Sermon Transcript:

We are taking a break this morning from our series in Matthew. Since we will present four candidates for membership later in the service, I thought it would be good to have a reminder from God’s word as to why membership is important and useful. The New Testament has a lot to say about membership, more than we can look at in a single message, so if you are interested in learning more, please check out past sermons on the website or the books at the resource table on the topic.

We live in a strange time within the history of the church. Strange because today even many sincere believers seem to think of joining a church as optional. It has become like Christian extra-credit. Good to do, but not really necessary. That’s not how Christians have historically understood it and that’s not how the Bible presents it.

Over the past couple hundred years the influence of romantic idealism, western individualism, and consumerism have had a massive impact on the way people think, often in ways they do not even recognize. The result is that many believers today do not realize how radically different they think about church than early Christians did. They sometimes criticize meaningful membership as a modern innovation, when it is actually the individualistic minimization of the importance of community that is the modern deviation. 

The Bible does not view the local church as optional, it presents it as both a blessing and a necessary part of a life of faithfulness. It is a blessing because we grow in sanctification, becoming more like Jesus through our participation in committed relationships with other believers. It is necessary because we cannot live as Christ calls us to live apart from being together in mutually accountable relationships in community with other believers. To put it simply, we cannot live in faithful obedience apart from the local church. 

That is the main idea of the message today,

We cannot live in faithful obedience apart from the local church.

I know some will find this controversial and maybe even offensive. Dozens of arguments against it may even be springing to your mind. I am familiar with most of those as I used to make them myself. I have even been told that I push local church membership because I am a pastor, part of the system. That is quite the opposite of the truth. I do not emphasize meaningful membership because I am a pastor. In fact, I decided to become a pastor after realizing how much emphasis God puts on the local church in the New Testament.

If it sounds like I’m overstating things, I get it. All I can ask is for you to honestly think about our passage today, and the others that speak on this, and ask yourself what the implications are. Today, I want to dig into a couple of aspects of membership that I don’t believe we think about enough. 1 Peter 4:10–11 says,

10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Peter gives believers a command. He tells us to serve one another with our gifts. The Greek is emphatic, this is not a suggestion, it is a responsibility. Then in verse 11 he instructs us to do this in the recognition that all these gifts come from God and are to be used for His glory. There is a logical flow from our gifts to God’s glory. 

First, every believer has been given a gift. We are to use that gift to serve other believers. We have all been given different gifts and are expected to manage what we have been given well. To manage them well means we use them in a way that makes it evident they are being done through the enabling of God, for His purposes, so that in everything God will be glorified through Jesus Christ. To do this faithfully requires a committed fellowship with a community of believers. These verses assume a context like what we call a local church.

The first thing we see is that every believer has been given a gift. These are not natural abilities, such as singing, or fixing things. These are gifts given to believers by the Holy Spirit. They may align with natural talents, but not always. They are a work of God in us that empower us to accomplish the ministry God has assigned to us. 

If you are born again, you have a gift. Even the humblest believer has at least one spiritual gift. If you don’t know what your gifts are you don’t need to take a quiz or a class to find them. All you need to do is ask where help is needed and be willing to serve. When you have found ways to serve that bring you joy and the congregation responds by confirming that service as a blessing, that is your gift. Many are surprised to find they have gifts they would never have expected because it is the community that helps identify and affirm gifting.

Every gift is intended to be used in serving. Peter says, as you have received a gift, “use it to serve one another.” We sometimes hear people talking about the gifts they have as if they are individual blessings, but that isn’t how the Bible talks about them. Every spiritual gift is actually a gift to the church and for the church. 

When a company hires an employee, they give them certain tools; it could be a truck, a phone, a laptop, wrenches or whatever, so they can do the job they have been assigned to do for the good of the company. These are not for personal use, but for the common good. It is the same way with spiritual gifts. Imagine if an employee took the tools home and never showed up to work. That’s what it’s like when we refuse to use our gifts to serve the body.

