Establishing Churches

Introduction: Jesus, Yes; The Church, No?

0:02 The following sermon was delivered on Sunday morning, January 7, 2000, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey.

0:13 Now I would ask you to follow with me as I read two portions of the Word of God as found in the Gospel of Matthew. The first is in Matthew chapter 16, Matthew 16 and beginning at verse 13 and reading through verse 20. Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Who do men say that the Son of Man is? And they said, Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.

0:56 But he said unto them, But who do you say that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, You. You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you, but my Father who is in heaven.

1:20 And I also say unto you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom. I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Then he charged the disciples that they should tell no man that he was the Christ.

1:52 And then a second passage in Matthew chapter 18, beginning with verse 15, Matthew 18, 15 through 20. Our Lord Jesus is speaking and he says, Brother, sin against you. Go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he hear you, you have gained your brother.

2:18 But if he does not hear you, take with you one or two more, that at the mouth of two witnesses or three, every word may be established. And if he refuse to hear them, tell it unto the church. And if he refuse to hear the church also, let him be unto him. I will give unto you as the Gentile and the publican.

2:42 Truly I say unto you, what things soever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and what things soever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven. Four. Where two or three.

3:08 Are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Well, let's again pray and ask God by his spirit to minister his word with clarity and with power to each of our hearts. Let us pray. Our Father, we must again thank you for the privilege of worshiping you.

3:34 Singing hymns that embody so much of the truth of your word. And capture so much the disposition. Of our worshiping hearts. We thank you for this privilege.

3:45 And now as we come to this, that in many ways is the very pinnacle of worship. When we bring our minds into direct contact with your word. How we pray for teachable, submissive, believing hearts. We pray that your spirit would grant our minds illumination.

4:06 That we may understand clearly to the end that we may obey carefully. All that you have revealed, speak to us then we pray, in Jesus' name, amen. Jesus, yes.

4:26 The church, no.

4:30 Jesus, yes. The church, no. These were the words printed in bold letters on a placard carried by a student some years ago. Now let me ask you.

4:47 If you were standing in visual practice. In proximity, that student with his placard declaring Jesus, yes. The church, no. And you were asked to help this young man.

5:03 To understand what was wrong with the sentiments expressed on his placard. How would you go about seeking graciously, kindly, patiently. But effectively showing him. That he never.

5:20 Should have written such a placard. Jesus, yes. Church, no. How would you go about refuting such sentiments?

5:31 Well, I should like to think that more than a few of you would be able to show this misguided zealot. That one simply cannot be for Christ, but against his church. That it is a spiritual. And moral.

5:53 Impossibility. To be saying from the heart, yes to Christ. And no to his church. Now it is possible to say yes to Christ and no to churchianity.

6:07 People playing games with church. Where Christ is not present. His word is not honored. His spirit is absent.

6:16 All of us, I hope, would rear back on our hind legs. And say a thundering no. To mere churchianity. But to church.

6:25 To the church. As that which Christ is committed to build. That which he has redeemed with his own precious blood. That which he is perfecting and purifying.

6:37 And will present to himself. We cannot say yes to Jesus and no to church. In that biblical sphere of reference. And I hope not a few of you would be able to point out to this misguided zealot.

6:52 That the church is the body of Christ. Of which Christ is the head. And you can no more reverence and love the head. And despise the body.

7:06 Than you could come into this building this morning. And surround me. Some people with guns. And others with knives.

7:14 And others with mud balls and spit balls. And say we are going to hurl the knives. And shoot the bullets. And plant the spit balls on your body.

7:22 Your chest. Your arms. Your legs. But we are not going to touch your head.

7:27 We are going to respect you. You don't respect me. As comprised of body. That has both arms and legs.

7:36 And torso and head. You either despise me in the totality of who I am. Or you respect me. It is impossible to say yes to Christ the head.

7:49 And no to that which is Christ's body. It is just as impossible to come to me. And say you know Pastor Martin. I kind of like you.

7:58 And I am going to honor Albert N. But to tell you the truth. I have got no use for Marilyn K. That is my bride.

8:07 That is my wife. Of 44 years. Now I wouldn't have to think. And go up in my study.

8:13 And pull out my Greek lexicons. And the rest. To figure out what to tell you. If you come up and say yes to Albert N.

8:19 But no to Marilyn K. I say no. And cut it. We are one flesh.

8:27 You want to honor me. You honor her who is one with me. Despise her. You despise me.

8:34 The church is Christ's bride. You can't say yes to the bridegroom. And say no to his bride. It cannot.

Review of the Sermon Series: Living Together in the Father's House

8:47 You say Pastor Martin. That is an interesting little incident. But what in the world does that have to do with us. Well it has a lot to do with us.

8:54 Because in our morning expositions. For a number of weeks. Seven to be precise. And this is the eighth.

9:00 We have been considering together. A series of studies. Which I have entitled. Living Together in the Father's House.

9:08 And the Father's House is just a scriptural term. For the church. And we have been doing this. Because our constitution requires.

9:18 Those of us in leadership. That once every five years. We will take some of the central biblical truths. Contained in our confession.

9:26 And constitution. And make them the focal point. Of instruction in the adult class. And preaching here.

9:33 Wednesday morning. For at least 15 weeks. And so some weeks ago. We began this series of studies.

9:41 Living Together in the Father's House. That is in his church. And because it has been three weeks. Since we considered these matters together.

9:52 Let me take just a few minutes. At the outset. To review where we have been. We have some newcomers among us.

9:59 So that you will be on board. And sense the thrust. Of the ground already covered. Now where we began.

10:07 Was first Timothy 3. Verses 14 and 15. We asked the question. In the initial study.

10:13 Seeking to lay a solid. Biblical foundation. For this series of studies. How does God feel.

10:20 About behavior in his church. If we are going to take a minimum of 15 weeks. To preach on Living Together in the Father's House. What our behavior should be in the Father's House.

10:31 We should start with the question. Who cares? Does God care how we behave in his house? And so I sought to open up.

10:39 First Timothy 3. Verses 14 and 15. In which we saw that God is deeply concerned. About behavior in his house.

10:47 And that basically for two reasons. First the glorious identity of the church. It is called God's house. It is called the assembly of the living God.

10:57 And because of its strategic function. It is called the pillar. And the ground of the truth. Then we began to take up.

11:08 What is central. As well as initial. In our church constitution. The whole matter of the purpose of the church.

