THE CHURCH MEMBER
Topical Series – Church
GRAB THEIR ATTENTION
Whenever you download and install new software on a computer there are several steps in the process. Typically you begin by downloading an executable file. That’s the starting point for unpacking and installing the rest of the software. Once that’s complete, before the computer runs the installation, you are asked to read what is known as a EULA, or End User License Agreement.
The EULA is that part of the installation that lists our all kinds of terms and conditions pertaining to software use, information, privacy, and ownership. And the installation will not go forward until you have scrolled all the way to the bottom of the EULA (supposedly signifying that you have read and familiarized yourself with the terms and conditions) and clicked a button that says “I have read and agree to the terms set forth in the EULA.”
If I had to guess, I’d say that most, if not all, of us have agreed to thousands of pages of EULAs without ever reading a single word. I don’t care to read pages of information. I’ve certainly never hired an attorney to read the EULA for me before I download the app. I just want to use the word processor or email client, so I scroll down as fast as possible and click, “I agree.”
On the other hand, if you have ever sat down to purchase a home, knowing that it will take you 30 years to pay off the mortgage, you slow down a little more. You read more carefully. You hire an attorney; someone trained in the practice of legal documentation. You take the terms and conditions of that contract far more seriously than the EULA for the office software package. The terms and conditions of the mortgage will have far greater impact and a more immediate impact on your entire life.
RAISE THE NEED, SIGNPOSTS, STATE THE DESTINATION
Today we’re going to think about another contract. One that comes with terms and conditions. One that, if you are a member, you have read, but perhaps you haven’t reviewed it lately. I’m speaking, of course, of the church covenant that every member here has signed.
Lake Wylie Baptist Church, as an organization, has three governing documents:
First, we have a statement of faith. That document spells out the beliefs and teachings of our church. It’s our agreed-upon theology.
Second, is our Bylaws. This document more or less explains how we as a non-profit organization in NC make decisions. It’s the operator’s manual, if you will for the polity of our church.
Third, and last, we have a church covenant, and the church covenant speaks to the relational dynamics within our membership. If the statement of faith summarizes what we believe, and the bylaws explain how we make decisions, the covenant serves as the relational commitment church members make to one another for the purpose of mutual growth in Christ and accountability.
Rather than have 3 or 4 main sermon points, today we’re going to walk through our church covenant, line by line, and I hope to be extremely practical the entire sermon.
And, rather than working through a single text of Scripture, as is our custom, today you’ll hear that our church covenant is essentially various Bible passages on the duties and benefits of church membership, all woven together.
Church, Jesus Christ is a great savior. He saved us when we were running from him into our sin. His grace outran our rebellion. And then, after forgiving us, he brought us together into a local church. We have been joined to a great company of forgiven sinners, who are making the fame of Christ known as we demonstrate our love to one another.
These are tumultuous times. Every week I think it can’t possibly get crazier, and every week this world proves me wrong. So, I submit to you that this covenant is crucial to our sanity, it’s crucial to our public witness for Christ, and it’s crucial as the clown world around us finds new ways to clown.
We need one another. That’s how God has designed our life to work. It puts the church in the center of the town, in the center of our life, and everything radiates out from it. So, let’s spend a few moments considering how our covenant sharpens us for life in this world.
1. By God’s grace, we are gathered as those who have repented and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. We have given ourselves to Him and affirmed one another as citizens of his kingdom through baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Relying on his gracious aid, we do now solemnly and joyfully renew our covenant with each other.
The covenant is made by baptized Christians; those who are owning Christ before the watching world.
To repent, means we are turning away from anything we are tempted to trust or love more than God. And in turning away, we turn to Jesus Christ as Lord. He lived a righteous life in our stead. And when he was crucified, God the Father poured our divine judgment for our sin upon Christ. He was buried in a borrowed tomb and was raised three days later. We believe that. We have come to know this is true, AND we are staking our life, our very souls on it.
Friend, if you have not yet believed in Christ, take this as God’s invitation to you today. Look to Jesus Christ. Trust in him.
Those who have, are to be baptized and joined to one another in communion with a local church. In the NT, there is no such thing as a lone ranger Christian.
And, the covenant can only be kept with God’s aid. This isn’t a morality code we’ve come up with. It’s a commitment of conduct that mirrors and reflects God’s own design for us found in the Scriptures. And because it mirrors God’s character and design, we will be unable to keep it without his grace.
2. We will work and pray for the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. (Eph. 4:3)
Jesus Christ said that all men will know we are his disciples if we have love one for another. In John 17, Jesus prayed that his followers would be one even as he and the Father are one.
You and I ought to first pray and work for unity in the whole congregation. Whether we are greeting one another on a Sunday morning, or voting in a church business meeting, we ought to pray that God’s Spirit would move us together, as one. Church Member, how often do you pray for unity in the body?
Unity can be killed by selfish preferences. It can be harmed by sinful attitudes of anger, bitterness, and envy. Unity isn’t a given. It’s fragile. It’s so easy to hold onto our preferences more than we hold onto one another.
Our unity isn’t built upon the color of carpet we put in a room, or in what songs we sing in worship. Our unity is in the grace of God in Christ, and our common call to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.
3. We will walk together in love as Christ commands, caring for each other, watching over each other, and encouraging and admonishing one another as occasion requires. (Eph. 5:2; Heb. 10:24)
Are we bearing one another’s burdens? Are we looking out for one another? Are we challenging one another when we sin? Are we strengthening the weak?
