BD #8 - Autonomy Of The Local Church | Matthew 16:13-20
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BD #8 - Autonomy Of The Local Church | Matthew 16:13-20
BD #8 - Autonomy Of The Local Church | Matthew 16:13-20
Opening Remarks:
Baptist Distinctives series
Really just a series on Bible Doctrine. But these days, the more you stick closely to the Bible, the more distinct you become. The more biblical you try to be, the more distinct you are.
We started the series by looking at Biblical Authority for the past couple of months because it’s our foundation, so tonight we finally move to the letter “A” in our acronym, with stands for “Autonomy Of The Local Church.” Autonomy means self-governing, but our focus tonight will be on the most important word in the phrase, which is “church.”
Let’s start by looking at Matthew 16:13-20
This is the first mention of the word “church” in the NT. And it gives us a glimpse into the glory and magnitude and importance of Christ’s church. We are blessed to be a part of something so eternally significant. I’d like to consider some truths about the local NT church this evening.
PRAY
INTRODUCTION
In January of 2012, Jefferson Bethke of Seattle posted a YouTube video called, “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus[1].” It quickly went viral and got the attention of major media outlets. I checked this week and it has over 35 million views.
The fact that it has that many views is a sign of the spiritual climate in our country. There has been a shift from organized religion to a greater emphasis on individual expression. Jesus instead of religion.
There are probably plenty of reasons for that, maybe some are valid:
If someone had a bad experience at church
They attended a church full of hypocrisy
Or they stopped finding value in it
Whatever the reasons there is a definite trend away from church-centered lifestyles.
Now, as a balance, religion without Jesus is empty. If that defines our spiritual experience, that would not be fulfilling. BUT, it’s also clear that the NT Church is the organism through which Jesus intends for His disciples to grow and live out their religion. If it wasn’t important Jesus wouldn’t have died for it. Eph. 5:25 says, “Christ loved the church and gave himself for it.”
The point is, it’s not valid to simply dismiss church because there are imperfect elements to it.
That would be like saying, “People aren’t perfect, so I’m done.”
“School isn’t perfect, so I’m out.”
“Marriage isn’t perfect, so I’m through with it.”
As soon something is influenced by the human element, it’s no longer perfect, but it doesn’t mean it’s no longer valid.
Christ intends for every disciple to be an active part of a local church. It may not matter to our culture, but it matters to God.
So tonight I want to take a look at what a church is and how it’s supposed to work. Because something meant to matter so much to our spiritual lives needs to be understood.
I. The Nature Of The Church
I. The Nature Of The Church
The Church Is an Assembly
The Greek word for “church” is “ekklesia.”
It occurs 118 times in the New Testament. It was commonly used in Bible times to mean “assembly.”
It was derived from two roots – “ek” means “out of” and “kaleo” means “to call.” So, the root meaning of the word “ekklesia” is “called out.”
A church is composed of those who are “called out” through salvation. 2 Tim. 1:9 says, “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling…”
So the root means “called out of.” It was understood to refer to a town crier calling out citizens to attend an assembly or meeting where important matters would be discussed and decisions made.
Jesus is the one who used “ekklesia” in the NT
He did not invent a new word to describe His church, He used a common word and applied it to His purpose. The first time “ekklesia” is used in the New Testament is in Matthew 16:18, where Jesus announces the founding of His church.
That’s part of the text we read at the beginning.
When “ekklesia” is used in the Bible, it nearly always explicitly refers to a single, local body of believers. Although Jesus didn’t invent a new word, He did call it “MY church.” “My Assembly.” “My Called Out, Assembled Group of People.”
An exception to this is in Acts 19, where a town meeting in Ephesus is referred to as an assembly (ekklesia). Another exception is in Acts 7:38, where the word was used to refer to the group of Israelites in the wilderness.
So even in the non-church references, it still refers to an assembly of people.