11:15 Why does any church. That professes to be a biblical church. Why does it exist? For what purpose?

11:21 What's the rationale? For everything pertaining. To the church. And our constitution reads as follows.

11:28 The purpose of this church. Is to glorify the God. Of the scriptures. And so we went to the scriptures.

11:36 And looking at four pivotal texts. In the New Testament. We saw together that the supreme. And the all encompassing purpose.

11:45 Of any church. That claims to be a biblical church. Is that of glorifying the God. Of the scriptures.

11:53 And we noted. That this God centered. And God obsessed purpose. Must become a passion.

12:01 That we will never allow. To be rivaled. Or replaced. By any other.

12:07 All encompassing purpose. No matter how noble. And utilitarian. It may appear.

12:14 Once God ceases. To be central in his church. It's the beginning of the end. The church exists.

12:22 For God's glory. Unto him. Be glory in the church. And in Christ Jesus.

12:29 Unto the ages. Of the ages. And then we began to ask the question. How do we pursue that purpose?

12:37 What biblically warranted. Activities or means. Are set before us. By which to pursue.

12:45 That supreme. And all encompassing purpose. And our constitution. Hangs together.

12:53 Five participial. Phrases. In order to declare. What are the biblical activities.

13:01 By which we pursue. That purpose. Our constitution says. We are to promote.

13:09 The worship of the God of the scriptures. In promoting his worship. Evangelizing sinners. Edifying saints.

13:17 Planting and strengthening churches. And in showing benevolence. To those who have. Been with us.

13:24 And those who have been with us. Will remember. I trust. That I've sought to organize.

13:28 Those five. Participial phrases. Under the imagery of a big. Large circle.

13:32 And some of you are testing to see. Is he stretching his right hand out a little more. Yes I am. So the circle gets a little bigger.

13:36 All right. The circle is the church. And the arrows. One points upward.

13:40 Several of them point. Inward. From all. Directions of the circle.

13:44 And several. Point outwards. To the church. The church.

13:48 Is the church. And the arrows. point outward. The upward arrow is worship. We glorify God by promoting his worship. Worship

14:00 is central to the life of any church that claims to be a biblical church. Then the arrows pointing inward are those of edification. Edification by means of competent pastoral ministry. Edification by means of the body ministering to itself in love. The outward

14:22 arrows are evangelizing sinners, the planting and the strengthening of churches. In the last Lord's Day we considered these things together. Three weeks ago we looked at the evangelizing sinners' arrows and we saw from the scriptures that we are to accomplish the evangelistic task by manifesting before the Lord. We are to accomplish the evangelistic task by manifesting before the Lord. We are to accomplish the evangelistic task by manifesting

14:45 before the world the truth and power of the gospel by a consistent and radically different pattern of life and that we must communicate to the world the truth of the gospel by every biblically sanctioned means of verbal communication. Now for the sake of those just coming among us, if I've whet your appetite and you want to know what scriptures, what biblical perspectives set forth those truths. The tapes are available in our lending library or from the Trinity pulpit if you want to purchase them and both of these are a ministry of the church. They are not a profit making

A Foundational Assumption: The Church is Central and Indispensable

15:26 enterprise. So we come this morning to take up the final arrows pointing outward. Our constitution states that we are to pursue God's glory not only by evangelizing sinners, the outward arrows, but by the planting or establishing and strengthening of the gospel of Christ. Now as I attempt to open up this aspect of biblical truth, I want to begin by considering with you, this is Roman numeral one for you note takers, a foundational assumption identified and justified. There is in the statement of our constitution and in the biblical materials

16:09 we'll consider this morning, a foundational assumption that must be identified and the Bible must be justified. If it's an assumption that we shouldn't have, let's get rid of it. If it's an assumption that the Bible forces upon us, it is right for us to move forward with that assumption beneath our mental feet. In the words of our constitution that we are committed to pursue the glory of God by planting and strengthening churches, there is indeed a very basic and foundational assumption being reflected.

16:46 And what is it? It is this, that the church is central and indispensable in the outworking of the saving purposes of God. That is the assumption of this responsibility to plant or establish and strengthen churches. It is the assumption that the church is central, not peripheral.

17:16 And indispensable, you can't dispense with the church if we're concerned about the saving purposes of God. As surely as we cannot dispense with Christ, if we're concerned about the saving purposes of God, we cannot dispense with His church. That is an assumption that undergirds the statement in our church constitution. Should we be prepared then, let's question that assumption, should we be prepared to say such things as were unashamedly stated

17:53 by Augustine, Martin Luther, and John Calvin? Augustine said, quote, he cannot have God for his father who does not have the church for his mother. I don't know if I'd go that far. Martin Luther wrote, quote, apart from the church, salvation is impossible. End of quote. Sure I'd go that far. Well, listen to Calvin in

18:33 a more extensive quote from the Institutes. Because it is now our intention to discuss the visible church, let us learn, even from the simple title, mother, how useful, indeed necessary it is that we should know her, that is, know the church, as our spiritual mother. For there is no other way to enter into life unless the mother conceive us in her womb, give us birth. Nourish us in her breast. And lastly, unless she keep us under her care and guidance until

19:02 the putting off of mortal flesh, and we become like the angels of God. Our weakness does not allow us to be dismissed from her school until we've been pupils all our lives. Furthermore, away from her bosom, one cannot hope for any forgiveness of sins or any salvation. God's fatherly favor and his special witness of spiritual life are limited to his flock.

19:26 So that it is always disastrous to leave the church, the Lord esteems the communion of his church so highly that he counts as a traitor and an apostate from Christianity anyone who arrogantly leaves any Christian society. By that he means any Christian church provided that church cherishes the true ministry of the word and of the sacraments. End quote. You see, undergirding our whole consideration of this planting, establishing, and nurturing of churches is

20:04 this assumption that the church is indeed central and indispensable in the outworking of the saving purposes of God. The Westminster divines, the men who drafted that confession of faith, went so far as to write these words, the visible church, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house and family of God, out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation. End quote. Now how do you all feel with that?

20:46 I hope in one sense you feel a little queasy. Let me open my heart to you. When I read such statements of these as a young Christian, you know what I thought? I thought those scoundrels,

20:59 ah, he still had a bunch of incipient Romanism in him, and he did at certain parts. And Luther, ah, he was still hanging around somewhere with the shadows of the monastery when he talked about outside of the church there's no salvation. And poor Calvin, he too was just influenced a little bit too much by Rome in making these strong statements. And those Westminster divines, they were all a bunch of people that just didn't know where it's at. I've read some of those statements as a young Christian.

