Believers are called to find their place in the local church, recognizing that they belong to the one body of Christ and that division is unscriptural. The sermon outlines the process for receiving new members based on life in Christ, good morals, and sound doctrine, emphasizing Christ as the center and head of the church. It details the privileges of church membership, including being shepherded, participating in the Lord's Supper, attending meetings for learning and prayer, and serving others. Finally, it addresses responsibilities such as honoring Christ, respecting elders, submitting to discipline, attending meetings, serving in any capacity, and sharing in the church's expenses, all to find one's function and edify the body.
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A good bit about the church. In our first study, it will be your place in the local church. Section one, membership and fellowship. One, believers belong to the one body of Christ. Ephesians one, twenty-two and twenty-three tells us that God has given him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body. And we are a member, each of us are members, of the body of Christ, A, because we are God's household and citizens in the family of God, in this fellowship, Ephesians two, nineteen to twenty-two.
We are God's household and we are fellow citizens with the saints. and be because we are baptized by the Holy Spirit into the one body. First Corinthians one, verse ten has something very interesting to say. Number two, division is unscriptural and carnal. And there we read, it beseech you that you all speak the same things, that there be no divisions among you, that you be perfectly joined together. So division is unscriptural and carnal.
Now this may take different forms. A, sectarianism. First Corinthians three, four to six tells us that those who are saying, I'm of Paul and I'm of Apollos and I belong to this party and I belong to that group, that this is sectarianism and it is a mark of carnality. But B, independency is also unscriptural. Independency. First Corinthians twelve, fourteen to twenty-seven makes it very plain that we are interdependent of all other believers and that we are a part not only of the one body, but we are a part of the local fellowship, which ought to be a representation of the one body.
and see all believers should be together. Acts five, twelve to fourteen describes how the early Christians met together, worked together, stayed together, how much they thought of each other. And this is the ideal and we should still strive for this. And three, restrictural reception into the fellowship. A, this is done by the whole company through elders.
Romans fifteen seven tells us that the whole company is to have a part in this, receive you one another, as Christ also received us, to the glory of God. And Acts twenty, twenty-eight to thirty, tells about the responsibility of the elders as overseeing the flock of God. So, reception should be by the whole company of believers acting through the elders. And B, it is on the grounds of, and I have some subheadings here in parenthesis, A, life in Christ.
Now notice that the word is life and not light. Romans fourteen and one says, In that is weak in the faith, receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. If we received only people that have as much light as we have, then we'd have a group of people that were all like ourselves. That wouldn't be very good. We're to receive them on the basis of their having life, and then we give them the light and teaching that they need. And be good morals. First Corinthians five and eleven. These are parenthetical letters, A, B, and C.
First Corinthians five and eleven says that bad morals is reason enough for excluding a person, even though he professes to be a brother. And C, sound doctrine, especially concerning the person of Christ. Second John, verse ten says that if somebody comes and does not bring this doctrine, don't even receive him into your house. And then the last one in this first section, see, by confession of faith, letter, or personal introduction.
There are many scriptures to tell us that when a person confesses faith in Christ, we consider him a brother. But suppose that one comes to your city from a strange place. Well, in Romans, one and two, and in Second Corinthians, three and one, he tells us that they should bring a letter. He gives the example of Paul sending the letter concerning Phoebe. so that they would know that she was a servant of the church at Sincria and that they would receive her. And Paul says to the Corinthians, the second Corinthians three and one, I don't need letters of commendation from you.
He said, you know who I am and you are our letter of commendation, the very fact that your believers commands us. And then it might be by personal introduction, and in Acts nine, You have the example of Barnabas introducing Paul to the Christians of Jerusalem. They were afraid of him because they knew that he'd been an open persecutor of the church, and they hadn't heard about his conversion on the way to Damascus. And he wanted to go in and visit among them, and they were afraid of him. But Barnabas took him and introduced him, and so he was among them, coming in and going out, it says, made welcome because of this introduction.
Well, we have membership then in the one body, but we have fellowship in the local church. Now, section two, deciding where God wants you. One, Christ is to be the center. And you should ask this question about any place that you're thinking about making your center, your place of fellowship. Is Christ... the center of that group. Matthew, eighteen, twenty has been called the Charter of the Church. It says, Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I, in the midst of them.
And Revelation three in verse eight says, He commands the Christians at Philadelphia, because you have kept my word and have not denied my name. So this is the first thing. Are we meeting together in the name of Christ as He our gathering center? And then second, his headship is to be owned. Colossians one, eighteen says that He is the head over all things to the church. And in Colossians two nineteen, some were rebuked because they were not holding the head. That is, they were not recognizing the headship of Christ.
Now, if Dr. Poobaugh in New York is the head, then the Lord Jesus isn't. That's all there is to that. Number three, priesthood and gifts of all believers should be recognized. In Revelation one and six, we're told that God has made us a kingdom of priests. And of course in First Corinthians twelve you have the spiritual gifts and the fact that every member has at least one gift and is responsible to develop and use those gifts. Wherever you have the clergy, laity, error, you usually do not have the priesthood and the gifts of all believers recognized.