But when Scripture speaks of the New Testament church that Jesus started, it almost always refers to a specific one in a certain location.
You will see phrases like “the church at Jerusalem (Acts 8:1),” “the church in Smyrna (Rev. 2:8),” and “the church of Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2).” The vast majority of references to “church” or “churches” (all but 15) refer to a place.
There are some references to “church” without a geographical location to the church?
Colossians 1:18, “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”
So that’s a general term for church not attached to a location, but it was written to a group of people whose only understanding of a Christian church was an assembly. Their assembly.
So when Paul speaks of the church in this way, he is not teaching about a different kind of church, he is speaking of the one kind of church generically.
Like the word “Family.” Family is just a general word, but when I hear it, I think of my family. That’s how they would have understood the general word “church.”
II. Characteristics Of A Church
II. Characteristics Of A Church
An Assembly Is Local
Obviously, an assembly is not an assembly unless it is assembled in a particular place. Many references in Scripture bear out the fact that churches are local.
In Acts 8:1 we read of “the church which was at Jerusalem.”
In Galatians 1:2 Paul speaks of “the churches of Galatia.”
In Revelation 1:4 John addresses his writing to “the seven churches which are in Asia.
“The church at,” “the church in,” and “the church of.” These are local assemblies.
That’s why we resist the concept of a “universal” church in the NT.
People can’t “come together” or assemble and, at the same time, be all over the world. That’s not what the word means.
And while we believe that all saved Christians are in Christ and thus spiritually connected, the function of a church is local and assembled.
An Assembly Is Visible
You can see it.That goes without saying. People can’t come together and not be seen.
Churches are made up of visible, tangible individuals. A church isn’t some abstract concept, it is a tangible entity.
That’s why Paul could persecute the church before he was converted. Luke writes “at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem…” (Acts 8:1)
It was visible. He could seek it out and find it and persecute it. How do you persecute something that isn’t visible?
In Matthew 18:17, Jesus is speaking of church discipline and says “If he shall neglect to hear them, tell it to the church…” Tell it to what church? The church that is assembled and visible.
By the way, Matthew 18 indicates that Jesus Christ started the church during His earthly ministry. He’s already referring to the “church,” and giving instruction about its function.
Consider Mark 6:7, “And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;”
Luke 6:13, “And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;”
Remember the meaning of “ekklesia?” It’s “called out of.” When Jesus called out His disciples to Himself, we see the beginning of the first church of Jesus Christ.
So an assembly is, logically, visible. Its members aren’t invisible. It can’t meet in an invisible location. It can’t function with invisible officers or operate on invisible tithes.
An Assembly Is Organized
In other usages, “ekklesia” meant a group of people called together to one place for a specific purpose. It wasn’t just to hang out. It was an organized meeting with a specific agenda.
The New Testament is full of letters, or epistles written to churches that deal with proper organization. This is so because, by definition, a church is an organized assembly.
The proper organization of a church is based on the instructions given through the Word of God.
In Col. 2:5, Paul wrote, “For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.”
The local NT churches had a purpose. They were organized to represent Jesus Christ to a world that needed to be exposed to Him.
Many times a church is compared to a “body.” Think about the importance of organization in a body. A pile of flesh, bones, cartilage, and blood sitting on a table is not an organized human body. It must be organized to fulfill its purpose.
An Assembly Is Constituted
Here’s where we get back to those are who specifically called out. An assembly is an exclusive entity.
The members of a NT church are clearly defined in God’s Word. A NT church is an assembly of people, but not just any people.
(TURN) Acts 2:41 defines the qualifications for membership or belonging to a church with three key words:
“Received his word” – Salvation
“Were baptized” – Baptized
“Were added” – Membership
Membership in a Scriptural NT church is exclusive. It’s not just open to anyone.
They must be baptized believers.
