Corporate Disciplines

Driving home: I'm suspicious of the person's piety who seeks to have it exercised and cultivated in isolation, just as you never knew what a rotten person you were until you got married...

Just as marriage reveals one's rottenness through intimate involvement, so total involvement in church life exposes the depth of inbred corruption, showing the need for God's grace.

Is that love kind, patient? Well, where can it manifest itself except in a context where kindness and patience are demanded? So God knows what He's doing, I say it reverently, when He places us into the body of Christ with people who have experienced the radical cleavage, but who still have, the remains of corruption, and oh, how at times we need to suffer long with them, to be kind, to be patient, to think no evil. God put us in that close relationship with people

9:50 - 10:33 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And the person who says, well I've got God, I've got the Holy Ghost, I've got my Bible, I don't need preaching. He's either ignorant, or he's proud, or he's both.

A ball player needs total coordination between eye, head, and arm to hit a ball effectively. Similarly, church members need coordination with the Spirit's leading through corporate teaching, not just private study, to function as an integrated body.

When the ball player comes up to bat, and he stands there and looks at that pitcher, it'll do no good if he's got 17 inch biceps, biceps and a 50 inch chest. If that big old arm says come down, when his eye sees the pitch coming in and it's letter high, and the head says come around this way, there must be the total coordination of all of the faculties of that body, if that bat is to meet the ball at the fat part dead center and knock it 450 feet over the left center field or right center field wall. So it is not enough that people be made strong through assimilation of the word privately,

20:33 - 21:16 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The first corporate discipline is consistent gathering, rooted in Hebrews 10:19-25. Martin explains how this gathering contributes to sanctification through exposure to apostolic…

Just as one doesn't remember every meal but experiences the cumulative effect of proper eating, so the cumulative effect of consistent exposure to preaching builds up believers, even if immediate consciousness of its effect is lacking.

The cumulative effect in the ministry of the Word. Just there as there is with your eating of physical food. You don't remember everything you ate a week ago. Now occasionally you get the kind of meal that you'll remember for a lifetime.

23:25 - 23:46 Read in full sermon

The point: When Wednesday night comes and you've got a headache and you feel dull, you don't go on the basis of impulse. As people gather, I belong there.

It would be incongruous for a preacher's larynx, ear, or foot to be found elsewhere while the rest of his body is in Congress. Similarly, it is incongruous for a member of the local church (body of Christ) to be absent when the body is gathered.

Therefore, the first corporate discipline of progressive sanctification is consistent gathering with the people of God. When Wednesday night comes and you've got a headache and you feel dull, you don't go on the basis of impulse. As people gather, I belong there. In Congress, they see me coming to preach this morning, and my larynx laying in bed, or my ear stuck in there on the washroom sink, or my foot sitting there by the dresser.

33:32 - 34:14 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second discipline is demonstrated concern, involving mutual admonition and burden-bearing. Citing Galatians 6 and Hebrews 3, Martin argues that believers must lovingly exhort…

Remaining corruption can be like a disease whose symptoms are not obvious to the one who has it but are very obvious to others. This illustrates why mutual exhortation is necessary, as others can see our sin more objectively.

We'll correct it. Not only individual prayer, individual watching, individual discipline, but exhort one another while it is called today, lest there, exhort one another while it is called today, so long as it is called today, lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Remaining corruption is deceitful. Often its workings are such that I cannot detect them, but they may be very obvious to my brother.

37:04 - 37:39 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second discipline is demonstrated concern, involving mutual admonition and burden-bearing. Citing Galatians 6 and Hebrews 3, Martin argues that believers must lovingly exhort…

If an eye sees a finger beginning to wither, the whole body works to restore it, not ignore it. This illustrates the loving concern believers should have for a brother showing signs of spiritual decline, not turning away in unconcern.

That there seems to have been the loss of the freshness. When you get together, holy things don't naturally come to the center of conversation. And you discern, not as a hypercritical, self-appointed judge, but as a loving brother who realizes this is a member of my body. If my eye sees this finger beginning to wither, it doesn't turn away and ignore it and say, I hope it'll just get better on its own.

38:21 - 38:46 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second discipline is demonstrated concern, involving mutual admonition and burden-bearing. Citing Galatians 6 and Hebrews 3, Martin argues that believers must lovingly exhort…

Martin recounts a personal story from his early preaching days where a Scotsman lovingly but directly rebuked him for having 'too much of Al Martin' in his sermon, illustrating the value of open rebuke from a friend.

Better is open rebuke. How I thank God for those men who've loved me enough to put their hand on my shoulder and exhort me. I remember when I first began preaching, just weeks after I was converted, and God was pleased to bless, in that little mission where we preached up in Connecticut. And I look back now and some of us who were involved in that believe it's the closest thing to revival we've ever seen.

39:58 - 40:26 Read in full sermon

The point: Pray for the grace to be humble in receiving that admonition.

It would be unthinkable for a finger showing signs of losing life to wiggle and squirm, saying 'leave me alone' when the rest of the body tries to help. This illustrates the unthinkableness of rejecting loving admonition from a brother.

Always think the worst. And I found nine times out of ten, it always turns out so much better than I go fear and trembling but God honors the step of obedience. And then may I say let's pray for the grace to be humble in receiving that admonition. What would you think if this finger began to show signs of the loss of life, began to turn blue, and when all the rest of my body was employed to help it, it began to wiggle and squirm and say, leave me alone and mind your own business?

44:58 - 45:29 Read in full sermon

The point: If you are not formally identified with an official under the discipline of a given local assembly, make haste and get yourself formally committed to an assembly.

A sheep does not count it a burden to have a shepherd who protects its life and liberty. This illustrates the privilege of being under the discipline of scripturally qualified elders who watch for souls.

And what a privilege to be under that kind of discipline. What a privilege. Do you think the sheep counts it a burden to have a shepherd or shepherds in whose eyes its very life is precious? Do you think the sheep counts it a constriction of its liberty to have a shepherd that will protect it from danger if necessary even to the giving of his own life?

47:38 - 48:10 Read in full sermon

The point: If you are not formally identified with an official under the discipline of a given local assembly, make haste and get yourself formally committed to an assembly.

Martin recounts an incident where an Arian (Jehovah's Witness) tried to propagate heresy in a Sunday school class. The church's firm, immediate action to 'turn away from them' (Romans 16:17) resulted in the man leaving, illustrating the effectiveness of radical discipline against infectious doctrine.

And generally speaking they will leave. We had an example of this recently that confirmed this so clearly. One Sunday morning in the Sunday school class I heard a voice behind me. We have open end discussion type thing guiding us through the teaching and this voice I didn't recognize at first but it was obvious by a few phrases this man was an Arian in his Christology.

50:16 - 50:38 Read in full sermon

The point: Beware of simple formulas in the process of sanctification.

People with lingering diseases like arthritis or cancer are prey to medical quackery due to weariness and psychological conditioning for quick remedies. This illustrates how weariness with indwelling sin can make believers susceptible to spiritual quackery offering simple formulas for holiness.

Beware of simple formulas. If there was a simple formula, then throw out all the detailed instruction of the New Testament. Beware of simple formulas. People with lingering diseases are prey to medical quackery.

62:05 - 62:18 Read in full sermon