that have grown up in atheistic philosophies that completely deny the existence of God. And there is a God. His name is Jesus, and he reigns as king, and they know that. And this is why we go to the tough places in world. This is why we go to 1.3, some say 1.7 billion Muslims in the world because they're fasting and giving alms, making holy pilgrimages to Mecca and praying five times a day to a false God.
And Jesus has died on the cross. He's risen from the grave. He's coming back, and he's the only one who deserves their praise, and when the church believes - we're not going to get anywhere if I keep stopping like this, but the reality this when the church believes that then we will give our lives to make this gospel known. When the church believes that, then we don't sit back and well I want more comforts. No. We've got a king who deserves praise from every people group on the planet, so the church says, yes, we give our lives to preaching the gospel. We're not silent. The church proclaims the gospel of Christ would behold its glory and reproclaim its gospel. Spirit will come you Jesus says, and you will be witnesses, key word witness. To witness is to speak, to testify, to proclaim. People say well I witness with my life. Who was it who said preach the gospel at all times, if necessary use words. Well, it sounds cute, but it's not true. You can't preach the gospel just by being nice. Jesus didn't say spirit will come upon you, and you will be able kind. Well yes be kind; hopefully it's a given. If you're a witness, you speak. Our brothers and sisters are not in prison right now in central Asia because they went out smiled and did a good deed. They're in prison in Central Asia because they're preaching the gospel.
So let us not sit back and say well I just witness with my life; undercut the whole point here, or God we got to move on, but this is key. I witness when the Holy Spirit leads me, okay, there’s a grain of truth to that. Yes. We want to be led by the Holy Spirit, but here's the deal. When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be a witness, okay. This is good, so you can now consider yourself led. If you have the Spirit of God in you, then this is great. You don't have to wait for a tingly feeling to go down your spine and some weird feeling to come up on you and be I guess something super natural's happening. No. You live with the supernatural in you, and he's in you for one purpose to be a witness so speak because he has led. Okay. And that's what happened. When the Spirit came down, they started talking. They start talking in all these different tongues and languages, and Peters stands up and he preaches the church proclaim the gospel and the power of Jesus' presence. Oh, I love this. Who's preaching the first Christian sermon? It's the disciple with the foot-shaped mouth, it's Peter. He always said the wrong thing always, always, and so Jesus, I love this and Luke 24:20 he said, "Stay in the city until you've been clothed with power on high." Peter the last thing this world needs is you going out there without my Spirit in you so just stay put until my Spirit comes on you, and then when you've got me in you, okay, just talk all you want.
And so he does, he preaches; think about it not just Peter us. He is with us. This is promise in the Great Commission. He dwells in us. It's why we do John 14 "greater works than Christ." What? Are we really going to do greater works than Christ? Yes. Think about it, Christ, one man on the earth anointed and filled with the Spirit of God, and he sends to heaven, and he sends the Spirit anoint and fill all of his followers. So that right now all over the world the Spirit of God is empowering the proclamation of the gospel in different countries and different villages, and people are coming to Christ right now, and people are being delivered from sin and struggle right now because the Spirit's at work. When we leave this place as 3,000 people have gathered, followers of Christ of the Spirit, and all of us he enables our obedience has been promised in Ezekiel 36. I'll give a new Spirit in you; give you the life Ezekiel 37, and he empowers our proclamation. We announce the good news.
A simple description that I've used, we've used around here of the gospel, and the reality is the church doesn't just speak; the church speaks a certain message. The just and gracious God of the universe is looked upon hopefully sinful men in their rebellion, and he has sent his son God in flesh to bear his wrath against sin on the cross to show his power over sin and the resurrections, so that everyone who believes in him, trusts in him as Lord and King will be reconciled to God forever. So when we speak, we tell people what I call gospel threads; it is the character of God. We well people about who God is. We tell people about the sinfulness of man. Now that's popular. You give a cup of cold water; you get applauded in the world. You tell men they're sinful and condemned before. You don't get applauded by them anymore so give the cup of cold water but don't deceive by keeping the truth back is well. The sufficiency of Christ we talk about his life and his death and his resurrection and the necessity of faith. We call people to trust in the urgency of eternity. We tell people turn trust in Christ. Eternity is dependent on this gospel threads and gospel testimonies in the context of our lives. 1 Peter 3 says, "Be prepare to tell about the hope that's in you, and when the church proclaims that gospel, God awakens peoples' hearts."
I love Acts 13. This is just one example of many. Acts two people were cut to the heart when they heard Peter preach. Acts 13, “When the Gentiles heard this they were rejoicing, glorifying the word of the Lord as many as are appointed to eternal life to believe.” You see the passive there again. They were appointed to eternal life. God was doing this. As a couple weeks ago in Southeast Asia less than two weeks, largest unevangelized island on the earth preached the gospel one night in this gathering. It was mostly followers of Christ, but some non-believers had come, and so I preached the gospel, and I'll be honest like I preached it was finished and say well that was definitely not the A. It never felt it was connected, and they're going well preach the gospel, and three people trust in Christ in this small gathering. And it's, yeah, this gospel's good. It's not dependent on how good we are or how well we can do. I just preach it, and the Spirit will awaken the hardest, and they'll be changed for eternity.
The church proclaims the gospel night of Jesus' purpose sums up we've already talked about here. We are worshippers, and we are witnesses and just to emphasize kind of press in on this picture that witness is proclamation, and the spirit is in us, so that we would speak. Old Testament you look through these verses that I put in here, and what you'll see is the - well turn to Acts Chapter two, be turning there. I want you to see Acts Chapter two verse 18 so yeah pull out your bible. When these place in the Old Testament, you see the prophets in others. When the spirit is on and they speak, the lord is on me to proclaim. That's what the Spirit comes to do, and then you go to Joel chapter two, and you're turning to Acts chapter two so turn there and you got Joel Chapter two in here, and Peter's preaching right.
So Acts Chapter 2:14 Peters stands and lifts his voice, addresses them. He starts to preach, okay, first Christian sermon. And he gets down to verse 16, and he says, "This is what was uttered through the prophet Joel, and then he starts to quote in verse 17; now look in your notebook kind of keep them side by side. In your notebook, you got Joel 28 and 32, which is where he starts quoting from. Now I want to do is I want us to do a little sermon evaluation of Peter, okay. I want to see if he got the quote the right, so it should come to pass afterward. Let's see well we'll start with Peter. Acts Chapter 2:17, "in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh." All right, let's pause for a second. Did he give it right? It shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; yeah, pretty close. "And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy." Okay. He got that right. "Your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." Your old men shall dream dreams and your young men, so he mixed up those up a little bit, but, hey, let's give him credit. You know his first Christian sermon, so he mixed them up. Verse 18 he says, "Even though my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my spirits." Even though when the male and female servants those day I'll pour out my spirit. Wait a second end of verse 18 Peter says, "And they shall prophesize," and end of verse 29 in Joel 2 we don't see they shall prophesize, and then he picks up wonders and heavens above blood, fire comes, okay, so Peter just added a phrase.
Bro, you blew it. The first Christian sermon, and you missed it, and it is written down for us to talk about for centuries, or what if this is telling us something there. When Peter says, “They shall prophesize, in those days I'll part my Spirit on my people, and they shall prophesize.” Isn't there a difference between Joel 2 and Acts 2? Think about it with me. In Joel Old Testament was everybody a prophet or only a few people prophets; only a few people prophets, right - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel had the responsibility to proclaim the Word of God, right. New Testament spirit comes down in Acts Chapter 2, "I'll pour y spirit on all people, and New Testament a few people prophets or a lot of people prophets; a lot of people. All the people have trusted in Christ. Oh, this is good. Do you realize that the privilege that was reserved for Isaiah and Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Joel and a few people like that in the history of the Old Testament is privilege every single one of has in this room?
