In the Saving Purposes of God

In this part of the sermon: He clarifies the term 'church,' rejecting broad or institutional definitions and instead adopting John Owen's definition of an 'instituted church of the gospel' as a society of…

Examples of institutions like the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) and the Roman Catholic Church are used to illustrate what the speaker does NOT mean by 'church,' highlighting man-made religions versus biblical definitions.

For any institution which is a branch of the Christian faith or in some way professes to be connected to the Bible and to Christ, you have the so-called church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is a man-made religion spun out of the woolly head and perverse devil-deceived mind of Joseph Smith. Mormonism, in all of its ludicrous claims, claims to be the church of God, the church of Jesus Christ. And the Roman Catholic Church claims to be the one true church of Christ.

3:03 - 3:41 Read in full sermon

Driving home: When Owen and the other, men are in close contact with the word of God defining the church, they define the church in terms of the biblical data which describe the church as the gathering of the saints, those in union wi…

A lengthy quotation from John Owen's catechism defines an 'instituted church of the gospel' as a society of persons called out of the world by Word and Spirit, joining in a holy band for communion and gospel ordinances, providing a precise biblical definition.

Well, I am not using the word in terms of institutions that take to themselves the name church. Rather, I am using it in the sense in which it is helpfully defined in John Owen's little catechism, a brief instruction in the worship of God. And question 19 is this. An instituted church of the gospel.

3:41 - 4:07 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second evidence is that Christ committed the keys of the kingdom exclusively to His church, not to individuals or other groups, as seen in Matthew 16 and 18, emphasizing the…

The analogy of keys that 'cannot be copied' is used to illustrate that Christ's authority, represented by the keys of the kingdom, is not arbitrarily available to any group or individual with a vision, but exclusively dispensed to His church.

Jesus Christ committed the keys of the kingdom to only one institution. And keys cannot be copied, and handed out to any and every group that's got a vision. To any and every individual that's got a burden. You can't go and get copied keys, because you've got a vision and a burden and the know-how to start an organization to do the work of God.

17:29 - 18:02 Read in full sermon

Driving home: My friend, this is detailed, meticulous churchmanship. Why? Because the apostolic teaching asserts that there is but one institution designated by God as the pillar and ground of the truth. And if it begins to have the t…

The common phrase 'fiddling while Rome burns' is used to represent the criticism against meticulous churchmanship, which some view as a distraction from 'soul winning,' but Martin counters that the apostles themselves were 'high churchmen'.

And even if they get to heaven in bad shape, they'll get there. That should be our passion, soul winning. Building up churches and having fastidious concern about the ordering of the church is fiddling while Rome burns, so we are told. Well, maybe we learned how to fiddle from the apostle.

35:20 - 35:39 Read in full sermon

Driving home: My friend, this is detailed, meticulous churchmanship. Why? Because the apostolic teaching asserts that there is but one institution designated by God as the pillar and ground of the truth. And if it begins to have the t…

The metaphor of 'termites of careless churchmanship eating at its foundations' illustrates how neglecting the proper ordering of the church undermines the truth it is meant to uphold.

My friend, this is detailed, meticulous churchmanship. Why? Because the apostolic teaching asserts that there is but one institution designated by God as the pillar and ground of the truth. And if it begins to have the termites of careless churchmanship eating at its foundations, it's the truth that's at stake.

36:20 - 36:40 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine if your professed love, loyalty, and commitment to Christ is genuinely expressed in love, loyalty, and commitment to His church, or if it is ignorant or self-deceptive.

Martin shares his personal testimony of having an intense love for Christ as a young Christian but being 'ignorant' of the doctrine of the church for years, illustrating that such ignorance is possible, but not willful or hypocritical.

My love to Christ as a young Christian, in many ways, I believe, burned more intensely to my shame than it does in certain areas now. But oh, how ignorant I was of the church for years, but not willfully ignorant, not deliberately and hypocritically ignorant. God had simply not brought me to, to earth in a context where there was any appreciation of the doctrine of the church. The only people that recognized what God had done in some of our hearts and the only people that were ready to receive it for others in the polite evangelical churches, it was too hot to handle what God had done for a fe...

43:29 - 44:10 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine if your professed love, loyalty, and commitment to Christ is genuinely expressed in love, loyalty, and commitment to His church, or if it is ignorant or self-deceptive.

He recounts how he and other young 'fanatics' in Connecticut, causing a stir in their town, were taken in by 'old people praying' who recognized God's work, but who themselves had no formal doctrine of the church.

We wanted to preach in the street corner and carry our Bibles to school and we were causing the whole high school to get upset and the whole town was buzzing with what was going on with these fanatics and a little mission. Not even a church. It was some old people praying for years that God would pour out His Spirit on the young people of that town in Connecticut, recognize the answer to their prayers and took us in and gave us guidance and counsel where they could, but they had no doctrine of the church. They weren't a church.

44:11 - 44:40 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine if your professed love, loyalty, and commitment to Christ is genuinely expressed in love, loyalty, and commitment to His church, or if it is ignorant or self-deceptive.

He mentions attending interdenominational schools that 'couldn't have a doctrine of the church' without losing clientele, explaining why his formal training lacked this emphasis.

And they went off to two schools, interdenominational. They couldn't have a doctrine of the church. They'd lose half or three-quarters of their clientele. So it didn't get me in my formal training.

45:08 - 45:17 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second question challenges listeners to recognize that professed love for Christ not expressed in love and commitment to His church is either ignorant or self-deceptive…

Martin describes his five years as an itinerant evangelist and Bible teacher, during which he began to see from the Bible the true meaning and importance of the church, leading to a profound shift in his understanding.

And I kicked around the country for five years as an itinerant evangelist and Bible teacher. And that's when I began to see in my Bible that if God...

45:17 - 45:25 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize that a desire to be a 'freelance Christian' stems from an unwillingness to submit to the demands of church commitment.

The quote from Christ to Saul, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?' is used to illustrate the inseparable connection between Christ and His church, as Saul was persecuting the church.

Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?

46:18 - 46:22 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize that a desire to be a 'freelance Christian' stems from an unwillingness to submit to the demands of church commitment.

The metaphor of coming 'off your high horse' is used to challenge those who bristle at the idea of church commitment, urging them to humbly read their Bibles.

You can bristle and rear back in your hind legs and snort out your ears and your nose as well. But if you take time enough to come off your high horse and read your Bible, you'll see that what I say is true.

47:03 - 47:12 Read in full sermon