21:29 And frankly, they got stuck. They never even got as far as my throat. They got stuck between my molars. Because my background was one in which the church was regarded not as central but peripheral. A nice thing to have, but not indispensable. But once we come to the

21:48 persuasion that the church is central and indispensable in the saving purposes of God, then we feel very comfortable with such language that ordinarily, outside of the church, we can find it. Outside of the church and its ministry, ordinarily, granted there are exceptions, but they are exceptions, there is no salvation. Now consider with me a brief biblical justification of the assumption. I've identified the assumption, and no doubt some of you feel a bit uncomfortable with it, and I do not fault you for that.

Biblical Justification for the Church's Centrality (Matthew 16 & 18)

22:23 But I want to give a brief biblical justification for the assumption of the centrality and indispensable place of the church in the saving purposes of God. Now we go to the two passages I read in your hearing, Matthew 16. The Lord Jesus has secured from his disciples, with Peter as the spokesman, this confession that they have been brought to understand his true identity in terms of his office and mission and in terms of his person. When Peter says, verse 16, you are the

23:01 Christ, you are the Messiah, you are the long-awaited, the promised, anointed one, prophet, priest, and king who will fulfill all of the messianic responsibilities and duties set forth in scripture, you are the Christ. That points to his identity as to his office and his mission. But then Peter goes on to say, the Son of the living God, and that points to his identity in his essential person. You are not only

23:41 anointed to fulfill all messianic privileges and duties and to accomplish all messianic tasks, you do so as God the Son, as the unique, the only begotten Son of God, one with the Father as to his essential deity. You are the Christ, you are the Son of God. Now, having secured that confession with regard to his identity, Jesus turns and says specifically to Peter, you are Peter. And he doesn't say, and upon you, Peter, but upon this rock, using a different word. You have a play on

24:25 the words, and whole volumes have been written as to whether or not Jesus, speaking in Aramaic, the same way that Jesus spoke in Aramaic, the same way that Jesus spoke in Aramaic, the same way the word, the word, the word, the word, the word, would have been there, between Petra and Petros, all the rest of them, I'm not going into that. Suffice it to say, there's nothing in the Bible that says Christ builds his church on the shoulders of any human being. He builds the church upon his own shoulders, in his identity as Messiah and Son of God, upon this rock, I will build my church. Now, think of what that means. Having secured a confession as to the identity,

25:01 in his office and position and function, his true identity as to his person, Jesus says, as Messiah, Son of God, I have a central enterprise. And what is it? I'm going to build my church. I'm going to build my church in the virtue of what I am about to do as the anointed priest.

25:28 Lay down my life for sinners on the basis of what I have been doing and shall continue to do as anointed prophet revealing the will of God. What I have done and will yet do as anointed king, sovereign Lord over heaven and earth to accomplish redemptive purposes in my position as Messiah, I'm going to be committed to a building enterprise. And that building enterprise focuses upon my church and the gates of Hades, the underworld, the world of demonic powers at the head of which is the devil himself shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto you, Peter,

26:11 as part of that church, speaking to Peter in the first person, but the same words are spoken to the whole church in the plural. In the singular, I mean, not the first person, in the singular, but then in the plural. I will give unto you, not as an individual, but as part of that church, which I am building, of which I am the cornerstone, of which I am the architect, the sovereign and the Lord. I will give unto you, Peter, the keys of the kingdom.

26:43 Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. Whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Over in chapter 18, he envisions this church in a less idealistic perspective. Here the picture is of the church going forth as conquering, and subduing anything in its path.

27:05 The gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Now he speaks of his church as a company of people who are imperfect. They still sin. They still sin against God, and they sin against one another.

27:18 And our Lord is giving directives as to how they are to deal with offenses that cannot justly be covered with a blanket of love. Offenses that fracture fellowship. He uses the word, you have gained, you have gained. Why that?

27:31 Sin causes us to some degree to lose a brother or sister. We lose open-faced communion. We lose the free flow and interchange of love and goodwill when someone speaks harshly to us. And it's such that we cannot just cover it with a blanket of love.

27:49 The speech has been explicitly sinful, accusatory, perhaps dishonest. Someone wrongs us, wrongfully takes something we possess, wrongly withholds something they owe to us, these are sins that can be validated by witnesses. You see, it's not little subjective. Tell them, tell them, didn't look at me the right way and I'm offended.

28:10 Try to prove that to two or three witnesses. If it can't be proven to two or three reasonable witnesses, cover it with a blanket of love. But Jesus said there's some things you can't cover with a blanket of love. So you go to your brother, your sister.

28:26 You say, my brother, my sister, I want to gain you. I'm not here to clobber you. I'm not here to get you. I want to gain you.

28:35 But this is the barrier. You sinned. You may think it's sin, not me. Well, don't you agree that you spoke to me such?

28:41 Oh, yeah, I do it. So what? Everyone's got a right to blow his cork once in a while. No, no, my brother, sister.

28:48 The Scripture says we're not to let any corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth. The Scripture speaks of soft words that turn away wrath. I don't care about it. My brother, you're not going to be gained.

29:00 You take your offense and do what you want with it. Now, you can come back with the two or three witnesses. You want to gain your brother. You're not coming back to clobber them.

29:07 You want to gain them. They're not gained yet because they won't own the sin. The sin that can be demonstrated in the presence of reasonable, rational Christian witnesses. And where does it all escalate?

29:18 It all escalates by the church then speaking on behalf of Christ, echoing the very decision of heaven on earth. And Christ gives that authority to no other institution no organization, no organism. If they do not hear the church, let him be to you as heathen in public. And why?

29:44 I've given the keys to the whole church. Verse 18. Furthermore, I have given to my people in the symphony of agreement in prayer this unusual promise. And I've given to my church, gathered in obedience to me, in dependence, upon what I am doing as Messiah son of God, I pledge my presence.

30:11 Jesus makes no such commitments to any other institution, organism, or organization on the face of the earth. Jesus was a high churchman. Jesus is making plain that his church is central and indispensable for the accomplishment of his redemptive purposes. Now, did the apostles understand this?

