The church is a community of men and women who have been saved by the sovereign grace of God. Each of us is progressing in our spiritual growth and slowly becoming more and more like Jesus Christ through the working of his Holy Spirit. This is what we call sanctification. Although salvation happens in an instant, sanctification is a process which continues throughout our entire lives. The fact that sanctification is a process is an important thing to remember. It means that we are all “works … [Read more...]
Membership Matters – Exercising Compassion
Being a church member is about relationships. First and foremost, it is about our relationship with God the Father and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Next, because God has chosen to place all of his children within the community of the church, being a church member is about relationship with other believers. So then, it is essential that every believer learn how to live out Christ-honouring relationships within the church. Healthy relationships are not easy because all of us are sinners. … [Read more...]
Membership Matters – Exercising Encouragement
In our last study we learned that becoming a church member means a willingness to honour one another through humility. Among other things, this humility shows itself through deference, service and sacrifice. In this study we will continue to look at the “one anothers” of scripture and see that the Lord desires all believers to encourage one another in the truth. Encourage One Another in the Truth Church life is a corporate life. For this reason, God compares the church to a body, a family and … [Read more...]
Membership Matters – Exercising Humility
Becoming a church member is more than simply joining an organization or social club. When you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, he gave you the Holy Spirit of God and through his Spirit, united you spiritually with every other believer in Christ (John 17:21). The church is more than a gathering of men and women united by a common interest or cause – it is one body united by a common faith and Spirit (1 Cor 12:13). Much of church life is a matter of living out practically the … [Read more...]
Membership Matters – Unity with the Church
In our last lesson we learned that being a member of the church means loving the church. We learned that we should love the church because; Christ loves the church, the church is being built by Christ, the church is Christ made visible, the church is the source of spiritual unity, and the church is the source of Christ’s truth. We also learned that Christ and his church can’t be separated. For this reason, one could never love Christ and reject the church. In fact, Jesus himself said that it is … [Read more...]