We are prophets. Now what does that mean? Does that mean we out with some orange neon crosses into the city and turn or burn. No. What does a prophet do? A prophet speaks for God, and you, every follower of Christ in this room you have the Spirit of God in you, and he has entrusted you to speak for him, to tell people in Birmingham whatever city community you're from and tell people in the nations I come with the Word of God. Jesus has died on the cross. He has risen from the grave. He has paid the price for sin, and turn and trust in him and be saved, and you can speak with the full authority of God, with the full spirit of God and see the Word bring fruit. Yes. That's the whole purpose, so when you get the New Testament, what I put is eight different passages here in Luke and Acts. If you remember Luke wrote both Luke and the Acts eight different times. You can go back and look at them. You see the phrase fill with the Spirit. Every single time you see the phrase fill with the Spirit is connected with the proclamation of the Word. The Spirit is in us. Yes. He's in us to come for us. Yes. He's in us to give us to give us gifts. The Spirit's in us to do a lot of different things: convict us, guide us, lead us. Don't miss it. The Spirit is in you to empower you to speak about Jesus, and so this is the whole purpose of the Spirit in us.
Oh, God, forgive us for the way we've almost tried to go back to an Old Testament picture. Often time the way we do church we say well the pastor's the preacher. We got a few people who are the speakers, so let's bring them all to hear that person. No. No. The way the gospel's going to spread in Birmingham is not by a bunch of people coming into this building to hear it from me. The way the gospel's going to spread in Birmingham in when every member of this faith's family empowered with the Spirit of God as prophets of God speaking on behalf of God scatter throughout the city telling the people about the good news of Christ, and the way the gospel's go in your community and the gospel's going to go through the nations is not by a select few pastors or missionaries showing them on video, put them on hologram if we're really inventive and creative they'll do the job. No. You've got every single one if you're in this room who knows Christ then you have the Spirit in you. You have Spirit in you, so this is not just somebody else. God's put you where you work and where you live for a reason, so you're speaking for him. This is how the gospel goes to the ends of the earth, and that's the picture. The church proclaims gospel in obedience to Jesus' plan. You'll be witnesses Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the ends of the earth. That is an outline that unfolds over the rest of the book.
In Jerusalem Acts six the gospel begins to go to Samaria. Acts chapter eight church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria at peach being built up. In Acts Chapter nine going to it's in Rome. The end of Acts Chapter 28 going to the ends of the earth, so Old Testament God had promised his blessing for all nations. That was the picture in the tower of Babel all these different languages and then Genesis Chapter 12 God says Abraham I'm going to call you out, and you're going to be a blessing to all these different peoples in all these different languages, and the reality is from what we see in Acts chapter two is that just coming to fruition all these different languages are here, and the gospel claimed, it's going to be proclaimed in every people group. And there's coming a day when every tribe and people and language will gather around his throne and sing his praises because the church is evangelizing. That's what the church does. It tells the good news.
Second, church baptizes, okay, so what happens after the good news is proclaimed and people believe, and they're called out by God's grace; the church baptizes. Those who received his Word were baptized, and they were added that day about 3,000 souls, and we see this throughout the rest of the book of Acts. They were commanded to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Every single follower of Christ in the book of Acts of expected to be baptized as part of their identification with Christ. This is the foundation. We talked about this. We're recipients of a new covenant, and baptism is a declaration that we belong to Jesus. You look back up in the Acts 19 and Acts Chapter 10 baptized in the name of Christ, in the name of the Lord Jesus. The language is identifying with Christ, and I love this quote from John Stott just simple but so true, “Being a Christian involves being a personal vital identification of Jesus Christ, and this union with him is dramatically set forth in our baptism.” This is why I would say to clearly and bluntly as I can any follower of Christ in this room who has not been baptized you are living contrary to the pattern of the New Testament.
This was intentional. This wasn't something you grew into, repent and baptized. Those who were received were baptized. It would make no sense well I don't want to baptized. How can you be a Christian and not want to identify with Christ and especially in light of our brothers and sisters around the world? My first time with house churches in Asia, and I was teaching on baptism, and two of the brothers, two of the believers, had not been baptized. And they came up to me and said we've not been baptized. I said, well, okay, you need to be baptized, and so they said okay, and so we arranged it. So these house churches gathered together, and we were about to baptize, and so I had taught them baptism. And I thought, okay, I've taught him well on baptism, but I learned a lot more in the next couple minutes. When they brought those two men before the house church, and they asked them about their confession of faith, and they shared about their trust in Christ, but then they asked them both a question. Are you willing to be baptized today knowing that it may cost you your life? First guy is a teenager. He said no matter what it costs I want to be baptized. Second guy, older guy he said I've already sacrificed everything to follow Jesus Christ. I want to be baptized. And so these two are baptized, and we don't need to treat baptism flippantly. This is important. It's our identification with Christ but not just with Christ.
We talked about we're members of new community, and baptism is a declaration we belong to each other. I want to show you that baptism is core to what it means to be a part of the church. It's a core function and activity of the church to baptize. It's something that the church does and something that the church is a body of baptized believers. Now there are a variety of questions about baptism. We don't have one passage that gives us just a systematic treatment of baptism, so what I want to do is I think it's five questions here that I kind of put there that I want to just run through and say all right here's where Scripture teaches about baptism.
Number one, we follow the example of Christ in Matthew three. This is what Jesus did. He shows us in a powerful way his identification with us even though he had no sin, and baptism was a picture of repentance, so we follow the example of Christ. We obey the command of Christ. Book of Acts repent and be baptized. It was a command. Jesus says at the end of the Book of Matthew go make disciples of all nations baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. How are going to do that and tell others to be baptized if you've not been baptized? How are you going to obey the commission when you're disobedient to what you're going to tell others to do? That would make no sense. It's a contradiction. This is an obedience issue, and third, when we're baptized, we unite with a body of Christ. Look down in Ephesians 4:4, “One body and one Spirit – just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call – one lord, one faith, one baptism.” Now some scholars don't think that's talking about physical baptism, and maybe it is; maybe it's not, but here's the point. In the Gospels, in the Book of Acts, in all these letters everybody who followed Christ was baptized. It wasn't even a question, so it was there, and so an unbaptized believer is like an oxymoron, okay. No such thing in the New Testament as unbaptized believers, so that's why we're baptized. Jesus example, his command, and we unite with the body of Christ. This is the church saying we see. When somebody's baptized, we see that this is somebody who's trusted in Christ, and we affirm that we celebrate with them, and they say, yes, I've trusted in Christ. I've been called out, too. This is good. Why not?
What is the meaning of baptism? The meaning of baptism first this is key to celebration of the grace of Christ; Roman 6 is the picture of baptism. This talking about how Christ died on a cross as our substitute, and he rose from the grave as our Savior, and this is our identification with him in baptism. It's an illustration of the gospel of Christ. Baptism is a picture. Baptism is not your salvation. It's a picture of your salvation. This is very key. If called by God's grace through faith in Christ, we're children of God, and we are baptized as children of God. And it's an illustration of the gospel of Christ. When we go into the water, it's a picture of identification with his death. When we come out of the water, it's a picture of participation in his resurrection. When you're baptized, you don't go in and stay under water because Jesus didn't say in the grave. He's out so you're out. That's the picture that's displayed every time somebody's baptized. It's the gospel. It's a celebration, an illustration; it's a proclamation of the glory of Christ. This is Colossians 2:11 it's a great picture of how Christ is taking away our sins; made a public spectacle of sin and triumphed over sins on the cross. It's a declaration in the church and beyond. That's the meaning of baptism.