Number four. all eligible believers made welcome. These same passages in Romans fourteen one and fifteen seven, to which you referred earlier, all eligible believers should be made welcome. Now, if you limit your fellowship to anything less than that, you'll become a sect. If you say, we receive only the people who are members of such and such an organization, or we receive only the people who agree to abide by certain rules and regulations. But all believers who are eligible, that is, who do not have any problem of morals or doctrine, should be welcome.
And number five, you should be there by conviction. Acts four and twenty-three says being let go, they went to their own company. They were convicted that this is where they belonged. Now, let me suggest four things that should not be your reason for being there. A, not because of convenience. Some people take the lines of least resistance. They find themselves living in a neighborhood where there is a scriptural company of believers.
And so they attend. Then they move to a neighborhood where there isn't any scriptural assembly of believers, and so they go every place is handy. That's an awfully poor reason to do anything. Convenience is not a good reason for spiritual association. And then B, we should not be there because of friendliness. You'd be surprised how many people decide what church they're going to go to by how friendly they are. And because most organizations are onto this, they have a special friendship committee and they really platter over you and build you all up and make you feel very important and send you letters during the week and somebody goes to call on you.
And this is, they do a real selling job on most people. And that's an awfully poor person, poor reason to be any, for a person to be any place. And then see, not family ties. Suppose grandma was a Methodist. What does that have to do with it? If she had been an atheist, would you remain an atheist? It doesn't make sense to do things just because our family have always been members of this or that particular group. Even if it's right, it still isn't a good reason to be there. You've got to have more conviction than just family ties. And finally, D, not because you get good teaching.
That may surprise some because great many people decide where they're going to go by how good the preaching is. They go around and sample the menu just like they were deciding on a restaurant. And if they serve good food here and the prices are reasonable, then they figure this is as good as any. That isn't the reason for our meeting together as believers. Now, section three, your privileges. in the local church. One, to be shepherded and fed. This is your privilege. Acts twenty and twenty eight and first Peter five, one and three, both say that the elders are to feed the flock and to take the oversight, to do it willingly and carefully.
And this is your privilege as a believer. You are entitled to be shepherded and fed. And two, to participate in the Lord's Supper. First Corinthians eleven, twenty-three to twenty-six. This describes the how that the Lord delivered to Paul, that which Paul had in turn delivered to the Corinthians, and describes how the Lord's Supper should be carried on. Now this is a great privilege and one that we should guard carefully. It will allow nothing to interfere with it, and certainly not service.
Anybody who stays away from the Lord's Supper in order to be of some service has never caught sight of the great privilege of being a worshiper. And three, to attend meetings of the assembly. Acts two, forty-one to forty-seven describes these various meetings of the church. A, to learn the word. In Acts II, he speaks about the Apostle's doctrine. Now, if you only come on Sunday morning, as many people do, they figure they have their church for the week, then you're missing out on an opportunity to learn the Word in special meetings that are convened for the purpose of teaching the Word of God.
And be for prayer. A prayer meeting is not a duty. A prayer meeting is a privilege, a very high privilege. And if some old brother makes it very dull, you'll have to overlook the old brother because one of these days you'll be old too. Do what you can to make the meeting as interesting as possible. And if you do this by listening carefully to the prayers, you'll find out that a great deal is being said that concerns you. I used to take my boys from the children's home and tell them that when we come out of the prayer meeting, I'm going to ask you what somebody prayed about.
Then I'm going to ask you what the man spoke about. And each boy was to tell me one thing and surprising, nobody got sleepy after that. They knew I was going to ask them and got through what had happened. And just by being alert and paying attention, you'll find that the prayer meeting will mean a great deal more to you. And then B for fellowship. We already discussed this in our past studies. The need for fellowship is met by meetings together with the other Christians. This one, yeah, excuse me, this one is C. C for fellowship.
And then D for service. We serve jointly. We do things together in the work of the Lord. There's a great deal to be done. I heard of a young man who attended a meeting on Sunday, and he was told that on next Saturday night there would be a ministry meeting there. So he came, all dressed up with his Bible and notebook, expecting to hear some teaching, and everyone had their brooms and buckets and mops and He said, I thought this is to be a minister meeting. They said, it is, brother. Get your coat off and help us minister. The word minister means serve. And we not only should be interested in having somebody minister the word to us, but we ought to be interested in an opportunity of sharing in the service.
And then four, to be aided financially, if needed. Second Corinthians eight and fourteen, Paul says, I'm not asking you to carry the whole load. I just want that there should be equality, that your abundance should serve to meeting their wants, and then later their abundance will serve to meeting your wants. And in First Timothy five, he tells us about the need of widows, how that the widows should be cared for. So if you have financial needs, the Christians, If they are doing as they ought, they'll be concerned about helping you.