Biblical Justification for the Church's Centrality (Acts 1)

30:45 When the Lord was done with them and he goes back to heaven, did they understand it? I want you to turn to Acts chapter 1 for a very significant portion of the word of God. Remember now what I'm trying to do is justify the assumption that lies beneath the statement of our constitution that we glorify God in the establishing or planting and strengthening of churches. The assumption is that the church is central, indispensable.

31:17 We've identified the assumption. Now I'm trying to justify it out of the scriptures. Acts chapter 1, verse 1. The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, concerning all that Jesus began both to do and to teach until the day in which he was received up after he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit unto the apostles whom he had chosen.

31:39 Now notice particularly verse 3. To whom he showed himself alive after his passion, that is, his suffering and death, by many proofs, appearing unto them by the space of forty days. This is what we might call the apologetic, the confirming element in the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. You remember even when he appeared to some gatherings of them, it says some still doubt it.

32:07 Here he was standing before them in resurrection body. Here he was standing before them in resurrection body. Say, look, you think I'm a ghost? I'm an apparition head.

32:14 Give me a piece of that broiled fish. Ghosts don't eat fish. They don't eat McDonald's hamburgers. They don't eat nothing, kids.

32:24 He says, see, touch me, feel me. It's me. I'm the real Christ. He shows himself alive by many infallible proofs so that when they go out and preach that salvation rests upon the messianic king who died, was buried, and rose from the dead, they can say, we, we saw, we touched, we handled the word of life.

32:49 You tell me the resurrection is just a religious mirage? Tell me the nerve endings of my fingers are liars. I felt his flesh. I pressed my finger in the indentation of the mark in his hand.

33:06 One of the great purposes of the post-resurrection ministry was apologetic, confirmatory. But now there was a second great purpose. Look at the last part of verse three. What was he doing for the space of these 40 days?

33:19 Showing himself alive by many infallible proofs and speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God. He was giving them an intermittent 40-day Bible institute, which had as its major curriculum the kingdom of God, the nature of the kingdom, how the kingdom would spread, in what way the kingdom would be established. And what becomes very, very clear as he says to them, wait in Jerusalem till the Spirit of God comes. He will clothe you with power, then you shall be witnesses

34:02 unto me, as that prophecy was fulfilled. The Spirit comes, Acts chapter 2, verses 1 and following. And by the time we get to the book of Acts, the gospel has gone out from Jerusalem, all Judea, Samaria, to the uttermost parts of the existing Roman Empire. What place did the church have in all of this?

34:24 Well, it's very interesting. You take your Greek concordance, and you will find that there are 23 unquestioned uses of the word ekklesia, or church, found in the New Testament. One of them is a contested one. That would be number 24, found in Acts chapter 2.

34:45 Three of them speak of a ordinary assembly, a secular assembly. At one point, it was a mob in Acts chapter 19. And one other speaks of the congregation of Israel in the wilderness, Acts chapter 7. But the rest of them all refer, the rest of the 19 in the book of Acts, did I say the whole New Testament?

35:05 I mean the book of Acts, are explicit uses of the word church or churches. Then when you add to those explicit references, 19 indisputable references to church or churches, all of the pronouns that have as their immediate antecedent the word church, or all of the terms that are used to describe the church, as much as you have to come away from the Gospels and say, the Gospels are witnesses, Jesus. You have to come away from the book of Acts saying the book of Acts is a witness to the establishment of the church.

35:49 Now, why is the church so central in the activity of the New Testament? And we're going to see some of those details as the message unfolds. But why does it become so central an issue? There are but two references to the ecclesia of Christ in the New Testament, in the Gospels.

36:08 Those are the two found in Matthew 16 and Matthew 18. So we can't say that from the oral teaching of our Lord, they received rich, detailed, multi-leveled instruction as to the place and function of the church. In their ministry, where did they receive it? They received it in that forty-day concentrated Bible school with the risen Christ.

36:33 Now that they understand the kingdom is built on the dying and the rising from the dead of Messiah, a truth they did not see before. Every time he said, I'm going to die, either Peter jumps in the way and says, no, Lord, that won't happen to you. And the Lord has to say, get behind me, you devil. Get behind me, adversary.

36:54 Get behind me, Satan. They're filled with sadness. But when he dies and is raised from the dead, and now he instructs them, you see, the kingdom is built upon a Messiah who dies and who rises from the dead. And now the risen Messiah is going to go back to the right hand of the Father.

37:14 And I'm going to send the Spirit. And when he comes and makes you his living temple, you're going to go out and bear witness to me. And as you do, the kingdom will be advanced in. And through my church that I said I would build, against which the gates of hell should not prevail.

37:33 So that when we come into our New Testament, we see that as much as the Gospels are treatises about Jesus, his works and his words, the book of Acts and the epistles are about the apostles and those immediately connected with them. And their labors to establish and to strengthen churches. And we're going to see that. In summary then, the foundational assumption undergirding the statement of our constitution

38:11 is that the church of our Lord Jesus Christ is the central and indispensable agent in the outworking of the saving purposes of God. It's my thesis that this conviction was imparted by the church. And it is the central and indispensable agent in the outworking of the saving purposes of God. It's my thesis that this conviction was imparted by the gospel.

38:27 imparted by the Lord Jesus to the apostles and further unfolded by the unique revelatory ministry of the Holy Spirit to New Testament prophets and the apostles and is embodied in the New Testament documents. And it was this understanding of that assumption that the church is central and indispensable that caused Augustine to say what he did, that caused Luther to write as he did, caused Calvin to write as he did, and for the Westminster divines to go out on a limb and say, out of which ordinarily there is no salvation.

The Apostolic Pattern: Aggressive Evangelism and Church Planting

39:12 Well, I've sought to identify and justify the foundational assumption. Now then, let's come together in the second place, Roman numeral II, the apostolic pattern analyzed. The apostolic pattern analyzed. Now, when I say apostolic, I'm referring not just to the activity of the eleven apostles who were left after Judas left and then Matthias who joined them and eventually the apostle Paul.

39:38 I'm not referring just to those thirteen men, but I'm referring to those who were in direct connection with them while the apostles were still alive. The word apostolic can be used legitimately and is used in Christian writing and preaching in that broader sense. So, we're going to look at the apostolic pattern analyzed. So, when we look at a passage where it's not Peter or Paul or John, but it's Philip, I don't want any smart alecks sitting there saying, well, Philip wasn't an apostle.