How are Christians baptized, and this where you're going to get different answers in different churches, and I imagine there's different answers represented around this room. But the reality there are great heroes in the faith in my own life who we would disagree on these things, so I want to humbly put this before you. I wouldn't be saying this if I didn't think it was what Scripture is pointing us to, but at the same time, this is one of those places where there's certainly room for - this is not an issue over which Christians well either you're Christian or not whether you believe this or not. So I'm convinced the answer how Christians are baptized the most biblical mode of baptism is immersion. That the word literally baptizo means to emerge, to submerge, to dunk. That's how John got his name. John the Baptist, John the baptizer, John the dunker that's what he did, and you look at this on a few different levels. We saw it in Matthew three and Mark one. He was baptized by John in the Jordan, and he came up out of the water not sprinkled, not a cup over the head; he was in the water, and he came up out of the water. The pattern of early church leaders in Acts chapter eight Ethiopian eunuch what prevents me from being baptized Philip doesn't go run down and get a cup and bring it back up. They go down in the water, baptize, the come up out of the water so picture the gospel. That's the illustration of the gospel. We identify with Christ's death or raise. That's the picture that's there in immersion. I am not claiming to have the corner of truth on this. At the same time, I think there's good biblical truth to rest on here. The biblical mode of baptism is immersion.
Who should be baptized? This is another area where we would differ some particularly whether to say Presbyterian brothers and sisters. I believe Scripture clearly teaches and the only people who should be baptized includes everyone has been born again; key word being again not just born. That's obviously where the distinction would lie; where you put the period is key. Again, this where I have heroes in the faith who have advocated infant baptism one a variety of different bases, and I don't want to try; I think I could accurately represent a picture of infant baptism, but the reality is that I think the testimony of Scripture is clear that baptism is a declaration that you belong to Christ, and that your heart has been changed and regeneration has occurred. Even though the parallels with the old covenant and the circumcision that are often use as a basis for why infant baptism is like circumcision in the old covenant and how those relate; I think reality is old covenant, yes, circumcision involved physical birth and to a physical community. Where I think the parallel is and I think this is what Paul refers to new covenant baptism follows spiritual birth into a spiritual community. That baptism is a reflection of spiritual birth and that happens by the sovereign work of God's grace in the gospel in our hearts. Spiritual regeneration precedes physical emersion. External demonstration follows internal transformation.
This is when our hearts have been changed which obviously cannot happen in an infant. That's our hearts have been changed, and that's when we are baptized. I do think obviously it's good and healthy for parents to say we want our child to be raised in the nurture and care of the gospel and the Christ from the very beginning, so I wouldn't say that's not healthy, but I do think that we confuse the picture of baptism when we don't do it after somebody's trusted in Christ. When should Christians be baptized, and that's the picture, as soon as they trust in Christ for salvation, and in Acts and I put all these instances believers were baptized soon. They were baptized soon, and the picture is first of all it's not something you do over and over again, and they were baptized, and then you don't re-baptized. You get baptized once. If you were "baptized" and you were immersed or had water poured or anything else or you're not a follower of Christ, and then you're immersed later; the reality is you just went for a swim that time; this is baptism. This is, that's, yeah.
So the other thing here that I want to add, and I know this is totally on shaky turf, and I will admittedly put it out there from the very beginning that I don't have a Scripture necessarily to point you to this, so that should put all kinds of yellow flags off in your mind. And so I'll put them out there for you, but as soon as the trust in Christ for salvation but I would also add as soon as we can most wisely testify to our salvation, and here's why I put that because I think there's a I perceive a potential danger in our cultures and cultures like us that are more predominantly Christian. Every instance that we see in the New Testament of baptism in all those passages and acts every specific instance that we see involves an adult and maybe and then we see household, but we don't see specific ages. But every specific instant involves an adult in a context that was non-Christian where it was risky to do this, and I think we need to be really careful in our culture and cultures like ours when it comes to children who in an area where it is socially - not just socially acceptable; it's socially suggestible, and it's a way of getting approval even in society to be baptized, and it's easy especially in the way we so often do children's so-called evangelism we use unbiblical terms in it, and you can get children to say a variety of different things. And I think it's wise for us to be discerning for parents and for parents to be discerning when it comes to a culture where baptism is accepted and common and even I mean encouraged and for good reason, but with a child who may not yet fully understand the gospel, and that's tough to define. I mean who really understands but has a clear understanding of the gospel and realizes what this means when they're baptized. I just think there's room for some wisdom there, and I think scripture would point us to that kind of wisdom.
We have this picture of baptism. When you think baptism, think wedding ceremony and think about the day ten plus years ago when my wife and I when I stood at the front of the building, and you know how it is at weddings in our culture. Somebody walks out; the groom walks out, and everybody's kind of sitting there talking, and they look up, and they're it's the groom. They just kind of go back to talking, and so I'm standing there, and a few minutes later all the music stops, and it gets silent. And these doors in the back open up, and this woman steps into the room, and what does everybody do? Oh, they stand up all turn; they had tears in their eyes and thinking came in five minutes ago what's the deal, and I'll never forget the moment when I saw her face and just realizes, yes, she's mine. And this is the picture and a whole host of people there to say she's yours. It was testifying to everybody that she's mine, and this is what baptism is. It's a public picture designed to be a public picture. It's not a private thing as the church baptizes. The church baptizes because this is the church saying, yes, he belongs to Christ; she belongs to Christ, and it's you saying, yes, I belong to Christ; he's mine. I've identified with his death. I'm dead to sin, and I've identified with his life, his resurrection, and I'm alive in him. And the church celebrates together; why would we not make that a priority in the church; that's good. We need to do this. That's why it's a non-negotiable essential functional activity of the church.
The Body of Christ
11/5/10
Dr. David Platt
So we've looked at definition of the church. Now I want us to dive in and see description of the church; just these multiple ways, images that we see and how they come together in some different ways, so sometimes when the Bible's talking about the church it's talking about it one way, and other times it's talking about it in a totally different way so flying through this here.
But the church is universal and local. This is important. We see both in the church. We see the church meeting in a house. We see the church meeting in a city. We see the church meeting in a region, church in the world, and so we see both of these pictures in Scripture universal and local, but I want to make sure to emphasize the dominant emphasis in the New Testament is on the local church. Out of the 114 time Ecclesia is mentioned in the New Testament, at least 90 of them refer to specific local gatherings of believers, so almost all the time that New Testament's referring to the church it's talking about local churches. The local church is a clear expression of the universal body of Christ, and we're going to talk about it in just a second whether or not it's important to be committed one local church or if it's okay on just part of that universal church.
We're going to talk about that in a second but feel the weight of this right here. The dominant emphasis in the New Testament it's on local churches, so the church is both universal and local. The church is both visible and invisible. What I mean by that invisible church the church as God sees it from heaven. The Lord knows who are his 2 Timothy 2 says so that's all true believers. The reality is though visible church the church as we see it on earth, so we identify ourselves in different churches, but the visible church includes some false believers, and you see Paul warning about this in Acts 20. He's talking about some in 2 Timothy 2 too about false believers who come in who are not truly followers of Christ were apart of the church. Augustine said, "Many sheep are without and many wolves are within."
So the picture is only God really knows who is in I'm talking about the universal church here. We come together in churches, and it's important that we guard what we say or who we say is in the church. We're going to talk about that in a second why that's important, but still it's not going to be perfect. The church includes both the New Testament believers and Old Testament believers. Now some would debate this and I think part of it would be semantics, but when you take the definition that we're using for church, the church as the body of people called by God's grace through faith in Christ to glorify him by serving him in this world that would include both New Testament and Old Testament.
We see evidence of Old Testament gatherings even referred to in the New Testament, and we see examples of Old Testament faith. You say well about called by God's grace through faith in Christ, and Old Testament believe in Christ? Well, look at Hebrew's 11 verse 26 talking about Moses. Moses considered the reproach of Christ or suffering for Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt. That was Moses linked here to Christ. The rest of Hebrews 11 and the Hebrews 12 talks about how Old Testament believers were looking forward. The key difference here is Old Testament believers trusted in the coming Christ. Sure, they didn't know all the details, and they didn't know all that we know now, but they were looking forward to the fulfillment of the promise that had been given all the way back in Genesis Chapter 3, verse 15, so they trusted in the coming Christ. New Testament believers trust in the crucified Christ looking back to the cross. They were looking forward to the cross. We looked back to the cross.
