The Privileges and Liabilities of Membership

Introduction to Pre-Membership Class and Prayer

0:03 The following message was delivered on June 7th, 1992, in the Adult Sunday School class of the Trinity Baptist Church. This is lecture number 14 in our pre-membership class. It seems difficult to believe that so quickly this pre-membership class is coming to an end, and now you're almost ready to join the Church. This is our 13th week, and this morning we plan to deal with the subject of the privileges and liabilities of Church membership. One thing I want to say before we begin our class this morning, I stand here on the eve of quite a long time away from you, and trust that our time apart will be one that we see. Not just one, but many. Not just one, but many.

1:05 We are not one another's faces, yet we are in one another's hearts for good. And I know that my heart is here with you, my prayers will be with you, and I trust also that while I am in the Philippines, you'll continue to pray for me and for God's blessing upon the ministry of the Word there.

1:25 Also, one other announcement with reference to the Sunday School class. It is planned and scheduled that there would be on Sunday, July the 12th, God willing, an opportunity to ask questions, to raise questions, with reference to anything associated with this pre-membership class. So if you have questions that you would like to prepare, you may give them to me or put them somewhere in the Church office and we'll get them, or if you'd like to ask questions at the time, we'll try to answer them the best we can. We wanted to prepare you for that class on Sunday, July 12th in the morning.

2:02 And now let's pray and ask for God's blessing upon our... ...study of the privileges and liabilities of Church membership.

2:12 Our Father, as once again we enter your holy presence this morning, our God, we do remember that you are God, that you are the one who sits enthroned in majesty and in glory. We come into your holy presence today to live before you, to walk before you. We pray that as we study your Word this morning, you would pour out your Holy Spirit upon us, that he would come and write your Word upon our hearts, that he would draw near and give us light and illumination. Our Father, we pray that we might not be left unto ourselves here, but rather that we might know you and your nearness and blessing, and that throughout this day you would be glorified in this place. Come, we plead, and do it for Jesus' sake. Amen. Now, unlike most of the other subjects that we have addressed with reference to the membership, there is no explicit statement at the present time in our Church Constitution about the privileges and liabilities of membership.

The Church as a Special Society and the Nature of Privileges and Liabilities

3:34 However, we have drafted or proposed a draft of a statement on privileges and liabilities in our proposed revision of the Constitution, and I will be making reference to this this morning. Now, in order to set this in, I trust, the proper perspective, the Church is a very special society. The Church is separate from the family, it's separate from the state. It is a spiritual nation.

4:05 And when you join the Church, you become a member, you become a citizen of that spiritual nation. And along with that citizenship in the Church, is involved a whole series of privileges. You might call them the rights of citizenship in Christ's Kingdom. And along with those privileges are very serious liabilities.

4:30 Liabilities which worldlings do not have. And so there are privileges which are unique to membership in the Church, and liabilities which are unique to membership in the Church. And those who are contemplating, entering the Church, need to be aware of what those privileges are, and what those liabilities are. There are many great things given to you, and done for you, which belong to you, because you are Church members.

5:01 And yet, and yet also, there are liabilities to which you are subject, to which the worldlings are not subject, because you are Church members. And these liabilities are things which we must take very seriously. We must not only rejoice in the privileges, but we must also beware with regard to the liabilities. Now first then, we will consider this morning the privileges of membership, and secondly, the liabilities of membership.

Plenary Privileges: Attendance and Suffrage in Congregational Meetings

5:40 And thankfully there are more privileges than liabilities. I am glad to say. First of all then, with reference to the privileges, we have separated the privileges into two categories. First of all, plenary privileges.

5:56 Can you see up on the board, that is P-L-E-N-A-R-Y. And then the other is supplemental privileges. Supplemental privileges. I couldn't do better with it than that.

6:09 Let me explain what I mean by it. Plenary privileges are privileges which belong to all the members of the Church. And the supplementary privileges are privileges which only pertain to the male members of the Church. Those who are men, and in good standing in the Church.

6:33 Just the very fact that I said that in the introduction might cause now some fur to be raised. But please wait, we'll come to it in due course. But first of all, then let me come to the plenary privileges. The first, let me read our statement concerning the plenary privileges and then we'll consider them in the order that we've written them up there on the board.

6:57 What are the general privileges of Church membership? Christ in His Word has granted to the members of His Church many gracious privileges. And these may be divided into two categories. The plenary privileges which pertain to all the members, in good standing, and the supplementary which pertain to all the regular male members in good standing.