40:05 You say, Pastor, nobody would do that. You'd be in the ministry a while and you'd find out, yes, they do. They're not sitting there really to learn. They're sitting there waiting to catch you in an inaccuracy.

40:14 That's a grievous thing. But that's part of the baggage of being in the ministry. You've got to learn to live with that and not let it get under your skin. You're all the time anticipating a smart aleck's remark.

40:24 And the people who have no smart alecky in them would sit there discouraged. But once in a while, it's good to remind you. Some people, and if you have any tendency to do that, stop it. You'll never grow in grace if you sit with the mind of a critic looking for a little imprecision that you can criticize.

40:41 While nine-tenths may be solid biblical exposition, may God help us all to have the spirit of a child, the spirit of a Mary who sit at the feet of Jesus in these matters. So, when I say the apostolic pattern, I'm speaking of apostolic. In that broad sense, the apostolic pattern analyzed. As the apostles went forth in obedience to their Lord to be witnesses unto Him, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and the uttermost part of the earth, what activities were dominant in their labors?

41:15 What were the things that were on the top of the list of their apostolic priorities?

41:23 Well, I believe going to the Scriptures, we'll make it abundantly clear that their top priorities were aggressive evangelism and the planting and strengthening of churches. Next, to an aggressive evangelism, such as Paul describes in Acts 20.21, and this is what I mean by an aggressive evangelism,

41:48 Paul, reviewing his three-plus years of ministry at Ephesus, said, verse 20, I did not shrink from declaring unto you anything that was profitable, but I have done what? Taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and Greeks' repentance toward God, faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. That's aggressive evangelism. When he had opportunities to go in the synagogue, he did it.

42:16 When he could interact in the marketplace, he did it. When he could interact in the Areopagus, he did it. Aggressive, publicly, house to house, every legitimate, avenue of verbal declaration and proclamation of the word. Read the book of Acts with this question in mind.

42:34 What were the apostolic priorities at the top of the list? Aggressive evangelism. Aggressive evangelism. Everywhere you turn, aggressive evangelism.

42:44 And I don't believe there's any argument with anyone who believes his Bible on that point. But next to, and I would say accompanying, right up on the top of the list with aggressive evangelism. I don't want to put it even number two. I want to put them as parallel activities is the planting, or the establishing, and the strengthening of churches.

43:08 So what we're going to do in the remainder of the time this morning, we're going to look at the biblical materials that focus on this commitment to the establishing. I like that word better than planting. So I use the words of the Constitution along with my own preferred word and keep using establishing and planting. Not planting.

43:28 Not because of a mental lapse, but I just want to use the two words. Establishing, planting churches, and then a second block of material that will show their activity in the strengthening of churches. Now that second will have to wait, God willing, to next Lord's Day morning. In the remainder of the time this morning, we're going to look at only a specimen, not exhaustive, but a specimen of the evidence that the planting, the establishing of churches, was parallel to their passion and activity in aggressive evangelism.

Specimen Evidence of Church Planting in Acts (Pentecost & Jerusalem)

44:06 All right? Open up your Bibles then, tighten your seatbelt, wet the tips of your fingers, and we're going to make a quick trip through large sections of the book of Acts. All right? We're going to have what they would call at an English deeper life conference, a Bible reading.

44:23 All right? Here we are, waiting the coming of the Spirit, Acts chapter 2. Verse 1. When the day of Pentecost was now come, they were all together in one place, and then you know the story.

44:36 The Spirit of God comes in the midst of this unusual phenomena of the rushing of a mighty wind, clothed in tongues of fire over the heads of those 120 gathered there to pray and to seek God and to wait upon Him. It says they were sitting. They weren't on the floor groaning and agonizing. They were sitting.

44:57 What they were doing sitting, I don't know. But they were sitting. The text says in the place where they were sitting, verse 2, and the tongues of fire appear, and suddenly they begin to break out, speaking in languages that they'd never spoken before, dialects that they never mastered. By acquiring a grasp of the sounds and the grammar and the imagery and the rest, they begin to speak forth.

45:20 And this thing causes a stir there in Jerusalem, and before long people are wondering, what's wrong? Look at these people. Well, some say they must be drunk with new wine. Peter stands up in the midst, and he begins to preach.

45:31 Here's aggressive evangelism, verse 14. Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and spoke forth, saying, You men of Judah. And now he preaches the gospel. He shows that what is happening to him and the others is the fulfillment of prophecy, prophecy that points to the coming of the Spirit, a coming of the Spirit in connection with the work of a crucified, risen Messiah, who has now gone to the right hand, to the Father, and has shed forth what they see.

46:03 Pentecost validates who Jesus is. He's Lord in Christ, Peter says. This is the proof of it. Well, then they're pricked in their hearts.

46:13 This is true. The Spirit of God attends the preaching. We've murdered our Messiah. Our hands are dripping with His blood.

46:21 What do we do? They cry out. And Peter tells them, verse 38, Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, unto the remission of your sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Spirit.

46:35 The promise is to you, to your children, to all that are afar off. As many as the Lord our God shall call unto Him. And that quiets their hearts. They're able now to listen with greater attention.

46:48 There is forgiveness for us. If we will repent, and imply this belief upon the Messiah, whom we crucified, whom God raised from the dead, we'll not only be forgiven, we'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will come to indwell us. And we will be the living validation that Jesus is Messiah.

47:10 The Spirit will be shed abroad in our hearts. And now from being pricked in heart, they are quieted in heart. And Peter sees the evidence of that. So what's he do?

47:20 He says, I'll finish my sermon. Verse 40, And with many other words he testified. Many other words he testified and exhorted, saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation. Then they that received his word, the word of indictment that brought them under conviction, the word of instruction that brought illumination, the word of promise that brought them hope, the word of a call to separation from a Christless crooked generation.

47:52 They received that word and bore witness to it by being willing to be baptized. But now the accountants, and there were added unto them. More literally, there were added the unto them supplied to smooth out the English rendering of the Greek. There were added in that day about 3,000 souls.

48:17 And they all went their individual ways rejoicing in Christ and his salvation. No, they continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship. In the breaking of bread and the prayers. Verse 44, And all that believed were together and had all things common.

48:39 Verse 46, Day by day continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple. Verse 47, Praising God and having favor with the people. And the Lord added to them or together. There is weak textual evidence.