Old Testament believers are ethnically distinct. In other words for the most part with a few exceptions, Old Testament people were the Jewish people; the people of Israel, and New Testament believers are ethnically diverse, and so we see that's one of the huge things that we see all over the New Testament letters and in the Book of Acts the bringing together of Jews and Gentiles together into the church.
Old Testament believers lived under their own government with God given laws. New Testament believers lived among the rulers of that nations 'cause the reality is we're not theocracy anymore like we see a theocracy; a rule under God given laws; the Old Testament people of God even God as their king and God designated kings; different in the New Testament. We live among the rulers of the nations.
Old Testament believers were required to circumcise their male offspring. New Testament believers are required to baptize all believers, so there are some key differences there and key distinctions, but there is some continuity there between Old Testament and New Testament believers, which we'll talk about it in just a second with Israel. The church includes we just talked about this both Jews and Gentiles brought together, and that was a picture of the gospel. It was the mystery of Christ bringing Jews and Gentiles together.
The church is unified and diversified. We've talked about that. We work for unity in the local church; we see unity, and we see that prayed for by Christ and that longed for all over the agony in Paul's voice in 1 Corinthian's 1 when he's saying, oh you're so divided, and division is dangerous. Paul says watch out for those who cause divisions. They're devoid of the Spirit Jude 19 says. Division is dangerous and division is deadly.
Listen to this: “The works of the flesh are evidence sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissentions, divisions” - like you see what it's listed with envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like these I warn you those who do those such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. If someone is being divisive in the church now there's a picture of which we stand on truth, and if falsehood is being proclaimed in the church, then we're responsible for standing up to that and not tolerating that which we'll see in Galatians chapter one, but the reality is we need to promote the unity of the church. Division is dangerous and deadly. We work for local in unity church and universal church.
What about the church and its relationship to Israel, and this could be a whole other Secret Church right here maybe one day, but think about the church and the Israel of God. Galatians 6 Paul uses this phrase upon the Israel of God, and in Romans 2 he talks about how the Jewish people were not Jewish by outwards circumstances as much as by inward faith, and so I want you to think about how the church is referred in relationship to Israel. The church is talked about. We are descendants of Israel's father, Abraham, Roman's four, Roman's nine, so we're descendants or Israel's father, Abraham. We are airs of Israel's promise. You are Christ and you are Abraham's offspring airs according to his promise. The promise that was given to him, passed onto us, Romans chapter four in an incredible passage right there. We're recipients of Israel's blessings.
This passage we've already referred to it a couple of times in first Peter chapter two uses so much imagery that it was for Israel in the Old Testament - priesthood, sacrifices, living stones, chief cornerstone, royal priesthood, holy nation; people for the possession of God, talking about the New Testament, so the reality of the story of the church ultimately begins with Israel with the Old Testament people of God, so there's not necessarily this perfect, exact identity between the church and Israel, but there is clearly continuity between what we see in Israel and then what we see happening in the church; more that we could talk about there maybe one day.
The church and the kingdom of God is the church the same as the kingdom, and the answer's no the church is not the kingdom. Church and kingdom are not synonymous in Scripture. They're very closely related but synonymous. You look through these passages that are put there in Acts. You would not put church where you see kingdom here. They don't preach good news about the church of God. They don't persuade them about church of God; proclaim the church will see my faith again. It's not the picture, so what we see in the New Testament is the kingdom creates the church. As the kingdom of God is proclaimed, the reign of God, the rule of God and the people under his reign and his rule, we come into the kingdom of God, and the church is created.
That's the picture we see, and I put some references there from Jesus' words in Matthew. In turn the church ends up proclaiming the kingdom then, so the kingdom creates the church, and then the church proclaims the kingdom. This gospel of the kingdom is preached from the church. The church is the instrument of the kingdom - the kingdom is advancing through the church. The church is the guardian of the kingdom. When Jesus is talking to his disciples and especially Peter in Matthew 16 about the kingdom of God, he says, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." This is the picture of the church being entrusted as the guardian of the kingdom. Two closing truths church and kingdom; Jesus will return for his church. The king is coming back for his church, and when he does, he will consummate his kingdom. His kingdom, his rule, his reign will be asserted once and for all and finally. So that's just a brief of the church. Some things that I think are important to conversation. We didn't camp out on a lot there.
Now devotion to the church, “What is Scripture saying about how much or how little Christians should devote themselves to the church, and if that should we devote ourselves to a local church, or is it just to be devoted to all Christians everywhere in the universal church?” One of the most common questions here is, “Is church membership necessary?” I was on a plane the other day with a guy who said, "Church membership is nowhere in the Bible. I'm not a member of a church." This guy said, "I'm a follower of Christ but not a member of a church because that's just a manmade thing, this membership thing," and this is where I would grant clearly that membership at a local church is not biblically commanded. You won't find anywhere in the Bible where the word church membership is even mentioned, and you won't find a command for believers to become a member of local church, and so for many people that just seals the deal. We need to be careful. There's also not a place where Jesus explicitly says the words, “I am God.” There's also not a place where we see the Trinity specifically outlined in Scripture in the kind of terms that we're looking for here, so let's not throw it out the window just yet.
I would put before us that membership in a local church is Biblically implied, understood. Now I want to be careful here. Even with this word membership. I think it's the best word. I don't know a better word to describe because what we're talking about is as a body, and there are parts and there are members of a body. Now people say well yes we're just members of the universal body of Christ, but I want you to think about four ways that the Bible implies church membership in a local church and why it's important. Number one, membership is implied by church gatherings. When we see this word ecclesia, the church of God in Corinth, the church that meets in Aquila, Priscilla's house Corinthian 16. That's where 90 of the 114 references to ecclesia come in the New Testament to a gathering a place, and followers of Christ belong to one of those gatherings.
When Paul writes to the church in Corinth it's a certain defined people. He's not writing. Although obviously the implication is there in Scripture, and they're for all of this, but this is a letter written to a local church in a specific time and a specific place; a specific gathering of believers, and so it begs the question as a Christian what gathering are you a part of, with what church do you gather? Membership is implied here that you are a part, member, whatever you want to call it. You are identified with a gathering of believers. Some people say well I gather with all kinds of churches. I go to a different every Sunday, so I get all the different letters, and it's all the better. I'm in this church and this church well, okay.
Second, membership is implied by church discipline. Now we're going to talk about church discipline later on, but when Jesus talks about confronting a brother in sin, listen to how he relates it to the church. He says in verse 17 if he refuses to listen to the them, tell it to the church," so you confront a brother and his sin. If that doesn't work, you take two or three others along, and then if that doesn't work; if he refuses to listen; tell it to the church, so who is the church there; a universal body of Christ? My bro over her is unrepentant in his sin so announcement to the entire universal body of Christ that this guy is unrepentant. No. This clearly tells it to a gathering of believers, the local church.
Yet to First Corinthian's five, which we’re also talking with church discipline, and basically Paul, talks about excommunicating someone from the church. We'll talk about what's going on there in a little bit, but the reality is in order to be excommunicated, taken out of the church, you got to be what first, in the church. You got to be a member of the church, and apparently it was a big deal to not be a member of the church, to be basically kicked out of the church; sent out from among them. How would it be possible to do what Jesus, Paul are talking about there if you weren't defined as a member of the church in the first place; identify it with a gathering.
Third, membership is implied by church leadership. Hebrews 13:17 says, "Obey your leader and submit to them for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give an account." That's a command for Christians in the Bible. Now again this is something we're going to talk about later but think about this for a second. Leaders they will give an account, so leaders in a church will give an account for those whom they lead, so I'm a pastor of a church; who do I give an account for; who will I give an account for; every person in the universal body of Christ? Am I responsible for pastoring, shepherding and accounting to God for every single Christian on the face of the planet or in all time? No. I'm responsible for the church that I pastor, the gathering, the people.
