THE CHURCH AND YOU
A. WE ARE NOT EXPECTED TO SERVE GOD BY OURSELVES.
B. FELLOWSHIP IN THE CHURCH IS MEANT TO ENHANCE OUR SERVICE.
C. WE CAN BETTER SERVE WITH OUR BRETHREN WHEN WE KNOW:
1. What the church is, both in its universal and local sense.
2. What our responsibilities are toward the church.
A. THE WORD "CHURCH" REFERS TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN SAVED.
1. The Lord adds the saved to His church( Acts 2:47 ).
2. The church is God's "household" or "family"( 1 Tim. 3:15 ).
B. THE WORD "CHURCH" IS USED PRIMARILY IN TWO SENSES.
1. The UNIVERSAL sense: all the saved throughout the world.
a. It is used this way in passages like( Mat. 16:18; Eph. 5:23 Col. 1:18 ).
b. In the "universal" sense:
1) There is only ONE church( Eph. 1:22-23; Eph. 4:4 ).
2) Christ is the head; we are members of His body( 1 Cor. 12:27 ).
3) There is NO EARTHLY ORGANIZATION.
4) The universal church never meets as such; it has no "officers."
2. The LOCAL sense: the saved in one particular locality.
a. It is used in this way in passages like( 1 Cor. 1:2; Rom. 16:16 ).
b. In the "local" sense there are MANY churches( Gal. 1:2 ).
c. There is to be EARTHLY ORGANIZATION in each local church.
a) Ideally, each church has elders and deacons( Phil. 1:1 ).
b) Churches may exist until men can be appointed( Acts 14:23 ).
d. Local churches meet regularly; and Christians have responsibilities in
connection with their brethren in the local church
A. WE SHOULD "JOIN OURSELVES" TO A LOCAL CHURCH.
1. Only Christ "adds" one to the church UNIVERSAL; but one can and should
"join" themselves to a LOCAL church( Acts 9:26-28 ).
2. This enables you to benefit by the association of other Christians, and provides
you an opportunity to be of service to them( Heb. 3:12-14; 10:24-25 ).
3. There are some responsibilities Christ has given you that you cannot fulfill on
your own; for example, the Lord's Supper( Acts 20:7 ).
B. WE SHOULD COOPERATE WITH THE "LEADERS."
1. In a fully developed local church, there will be "ELDERS."
a. The terms "elder, pastor, bishop, shepherd, overseer" are often used
interchangeably( Acts 20:17,28; Titus 1:5-7; 1 Pet. 5:1-2 ).
b. Their qualifications are found in 1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9.
c. Our responsibilities to them are as follows:
1) To respect them( 1 Thes. 5:12-13; 1 Tim. 5:17-20 ).
2) To obey when they lead scripturally ( Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet. 5:2-3 ).
2. There will also be "DEACONS" to serve the people of God
a. These are "servants" who assist the elders in the work of the church
b. Their qualifications are found in 1 Tim. 3:8-13.
c. The work they do is a very noble one( 1 Tim. 3:13 ).
3. There may also be EVANGELISTS and TEACHERS( Eph. 4:11 ).
a. The evangelists, also called preachers, teach the gospel to the lost.
b. Teachers concentrate attention upon edifying the members.
d. They likewise submit to the leadership of the elders
C. WE ARE TO CONTRIBUTE REGULARLY TO THE WORK OF THE CHURCH
1. The work of the church can be divided into three areas:
a. Evangelism( 1 Tim. 3:15; Phil. 1:3-6; 1 Thess. 1:8 ).
b. Edification( Eph. 4:11-16 ).
c. Benevolence( 1 Cor. 16:1-2 ).
2. How the local church can raise funds to do its work( 1 Cor. 16:1-2 ).
3. Financial support enables the local church to do the work God gave it to do.
D. WE SHOULD DO OUR PART IN THE WORK OF THE CHURCH.
1. We cannot "pay" to have our part of the church's work done for us.
2. A strong church is one where every member is doing his part( Eph. 4:15-16 ).
3. There are different kinds of functions we might perform( Rom. 12:3-8 ).
4. What is essential is that we each do what we can with the same zeal and
enthusiasm( 1 Pet. 4:10-11 ).
E. WE SHOULD HELP KEEP THE CHURCH UNITED.
1. Unity among believers is very important to Jesus( John 17:20-21 ).
2. Division is condemned in the Scriptures( 1 Cor. 1:10-13 ).
3. What does maintaining unity require of us( Eph. 4:1-3 ).
4. Here are some things we can do:
a. Be peacemakers when brethren have disagreements( Matt. 5:9 ).
b. Avoid gossip( 1 Tim. 5:13, 19 ).
c. Avoid speculative questions( 1 Tim. 6:3-5; 2 Titus 2:23 ).
d. Avoid partiality( 1 Tim. 5:21 ).
F. WE SHOULD LIVE A LIFE THAT SPEAKS WELL OF THE CHURCH.
1. Be an example to others( 1 Tim. 4:12; Titus 2:7-8 ).
a. Some people delight in finding Christians who are not living right and
use them as an example to attack the church.
b. We are not to give them opportunities( Titus 2:8; 1 Pet. 2:12 ).
2. We should strive to be an example of what Christians ought to be!
A. THE BLESSINGS OF FELLOWSHIP COME WITH RESPONSIBILITY.
B. GOD'S WILL IS THAT WE SERVE AS PART OF A BODY
( Rom. 12:4-5; 14:17-19 ).
C. SOME QUESTIONS TO STIMULATE YOUR THINKING:
1. Have you let a local church know that you wish to be identified as an
accepted, working member of their group?
2. Do you know the elders, deacons and other members of the church where you
attend?
3. Do you have a sense of what function you provide in the body of Christ, and
are you fulfilling it?
4. If every member of the church were as faithful and active as you in your
service to the Lord, what kind of of church would it be?