You in turn will be concerned about helping them. And number five, to share with others who have need. Second Corinthians eight, one to five tells how that some of these Christians out of their deep poverty and their joy were very liberal. And Paul says they did better than we hoped. They first gave their own selves to the Lord and to us. And if you give yourself to the Lord, it's much easier to give whatever you have. It'll be a help to others. Now, these are privileges. Now, section four, your responsibilities.
One, live so as to honor the Lord Jesus Christ. The close of Ephesians three in the beginning of chapter four tell us that unto him should be the glory in the church and that we should walk worthy of the vocation or calling wherewith we are called, to live worthily of Christ, to honor him. And number two, to respect the authority of elders. First Thessalonians says that we should know them and esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake.
And First Timothy five and seventeen says that if they serve in the word and doctrine to count them worthy of double honor. And three, to submit to discipline. Now discipline does not mean punishment. Discipline means discipling or training. Sometimes we train our children by talking to them, sometimes by isolating them, sometimes by spanking them. There are seven kinds of discipline, let me name them briefly, a personal trespass. And these scriptures will make them clear when you study them.
And here it's a matter of simply going to the brother alone and telling him where he has given offense. And then B, disorderly walk. This is a military term that really means being out of step. Sometimes Christians get out of step with the other Christians. Second Thessalonians three tells the elders how to deal with such. And C, one overtaken in the false, he is to be restored by the spiritual one. The word restored is a medical term, which means to set a broken bone.
Well, sometimes Christians get out of joint. It's just not going as well as they ought to, and they have to be restored. And then D, there is such a thing as a sinful course, that is, moving in a direction so long that it gets to where, as First Timothy, five and twenty says, they have to be publicly rebuked. I've seen this done, and it's very effectual, I can tell you. It's an embarrassing thing to have happen to you, but if it has to be done, it has to be done. And then E, heresy. The word heretic really means literally a lot-sided person.
He's a person with too many rocks in one pocket. He goes off on a tangent. He... He's just got one string on his fiddle. And this can lead to almost anything, you see. You can get so occupied with one point that you forget the other points. And so heresy is to be dealt with. And then S, Romans sixteen tells us about those who cause division among you. People who just stir up difficulty and they are to be dealt with. g immoral and evil teachers now there are some of you pick the telephone please there are two kinds of ways in which people should be dealt with who have uh i mean two two different kinds of people should be dealt with in this serious way one is if they are guilty of immorality First Corinthians five, they must be put away from among the Christians.
Or if, as Second Timothy two describes, they are teaching some doctrine which is against the person of Christ, dishonoring to the person of Christ, then we must purge ourselves from these. This is the most serious of all disciplines. Now this is not cutting off a member of the body, but this is isolating a person who is so long that if he's allowed to go on, he will contaminate the rest of the Christians. And H, objects and discipline.
Why do we discipline? Two things, for God's glory and the restoration of believers. This is why we have discipline, God's glory, and restoration of believers. Now, no one should ever be dealt with in order to get rid of him, but only in order to glorify the Lord and to see this person restored to Christ. Now, number four, another one of your responsibilities is attendance at meetings. Hebrews ten, twenty-five. we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together and five be willing to serve in any capacity Galatians five thirteen says by love serve one another now you don't need to start in as a first vice president and you don't usually do that in the business and if you're going to be any use in the local church Don't expect to be the main speaker the first week.
Be willing to do whatever needs to be done. And six, share in the expenses of the assembly, the local church. Second Corinthians chapters eight and nine give us direction as to giving. Now the last section, finding your function. One, determine your gift. Romans twelve, four to eight, says that there are many members and that we have gifts differing according to the grace of God, and he mentions five of them. And so you must find out what your particular gift is.
And you'll find out, A, by reading and prayer, and B, by consulting with elders, Go to older Christians. Sometimes young women can get a great deal of help going to older women to ask their advice, finding out what needs to be done, and see, exercise what gifts you may believe you have. First Timothy four, neglect not the gift of the zine within you, and then he says, meditate on these things and give yourself holy to them.
Take heed to them and continue in them. If you do this, you will develop that gift if it's there. Now, you may think that you have a gift of teaching, and you may try and find out that you have it. It just isn't edifying, and the Christians do not appreciate it, and you should not force it upon them. And finally, D, you should cut it earnestly the best gift. And these are given in First Corinthians twelve and the fourteenth chapter. And they are said to be especially the gifts that have to do with teaching. Number two, young people should humbly accept their tasks.
First Peter four, ten and eleven says, As every man has received the gifts, so he should minister. We should be good stewards and we should do it according to the ability that God gives. So do what God has given us to do and what older Christians offer you to do and be glad for it. And number three, women should accept both their opportunities and their limitations. Titus describes some opportunities. First Corinthians says that they are not to speak in the church.
They are not to usurp authority over the man, according to Paul's letter to Timothy. And a godly woman will be glad to accept her limitations as well as her opportunities. And so each of us, finding our particular function, finding our place in the local church, can do the things that will... be most helpful to all the rest of the Lord's people, and so working together in our place, in the local church, the Lord is glorified, and the whole body is edified.