48:55 You who have the New King James, you will see in the margin that this is not in some of the other older manuscripts. The Lord added to the church, added to them day by day those that were being saved. Do you see what the Spirit of God is telling us? That as surely as Peter, spokesman for the twelve, becomes the prominent preacher on the day of Pentecost and aggressively evangelizes the very murderers of Christ, parallel to that passion of aggressive evangelism, is taking leadership in the establishment of professed disciples into a congregation, into an assembly

49:39 of teachable, worshiping, fellowshipping community that draws its life and its breath from the Savior who died and rose and they continue steadfastly in the breaking of the bread, breaking of bread and the prayers. Verse 45, Don't you say, Pastor Martin, the word church is not used there. No, it isn't. Nor is it used in chapter 3.

50:07 Nor is it used in chapter 4. But when you come to chapter 5, everything that Luke has described up till now without using the word church, lest we think, well, maybe they were just little fellowship societies. Maybe they just were a loosely gathered together ad hoc bunch once in a while. So long as they're saved and on their way to heaven, who wants to bother with having them forged into an assembly, a body, a living representation of Christ?

50:42 But the Scripture tells us that after God strikes Ananias and Sapphira dead, a certain reaction occurs, Acts 5 and verse 11, and fear came upon the whole church. And with one stroke, Luke is telling us, all that I've been describing of this amazing work of God that in one day swells the church or the living temple of God in Jerusalem from 120 to 3,120. And later on, the number exceeds 5,000 men and women. You want to know what that is?

51:21 That's church. That's church. That's church. Christ is building His church.

Specimen Evidence of Church Planting in Acts (Samaria & Caesarea)

51:28 And what happened on the day of Pentecost? We see repeated again and again throughout the book of Acts. Now, much more quickly, several other specimen passages. Acts chapter 8.

51:40 The Lord sends persecution through Saul of Tarsus. And we read Acts 8.1. Saul was consenting unto his death, Stephen's death.

51:50 And there arose in that day a great persecution against the church that was in Jerusalem. And they were all scattered abroad through the regions of Judea and Samaria except for the church. Except the apostles. And so they then buried Stephen.

52:04 And we read in verse 4. They that were scattered abroad went about preaching the word. Now, God scatters them. And some of their number, and it's not definite, is this a description of all the believers?

52:19 Or among them, people like Philip who were not apostles. Philip was a prototype deacon, but he wasn't an elder, wasn't an apostle. And we have then in the following context of Acts 8, how Philip, Philip goes down to Samaria and preaches. And there's a mighty work of the Spirit of God.

52:37 The apostles come up and validate that it is a work of God. And God is going to demonstrate as the gospel goes from Jerusalem to Samaria and then to the uttermost parts of the earth that when people in Samaria believe on the Lord Jesus, they get precisely the same new covenant privileges and blessings that the original 120 got in the upper room in Jerusalem. So what does God do? God gives an extension of Pentecost.

53:05 The apostles come up, lay hands upon these converts and they receive the Holy Spirit and God gives visible evidence that they've received the Holy Spirit so much so that this character, this Simon Magus, who was a sorcerer, thought that he could buy the ability to impart the Spirit and God exposes him for what he is. But there's this mighty work there in Samaria. But when you ask the question, did Philip, did Philip establish a church?

53:34 Acts 8 doesn't answer that question. It just tells us that many, many believed and were baptized. Verse 12. The scripture tells us, verse 25, they therefore, when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem and preached the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

53:54 But there's nothing about planting churches. Ah, but turn to Acts chapter 9. The story's not all told in one place. For after God saves Saul of Tarsus and the instigator of persecution now becomes its most vocal, useful protagonist.

54:17 Look at verse 31. So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria at peace being edified and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit was multiplied. What was multiplied? The church in all Judea, Galilee, and...

54:47 What's God telling us? See, I can't give you all the details. The book would be so big. You'd be discouraged never picking it up.

54:56 But if you've got some question where the Philip learned his lesson from the apostles and what they did up there in Jerusalem, when multitudes were brought to repentance and faith by the mighty operation of the Spirit through the preaching of the gospel, if you've got any doubts, get rid of them. Philip knew well the divinely ordered priorities of preaching the gospel and establishing churches. Planting churches. Churches were planted in Samaria.

55:27 Now we go to Acts 10. The gospel's reaching out further. God has to clobber Peter with a thrice repeated or twice repeated. Gives an initial vision, then he repeats it.

55:41 Second. Third time. And Peter gets the message. And God brings these messengers from Cornelius.

55:47 There in Caesarea Philippi. We're moving up further, you see, from Jerusalem, the edges of Judea, up into Samaria, now Caesarea Philippi. Up here. Getting on the borders of Gentile land.

56:00 And Peter goes. And what does he do? He begins to preach. He preaches Christ.

56:04 And the text tells us in Acts chapter 10 and verse 44, while Peter spoke these words, the Holy Spirit fell on them that heard the word. They of the circumcision that believed were amazed. As many as came with Peter because on the Gentiles' altar was poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit for they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. You see what God is doing?

56:28 What he did there in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, he does in Samaria. Why? These are half-breed Jews in Samaria. We want you to know, God says, half-breed Jews get all the salvation in Christ.

56:41 That full-blooded Jews gets when they believe in Christ. Now we're in the house of a Gentile dog. A Roman soldier and his household. And the Spirit of God falls upon them while the word is being preached.

56:56 They are brought to the exercises of repentance and faith. And God says, now I want you to know that plain old pure-bred Gentile dogs, mongrels, pure-bred mongrels, you talk about oxymorons, that's why. But these mongrels, when they believe, you know what I do? I give them all the blessing I give to you pure-blooded Jews.

57:17 So what happens? They hear them speak with tongues and glorify God. They say, hey, you know, that's exactly what...

57:22 If they're doing what we did when the Holy Ghost came on us, you know what, folks? Gentiles get the same saving blessings that we get. And that very fact becomes an argument later on in Acts 15 when they're debating the question, do Gentiles need to become kosher Jews to be saved? These people are witnesses.

57:42 They said, no, no, no, no, no. We were there. And when they believed in the Lord Jesus, they got the same blessings we got believing on the Lord Jesus. But then the story ends, for this part, with these words.

57:55 Verse 47, Can any man forbid the water that he should not be baptized to receive the Holy Spirit as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

58:09 Now the apostles and the brethren that were in Judea heard the Gentiles receive the word of God. God, no word about these people being organized into a church.