Church, I thank God regularly for so many here who send me words of encouragement, who ask me how they can pray for me, who pull me aside in love and patience, and help me see my own sin.
4. We will regularly attend Sunday Worship and faithfully pray for one another. (Heb. 10:25)
Christians don’t meet together simply to get something. Instead, we meet weekly to obey God and glorify him. Our meeting together isn’t an act first and foremost of personal fulfillment but of sacrificial worship to Christ.
We met here because the Lord of Heaven and Earth called us to assemble in his presence. We have come together to hear his Word read publicly, to praise his holiness, wisdom, power, and sovereignty, to confess our sins and hear his reassuring pardon that we are forgiven, to proclaim his truth, to lift up one another’s needs, and to give our tithes and offerings to his kingdom.
As we meet regularly, we’re able to better care for one another. We do that first, through prayer. Friend, one of the best practices you can adopt having 2-3 church members you pray for regularly; knowing their needs, and going to the Lord on their behalf.
5. We will endeavor to lead those in our care in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, as well as to seek the salvation of our family and friends. (Eph. 6:4)
We recognize, as a church, that our collective spiritual growth cannot be accomplished by a pastor, children’s director, or a few deacons and Bible study leaders. All of us are responsible for every one of us.
And we are responsible for sharing the good news of Christ with our family and friends.
6. We will rejoice at one another’s happiness and bear one another’s burdens and sorrows. (Romans 12:15)
Our culture daily bows down to the idol of envy. Whether it’s corrupt politicians who want to steal and redistribute wealth, or simply the covetousness promoted through social media algorithms, you and I are surrounded by the sinful impulse to be happy at our own promotion, and depressed by the promotion of others.
But in the church we are called to a different standard: to rejoice when others are happy; to thank the Lord when others succeed, or are healed, or are promoted.
And, we are called upon to weep with those who weep. We are not designed to go through difficulty alone. Many times in my 8 years as your pastor I have gone through seasons of doubt, or weakness, or exhaustion, and each time the Lord has used members of this congregation to carry me, to refresh me, to encourage me.
7. With God’s help, we will live carefully in the world, denying ungodliness and worldly desires. Our symbolic burial and resurrection in baptism testify to this special obligation to live a new and holy life. (Eph. 5:15-20; Gal. 3:27)
Our outward life is a living symbol of the inner grace of Christ; a public expression of the inner holiness given to us by the Spirit of God. In other words, our walk of life either lends credibility to our confession of faith or detracts from it.
8. We will work together to maintain a faithful gospel witness in our worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines.
Is the truth of God’s Word and his gospel clearly present in all we do; in what we preach, sing, in the Lord’s Supper and Baptism, in our church discipline, and in our Bible studies? That’s the question here.
And, of course, the Lord wants leadership in the church to pay special attention to these matters, but the doctrinal clarity of the church depends on all of us. In Acts 17, the Apostle Paul praises the virtue of the Christians in the town of Berea. He says they were especially noble because they never trusted completely in the words of men, not even men like Paul, but instead they listened to what was taught in the church, comparing it with the Scriptures to ensure that it was true.
9. We will contribute cheerfully to the expenses of the church, the needs of our neighbors, and the spread of the gospel around the world. (2 Cor. 9:6-7)
Every week, at the end of the service, our church collects tithes and offerings. The gifts that are given in the offering plate and through online giving are the only financial support our church receives. We don’t receive any funds from a denomination. We certainly don’t receive, nor would we ever receive money from the government.
And therefore, everything we do, from turning on the lights to printing children’s curriculum to hosting our sermons online, and supporting missionaries overseas, all of that is done by the free and gracious gifts of members and guests.
You know, we rarely, if ever address the subject of giving here at Lake Wylie Baptist. Part of that is because the Lord has blessed us with financial security. Thankfully, our church is debt-free. We don’t owe any money on our buildings or property. We don’t carry any indebtedness. We also have ministry leaders and a finance team who are extremely conservative in our spending. Praise God for all those things.
At the same time, we have a desire to grow and expand the ministry. Today after our service we are voting to renovate our community room to house more children’s space.
In the coming months and years, we will need to hire admin staff, a youth director, we’ll need to make improvements to our facilities, invite more children to VBS, increase our support to church plants around the globe, and send teams of our own members to visit and support our church planters. And all of that requires the gracious giving of our membership.
So, here is my exhortation to you. In the coming weeks, Casey Eanes and I are meeting to begin the budgeting process for the 2025 fiscal year. And we want to budget in a way that doesn’t simply maintain our current ministry.
We want to prayerfully budget in ways that allow us to expand the reach of Lake Wylie Baptist Church. Commit to praying for me and Casey. Ask God to give us wisdom. We know that a budget is reflective of what our church loves and values, so ask God to help us budget in a way that promotes gospel reach and joy in our church.
Second, if you are a member of Lake Wylie Baptist, pray that God would lead you to greater giving to our church.
10. If we leave this congregation, we will join another gospel-preaching church as soon as possible where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.
Membership isn’t about liking the various services a church provides. Membership is about intentional unity and accountability with the body of Christians God has placed around you.
Whenever a church member meets with me to tell me of a job transfer to another city, the first question I ask is if they have given thought to where they will transition their membership.
11. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen. (2 Cor. 13:14)
Those words may sound familiar to you. It’s because they are regularly read at the conclusion of our worship services. As a people, we possess the grace of Jesus Christ, the saving love of God our Father, and true unity with one another through the Holy Spirit.