Speaking of spiritual gifts, the apostle Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 12:7,

7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

The Holy Spirit gives us gifts as a manifestation, or display, of the Spirit, for the common good, for the benefit of each other. The Bible says the Spirit works through us as we serve to help one another grow to be more like Jesus Christ. When we use our gifts, we grow and so do those who we serve. As we are being transformed by the Spirit to be more like Christ, we ourselves then are given as gifts to each other. In Ephesians 4:11–13. Paul says,

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

The purpose of spiritual gifts is to equip us to disciple others. This is one of the reasons I am skeptical of most of the claims made for the modern use of so-called charismatic gifts, because often what is described is not how we see those gifts used in the New Testament. True gifts never glorify the believer, but always Christ. They are used for the benefit of others, not as personal prayer aids or experiences. True gifts are always intended for the edification and strengthening of the church.

Peter instructs us to use our gifts to serve. This requires that we are engaged with other believers in a meaningful way. We cannot obey this command unless we are regularly meeting with and sharing in the lives of each other. When we consider this command as well as numerous  other “one another” commands in the Bible, it is obvious we cannot walk in obedience apart from committed relationships with other believers.

When we join a local church we are saying, “these are the people whose testimony I can personally affirm and who I will use my gifts to serve.” It is saying, “these are the people who can personally affirm my testimony and I expect them to use their gifts to help me in my walk with Jesus Christ.” It means admitting we need help and are willing to help. It means living as a family, as brothers and sisters in Christ. Peter says we are to do this

… as good stewards of God’s varied grace

A steward is someone entrusted with the management of something that belongs to another person. These gifts do not belong to us, they belong to God and are entrusted to our care. To be a good steward is to be a caretaker. In Luke 12 Jesus says the good manager is the one who is found to be faithfully working when the master returns. In Matthew 25, Jesus calls those good who wisely invested what the master gave them and He calls the one who buried the talent, wicked. The apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:2,

2 …it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. 

To be faithful means the resources we have been given are to be invested in His kingdom, put to work for Him, not buried or hidden. Stewards are expected to manage well so there is a return for the owner. We will give an account for how we managed His gifts.

Just as every company CEO must report to the shareholders how they have used the capital and resources they have been trusted with and the returns that have been generated, so too will every believer give an account for how we have invested the gifts and other resources God has entrusted to us. Some have larger departments than others, but every Christian is a manager in the economy of God’s kingdom.

Let me be clear, everyone who has put their faith in Jesus for salvation stands blameless before God with regard to righteousness because Jesus died on the cross to take away our sins. He has removed any penalty, and it is His perfect work, not ours, that testifies for our life before God. Jesus takes the sin of all who believe and removes it, and gives us His perfect righteousness.

But the Bible speaks of multiple judgments. Works contribute nothing in the judgment regarding righteousness or God’s acceptance of us, but that doesn’t mean our works don’t matter. Our works will be judged, not for salvation, but for rewards. There is some mystery here, but although we will all be fully satisfied in the presence of God, we will not all have equal honor. 2 Corinthians 5:10 says,

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

On that day the hidden motivations of the heart and only those things done in faith for the glory of Christ will stand. 1 Corinthians 3:13–15 tells us

13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

As C.T. Studd said, “only one life, t’will soon be past and only what’s done for Christ will last.” All that is done in the flesh will be swept away. Many that seem now to be giants of the faith will be found to have little as everything built on pride or earthly glory evaporates. Many that seem to be of little account will be found to be rich in the treasures of Christ. 

I know a man who has never taught a class, led a group, or stood behind a pulpit. He would tell you that he is often discouraged by what he doesn’t know and cannot do, but he regularly comforts people and prays for them. He has a heart for his brothers and sisters and is always looking out for them. This is a man with no reputation, but much fruit. No spotlight, but much love. Such are many and perhaps even most of the most precious saints of God. It is brothers and sisters like this, who serve others when only God sees, who are storing up treasures in heaven. 