58:18 That's right. There isn't anything here in Acts 10.

58:23 But I want you to turn to Acts chapter 18 and in a little stroke describing a little incident in the journeys of the apostle Paul. Notice what we read in Acts 18.22. And when he, Paul, had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted what?

58:47 The church. He went up and greeted the church and went down to Antioch and having spent some time there, departed, etc.

59:02 It was a church that was the fruit of that blessing of God upon the evangelistic preaching of the apostle Peter. And we have every right to assume that in responding to their appeal to tarry with them certain days that Peter carried out the commission of his Lord. And by what? What methods?

59:24 How did they interview prospective members? Did they have a membership covenant? I don't have a clue.

Specimen Evidence of Church Planting in Acts (Antioch & Missionary Journeys)

59:32 But when Paul on that missionary journey stops at Caesarea, he goes and he spends time with a recognizable, identifiable assembly of God's people called a church. Now, turn to Acts 11. You getting tired of this overview? I hope not.

59:53 It's okay. And bless my soul to the gills to go through my Bible again. Let my Bible tell me whether or not the assumption in our Constitution is warranted or not. If it isn't, I'll be the first one to say let's change it so it lines up with our Bibles.

60:10 But if it expresses what's in our Bibles, it better be something more to which we pay lip service. Acts chapter 11. We read about these preachers, people being scattered upon the persecution that was in the church. Instigated by Saul before he was converted.

60:28 And Acts chapter 11 tells us, verse 19, picking up from Acts chapter 8, they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching. Look at verse 19 of Acts 11. They therefore that were scattered abroad upon the tribulation that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch speaking the word to none save to Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who when they were come to Antioch spoke unto the Greeks also doing what?

60:56 Preaching the Lord Jesus. Here we are. Aggressive evangelism again. Preaching the Lord Jesus and what happens?

61:03 The hand of the Lord was with them. The power of God attended their preaching. And a great number that believed turned unto the Lord. And the report concerning them came to the ears of the church that was in Jerusalem.

61:15 They sent forth Barnabas as far as Antioch who when he was come had seen the grace of God was glad. And exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave to the Lord. For he was a good man full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And much people was added to the Lord.

61:30 Yeah, but nothing about church yet. Just this mighty work of God. The hand of the Lord is upon the many converts. The grace of God is evident in their lives.

61:41 But what is the form of their life together? Is there any form? Or is each disciple left just to cling to the Lord like Barnabas told him to do? I've got Jesus.

61:51 Jesus got me. I don't need anything else. Jesus, yes. Church, no.

61:59 But he's the first Jesus. Yes, church, no butch. Well, read on. Read on.

62:05 Verse 25. And he, Barnabas, went forth to Tarsus to seek for Saul. When he found him he brought him to Antioch. And it came to pass that even for a whole year they were gathered together with the church.

62:20 Ah, they weren't some fly-by-night, go-by-your-feelings, everyone-do-what's-right-in-his-own-eyes bunch of people carrying their placards Jesus, yes, but church, no. In the most matter-of-fact way that to me makes it even more compelling. Luke assumes as you read, of course, dummies, if there's a bunch of believers there and they've in any way been influenced by the crowd that were shaped in their thinking at Jerusalem under the apostolic perspective, of course conversions would lead to church, dummy. I don't need to stop and prove it.

62:59 Dummy. That's what God says. That's what God says to me when I read passages like this. And I ask questions of my Bible.

63:05 It's like God says, dummy, don't you see that? Of course there's church there. These people didn't come up with some new program. They're reflecting the influence of the apostles.

63:16 These were non-apostles. They may have been, quote, unproven laymen. We don't know. It's my own suspicion that they were lay preachers of the sort of Philip whose spiritual stature had been recognized back in Jerusalem and when they were scattered, these were the people These men said, we're not going to bury our God-given, God-validated gifts of utterance.

63:38 And so they preached the word. And as they preached the word there to Jews and to Greeks, God blesses it, owns it. And they said, but look, seeing people convicted and converted and united to Christ is not enough. They must be gathered into functioning churches so that Paul comes, joins Barnabas, and the scripture tells us they were there, gathered together with the church and the disciples.

64:11 This is very significant. We're first called Christians, Christianos. They were first called Christians at Antioch.

64:21 The first Christians are Christians, first called Christians, in conjunction with the church.

64:30 Not freelance, floating around where the Spirit led them, spewing out what they think is the Spirit's grace, the Spirit's guidance. There was a church with proven, competent men instructing. You see, if Barnabas had the idea, some do, once you get the Holy Ghost, you don't need proven teachers, well-trained, well-schooled in the various theological disciplines. You've got the Holy Ghost and you've got your Bible and you've got Jesus, then let's all get in a meeting and share.

65:01 Barnabas said, with all my gifts and all my knowledge, I can't take these people further. I need someone who knows me. He knows more than I do. I need someone of greater stature than myself.

65:13 And he goes and he gets Paul. And Paul comes. And Barnabas continues to do his thing at the level of his gift. And Paul does his thing at the level of his.

65:24 And very interesting, two chapters later, where does the Gospel begin to launch itself to the ends of the earth? Look at Acts 13 and verse 1. Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was. And oh how the exegetes have fun with this passage.

65:45 Because that's a literal rendering of the Greek. Now there were at Antioch in the church that was. Now they add the word there. But it just says, in the church that was.

65:56 The church that was in existence. The church that had now been strengthened in its leadership. Prophets and teachers. And then five of them are named.

66:06 And in that setting, the Holy Spirit speaks. And the Gospel is thrust out through Paul and Barnabas. How? As the church becomes the sending agency, even of an apostle.

66:29 Are you convinced by the witness? Let me give you a couple of others real quickly. Oh, time is gone. Let me just state it for you.

66:37 Acts chapter 13 and 14 give the record of Paul's labors with his companions at Antioch and Pisidia. And then in some of these towns, Iconium and Lystra. No record of any church being planted. No account of the techniques and the methods of organizing churches.

66:56 But when you come to Acts chapter 14, notice these very telling words, verses 21 to 23. And when they had preached the gospel in that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, the very place he'd been stoned. And to Iconium and to Antioch, confirming the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith. Verse 23.