7:21 What are the plenary privileges? One, the privilege of attending private congregational meetings. Acts chapter 6 and verse 2. Two, the privilege of participating in congregational suffrage, that is voting, as defined in the Constitution.

7:37 Three, the privilege of receiving pastoral and congregational nurture and where appropriate, benevolence. And we've listed Ephesians 4, 11 to 13, Colossians 1, 28, and 1 Thessalonians 2, 11. Four, the privilege of protection by and participation in Christ's due process in the resolution of any grievances. Matthew chapter 18, verses 15 to 18.

8:06 Five, the privilege of appropriate participation in the ministries of the Church in accordance with gift, opportunity, and qualification. Romans chapter 12, verses 5 through 7. Romans 16, 1 and 2. Titus chapter 2, verses 3 to 5, and 1 Peter 4, verses 9 to 11.

8:27 The privilege of partaking in the Lord's Supper, 1 Corinthians 10, 16 and 17, and 1 Corinthians 11, 20, and 11, 22 to 26. And the privilege of receiving the right hand of Christian fellowship and recognition with all the benefits that pertain to it. Matthew 18, 15, Romans 5, 5 to 9, Acts 11, 26, and 1 Corinthians 5, 11. Now what I would like to do is to go through this list and basically explain to you what it means if you join the Church.

9:04 Now first of all, attendance at private congregational meetings. There are certain meetings of our Church which address such matters of delicate or private family concern like voting on officers, like conducting, exercising Church discipline. And these matters are such that only congregational members are allowed to attend. Because there is some business of the Church which is between the Church and God.

9:37 It is the Church's own private business. And when you become a member of the Church, you take upon yourself, the stewardship of entering in to that private business of the people of God. And the privilege as well of participating in it. But then secondly, that brings you to the participation in suffrage of the Church.

10:00 Please turn with me to the book of Acts chapter 6. The book of Acts chapter 6. The privilege of participation in the suffrage or voting in the Church. Acts chapter 6.

10:25 Now in these days when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a murmuring of the Grecian Jews against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. And the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them and said, It is not fit that we should forsake the word of God and serve tables. Look ye out therefore, brethren, from among you, seven men of good report, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we, may appoint over this business. And verse 5.

11:04 And the same pleased the whole multitude and they chose Stephen, etc. Now in verse 3. The apostles recognized a need for some kind of help in all the work that they had to do. It was too much for them to take care of the practical needs of the widows and to also give themselves the prayer and the ministry of the word.

11:25 And so they said we need help. But then they just didn't go themselves and just pick out fellows and say do it. But they went to the church and they sought the input of the church. They sought not only the advice but the consent of the church with reference to the selection of men who would be suitable to serve in that capacity.

11:44 And it is generally believed that what we have here is in seed form the establishment, if not the office, at least the concept of the diaconal office. And so with reference to the selection of an officer and then also with reference to the recognition of an officer, with reference to the confirmation of an officer, you as a church member would be involved. You're expected to be able to discern in those who are among you those gifts and graces which are requisite for serving in an office of deacon or in an office of elder. And that is why we ask the members of the church to participate annually in giving us advice and input in their thinking with reference to if they see anyone in the church who is suitable to enter into the office of elder or deacon. We have this process or practice of a nominating committee or now I guess we call it an advisory committee where input from the brethren, from all of you, is sought respecting if you see anyone with the gifts to be in church office. And I would just like to give a brief word here. This is one of the things we're thinking about in the revision of the Constitution is trying to find some way to ensure because it's not clear to us at this point exactly how widespread is the participation

13:14 but some way to ensure a more widespread or if not universal participation from all of you as members of the church with reference to input in this matter of seeing and recognizing gifts and graces and qualifications for church office. So if you come into the membership of the church recognize that this is one of your privileges which is set out before you. Then in addition to this not only the participation in suffrage with reference to officers but also participation with reference to discipline. Turn please to 1 Corinthians chapter 5.

