Text: 1 Timothy 3:15 “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”

Theme: The local church is of great importance to your spiritual growth and to the work of the Gospel.

Intro:

  1. Today, there are many different views on what a church is and what it ought to be accomplishing.
  • A large number of Christians see the local church as a social club and have no real understanding of the spiritual importance of the local church.
  • Others have the view that the local church is a charity for their exploitation. They are happy to come along and enjoy the tea, coffee, and a bickie while having no interest in spiritual things.
  • Some see the church as a universal / spiritual entity with no physical locality and so they don’t attend church at all.
  1. This morning, I would like to examine what the Bible has to say about the nature and function of a local church as well as remind us of what our church’s doctrinal statement says about the local church.

Main:

          1. It Is a Local Assembly of Believers (Acts 2:41)
            a. It is a called-out assembly of born-again believers who have been scripturally baptized and added to the local assembly.
            – Mathew 16:18 contains the first biblical reference to a church.
            b. The church was built on the Lord Jesus Christ.
            – Peter identified the Lord Jesus as the one on whom the church was built.
            – 1 Peter 2:5“Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner”
            c. It is an assembly of born-again believers in Christ.
            – What is special about this assembly is the word “my” in Mathew 16:18. The Lord Jesus identified this assembly by saying, “I will build MY church”
            – The people who make up this assembly then, must be people who can be identified as belonging to the Lord Jesus Christ, since it is His assembly.
          2. Its pattern has been given to us by the Apostles, modelled in the book of Acts, and further described in other N.T. scriptures.
            a. It is a local, physical assembly
            – The church must be a local, physical assembly of believers. We cannot call ourselves a church, which means as assembly, if we never assembly together.
            – The Bible makes it clear that the early church, under the direction of the Apostles, met together in a physical, geographical place.
            – Act 2:1“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.”
            b. The assembly of believers is commanded in Hebrews 10:25
            – If we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, then that means we need to regularly attend the local church.
            – The second part of the verse gives us the indication that, as we get closer to the end times, people will be more inclined to desert the local church.
            – Going to church on Sunday should be a joy for you as a Christian. You should be excited about fellowshipping with God’s people and hearing the Word of God preached. It should not be a drudgery for you to go to church.
          3. It is an assembly with purpose
            a. Obedience to Christ
            – Giving attention to the preaching and teaching of the Word of God
            – Observance of the ordinances of the local church
            b. Exhortation of the brethren
            c. Proclaiming the Gospel to every creature.
            – Mathew 28:19-20“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
          4. It Is Not a Social Club (I Timothy 3:15)
            a. The church has a God ordained governance – The church is different from all man-made institutions.

            5. – There are no fees for joining the church membership. The whole point of joining a church is, not so you can be served, but so that you can be active in serving others.

          1. – The church is not providing a service that the public must pay to receive. Visitors who attend the church are under no obligation to contribute and they are not expected to tithe or to be involved in ministry related tasks.
          1. b. There are no CEOs in the church
          1. c. There are 2 God ordained offices in the local church
          1. – Pastor
          – Deacon

To be continued next week…