67:18 And when they had appointed for them elders in every church, in every one of those places where the gospel went and was owned of God, they left the church behind. So they could go back and visit every church. And the churches were growing. Men had come to sufficient maturity to be set apart as spiritual leaders.

67:39 And that doesn't happen by spontaneous, by generation. It happens when there is a principled, determined, non-negotiable commitment to the centrality of the church in the saving purposes of God. And you can read the rest in Acts chapter 19. Paul's labors at Ephesus for three and a half years.

68:02 No mention of church! But in Acts 20 he comes to Miletus and calls for the elders, plural, of the church at Ephesus. Friends, you're going to put the church as God's Cinderella. Tear out the Book of Acts.

68:18 Because it is clear that the apostolic pattern, which was a reflection of the instruction of Christ the head, the Christ who said, I will build my church, passed on to those key foundation builders of his church this great principle that we seek to express in our Constitution, that we glorify the God of the scriptures, not only by evangelizing sinners, by life and lip, by deed and word, but by the planting and the strengthening of churches. We've identified and justified the assumption,

Application: To Unbelievers – Get into Christ

69:00 and now we've looked at the evidence that the planting of churches was indeed an apostolic priority. What do we say to us sitting here now, and while the bulk of application must await next Lord's Day, let me quickly bring this message to a close with several lines of application. Number one, I have a word for you who are not Christ's disciples. You're not savingly joined to Christ.

69:28 You're not a penitent, believing sinner. You see, that's the difference between you and a real Christian. We're all sinners. Christians are penitent, believing sinners.

69:40 Not sinners who did repent and did believe, but who are repenting, and are believing. But there's some of you here, you're not penitent, believing sinners. You are impenitent, unbelieving sinners, under wrath and under judgment. It would be tragic if you left this morning thinking in any way that your need was to get into the church.

70:08 I've spoken of the centrality and the indispensable nature of the church in the redemptive purposes of God. But my friend, if you somehow extrapolated from that, well then what I must do, is get into the church. No, no, you must get into Christ. And you get into Christ, when Christ himself calls you, out of the womb of his church, and his servants, and his messengers.

70:33 And from within the blessing of the covenant, we call to you, outside the covenant, come in! Through him who said, I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall go in and out, and find pasture. Jesus said, I, not my church, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

70:55 No man comes to the Father but by me. So my impenitent, unbelieving friend. Don't leave her saying, well, if I'm going to get right with God, I've got to get into the church. No, no, you need to get into Christ.

71:10 The only way you get into Christ is the way Paul preached in Acts 20, 21. Repentance toward God. Faith toward the Lord Jesus. We plead with you, repent, believe.

Application: To Unchurched Believers – Join a Church

71:21 May the hand of the Lord attend the preaching of Christ to you. Then have a word to those of you who are savingly joined to Christ. You're in Christ, but you're not in this church.

71:35 And depart from children and young people who have reason to believe they are in Christ and are awaiting sufficient maturity and provenness to become members of Christ's church. And please listen to that exception. It's said deliberately and purposely. Apart from that exception, an unchurched believer is an anomaly not recognized in the New Testament, in the book of Acts, in the epistles.

72:06 To be in Christ is to be in the church. To be in the church, it is assumed you're in Christ until what you say and how you live contradicts that profession and you're put out of the church. There are some of you who are an anomaly. You are in Christ.

72:25 You believe you're in Christ. And there is evidence and others who know you and what you have been would bear witness that you are not what you once were. You're in Christ, but you're not in his church. I challenge you to go to your Bible and see if you ought to be comfortable in that position.

72:43 If there's anything in the New Testament that gives you one, well the dying thief just believed and went to heaven. Yes, that's right. But you're not hanging on a cross about to die in two hours. Well, what about that Ethiopian eunuch?

72:59 He got baptized and went on his way. Well, what about him? You're not in the wilderness riding in a chariot. So you and the Ethiopian eunuch have nothing in common except I hope you believe in Christ and you've been baptized.

73:11 No, my friend, look, don't grab at straws. Just come to your Bible and say, Lord, help me to be honest with what's here. Just help me to be honest. That's all I plead with you to do.

Application: To Church Members – Embrace Biblical Churchmanship

73:22 And I say a word to you who are in Christ and in his church. Are you persuaded? Are you persuaded that this apostolic pattern is non-negotiable? I hope you are, dear people, because we live in a generation of such crass individualism in which the Christian faith has been atomized and individualized.

73:43 And people think if I've got God and the Bible and Jesus, I don't need nothing else. Jesus, yes. The church, no. And everybody gets a vision and a burden and starts his parachurch ministry and saps away the resources.

73:58 And the personnel and the gifts of the church. It's wrong. It's wrong. I'm going to say more about legitimate parachurch organizations next week.

74:08 But I'm talking about parachurch organizations that, unlike paramedics, they do what they're qualified to do until the real medic can get hold of me in the emergency room and fix me up. Parachurch shoves the church aside and does the things God has committed to the church to do. And frankly, Christ doesn't like it. He said, I'll build my church.

74:30 He said, I'll build my church. My promises, my covenantal commitments are to my church. Don't you snatch it. It doesn't belong to you.

74:38 Go start your own organization and then claim Christ's blessing. Don't do it. Dear people, we're going to pay a price if we hold to a biblical churchmanship. But remember, we sang this morning, I love thy kingdom, Lord, the house of thine abode, the church our blessed Redeemer bought with his own precious blood.

75:00 Folks, I'm committed as long as I have breath and life and sanity and strength to do it. I want to die serving Christ in his church. I don't want to run around the world speaking at conferences that have no connection with the church. I get no thrill standing and preaching to four or five thousand people in a ministry that has very little to do with strengthening his church.

75:32 Are you committed? Are you committed? God help us to be able to do that. Amen.

75:38 We will answer by the grace of God. I am. Let's pray. Our Father, we are deeply thankful that you've given us the Holy Scriptures, that you've given them to us to be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.

75:59 Thank you for guiding your servant Luke to write the book of the Acts. Thank you for these many little strokes of historical information which set before us so clearly that pattern which you have given to us. Thank you for guiding your servant Luke to write the book of the Acts. which you laid upon the apostles in which they diligently and faithfully implemented.

76:21 O Lord, help us to be faithful. Help us, O God, help us that we may be prepared to give our strength, our energy, our time, our efforts, our resources to see your church planted and established in places where there is no church and to give ourselves to see existing churches strengthened to the glory of Christ in whose name we plead. Amen.