Now obey your leaders; submit to them; that's a command, so follows of Christ are commended to obey the leaders in the church. Now who does that mean that you obey; every single Christian that's out there; turn on the TV you've got some bro; whatever he says I got to do it. No. You obey the leaders of the church that you're identified with. This whole accounting language, being shepherded over a flock in Acts 20, 1 Peter chapter 5 the reality is you're not supposed to obey just any Christian leader. We're going to talk about what this means obeying leaders, submitting to leaders, and I'm not supposed to be accountable for every single person in the universal body of Christ. That totally implies a local church.
Next, last implication church membership is implied by church accountability. You look at these passages below, and you see God holding the church accountable for choosing leaders in Acts chapter six they're supposed to choose leaders among them. The church is accountable for preaching the gospel in Galatians chapter one. If they're not, somebody's not preaching the gospel. The church is accountable for shutting them up. The church is accountable for identifying members. That's picture in first Corinthians five. It's interesting the church is the one that defines who's a member in First Corinthians five not the individual; the church defines that. The church is accountable for sending missionaries in Acts Chapter 13.
And so all these passages you put them together they beg the question from every follower of Christ in this room are you an accountable member of local church. Now I'm not just saying is your name somewhere on a roll; do you attend somewhere. I'm saying who is your life committed to. What body, what gathering of believers are you committed to being with, spurring on, holding fast to the hope of God; Hebrew's chapter ten. Who were the leaders that your life in submission to who are accountable for your spiritual growth, and if you can't answer that question the reality is you are living contrary to the pattern of the New Testament. I know that's not particularly popular today, but it's what's in Scripture. Guys this is important. Local church for all these different reasons God's designed it this way for our good and for his glory. We don't shop and just hop around from church to church, and we certainly don't ignore the church altogether. That's not an option.
There are no believers in the New Testament who are not associated with a church, with a local gathering of believers, so my encouragement is if you are here and you are not committed to a local gathering of believers that you would walk out of here with a firm commitment to make that priority in your Christian life to leave your ways behind and follow his ways. This is a commitment of your life to a gathering of believers. That's church membership.
What about church covenant. That's a discussion. We have a church covenant here at Brook Hills again not in Scripture. There's not a command to it. There's not a prohibition against it either, so we have asked, “Is it valuable?” Definitions of covenant define just a kind of a secular definition of covenant a written agreement or promise usually under seal between two or more parties especially for the performance of some action.
So church covenant defined and this certainly a divine definition. This is a David Platt definition. A clear expression of church's covenant to love one another as a community of faith, and basically we've said as a church here that we want to. There's some in Scripture. I mean from cover to cover from Genesis to Revelation about what it means to be the people of God, and so we wanted to make sure to remind ourselves clearly biblically, “Hey what does it mean for us to be really committed to another and something we celebrate together?” It's not some realistic code that you have to abide by. It's just saying hey we want to love one another in these different ways. I think we see foundations for that in the Old Testament. You look in Nehemiah 9:38 because of all of this we make a firm in covenant in writing. This is not on the level of mosaic covenant Abraham and covenant Abraham and new covenant. Now I'm adding another covenant or adding covenant not at all. This is just the relationship with one another, and you look in Hebrews in Nehemiah chapter nine, and we're not going to spend time here, but the church is a community grounded in the Word of God.
So this doesn't in any replace the Word of God by any means. The Word is central. It forms the foundation for our commitment to love on another. The church is a community sustained by the grace of God. You see that in Nehemiah nine and just a confession in the people of God of their need for God. The church is a community promoting the good of one another. The whole covenant that they affix their names and seals to is for how they're going to spur one another on. How they're going to love one another, and the church as a community demonstrating the glory of God.
What I did at the end of that section is I just put as an illustration our church covenant at The Church at Brook Hills. Feel free if that's helpful to you in any way feel free to use it however you want, but it just it's a picture of what I mean when I talk about church covenant. I don't think that, that is essential because we don't see it commanded anywhere in scripture. I do think it's valuable especially when it comes to this; summary of the church.
What is the church, so we use this definition, “The church is a body of people called by God's grace through faith in Christ to glorify him by serving him in this world.” What is a local church? The local church is a local body, a gathering of believers in Christ covenanted together to glorify God by serving him in this world. Now here's why I want to emphasize that. By that I don't mean and in order to be a local church you have to have a church covenant, but this Word I just don't know a better Word to describe of when you have a gathering of believers, and they have said, they have identified themselves as a church, so this is why Matthew 18 where 2 or 3 are gathered there you've got a church. As long as you got Christians in the plural, you got a church. No. That's total abuse of Matthew 18, and it misses the point. The church is a gathering of believers but not just sitting down having coffee together. The church is a gathering that is committed to one another; that is committed to loving each other and caring for each other and spurring each other on towards Christ and doing all the activities we're about to walk through they do together, and they identify themselves as a church, and they align themselves with what God's Word says is the church, and so when you've got a local body of believers that gathers together and see this popping up all over the book of Acts; we see instructions and Acts and the New Testament letters. As believers gathered together, they identify themselves with each other, and they commit to each other, and they grow together. And they give themselves to the mission of God together. They worship together. They're baptized together. That's what's happening a local church. That's what I mean by covenanted together, so Christians and local churches as followers of Christ we commit our lives to one another as a member as a part of a local church for the good of ourselves.
If you live the Christian life, try to live the Christian life apart from the local church, you will starve spiritually, and you will love contrary to the New Testament. It's not good. The New Testament knows nothing of Christianity disconnected from local churches. God says it's a priority. Now it's not perfect. Obviously local churches aren't perfect, and the reason why they're not perfect is because you're in it, and I'm in it, and that's why they're not perfect. And it's going to be perfect when you get there. It's going to be worse 'cause you're a sinner, and you're adding one more to the more mix, but God is gracious right. And that's the whole picture of the church like that's why this is the announcement of his glory. Only God could take that group of people and make something good out of it. That's the point.
For the good of ourselves, for the good of other Christians, you need other Christians, and they need you. They don't need to just sit next to you in a worship service either. They need you to commit your life to them. You say well what about people outside the church if we're all committed to each other. No. This is the beauty. We join the church. We're part of a local church for the good of non-Christians because God's design in the church is to create a loving community that will be a public display of the gospel to the world; a community that shows the different that Christ makes and that draws people to Christ by our love for one another. The world is not drawn to Christ by seeing casual, anonymous church attenders everywhere and undo it. The world is drawn to Christ when they see people sacrificing their lives in love for each other and committed to each other in a way they don't see in any other place in the world. That's God's design so do that for the good of non-Christians and ultimately for the glory of God.
Let me just ask this question, and hopefully, if you're not convinced, this will convince you. How will we display the glory of the one who died for the church if we devote nothing to the church; do it for your good and for the good of others who need you and the good of the lost who need to see Christ in the church and do it for the glory of God.
What does the Church do?
God’s Design for His People
So what does the church do; God's design for his people. What I want to do is I want to define seven core activities of the church and this passage Acts 2:38-47 as a foundation, so I want to read this. This is right after Jesus is down on the cross. He's risen from the grave. In Acts chapter one he ascends into heaven, and in Acts 2 Pentecost he sends the Spirit Peter and starts preaching, and you get to the end of the sermon. It's Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—everyone in the who our Lord calls to himself." See this is the picture we've already talked about. "And with many other Words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation, so those who received his Word were baptized, and there were added that day about 3,000 souls. “
This is the inauguration of the New Testament, church of the New Testament, and “they devoted themselves to the new Apostles teaching and the fellowship to the breaking of bread and the prayers, and awe came upon every soul. The many wonders and signs were being done through the Apostles, and all who believed were together and had all things in common, and they were selling their possessions and belongs and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need and day by day attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes. They received their food with glad and generous hearts praising God and having all the favor with all the people, and the lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
So I want us to take that one passage, and I want to show you seven essential activities of the church, and when it comes down to okay biblically and try to throw aside traditions and preferences; what is necessary for the church to evangelize us, baptize us, teach us, nurtures, worships, prays and multiplies, and the bulk of the rest of our time together is spent on those seven. I'm just going to walk through them one by one.
