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The Church And You
 
INTRODUCTION
 
1. As we grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord
as we continue in
 our service and walk with God
we do not do so alone
 
2. A wonderful blessing we have in Christ is being members of His body

 the church
 
3. When we properly understand:
 a. What the church is
both in its universal and local sense
 b. What our responsibilities are toward the church
 -- Then we can better utilize this blessing to help us remain
 faithful in our lives as disciples of Christ
 
I. WHAT IS THE CHURCH?
 
 A. THE WORD "CHURCH" REFERS TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN SAVED...
 1. As we are saved
the Lord in heaven Himself "adds" us to His
 church - Ac 2:47
 2. As His "church" (a word meaning "assembly" or "congregation")

 we are members of God's "household" or "family" - 1 Ti 3:15
 
 B. THE WORD "CHURCH" IS USED PRIMARILY IN TWO SENSES...
 1. The UNIVERSAL sense: all the saved throughout the world
 a. It is used in this way in passages like Mt 16:18; Ep 5:23;
 Co 1:18
 b. In the "universal" sense:
 1) There is only ONE church - Ep 4:4; compare with
 Ep 1:22-23
 2) Christ is the head; individual Christians are members of
 His body - 1 Co 12:27
 3) There is NO EARTHLY ORGANIZATION; what organization
 there may be is spiritual in nature - Ep 2:19-20
 4) The universal church never meets as such; it has no
 "officers" except Jesus Christ and the original apostles
 and prophets
 2. The LOCAL sense: the saved in one particular locality
 a. It is used in this way in passages like 1 Co 1:2; Re 1:11;
 Ro 16:16
 b. In the "local" sense:
  1) There are MANY churches - cf. Ga 1:2
 2) There is to be EARTHLY ORGANIZATION within each local
 church
 a) Ideally
each church has elders (also known as bishops

 pastors) and deacons - Ph 1:1 (described more fully
 later in this lesson)
 b) But churches may exist temporarily until such men can
 be appointed - cf. Ac 14:21-23
 3) Local churches meet regularly; and Christians have
  responsibilities in connection with their brethren in
 the local church
 
II. RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE LOCAL CHURCH
 
 A. WE SHOULD "JOIN OURSELVES" TO A LOCAL CHURCH...
 1. Only Christ "adds" one to the church UNIVERSAL; but one can
 and should "join" themselves to a LOCAL church - Ac 9:26-28
 2. This enables you to benefit by the association of other
 Christians
and provides you an opportunity to be of service
 to them - cf. He 3:12-14; 10:24-25
  3. There are some responsibilities Christ has given you that you
 cannot fulfill on your own; for example
the Lord's Supper 
 - Ac 20:7
 4. So you need to find and join a local faithful congregation of
 the Lord (a careful study of the New Testament can help you to
 identify such today; perhaps a subject for future study?)
 
 B. WE SHOULD COOPERATE WITH THE "LEADERS"...
 1. In a fully developed local church
there will be "ELDERS" to
 oversee the people of God
 a. The terms "elder
pastor
bishop
shepherd
overseer" are
 often used interchangeably
referring to the same position
 - Ac 20:17
28; Ti 1:5-7; 1 Pe 5:1-2
 b. Their qualifications are found in 1 Ti 3:1-7; Ti 1:5-9
 c. Our responsibilities to them are as follows:
 1) To recognize and respect them - 1 Th 5:12-13;
 1 Ti 5:17-20
 2) To obey and be submissive when they lead scripturally
 - He 13:17; 1 Pe 5:2-3
 d. Think of them as your "spiritual advisors"
as "shepherds";
 they are mature
experienced Christian men who are charged
 by God to "watch out for your souls"!
 2. In a fully developed local church
there will also be
 "DEACONS" to serve the people of God
 a. These are "servants" who assist the elders in the work of
 the church
 b. Their qualifications are found in 1 Ti 3:8-13
 c. The work they do is a very noble one - 1 Ti 3:13
 3. There may also be those who serve as EVANGELISTS and TEACHERS
 - Ep 4:11
 a. The "evangelists" concentrate their attention on teaching
 the gospel to the lost
 b. "Teachers" concentrate attention upon edifying the members
 c. Those commonly referred to as "preachers" or "ministers"
 may do both the work of evangelist and teacher
 d. But whether they serve as evangelist
teacher
preacher
or
 minister
within the local church they likewise submit to
 the leadership of the elders
 
 C. WE SHOULD CONTRIBUTE REGULARLY TO THE WORK OF THE CHURCH...
 1. The work of the church can be divided into three areas:
 a. Evangelism - Mt 28:19-20; 1 Ti 3:15; 1 Pe 2:9-10
 b. Edification - Ep 4:11-16
 c. Benevolence - 1 Ti 5:16
 2. How the local church can raise funds to do its work is
 illustrated in 1 Co 16:1-2
 3. Principles governing such collections were discussed in the
 lesson
"Our Public Assemblies"
 4. The financial support provided the local church enables it to
  do much of the work God designed it to do
 
 D. WE SHOULD DO OUR PART IN THE WORK OF THE CHURCH...
 1. We cannot "pay" to have our part of the church's work done for
 us
 2. A strong
successful congregation is one where every member is
 doing their part - Ep 4:15-16
 3. There are different kinds of functions we might perform
 - cf. Ro 12:3-8
 4. What is essential is that we each do what we can with the same
 zeal and enthusiasm - cf. 1 Pe 4:10-11
 
 E. WE SHOULD HELP KEEP THE CHURCH UNITED...
 1. Unity among believers is very important to Jesus 
 - Jn 17:20-21; cf. Ep 2:14-16
 2. Division is condemned in the Scriptures - 1 Co 1:10-13; 3:3-4
 3. To maintain the unity we have in Christ requires certain
 attitudes and diligent effort - Ep 4:1-3
 4. Here are some things we can do:
 a. Be peacemakers when brethren have disagreements - Mt 5:9
 b. Avoid gossip - 1 Ti 5:13
19
 c. Avoid discussion of speculative questions - 1 Ti 6:3-5;
 2 Ti 2:23
 d. Avoid partiality - 1 Ti 5:21
 
 F. WE SHOULD LIVE IN A WAY THAT SPEAKS WELL OF THE CHURCH...
 1. Be an example to others - 1 Ti 4:12; Ti 2:7-8
 a. Some people delight in finding Christians who are not
 living right and use them as an example to attack the
 church
 b. We are to avoid giving them opportunities to do so
 - Ti 2:8; 1 Ti 5:14; 1 Pe 2:12
 2. Christians are not perfect
but we should strive to be an
 example of what Christians ought to be!
 
CONCLUSION
 
1. More could be said on this subject
but this should suffice to make
 the point that with the blessings of fellowship within the body of
 Christ come various responsibilities
 
2. God did not intend for us to be "islands unto ourselves"
but
 joined together in Christ where we can encourage one another in an
 atmosphere of righteousness
joy
and peace - Ro 14:17-19
 
SOME QUESTIONS TO STIMULATE YOUR THINKING...
 
1. Have you let a local church know that you wish to be identified as
 an accepted
working member of their group?
 
2. Do you know the elders
deacons and other members of the church
 where you attend?
 
3. Do you have a sense of what function you provide in the body of
 Christ
and are you fulfilling it?
 
4. If every member of the church were as faithful and active as you in
 your service to the Lord
what kind of of church would it be?

－－《Executable Outlines》A Closer Walk With God