When we use our gifts to serve in faith we are building with precious materials forged by the Holy Spirit. We are building up the temple of God in the body of Christ and are actually multiplying each other's rewards. Listen to how Jesus describes this in Matthew 10:41-42,

41 The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

When we show kindness to brothers and sisters in the kingdom because they belong to Christ or serve Christ, we will share in their reward. When we pray for and give generously in our partnership to the various missionaries and sister churches we will share in those rewards. When we use our gifts to build up and encourage our brothers and sisters here in their ministry and outreach, we are helping them to build up their rewards, rewards in which we will share! All service and sacrifice for the kingdom is an investment in eternity. Jesus tells Peter in Mark 10:29–30,

29 …“Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.

This is why we don’t use manipulative techniques to get people to give or volunteer. If it isn’t done for Christ, it will be worthless anyhow, but if done in faith, the value should be obvious to anyone who seeks first the kingdom and the glory of God. Those who are generous and give faithfully of their time, treasures, and talents will not regret it. God keeps His promises.Galatians 6:9 says,

9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Hebrews 6:10 reminds us,

10 … God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.

We each have a gift. God gave it to us to serve each other as faithful stewards. Peter says we are stewards of varied grace. That just means we have different gifts. I have something you need and you have something I need. Remember that movie where Tom Cruise said “you complete me” and everyone thought that was so romantic. Well, that is how this works with us. We complete each other and we need each other. The church is like a symphony, where every instrument plays a different note but together they make a glorious chorus of the grace of God.

The apostle Paul liked to use the illustration of a body to help us understand this. In 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4, and Romans 12 Paul points out how all the various parts of the body have different functions and yet they all work together and depend on each other. The eye cannot say to the hand “I don’t need you.” We are all members of one another and when one rejoices, we all rejoice, when one hurts, we all hurt.

All of this assumes that we are gathering together and involved with each other. To say, as some do, that they are content to be members of the universal church, is to sign up for a responsibility that no person other than Jesus can possibly carry. The apostles certainly did not see themselves as sufficient for such things. Paul and Barnabus were members of the local church in Antioch and were commissioned by them for his missionary work. Peter and James were elders of the local church in Jerusalem. 

There are around 115 references to the church in the New Testament and nearly 100 of them refer to local churches. We only have so much bandwidth. If we try to be available to too many people, we end up being available to nobody, but when we commit to a few, we can really love them. We are not called to love in theory, but to actual love of flawed people like ourselves. It is in this that Jesus Christ is made visible to the world. It is only through real people meeting around the word and prayer that discipleship can happen in the way the New Testament describes it. 

We are stones fitted together in the temple of God, the body of Christ. We are specially shaped by God for the display of His glory in His church. Verse 11,

11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. 

Peter divides the various gifts into speaking gifts and serving gifts. Those with speaking gifts must rely on God for the message, and those who have serving gifts must rely on God for the strength to do the work. In this God receives the glory in all things. It isn’t about us getting attention or impressing people, it's about God getting the glory for being such a gracious giver of such marvelous gifts. 

Those who teach and preach serve well to the glory of God by speaking only the revelation of God. Adding nothing. Subtracting nothing. Taking no glory for ourselves, but being clear the message is not ours, but Gods. Those who work heartily serve well to the glory of God when it is evident their service is not from their strength or wisdom or talent, but the grace of God working through them that is being poured out in blessing.

In all we do, may our ministry be such that the only possible explanation for it is the grace of God. We rejoice in the talent of our praise team, but let’s leave here not in awe of the band, but in awe of the one whose love and mercy moves us to sing. May people never say we have great preaching, but that we preach about a great God. Let nobody say the people at Redeeming grace are generous and loving, let them say the people at Redeeming Grace serve a generous and loving Savior. In all things, let us point to Jesus Christ.

Membership isn’t something added onto the gospel, but flows out of it. In the same way that many candles shine more brightly than one, we display the glory of God more brightly together than we can do alone. Pastor Mark Dever is right when he says,

“Church membership wasn’t invented by pastors, ministry leaders, or church growth experts. Membership is the natural outcome of the gospel itself. Perhaps you’ve never considered it, but the gospel is not just about how God saves us from the ‘dominion of darkness’; it’s also a message about how God saves us into the ‘kingdom of the Son he loves’ —a kingdom bustling with other redeemed sinners who, like us, are now citizens of heaven.”