13:55 1 Corinthians chapter 5. The Apostle Paul is concerned about a serious sin. Someone guilty of living in fornication at the church in Corinth. And we read in verse 1 it is actually reported that there's fornication among you and such fornication as is not even among the Gentiles that one of you has his father's wife and you are puffed up and did not rather mourn that he that had done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I verily being absent in body but present in spirit have already as though I were present judged him that had so wrought this thing. In the name of the Lord Jesus you being gathered together and my spirit with the power of our Lord Jesus to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh. When it comes to the matter of discipline the discipline of someone living in a scandalous manner is not merely an action of the elders alone but it is presented here in the scriptures

15:24 as an action of the entire church the entire church gathered together you being gathered together with my spirit. And so therefore you have as it were a privilege but also in this case I guess a solemn obligation to participate in church discipline in the exercise of that discipline. See the church is not a democracy but it is a benevolent theocracy. The church is a benevolent theocracy. It is benevolent because our great King and God and Lord Jesus Christ cares about how his people think. He cares about their perception and their will and their consent in the recognition of leadership. And in the exercise of discipline.

Plenary Privileges: Pastoral and Congregational Nurture

16:33 And so if you come into the membership of this church you are not coming into a democracy but you are coming into a benevolent theocracy. Then that brings me to the third privilege. And the third privilege is that of pastoral and congregational nurture. Pastoral and congregational nurture.

17:00 Now the concern of nurture is that everyone is that every single Christian might be built up in his or her faith to the fullness of Christian maturity until you achieve the fullness of the stature of Christ. And it is a privilege given to you to be nurtured publicly, privately by the congregation in general and by the elders, the pastors in particular when you come into the membership of the church. And the first element of this nurture has to do with the teaching and preaching of the word of God. In the public teaching here in the Sunday School class there is a nurturing of the disciples. In the preaching morning and evening there is nurturing the disciples. And this teaching and preaching is designed according to the apostle in Colossians 1.28 to present every man perfect in Christ.

18:03 But also according to 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. I would like to read this to you. According to 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 11 this nurture extends beyond the public ministries of the church. It extends beyond the public ministries of the church.

18:25 In 1 Thessalonians 2.11 As you know how we dealt with each one of you as a father with his own children exhorting you and encouraging you and testifying to the end that you should walk worthily of God who calls you to his own glory and kingdom. The apostles were not merely concerned for ministering to people in general and publicly but they also had an individual concern for each Christian and each church member. And so with a pastor's heart and in relating to them as a father relates to his children they went and nurtured them testified to them exhorted them encouraged them individually and privately. And with reference to this we have instituted in our congregation pastoral visitation and there is another aspect of this private nurture which I guess we could call personal or private counseling. So there is first of all pastoral visitation and then secondly personal or private counseling. Now with regard to pastoral visitation we have set up a schedule and so that what we attempt to do is to have at least once a year one of the elders of the church visit with you either in your home or here on the premises in order to seek to deal faithfully with your soul to get to know you better

19:54 and also to have opportunity to ask you about your spiritual life and to seek to put this spiritual thermometer as it were upon the temperature of your soul and the spiritual stethoscope upon your heart and to deal with you as you really are. So that there is a looking and asking about your devotional life and your prayer life and whether you have assurance of salvation and about particular struggles that you might think that you need some help with and domestic life and how you see yourself involved in the life of the church and any particular feedback that you want to give to us as the pastors of the church. In other words it is an opportunity through personal dealing to seek to nurture you in your faith and to present you complete in Jesus Christ. And if you come into the membership of this church you come into the privilege of pastoral visitation. Now I don't imagine why anyone should resent pastoral visitation why anyone should feel that if someone comes in his home and asks him about his devotional life and asks him about assurance of salvation and asks him how he is doing that this person would feel resentful as though someone were intruding into something that is private. I don't put this down as something that has to be borne as a duty.

21:11 I didn't put it under duties you have to submit to pastoral visitation. This is down as a privilege. This is a great privilege to have someone care as a shepherd for the well-being of your soul and to be willing to come to your home and ask you how it's going between you and God and your personal walk with God. Ask you about any struggles and whether you have hope of heaven and if you knew whether you died tonight you'd go to heaven.

21:39 That's a great privilege. It's nothing to be resented. Something to bless God for. And then there's also counsel.

21:51 I know there's such a thing as counseling. All the elders know that. You have access to your elders. Although I know we wish you could have more access than you do but you have access to your elders.

22:08 Our ears and our hearts are open to you. If you want to come to us talk to us about matters of confusion matters of personal struggle with sin matters of guidance matters of need anything that's upon your heart that you're struggling with you're wrestling with you're concerned about you're disturbed about our hearts are open our ears are open our homes are open our phones are open. And you could come to us and seek our counsel and advice and input and those things that are upon your soul. And that's a privilege.

22:45 Sometimes we get people from all over the place and I know that some of the brethren have special ministry in that area and that's not what I'm talking about. But I'm talking about sometimes we get people from the general society that want us to do marriage counseling for them or something else and generally we turn that type of stuff down. There are occasions we make exceptions but generally we turn that kind of stuff down. Because the priority of what we're seeking to do is to be available to our people.

23:12 This is not a privilege that belongs to the general society to come to the reverence house for counsel. But this is a privilege that belongs to the people of God. A privilege of nurture by the shepherds of the sheep. And this is your privilege when you come into the membership of the church.

Plenary Privileges: Protection and Participation in Christ's Due Process

23:36 Then there's also another privilege which is listed here and this is the privilege of protection and participation in Christ's due process. The privilege of protection and participation in Christ's due process. Due process sounds very legal and official and formal but I don't know what other words to use. And by due process, I'm speaking about due process of ecclesiastical law.

24:03 The due process of law which Jesus Christ has instituted to be followed in his church. We said that the church is a spiritual kingdom and a spiritual kingdom has laws. And those laws are made by the king. And the king has instituted a law in order to protect his citizens and to protect the good name of his citizens from slander, from malicious accusations, from anything that would damage the good name of any of the citizens of his kingdom.

24:36 He also has established this in order that there would be peace in his kingdom. So this is established to maintain peace in the kingdom. It's established to protect the good name of all the citizens of the kingdom. And what he is speaking about is what happens in the resolution of grievances.

24:54 Matthew chapter 18 verses 15 and following. And if your brother sin, and some read sin against thee, go, show him his fault between thee and him alone. And if he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. If he hear thee not, take with thee one or two more, that at the mouth of two witnesses or three every word must be established.

25:15 If he refuse to hear them, tell it to the church. If he refuse to hear the church, also let him be to thee as Gentile and publican. Now can you see similarities, and that's just a little backtrack, can you see similarities between what we saw before? Again, it's the church that's responsible ultimately to exercise excommunication.

25:36 Tell it to the church and if he doesn't hear the church. But prior to it getting to that, a grievance is to be resolved if it's a private grievance according to this procedure which is established by the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I know that there's some who want to take this and apply it to everything that could possibly happen, but that's not necessarily true. The general principle is that a grievance is to be resolved in the climate in which, or in the context in which the grievance was given.

26:05 So if it's a public grievance, it's resolved publicly. If it's a more local grievance, it's resolved locally. But this is focusing upon a private grievance, upon a private offense taken by someone against someone else. And with reference to the resolution of this grievance, what the Lord says is, the first thing you must do is go to your brother privately and clear up, and if you can't clear it up, then press the matter further afterwards.

26:35 And I tell you, as those who are thinking about coming into the membership of this church, that the violation of this principle is a very handy tool in Satan's hands to rip the church apart. And he uses it well. And some of the common reasons for not going to someone respecting this right and privilege, the first one is, let us say it openly, fear, cowardice. The second one is grudge-bearing and malice.

27:08 And then there's rationalizations that people use to say, well, you know, if I go to that fellow, he just won't listen to me anyway, he won't listen to anything I say, so it's not really, it doesn't make sense to go to him. But you see, if you have that type of an attitude toward someone who is a member in the church, already there's a problem in the church. Already there's a distancing of heart in the church. Already, there's a difficulty.

27:36 And so when you come into membership of this church, you need to recognize this. You need to recognize that all of those who are already the citizens of this kingdom have been given this privilege. And you have been given this privilege and right by Jesus Christ. That if anyone has any offense against you regarding anything you've done privately, that they will come to you privately, and try to deal with it.

28:07 So that sets up a climate of peace. Because then you know, when you come into the membership of this church, that you can look anybody in the face, and you can know where you stand with them, you can know that you're right with them, you can know that if they haven't come to you, that's okay between you and them. And then we can have peace. And you need to be careful when you come into the membership of the church, that if you have a problem with somebody, you think they did something to you that was wrong, you think they said something that you didn't like, you thought was wrong, you need to be careful about going and spreading that around to other people in the church.

28:50 And not coming to the person who did it. Because if you do that type of thing, what you're going to do is you're going to bring into this church dissension. And you're going to bring into this church division. And God by His grace has given us here many, many years of peace and unity.