So let's start with the church evangelizes, and this whole reality starts in Acts chapter one. It all starts the church beholds glory of Christ and really not just Acts chapter 1 but the Great Commission text in Matthew and Mark and Luke. Acts chapter one says Jesus is with them, and they thought he had died. He arises from the grave and I think yes, but here in Acts Chapter one he says in verse nine, "When he had said things they were looking on, he was lifted up in a cloud; taken out of our sight while they were gazing in the heaven as he went. Behold two men stood by them in white robes and said men of Galilee why do you stand looking into heaven." Well, clearly, that's rhetorical question. You've just seen a man launched into the sky; you look up. It's a great question.
“This Jesus” there's the promise set up by the rhetorical question “this Jesus is taken up from you into heaven and will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven,” so this is where it all starts. They see Jesus. He's the risen Savior, the exalted Lord and the coming King, and this vision don't miss it. This is vision is going to drive them from here on out through the rest of the book of Acts and should drive the church today and until he comes back in the same way he went into heaven; passion for the kingdom is fuel by passion for the king. The church is fueled by passion for the king. This is what I love about Daniel seven which prophesized the Son of Man would come, be given authority, dominion, rule and reign, and then you got to Stephen first Christian martyr he's being stoned, and he looks up and he sees glory of God, and Jesus is standing at right end of God. And Stephen gives his life; why because he's gripped by the glory of king, and this is it. This is why we do what we do in the church. This is why we evangelize.
Now I know that's not a popular word, and this is why we tell good news. This is why we proclaim the gospel. This is why everybody in the church proclaims the gospel. Why? Because there are people all over Birmingham and people all over the cities and communities where you live that do not know Jesus is Savior and King, and he deserve every single of their glory. That's why we tell them, and it's why we don't stop there. It's why we go to Africa because there's 3,000 animistic tribes in Africa that are worshipping all kinds of different spirits and gods, and there's only one king who's worthy of all their worship. And so we go tell them in Africa, and we go to Japan and Laos and Vietnam 'cause there are 350 million Buddhists in those countries who are following Buddha's rules and Buddha's regulations, and Buddha's not king.
Jesus is king, and he deserves their praise, and this is why we go to India and Pakistan and Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and Maltese and Nepal 'cause 950 million Hindus in those countries that are following more gods in here I can even fathom, not one of those Gods is true. There's only one king who's true, and he deserves all their praise. It's why we go there. It's why we go to communist nations like China or Laos or North Korea or Cuba because there's over a billion people in those nations that have grown up in atheistic philosophies that completely deny the existence of God. And there is a God. His name is Jesus, and he reigns as king, and they know that. And this is why we go to the tough places in world. This is why we go to 1.3, some say 1.7 billion Muslims in the world because they're fasting and giving alms, making holy pilgrimages to Mecca and praying five times a day to a false God.
And Jesus has died on the cross. He's risen from the grave. He's coming back, and he's the only one who deserves their praise, and when the church believes - we're not going to get anywhere if I keep stopping like this, but the reality this when the church believes that then we will give our lives to make this gospel known. When the church believes that, then we don't sit back and well I want more comforts. No. We've got a king who deserves praise from every people group on the planet, so the church says, yes, we give our lives to preaching the gospel. We're not silent. The church proclaims the gospel of Christ would behold its glory and reproclaim its gospel. Spirit will come you Jesus says, and you will be witnesses, key word witness. To witness is to speak, to testify, to proclaim. People say well I witness with my life. Who was it who said preach the gospel at all times, if necessary use words. Well, it sounds cute, but it's not true. You can't preach the gospel just by being nice. Jesus didn't say spirit will come upon you, and you will be able kind. Well yes be kind; hopefully it's a given. If you're a witness, you speak. Our brothers and sisters are not in prison right now in central Asia because they went out smiled and did a good deed. They're in prison in Central Asia because they're preaching the gospel.
So let us not sit back and say well I just witness with my life; undercut the whole point here, or God we got to move on, but this is key. I witness when the Holy Spirit leads me, okay, there’s a grain of truth to that. Yes. We want to be led by the Holy Spirit, but here's the deal. When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be a witness, okay. This is good, so you can now consider yourself led. If you have the Spirit of God in you, then this is great. You don't have to wait for a tingly feeling to go down your spine and some weird feeling to come up on you and be I guess something super natural's happening. No. You live with the supernatural in you, and he's in you for one purpose to be a witness so speak because he has led. Okay. And that's what happened. When the Spirit came down, they started talking. They start talking in all these different tongues and languages, and Peters stands up and he preaches the church proclaim the gospel and the power of Jesus' presence. Oh, I love this. Who's preaching the first Christian sermon? It's the disciple with the foot-shaped mouth, it's Peter. He always said the wrong thing always, always, and so Jesus, I love this and Luke 24:20 he said, "Stay in the city until you've been clothed with power on high." Peter the last thing this world needs is you going out there without my Spirit in you so just stay put until my Spirit comes on you, and then when you've got me in you, okay, just talk all you want.
And so he does, he preaches; think about it not just Peter us. He is with us. This is promise in the Great Commission. He dwells in us. It's why we do John 14 "greater works than Christ." What? Are we really going to do greater works than Christ? Yes. Think about it, Christ, one man on the earth anointed and filled with the Spirit of God, and he sends to heaven, and he sends the Spirit anoint and fill all of his followers. So that right now all over the world the Spirit of God is empowering the proclamation of the gospel in different countries and different villages, and people are coming to Christ right now, and people are being delivered from sin and struggle right now because the Spirit's at work. When we leave this place as 3,000 people have gathered, followers of Christ of the Spirit, and all of us he enables our obedience has been promised in Ezekiel 36. I'll give a new Spirit in you; give you the life Ezekiel 37, and he empowers our proclamation. We announce the good news.
A simple description that I've used, we've used around here of the gospel, and the reality is the church doesn't just speak; the church speaks a certain message. The just and gracious God of the universe is looked upon hopefully sinful men in their rebellion, and he has sent his son God in flesh to bear his wrath against sin on the cross to show his power over sin and the resurrections, so that everyone who believes in him, trusts in him as Lord and King will be reconciled to God forever. So when we speak, we tell people what I call gospel threads; it is the character of God. We well people about who God is. We tell people about the sinfulness of man. Now that's popular. You give a cup of cold water; you get applauded in the world. You tell men they're sinful and condemned before. You don't get applauded by them anymore so give the cup of cold water but don't deceive by keeping the truth back is well. The sufficiency of Christ we talk about his life and his death and his resurrection and the necessity of faith. We call people to trust in the urgency of eternity. We tell people turn trust in Christ. Eternity is dependent on this gospel threads and gospel testimonies in the context of our lives. 1 Peter 3 says, "Be prepare to tell about the hope that's in you, and when the church proclaims that gospel, God awakens peoples' hearts."
I love Acts 13. This is just one example of many. Acts two people were cut to the heart when they heard Peter preach. Acts 13, “When the Gentiles heard this they were rejoicing, glorifying the word of the Lord as many as are appointed to eternal life to believe.” You see the passive there again. They were appointed to eternal life. God was doing this. As a couple weeks ago in Southeast Asia less than two weeks, largest unevangelized island on the earth preached the gospel one night in this gathering. It was mostly followers of Christ, but some non-believers had come, and so I preached the gospel, and I'll be honest like I preached it was finished and say well that was definitely not the A. It never felt it was connected, and they're going well preach the gospel, and three people trust in Christ in this small gathering. And it's, yeah, this gospel's good. It's not dependent on how good we are or how well we can do. I just preach it, and the Spirit will awaken the hardest, and they'll be changed for eternity.
The church proclaims the gospel night of Jesus' purpose sums up we've already talked about here. We are worshippers, and we are witnesses and just to emphasize kind of press in on this picture that witness is proclamation, and the spirit is in us, so that we would speak. Old Testament you look through these verses that I put in here, and what you'll see is the - well turn to Acts Chapter two, be turning there. I want you to see Acts Chapter two verse 18 so yeah pull out your bible. When these place in the Old Testament, you see the prophets in others. When the spirit is on and they speak, the lord is on me to proclaim. That's what the Spirit comes to do, and then you go to Joel chapter two, and you're turning to Acts chapter two so turn there and you got Joel Chapter two in here, and Peter's preaching right.
So Acts Chapter 2:14 Peters stands and lifts his voice, addresses them. He starts to preach, okay, first Christian sermon. And he gets down to verse 16, and he says, "This is what was uttered through the prophet Joel, and then he starts to quote in verse 17; now look in your notebook kind of keep them side by side. In your notebook, you got Joel 28 and 32, which is where he starts quoting from. Now I want to do is I want us to do a little sermon evaluation of Peter, okay. I want to see if he got the quote the right, so it should come to pass afterward. Let's see well we'll start with Peter. Acts Chapter 2:17, "in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh." All right, let's pause for a second. Did he give it right? It shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; yeah, pretty close. "And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy." Okay. He got that right. "Your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." Your old men shall dream dreams and your young men, so he mixed up those up a little bit, but, hey, let's give him credit. You know his first Christian sermon, so he mixed them up. Verse 18 he says, "Even though my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my spirits." Even though when the male and female servants those day I'll pour out my spirit. Wait a second end of verse 18 Peter says, "And they shall prophesize," and end of verse 29 in Joel 2 we don't see they shall prophesize, and then he picks up wonders and heavens above blood, fire comes, okay, so Peter just added a phrase.
Bro, you blew it. The first Christian sermon, and you missed it, and it is written down for us to talk about for centuries, or what if this is telling us something there. When Peter says, “They shall prophesize, in those days I'll part my Spirit on my people, and they shall prophesize.” Isn't there a difference between Joel 2 and Acts 2? Think about it with me. In Joel Old Testament was everybody a prophet or only a few people prophets; only a few people prophets, right - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel had the responsibility to proclaim the Word of God, right. New Testament spirit comes down in Acts Chapter 2, "I'll pour y spirit on all people, and New Testament a few people prophets or a lot of people prophets; a lot of people. All the people have trusted in Christ. Oh, this is good. Do you realize that the privilege that was reserved for Isaiah and Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Joel and a few people like that in the history of the Old Testament is privilege every single one of has in this room?
We are prophets. Now what does that mean? Does that mean we out with some orange neon crosses into the city and turn or burn. No. What does a prophet do? A prophet speaks for God, and you, every follower of Christ in this room you have the Spirit of God in you, and he has entrusted you to speak for him, to tell people in Birmingham whatever city community you're from and tell people in the nations I come with the Word of God. Jesus has died on the cross. He has risen from the grave. He has paid the price for sin, and turn and trust in him and be saved, and you can speak with the full authority of God, with the full spirit of God and see the Word bring fruit. Yes. That's the whole purpose, so when you get the New Testament, what I put is eight different passages here in Luke and Acts. If you remember Luke wrote both Luke and the Acts eight different times. You can go back and look at them. You see the phrase fill with the Spirit. Every single time you see the phrase fill with the Spirit is connected with the proclamation of the Word. The Spirit is in us. Yes. He's in us to come for us. Yes. He's in us to give us to give us gifts. The Spirit's in us to do a lot of different things: convict us, guide us, lead us. Don't miss it. The Spirit is in you to empower you to speak about Jesus, and so this is the whole purpose of the Spirit in us.
Oh, God, forgive us for the way we've almost tried to go back to an Old Testament picture. Often time the way we do church we say well the pastor's the preacher. We got a few people who are the speakers, so let's bring them all to hear that person. No. No. The way the gospel's going to spread in Birmingham is not by a bunch of people coming into this building to hear it from me. The way the gospel's going to spread in Birmingham in when every member of this faith's family empowered with the Spirit of God as prophets of God speaking on behalf of God scatter throughout the city telling the people about the good news of Christ, and the way the gospel's go in your community and the gospel's going to go through the nations is not by a select few pastors or missionaries showing them on video, put them on hologram if we're really inventive and creative they'll do the job. No. You've got every single one if you're in this room who knows Christ then you have the Spirit in you. You have Spirit in you, so this is not just somebody else. God's put you where you work and where you live for a reason, so you're speaking for him. This is how the gospel goes to the ends of the earth, and that's the picture. The church proclaims gospel in obedience to Jesus' plan. You'll be witnesses Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the ends of the earth. That is an outline that unfolds over the rest of the book.
In Jerusalem Acts six the gospel begins to go to Samaria. Acts chapter eight church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria at peach being built up. In Acts Chapter nine going to it's in Rome. The end of Acts Chapter 28 going to the ends of the earth, so Old Testament God had promised his blessing for all nations. That was the picture in the tower of Babel all these different languages and then Genesis Chapter 12 God says Abraham I'm going to call you out, and you're going to be a blessing to all these different peoples in all these different languages, and the reality is from what we see in Acts chapter two is that just coming to fruition all these different languages are here, and the gospel claimed, it's going to be proclaimed in every people group. And there's coming a day when every tribe and people and language will gather around his throne and sing his praises because the church is evangelizing. That's what the church does. It tells the good news.
Second, church baptizes, okay, so what happens after the good news is proclaimed and people believe, and they're called out by God's grace; the church baptizes. Those who received his Word were baptized, and they were added that day about 3,000 souls, and we see this throughout the rest of the book of Acts. They were commanded to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Every single follower of Christ in the book of Acts of expected to be baptized as part of their identification with Christ. This is the foundation. We talked about this. We're recipients of a new covenant, and baptism is a declaration that we belong to Jesus. You look back up in the Acts 19 and Acts Chapter 10 baptized in the name of Christ, in the name of the Lord Jesus. The language is identifying with Christ, and I love this quote from John Stott just simple but so true, “Being a Christian involves being a personal vital identification of Jesus Christ, and this union with him is dramatically set forth in our baptism.” This is why I would say to clearly and bluntly as I can any follower of Christ in this room who has not been baptized you are living contrary to the pattern of the New Testament.
This was intentional. This wasn't something you grew into, repent and baptized. Those who were received were baptized. It would make no sense well I don't want to baptized. How can you be a Christian and not want to identify with Christ and especially in light of our brothers and sisters around the world? My first time with house churches in Asia, and I was teaching on baptism, and two of the brothers, two of the believers, had not been baptized. And they came up to me and said we've not been baptized. I said, well, okay, you need to be baptized, and so they said okay, and so we arranged it. So these house churches gathered together, and we were about to baptize, and so I had taught them baptism. And I thought, okay, I've taught him well on baptism, but I learned a lot more in the next couple minutes. When they brought those two men before the house church, and they asked them about their confession of faith, and they shared about their trust in Christ, but then they asked them both a question. Are you willing to be baptized today knowing that it may cost you your life? First guy is a teenager. He said no matter what it costs I want to be baptized. Second guy, older guy he said I've already sacrificed everything to follow Jesus Christ. I want to be baptized. And so these two are baptized, and we don't need to treat baptism flippantly. This is important. It's our identification with Christ but not just with Christ.
We talked about we're members of new community, and baptism is a declaration we belong to each other. I want to show you that baptism is core to what it means to be a part of the church. It's a core function and activity of the church to baptize. It's something that the church does and something that the church is a body of baptized believers. Now there are a variety of questions about baptism. We don't have one passage that gives us just a systematic treatment of baptism, so what I want to do is I think it's five questions here that I kind of put there that I want to just run through and say all right here's where Scripture teaches about baptism.
Number one, we follow the example of Christ in Matthew three. This is what Jesus did. He shows us in a powerful way his identification with us even though he had no sin, and baptism was a picture of repentance, so we follow the example of Christ. We obey the command of Christ. Book of Acts repent and be baptized. It was a command. Jesus says at the end of the Book of Matthew go make disciples of all nations baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. How are going to do that and tell others to be baptized if you've not been baptized? How are you going to obey the commission when you're disobedient to what you're going to tell others to do? That would make no sense. It's a contradiction. This is an obedience issue, and third, when we're baptized, we unite with a body of Christ. Look down in Ephesians 4:4, “One body and one Spirit – just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call – one lord, one faith, one baptism.” Now some scholars don't think that's talking about physical baptism, and maybe it is; maybe it's not, but here's the point. In the Gospels, in the Book of Acts, in all these letters everybody who followed Christ was baptized. It wasn't even a question, so it was there, and so an unbaptized believer is like an oxymoron, okay. No such thing in the New Testament as unbaptized believers, so that's why we're baptized. Jesus example, his command, and we unite with the body of Christ. This is the church saying we see. When somebody's baptized, we see that this is somebody who's trusted in Christ, and we affirm that we celebrate with them, and they say, yes, I've trusted in Christ. I've been called out, too. This is good. Why not?
What is the meaning of baptism? The meaning of baptism first this is key to celebration of the grace of Christ; Roman 6 is the picture of baptism. This talking about how Christ died on a cross as our substitute, and he rose from the grave as our Savior, and this is our identification with him in baptism. It's an illustration of the gospel of Christ. Baptism is a picture. Baptism is not your salvation. It's a picture of your salvation. This is very key. If called by God's grace through faith in Christ, we're children of God, and we are baptized as children of God. And it's an illustration of the gospel of Christ. When we go into the water, it's a picture of identification with his death. When we come out of the water, it's a picture of participation in his resurrection. When you're baptized, you don't go in and stay under water because Jesus didn't say in the grave. He's out so you're out. That's the picture that's displayed every time somebody's baptized. It's the gospel. It's a celebration, an illustration; it's a proclamation of the glory of Christ. This is Colossians 2:11 it's a great picture of how Christ is taking away our sins; made a public spectacle of sin and triumphed over sins on the cross. It's a declaration in the church and beyond. That's the meaning of baptism.
How are Christians baptized, and this where you're going to get different answers in different churches, and I imagine there's different answers represented around this room. But the reality there are great heroes in the faith in my own life who we would disagree on these things, so I want to humbly put this before you. I wouldn't be saying this if I didn't think it was what Scripture is pointing us to, but at the same time, this is one of those places where there's certainly room for - this is not an issue over which Christians well either you're Christian or not whether you believe this or not. So I'm convinced the answer how Christians are baptized the most biblical mode of baptism is immersion. That the word literally baptizo means to emerge, to submerge, to dunk. That's how John got his name. John the Baptist, John the baptizer, John the dunker that's what he did, and you look at this on a few different levels. We saw it in Matthew three and Mark one. He was baptized by John in the Jordan, and he came up out of the water not sprinkled, not a cup over the head; he was in the water, and he came up out of the water. The pattern of early church leaders in Acts chapter eight Ethiopian eunuch what prevents me from being baptized Philip doesn't go run down and get a cup and bring it back up. They go down in the water, baptize, the come up out of the water so picture the gospel. That's the illustration of the gospel. We identify with Christ's death or raise. That's the picture that's there in immersion. I am not claiming to have the corner of truth on this. At the same time, I think there's good biblical truth to rest on here. The biblical mode of baptism is immersion.
Who should be baptized? This is another area where we would differ some particularly whether to say Presbyterian brothers and sisters. I believe Scripture clearly teaches and the only people who should be baptized includes everyone has been born again; key word being again not just born. That's obviously where the distinction would lie; where you put the period is key. Again, this where I have heroes in the faith who have advocated infant baptism one a variety of different bases, and I don't want to try; I think I could accurately represent a picture of infant baptism, but the reality is that I think the testimony of Scripture is clear that baptism is a declaration that you belong to Christ, and that your heart has been changed and regeneration has occurred. Even though the parallels with the old covenant and the circumcision that are often use as a basis for why infant baptism is like circumcision in the old covenant and how those relate; I think reality is old covenant, yes, circumcision involved physical birth and to a physical community. Where I think the parallel is and I think this is what Paul refers to new covenant baptism follows spiritual birth into a spiritual community. That baptism is a reflection of spiritual birth and that happens by the sovereign work of God's grace in the gospel in our hearts. Spiritual regeneration precedes physical emersion. External demonstration follows internal transformation.
This is when our hearts have been changed which obviously cannot happen in an infant. That's our hearts have been changed, and that's when we are baptized. I do think obviously it's good and healthy for parents to say we want our child to be raised in the nurture and care of the gospel and the Christ from the very beginning, so I wouldn't say that's not healthy, but I do think that we confuse the picture of baptism when we don't do it after somebody's trusted in Christ. When should Christians be baptized, and that's the picture, as soon as they trust in Christ for salvation, and in Acts and I put all these instances believers were baptized soon. They were baptized soon, and the picture is first of all it's not something you do over and over again, and they were baptized, and then you don't re-baptized. You get baptized once. If you were "baptized" and you were immersed or had water poured or anything else or you're not a follower of Christ, and then you're immersed later; the reality is you just went for a swim that time; this is baptism. This is, that's, yeah.
So the other thing here that I want to add, and I know this is totally on shaky turf, and I will admittedly put it out there from the very beginning that I don't have a Scripture necessarily to point you to this, so that should put all kinds of yellow flags off in your mind. And so I'll put them out there for you, but as soon as the trust in Christ for salvation but I would also add as soon as we can most wisely testify to our salvation, and here's why I put that because I think there's a I perceive a potential danger in our cultures and cultures like us that are more predominantly Christian. Every instance that we see in the New Testament of baptism in all those passages and acts every specific instance that we see involves an adult and maybe and then we see household, but we don't see specific ages. But every specific instant involves an adult in a context that was non-Christian where it was risky to do this, and I think we need to be really careful in our culture and cultures like ours when it comes to children who in an area where it is socially - not just socially acceptable; it's socially suggestible, and it's a way of getting approval even in society to be baptized, and it's easy especially in the way we so often do children's so-called evangelism we use unbiblical terms in it, and you can get children to say a variety of different things. And I think it's wise for us to be discerning for parents and for parents to be discerning when it comes to a culture where baptism is accepted and common and even I mean encouraged and for good reason, but with a child who may not yet fully understand the gospel, and that's tough to define. I mean who really understands but has a clear understanding of the gospel and realizes what this means when they're baptized. I just think there's room for some wisdom there, and I think scripture would point us to that kind of wisdom.
We have this picture of baptism. When you think baptism, think wedding ceremony and think about the day ten plus years ago when my wife and I when I stood at the front of the building, and you know how it is at weddings in our culture. Somebody walks out; the groom walks out, and everybody's kind of sitting there talking, and they look up, and they're it's the groom. They just kind of go back to talking, and so I'm standing there, and a few minutes later all the music stops, and it gets silent. And these doors in the back open up, and this woman steps into the room, and what does everybody do? Oh, they stand up all turn; they had tears in their eyes and thinking came in five minutes ago what's the deal, and I'll never forget the moment when I saw her face and just realizes, yes, she's mine. And this is the picture and a whole host of people there to say she's yours. It was testifying to everybody that she's mine, and this is what baptism is. It's a public picture designed to be a public picture. It's not a private thing as the church baptizes. The church baptizes because this is the church saying, yes, he belongs to Christ; she belongs to Christ, and it's you saying, yes, I belong to Christ; he's mine. I've identified with his death. I'm dead to sin, and I've identified with his life, his resurrection, and I'm alive in him. And the church celebrates together; why would we not make that a priority in the church; that's good. We need to do this. That's why it's a non-negotiable essential functional activity of the church.