We were drowning in a sea of sin, and Jesus rescued us. The fellowship of the local church is the fellowship of those who have been pulled from the waves and placed into the same lifeboat. There are other boats out there, but this is the one we’re in, holding on, helping one another, not as rescuers, but as the rescued. 

Jesus lived as one of us, but perfectly sinless. Then He died on the cross for our sins. He suffered the penalty for our sins on the cross so that we wouldn’t have to suffer for them in hell. He gave His life in our place, satisfying God’s justice by taking the punishment we deserved. He destroyed the record of our crimes by nailing to the cross. Then three days later, He rose triumphantly from the dead proving His victory over sin and death. Trust in Jesus for your salvation and you will be forgiven for your sins, adopted into the family of God, given gifts to share, and receive the promise of eternal life. 

There are no sins so great that the blood of Jesus cannot wash them clean. If you have faith in Jesus, your past is hidden in Him, your guilt is gone, and you stand clothed in His righteousness, adopted by God, and a living testimony to His mercy and love. No wonder Peter says,

To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

To live in fellowship with God’s people glorifies God now, but that pales to the glory to come. I have heard people say that they don’t care about rewards, they will just be happy to be in heaven. It’s true everyone who is there will be happy to be there, but  if you are tempted to think that way, I want you to consider something. 

Although God is pleased to pour out the riches of His blessing on us, our salvation is principally designed not for our glory, but for God’s. If we are grateful for His mercy, wouldn’t we want Him to receive the maximum glory for what He has done?

Our motivation to pursue rewards and treasures in heaven by our faithfulness is not so that we can glory in ourselves, but because each reward is a testimony to the glorious grace of God. The apostle John is given a vision of heaven in Revelation 4:10–11 and this is what he sees,

10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

In the end, God crowns His own work in us. He doesn’t reward any merit in us, but His own grace. When my kids were small the school used to have a little shopping day near Christmas so the kids could buy gifts for their parents. As a loving father, I would give them a few dollars so they could buy a small gift to give to me on Christmas. It was my love for them that enabled them to express their love for me. That is what we see here.

Whatever crowns we receive in glory, they won't be trophies of our greatness, they will be testimonies of His love for us. And in that moment, we’ll do the only thing that makes sense, we will gladly lay every reward at the feet of Jesus, because He alone is worthy. Brothers and sisters, yes it will be awesome just to be there, but how blessed are those who will have many offerings to cast before His throne, because He is worthy. 

May our desire be for the glory of His name and the good of His people, both now and forever. Let’s pray for the wisdom and strength to use our gifts obediently for the building up of the body, so when the time comes, we hear those beautiful words, “well done, good and faithful servant”, rejoicing that our Savior’s grace is majestically displayed in us and through us for eternity!

Membership does not and cannot save anyone. Anyone saying that is a false teacher. Believers make the church, the church doesn’t make believers. That doesn’t mean church is optional. Membership is necessary, not for forgiveness of sin, but for obedience to Christ. Our gifts were given to help and bless others in their faith. They are designed to be used in committed fellowship with other believers. 

This isn’t about rules or legalism. It is about living out the love we have been given. There are some who have legitimate reasons they cannot gather with us regularly, but that does not mean they are not committed to fellowship. That doesn’t mean that you are not at this very moment benefiting from their gifts. I am speaking to those who think committed fellowship is optional. I prayerfully encourage you to look carefully at what the Bible says about it. I am speaking to those who are committed to a local body of believers, here or somewhere else, to encourage you. I am speaking to Tony, Jessica, Robert, and Diane and others who are considering membership. May God bless you and may you be a blessing, all to the glory of God.

I would like to finish with the words of Horatius Bonar, a Scottish pastor whose life was marked by a deep longing for heaven and a love for the church. He wrote:

“The more we do for Christ, the more we long to do. Every new effort opens the door to another. Love expands by exercise, and the soul grows by giving itself away. Not that we count our services as merit, nor think that heaven is earned. No! But grace loves to labor. Grace delights to serve. And though we look not for wages, yet we know that not even a cup of cold water given in His name shall lose its reward. We shall take those crowns, whatever they be, and cast them gladly at His feet—for they were His before they were ours, and His they shall forever remain.”