Plenary Privileges: Participation in Ministries and the Lord's Supper

29:10 And so please, when you come into the church, please respect this right and privilege that belongs to others and recognize that this right and privilege also is now yours. And then fifthly, there's the privilege of participation in the ministries of the church. There's the privilege of participation in the ministries of the church. This has to do with the fact that the Lord is a gracious God and the Lord has given to His people some talents or abilities to be used for the good of all.

29:53 And when you come into the membership of the church, you must seek to discern with the help of others and under the guidance of the leadership of the church, but you must seek to discern and employ what the Lord has given you for the good of all accordingly. You must seek to learn, well, what has the Lord given me? What can I do? What talents, what abilities, what gifts has the Lord given me for the good of all?

30:18 What gifts has the Lord deposited in me so that I might in love minister to others that the church might be edified? And this is a privilege. It is a privilege to use these gifts of ministry of various kinds in the life of the church. You don't simply enter in here to take, but you come to give and you come to do.

30:53 Now, these gifts and their exercise are described in various passages in the Word of God. There are gifts to teach. You're coming into the membership of the church, you might have a gift to teach the people of God. There are gifts to rule and you might have the ability to rule or to manage someday as an elder or as a deacon.

31:12 There are gifts of preaching, exhorting, gifts of giving. The Lord might have given you a very large heart, a gift of showing benevolence and hospitality, hospitality to those who are here or those who are strangers among us. And then there's the opportunity of ministry for older women to train the younger women in domestic matters. And in 1 Peter 4, verses 9 and 11, the apostle speaks of two different types of gifts, a gift of speaking, those more public teaching gifts, and a gift of serving or ministering.

31:54 And there are diaconal gifts as well. And the diaconal gifts are the gift of helps. See, everybody can in some way and is suited in some way to participate, to exercise those abilities for the good of the whole body when they come in. There are some who can help and be of assistance with the grounds and some with the nursery and some with the ushering and some with other kinds of diaconal activities.

32:25 Go and ask the deacons. What can I do? How can I help if the Lord has put some desire to do something like that for all of the church upon your heart? How can I help?

32:37 What can I do? Go and ask the deacons how you can help. What can you do? What little ministry can you be involved in to assist the whole?

32:44 But then there's the sixth privilege as well. And that is the privilege of partaking of the Lord's Supper. The privilege of partaking of the Lord's Supper. Turn with me please to 1 Corinthians chapter 10.

33:00 1 Corinthians chapter 10. Well, I think we better turn first to 1 Corinthians 11. 1 Corinthians chapter 11 speaks about divisions at first and factions. And he says, Therefore when you assemble yourselves together verse 20 it is not possible to eat the Lord's Supper.

33:37 When you assemble yourselves together it is not possible to eat the Lord's Supper. For in your eating each one takes before the other his own supper and one is hungry and the other is drunken. And he's speaking about the correction of disorders at the church at Corinth and the exercise of the Lord's Supper. But one thing is clear in the text.

33:55 And that is that the Lord's Supper is to be observed in and by the assembled or gathered church. Now in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 you see the principle which is behind this. 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verses 16 and 17. The cup of blessing which we bless is it not a communion of the blood of Christ?

34:27 And the bread which we break is it not a communion of the body of Christ? Seeing that we who are many are one bread, one body for we all partake of the one bread. This is the spiritual Israel, Christ's kingdom, the church of Christ. They are united.

34:53 They are one body. And this unity of the body of Christ is reflected in the observance of the Lord's Supper. They all partake of one loaf because they are one body. There is the unity of the people, the unity of the loaf, the symbolism of the supper, and therefore the privilege of coming to the supper belongs to church members who are part of the body of Christ.

35:28 And that's the reason also why we open the table here to the church at large, to the church universal. Because the body of Christ is not simply the church local, but it is also the church universal. It is the church local and all the churches local indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God in the presence of whom is the living Christ, all the churches local combined as the church universal. And so you have the local church, the universal church.

36:01 So if we have a brother visiting us from some other church, which is a biblical church, part of the true universal church of Christ, he is also invited because he is part of that larger body called the universal church. And that is why we have the policy that if you are a Christian, and a member in good standing in an evangelical church that is part of the true universal church of Christ, and you are not under the discipline of that church, then you are welcome to take the Lord's Supper when you are here. And that is why we have the policy that only church members are eligible to partake of the Lord's Supper. And I know that this policy is somewhat unpopular today, but it is appropriate. Because with privilege comes responsibility. And one of the great evils of our day is that men want the privileges of a relationship without the responsibilities of that relationship. People want the privileges of marriage without the commitments and responsibilities of marriage.

37:18 That is why they live together. And this is a day when living together is okay. It is okay to have the privileges and forget about the responsibilities. Privilege and fun is what we want.

37:30 Responsibility and commitment we don't need. Now the church, dear brethren, ought not to operate that way. It ought not to have the mentality you can have all the privileges, all the privileges, but you don't have to take upon yourself any of the responsibilities and commitments. That is not so.

37:48 It ought not to be so. But the reality is if you are to have the privileges, then you must have the responsibilities and the commitments. But, my point this morning, if you have made the commitment and have taken upon yourself the responsibilities, then, bless God, you also have the privileges. And this is the privilege of participating in the Lord's Supper.

Plenary Privileges: Receiving the Right Hand of Christian Fellowship

38:16 And so that is why we have the policy of the Lord's Supper which we have here at the church. But then, there is another final seventh privilege, a seventh plenary privilege, which is receiving the right hand of Christian fellowship with all of the benefits that pertain to it. The receiving of the right hand of Christian fellowship with all of the benefits that pertain to it. Well, you see, anybody can go running around and say, I am a Christian.

38:52 But the question is not whether anybody can go running around saying I am a Christian, all on his own. But the question is, you see, whether or not that profession has been recognized and discerned to be a credible profession by the people of God. And it is disorderly, it is disorderly to neglect the input of the people of God in the assessment of someone's profession of faith. And that is why the right, to the right hand of Christian fellowship and recognition as a Christian is extended to those who are members of the church.

39:33 Now, I've got to qualify that. I'm not saying that there could never be any such thing as a Christian child and you should never regard a child as a Christian because he can't be a church member. I didn't say that. I don't mean that.

39:45 I know there are other situations where there may be exceptions to this, but the general principle is this. We ought not to be involved in the subject of the recognition of Christian profession and testimony apart from, apart from, apart from the input and involvement of the people of God. That is because it is the people of God. It is the people of God.

40:15 It is the church to whom the Lord has given the place of recognition and discernment with reference to this testimony. And that principle is clearly seen in the case of discipline. Who makes the decision whether someone is to be cut off from church membership or not? Who makes the decision whether somebody's profession of faith is so incredible it needs to be cut off?

40:38 Who makes that decision? It's not a private individual decision. It's the church's decision. And we need to respect the place of the church.

40:45 But when you come into the membership of the church, you see, then your profession of faith has been heard. Your testimony has been heard. It has been assessed and you have been recognized by the people of God to have a credible profession of faith in Christ. And on that ground to be extended to you the right hand of Christian fellowship.

41:06 And you see, there's a great danger of making our own private assessment in matters like this the equivalent of the assessment of the church. So you can't on your own decide, well I don't think that guy's a Christian. He's a church member but I think his life is so terrible that he's not a Christian. I'm going to cut him off from Christian fellowship.

41:28 And someone reaches that decision on his own and then goes ahead and tries to implement it on his own. That's not right. You can't do that. You've got to respect the place of the church with reference to these things.

Supplemental Privileges: Male Leadership in Office and Worship

41:42 You must respect the input and decision of the people of God. Alright, now with reference to the supplemental privileges. With reference to the supplemental privileges. Supplemental privileges, let me read our statement of these supplemental privileges and then we'll consider them.

42:03 The following additional rights and privileges pertain to all regular male members in good standing. The additional privilege of holding church office in accordance with the qualifications and procedures defined in this Constitution. And two, the additional privilege of giving leadership to the church in its drawing near to God whether in corporate prayer or worship. 1 Timothy 2.8 and 1 Corinthians 14.33-36. Now there are two privileges which pertain exclusively to the male members. The first privilege according to the Apostle Paul is holding church office.

42:46 1 Timothy 2.8 and following. Holding church office. 1 Timothy 2.11 Let a woman learn in quietness with all subjection. But I permit not a woman to teach nor to have dominion over a man but to be in quietness for Adam was first formed then Eve and Adam was not beguiled but the woman being beguiled has fallen into transgression but she shall be saved through her childbearing if they continue

43:39 in faith and love and sanctification with sobriety. Now in this passage the Apostle makes abundantly clear that women are not to hold a teaching or ruling office in the church. They are not to hold the office of all life of the church which is the office of elders. They are not to be in the position of being preachers and pastors because they are not to hold a teaching vocation and teach publicly in the church.

44:08 The Apostle Paul says this is the way churches are and ought to behave. And that is the way we operate. The privilege of being a public teacher of the church and the privilege of being an elder or deacon in the church is a privilege which pertains exclusively to men and similarly leadership in prayer or drawing near to God leadership in the public worship is a privilege which belongs to men. I desire therefore that the men pray in every place.

44:37 Verse 8 lifting up holy hands without wrath and disputing. And the word there is a word which applies to the adult males. And based on the regulative principle which regulates worship we only bring to God that which God requires and in the manner and way in which God requires it. In our drawing near to God in all of our acts of worship and devotion we are governed by the regulative principle which is what God commands we do.

45:09 The way God commands that we do it. We don't add to it. We don't subtract from it. And what does God command?

45:16 With reference to drawing near in prayer He commands that the men pray. And that is what we do. There is a privilege that is given to men. That men are given the privilege of leading the church in all of its activities of drawing near to God.

45:33 Now brethren this is not popular in our day. This is not popular at all. But it is one very visible area where the church must take a stand to bear up against the pressure to conform to the world. Now here is where there is a temptation to take a Sunday school class and turn it into a message.

46:00 I will resist the temptation but recognize that this is a very important principle. And when you come into this church we are committed to male leadership in office male leadership in worship and drawing near to God. And in this we stand out like a sore thumb in the world. Churches are caving in left and right on this principle.

46:30 Evangelical churches are finding ways to wiggle around these teachings in the passage that we just read and are saying well we can be just like the world we can do it the way they do it. It is when the church begins to cave in on a principle like this when the church begins to cave in on a principle like this this is when the seeds of destruction are planted in the church and the seeds of ruin. Caving in on a regulative principle is the beginning and the end. The beginning and the end.

Liabilities of Membership: Greater Judgment and Church Discipline

47:01 Well I must hurry on and I want to deal with these liabilities of church membership before we close this morning. The liabilities. Thankfully there are more privileges than liabilities but there are two liabilities associated with church membership and they are significant liabilities and they are not to be taken lightly. I regretted when I was preparing this that it was going to end on a somewhat heavy note but there are these liabilities of membership now let me look here a minute and see where I can go.

47:37 Oh here it is. Let me read to you what we have proposed as an addition to our constitution. The liabilities of membership. Although church membership involves many privileges and rights it also carries with it unique liabilities to which all who enter church membership are subject.

48:02 The two primary liabilities of church membership are specified in the following paragraphs. Careful consideration of these liabilities is healthy because the Lord has designed it both to prevent presumptuous living within the church Acts 5.11 case of Ananias and Sapphira and frivolous identification with the church Acts 5 and verse 13 and that is the passage to which I would turn you now as we consider liabilities here in closing Acts chapter 5 You want to consider this very seriously before you decide to join this church Acts chapter 5 Acts chapter 5 The decision to join a church is a very serious decision Ananias and Sapphira when they were smitten and died produced great fear among the members verse 11 and great fear came upon the whole church and upon all that heard these things and by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch but of the rest durst no man join himself to them how be it the people magnified them and believers were the more added to the Lord multitudes both

49:29 of men and women and we are being told in our day if you are going to have church growth you have to have a climate in the church and in the whole life of it that makes the unconverted feel welcome welcome to come right in and join not so not so not so there is a climate in the church if it is Biblical where people that are not right with God would be afraid to join they ought to be and yet amazing as it may be that reality never yet prevented true church growth and believers were the more added to the Lord multitudes both of men and women and if you come to join this church here are your liabilities two simple ones first of all liability to greater judgment to greater judgment if you live in presumption of hypocrisy and greater judgment if you fall away from the faith and apostatize greater judgment if you live in hypocrisy while a church member and greater judgment if you fall away from the church and apostatize and furthermore the liability of church discipline the unconverted can't be disciplined the wicked can't be disciplined but if you come into the membership of this church you could be disciplined and if you live in a manner which is disorderly

50:57 you will be disciplined and you need to know that and take that very seriously into account when you contemplate joining this church well that's what I wanted to say in this free membership class trust the Lord may be pleased to bless these things and that indeed it may be a means of keeping the wicked away from the church we don't need that type of cancerous growth but it may under no circumstances prevent multitudes of believers being added to the Lord