As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“Church membership makes sense of a Christian’s obligation to other Christians…. Church membership makes sense of a Christian’s obligation to his spiritual leaders…. Church membership makes sense of a pastor’s obligation to his church.” - Challies
“I demanded answers. This pastor needed to explain himself. Thankfully, he was happy to oblige and began to unpack his statement, and I was eager to listen.” - 9 Marks
From Voice, Jan/Feb 2015. Adapted from Stephen Davey’s book In Pursuit of Prodigals. Kress Biblical Resources (The Woodlands, TX, 2010). Used by permission. Read Part 1 & Part 2.
The Apostle John wrote, “Our law does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing” (John 7:51). In other words, the believer should never judge on a whim, an impression, a rumor. The facts are necessary, and the believer should be quick to hear and slow to speak.
Romans 14 makes it clear that personal decisions can direct activities in areas where the Scriptures are silent. For instance, the Bible doesn’t specifically address credit cards, dating practices, plastic surgery, watching television, using electric guitars in church, ad infinitum.
From Voice, Jan/Feb 2015. Adapted from Stephen Davey’s book In Pursuit of Prodigals. Kress Biblical Resources (The Woodlands, TX, 2010). Used by permission.
In the matter of church discipline, the Bible is clear that believers must judge themselves (See Part 1). When else is it right to judge?
From Voice, Jan/Feb 2015. Adapted from Stephen Davey’s book In Pursuit of Prodigals. Kress Biblical Resources (The Woodlands, TX, 2010). Used by permission.
Paul instructed Timothy to “fight the good fight of the faith” (1 Timothy 6:12) which means we must engage in an active defense of the faith. That battle for truth begins in the local church where truth and holiness must be defended. And of necessity that involves church discipline. But what exactly is church discipline?
Church discipline can be broadly defined as the “confrontive” and corrective measures taken by an individual, church leaders, or the congregation regarding a matter of sin in the life of a believer (Fritz Rienecker and Cleon Rogers, Linguistic Key to the Greek Testament. Regency, 1976, p. 237).
Discipline and discipling are actually interconnected actions with similar goals in mind.
“None of this means that church strategy or mission statements are necessarily wrong-headed. But it does mean that if yours is to be faithful to Scripture, it will look pretty much the same as the strategy that every other gospel-preaching church in your city also has.” - 9 Marks
Read the series.
There’s one more thing we ought to take a look at in this series. Sometimes you need to change churches. The census bureau tells us that on average, 1 in 10 Americans change residences in any given year, and many of those moves will necessitate changing churches. Sometimes a church closes. Sometimes an opportunity arises, one you feel compelled to take. Sometimes you just have to leave.
“In this video Gavin Ortlund explains why Paul’s teaching that the church is ‘the pillar and buttress of the truth’ (I Tim. 3:15) supports a Protestant view of the church rather than ecclesial infallibility.” - YouTube
Read the series.
We’ve looked at the need for you be an active part of your local assembly. We’ve toyed with some ideas, based on your gifts and abilities. Now we could use some help in thinking of things we haven’t thought of yet, and in evaluating the thoroughness of what we’re doing.
Read the series.
I’ve suggested that you ought to be part of a local church assembly, and that you ought to be active, not passive, in your membership there. So what does that look like?
Discussion