Go back to the point Christ made in Matthew 18 and even 1 Cor. 5 about church discipline and you see the fact that churches were instructed to keep themselves pure by excluding members involved in certain sins. Those passages demonstrates a specific, somewhat limited membership. Exclusive.
So how would we define or summarize a NT church?
The New Testament church is a local, visible assembly of baptized believers, organized to carry out the Lord’s work.
That’s a good, solid Bible definition of a NT Church. And that has historically been a Baptist distinction. While many other groups have tried to define the church in countless ways, we try to stick to the Bible definition.
APPLICATION
But does us no good to believe strongly that we are correct in our doctrine regarding a local NT church if we aren’t willing to operate as if it means something to us.
III. How much do you personally embrace the definition?
III. How much do you personally embrace the definition?
Local
You may have other spiritual influences and investments in your life, but none deserve more involvement or commitment than the church at the place where God has you living.
Digital Age – People are losing connection with their local church. There’s nothing wrong with using Facebook and social media. Very often on Sundays and Wednesdays after our own services I go to YouTube when I get home and see who preached or sang at churches I’m familiar with.
That’s okay. As long as my primary interaction and commitment is to the people in the local church God has placed me in. This is the way God intended it to be.
God placed us in this body on purposes. This is where the majority of our heart, time, love and investment ought to be.
Let’s not say, “Local church” and primarily operate outside of that.
It’s Visible
If a distinction of a NT church is visible, that explicitly means its members are visible. Because a church is not a building. It’s the members.
How visible are you in your local church?
If someone watching your patterns can’t predict whether or not you’ll be in any given service, then we need to reevaluate our commitment to our church.
The church is visible. Don’t be an invisible church member.
It’s Organized and Constituted
That implies that it’s full of people submitted to the greater cause. Not about themselves. Not above it. And not with a spirit of disunity. The cause brings us together.
How committed are you to Eastside’s cause? Evangelism? Discipleship? Missions?
Saturation Saturday coming up in two Saturdays. That’s an opportunity to invest in the cause we’re called to. Will you be there?
The weather will be getting warmer and open doors for more outreach opportunities. Will you be involved? Do you do anything related to the cause besides attend a service on a weekly basis?
If our church’s operation was dependent on your involvement, how much would we be doing?
There’s a song that goes,
“What kind of church would my church be if every member was just like me?
How many souls would be saved today if it all depended on what I say?
How many prayers would God have to answer if all that He heard came from me?
I wonder what kind of church would my church be if every member was just like me?”
I’m thankful to be a Baptist. I believe that name still means something. It indicates that we strive to operate Biblically.
But let’s not get to the place where we are distinct in our positions, but those doctrines don’t impact our operations.
It’s easy to claim the right positions but do very little to be distinct from those that don’t have the right positions.
There was a group that did that in the NT called the Pharisees. They had the right positions, but their spirit and operation didn’t match their commitment to doctrine.
The best way is to have the right positions and let them dictate you operations.
We have a pretty elevated view of God’s design for a local NT church.
Let that dictate how faithful you are to every service.
Let that dictate how engaged you are in serving, singing and preaching.
Let your position on the NT church dictate how passionate you are about spreading its message.
Our positions should impact our operations.
Conclusion How committed are you to the operations of this local, visible assembly of baptized believers, organized to carry out the Lord’s work?
Let’s not be strong in our positions and weak in our involvement.
Jump in. Engage. Attend every service. Tell people about Jesus Christ.
Why? Because we have a lofty, elevated view of His church.
Let your high positions affect your daily operations.
The Lord knows in a day that a video called, “Why I hate Religion, but love Jesus,” can gain such traction that there needs to be groups of dedicated believers in as many places as possible countering that mindset. “You may not like church, but I love mine. I’m all in. I know it’s not perfect, but I’m doing all I can to help it make the biggest difference possible.”
There’s no reason church done right couldn’t impact a generation to say, “I love Jesus AND I love Religion because I’ve seen it done right over at Eastside.”
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDGYlpqY
