Scripture: Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-35
We live in a day in which many people want to belong to something meaningful, but don’t want to join up, or sign a membership commitment. I’m sure you’ve heard about people who say, “Oh I believe in Jesus. I just don’t like organized religion.” They prefer a “no obligations relationship.” I suppose another obvious example is couples who live together. A growing number of couples are choosing not to be married at all.
In a recent article in Newsweek magazine titled, “Yes to Love, No to Marriage,” Bonnie Eslinger wrote that marriage is not necessary to demonstrate the love and commitment she feels for her partner, Jeff. “I am a 42-year-old woman who has lived life mostly on my own terms. I have never sought a husband and have still experienced intense, affirming love.”
She went on to say, “We are committed to spending our future together, pursuing our dreams and facing life's challenges in partnership. Yet I do not need a piece of paper from the state to strengthen my commitment to Jeff. I do not believe in a religion that says romantic, committed love is moral only if couples pledge joint allegiance to God.”
But in reality, marriage is not primarily about what we as individuals think we want or need. It is about a central public commitment that the society needs, that couples need, that children need, and yes, that the spouses need. Marriage is a public institution, not merely a private commitment. It identifies the couple as a pair committed to lifelong marriage and thus to be respected in this commitment. The fact that our society has weakened marriage offers only further incentive to get it right and to strengthen this vital institution.[i]
Now, my message is not about marriage. But it is about the value of committed relationships, and in particular, church membership. I know church membership is not exactly the same as marriage. It’s true, Church membership can change or transfer when you move to a new neighborhood. But I will go as far as to say that attending a church without formally promising your support by committing to membership, is kind of a religious version of “living together.”
Church membership is also not exactly the same as membership in the body of Christ. That is permanent by virtue of the new birth through faith in Jesus Christ. Church membership is a kind of secondary commitment that members of the body of Christ make to each other in the context of a particular congregation. Because of many different denominations, membership requirements for a given congregation such as in the EPC might be a bit more formalized today, but it still has its roots in the original formation of the historical visible church.
But I’m not giving a history lesson either. What I am interested in is getting at the heart and soul of what it means for us to belong to Christ and to belong to each other. And why it is good to be intentional about that, even going as far as formally committing to membership. We have to get at the heart and soul because one of the real and important reasons that a lot of people don’t like organized religion and won’t sign up is because they have been hurt by other Christians while trying to serve the Lord in a congregation. We want to try to be a congregation that minimizes that by loving each other deeply.
So, to get at that heart and soul, one example I just recently heard about, is a company that has a “no firing” policy. The model for this is, family. When you are having trouble in your family, you don’t lay off the kids. You try to help them get through the difficulties and you love them no matter what. So, in this company I heard about, you can’t get laid off for poor performance.
What you get is coaching and support. To me, that’s kind of like discipleship. In the church, I see it as visitors becoming believers, believers becoming members, members becoming servants, and servants becoming leaders. Every person is being encouraged to grow and develop according to the gifts God has given. And nobody is on their own. The elders serve the newer ones by making places for them to get involved, learn and grow.
In another company, a big manufacturing company that was hit hard in 2008, over night they lost a third of their orders. They needed to save ten million dollars to make it through the year. The board got together and started talking about layoffs. But a guy named Bob in the meeting had a different idea. He said, “No layoffs. It would be better for all of us to hurt a little than for any of us to hurt a lot.” So, he came up with a furlough plan. This would require every single employee from the top down to take four weeks of unpaid vacation.
As a result, morale went up! Much different from what would have happened if the pink slips started circulating. And a surprising thing happened too. People who could afford to take more time off looked around for people who could not afford to take more time off and they started trading. Some people took five weeks off so that someone else would have only have to be out of work for three weeks. In addition, other people who could afford to take more time off to save the company some money, just did it. In the end the company saved not ten, but twenty million dollars that year.[ii]
That’s the kind of organization I would really want to belong to, where people are really caring and looking out for each other. And guess what, just like any other born again believing Christian is, I am a life time member of an organization like that, and better than that, at least on paper. It’s called the body of Christ. And our fearless leader, Jesus, gave his life away so we could have ours forever. His act of love was the ultimate in caring for and looking out for the people in his organization. And as a result, the people followed suit and cared for each other too.
The two texts we read this morning, just two chapters apart in the book of Acts, describe commitment and devotion motivated by love and thanksgiving for the saving grace of God. That’s worth talking about! It’s even worth singing about, which explains why there are hymns about it that we can sing in church today!
Let’s take another look at these two pictures of the early church. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” This first description happened right after Pentecost, and the Church received more than 3,000 new members in one day! I’m pretty sure there were no membership classes that time.
In those early days, this togetherness didn’t just happen on Sunday, but nearly every day different groups of believers ate together. Partly it is because this teaching was so new. And partly because it was so dangerous. The resurrection of Jesus was big news! But not everybody believed it. So, the Jews became sharply divided between those who believed in Jesus and those who did not.
Among those who didn’t believe it, the Pharisees and synagogue rulers were angry with the new believers. In the beginning of chapter four is the first time Peter and his associates were arrested for preaching about Jesus in the Temple. And not much later, you remember how Paul the Apostle went after them? So, if you were suddenly being rejected from your religious home, wouldn’t you have a tendency to want to hang around with people who shared your faith, for support and encouragement?
The Bible also says, “Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.” That could draw a crowd. I sure wouldn’t want to miss anything if great stuff like that was happening. One result is recorded in verse 44. “All the believers were together.” That means they all met together in one place! All 3,000? It’s possible. Some think they created a gathering spot or campground outside the city limits, especially if they had no place else to go because of being rejected by friends and family who didn’t believe. It also says they “had everything in common.” They took care of each other. Verse 45, “They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.”
Verse 46 says, “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” This was happening in spite of the trouble being stirred up by the Pharisees and leaders. Nothing could really stop their excitement!
A little later on, in Acts 4:32-35 we read, “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.”
It's a picture of people filled with love for God and for each other. The way we do it today won’t look exactly the same. But God loves it when he sees that attitude and desire showing up in the way we care for each other and support each other in the ministry. In addition, Jesus said that such caring would be our most powerful witness! In John 13:35, Jesus says, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
This level of camaraderie happens under extreme circumstances. But we Christians just need to understand that our circumstances are extreme! We live on a spiritual battlefield. If that doesn’t sound right because it looks like we live in relative peace, then it means the devil has lulled you to sleep on the battle field. His troops are over running the place and you don’t even know it. Maybe you’re not feeling the stress because you’re not aware of it. But there is a war on! It is a war for the souls of your neighbors and loved ones.
I have one more illustration. I have heard that in the Marines, or at least in one command, the officer in charge always made sure that his men ate first. He ate last, after everyone else was satisfied. Once, all the food was gone. There was none for the commanding officer. His troops rallied and won a major battle, partly because they were motivated to make sure their commander got a meal from somewhere. They were willing to sacrifice for him because he had already sacrificed for them. That’s the sign of a good leader. He lays down his own interests for the sake of the greater good. It is what Jesus has done for each and every one of us.
In light of all this, and it being New Year’s Eve, I feel it appropriate to review with you the membership commitments that most of the people in this room agreed to when they formally became members of this congregation, and by extension the EPC denomination. In some churches, membership is reviewed and renewed every year. That keeps it intentional and it reminds everyone of their common goals and duties.
Here are the acknowledgments and promises you members have made, and you others may make if you consider committing to membership.
“Do you acknowledge yourselves to be sinners in the sight of God and without hope for your salvation except in His sovereign mercy?” This first question is about agreeing that you need to be saved by grace. Only sinners get to be Christians. Anybody who thinks he or she is good enough already, or can be good enough with just a little more effort, is refusing to acknowledge this very basic gospel truth. In addition, anyone acknowledges this truth must go on in life as a merciful servant who is willing to extend the hand of fellowship and welcome to anybody else who walks into your life or through that door without looking down on them as if their sin is worse than yours.
The next acknowledgment is, “Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Savior of sinners, and do you receive and depend upon Him alone for your salvation, as He is offered in the gospel?” That one is about who Jesus is and how he alone bears the name by which we may be saved. In that sense this is a very exclusive organization, not that we exclude anyone, but that they exclude themselves who think that there are many ways to Heaven or that they don’t need Jesus.
Next comes more than what you believe. Now something is to be expected of you in return, not to be saved mind you, but because you are saved and God has works prepared in advance for you to do. It asks, “Do you now promise and resolve, in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, that you will endeavor to live as becomes the followers of Christ?” This is a commitment that any believer ought to be making in their hearts as followers of Jesus, so why not say so publicly in a commitment to church membership?
Then comes, this, “Do you promise to serve Christ in His Church by supporting and participating with this congregation in its service of God and its ministry to others to the best of your ability?” That’s the part that’s asking a little more than just coming on Sundays. Do you know it is a proven sociological fact that 20% of the people in any congregation do 80% of the work? This is not a guilt trip. This is a challenge to reconsider whether there is any more you can do to step up and even things out a bit.
The last one is the hardest because it holds us accountable to each other. Here it comes, “Do you submit yourself to the government and discipline of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and to the spiritual oversight of this Church Session, and do you promise to promote the unity, purity and peace of the Church?”
This is the part that acknowledges the fact that people are only human and conflict is inevitable sometimes. But peace is possible when we follow the principles given to us in Scripture that teach us how to aim for the Truth and love one another along the way. This works best when no one “assumes command,” but all are set to serve one another. The Word of God is our guide book, our highest authority, so no one can Lord it over anyone because, we all answer to God.
What does it all come down to? What does it look like? It looks like Family! A family you choose to belong to because God has chosen you.
I’ll close with one more description of life in the family of God, what it should be and what it can be if we all commit to it. Col. 3:12-17. “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
That’s beautiful! That’s the kind of organization that I want to be long to don’t you? Let’s make it happen. With God’s help we can. Amen.
Listen here: https://www.lcepc.org/Sermons
We live in a day in which many people want to belong to something meaningful, but don’t want to join up, or sign a membership commitment. I’m sure you’ve heard about people who say, “Oh I believe in Jesus. I just don’t like organized religion.” They prefer a “no obligations relationship.” I suppose another obvious example is couples who live together. A growing number of couples are choosing not to be married at all.
In a recent article in Newsweek magazine titled, “Yes to Love, No to Marriage,” Bonnie Eslinger wrote that marriage is not necessary to demonstrate the love and commitment she feels for her partner, Jeff. “I am a 42-year-old woman who has lived life mostly on my own terms. I have never sought a husband and have still experienced intense, affirming love.”
She went on to say, “We are committed to spending our future together, pursuing our dreams and facing life's challenges in partnership. Yet I do not need a piece of paper from the state to strengthen my commitment to Jeff. I do not believe in a religion that says romantic, committed love is moral only if couples pledge joint allegiance to God.”
But in reality, marriage is not primarily about what we as individuals think we want or need. It is about a central public commitment that the society needs, that couples need, that children need, and yes, that the spouses need. Marriage is a public institution, not merely a private commitment. It identifies the couple as a pair committed to lifelong marriage and thus to be respected in this commitment. The fact that our society has weakened marriage offers only further incentive to get it right and to strengthen this vital institution.[i]
Now, my message is not about marriage. But it is about the value of committed relationships, and in particular, church membership. I know church membership is not exactly the same as marriage. It’s true, Church membership can change or transfer when you move to a new neighborhood. But I will go as far as to say that attending a church without formally promising your support by committing to membership, is kind of a religious version of “living together.”
Church membership is also not exactly the same as membership in the body of Christ. That is permanent by virtue of the new birth through faith in Jesus Christ. Church membership is a kind of secondary commitment that members of the body of Christ make to each other in the context of a particular congregation. Because of many different denominations, membership requirements for a given congregation such as in the EPC might be a bit more formalized today, but it still has its roots in the original formation of the historical visible church.
But I’m not giving a history lesson either. What I am interested in is getting at the heart and soul of what it means for us to belong to Christ and to belong to each other. And why it is good to be intentional about that, even going as far as formally committing to membership. We have to get at the heart and soul because one of the real and important reasons that a lot of people don’t like organized religion and won’t sign up is because they have been hurt by other Christians while trying to serve the Lord in a congregation. We want to try to be a congregation that minimizes that by loving each other deeply.
So, to get at that heart and soul, one example I just recently heard about, is a company that has a “no firing” policy. The model for this is, family. When you are having trouble in your family, you don’t lay off the kids. You try to help them get through the difficulties and you love them no matter what. So, in this company I heard about, you can’t get laid off for poor performance.
What you get is coaching and support. To me, that’s kind of like discipleship. In the church, I see it as visitors becoming believers, believers becoming members, members becoming servants, and servants becoming leaders. Every person is being encouraged to grow and develop according to the gifts God has given. And nobody is on their own. The elders serve the newer ones by making places for them to get involved, learn and grow.
In another company, a big manufacturing company that was hit hard in 2008, over night they lost a third of their orders. They needed to save ten million dollars to make it through the year. The board got together and started talking about layoffs. But a guy named Bob in the meeting had a different idea. He said, “No layoffs. It would be better for all of us to hurt a little than for any of us to hurt a lot.” So, he came up with a furlough plan. This would require every single employee from the top down to take four weeks of unpaid vacation.
As a result, morale went up! Much different from what would have happened if the pink slips started circulating. And a surprising thing happened too. People who could afford to take more time off looked around for people who could not afford to take more time off and they started trading. Some people took five weeks off so that someone else would have only have to be out of work for three weeks. In addition, other people who could afford to take more time off to save the company some money, just did it. In the end the company saved not ten, but twenty million dollars that year.[ii]
That’s the kind of organization I would really want to belong to, where people are really caring and looking out for each other. And guess what, just like any other born again believing Christian is, I am a life time member of an organization like that, and better than that, at least on paper. It’s called the body of Christ. And our fearless leader, Jesus, gave his life away so we could have ours forever. His act of love was the ultimate in caring for and looking out for the people in his organization. And as a result, the people followed suit and cared for each other too.
The two texts we read this morning, just two chapters apart in the book of Acts, describe commitment and devotion motivated by love and thanksgiving for the saving grace of God. That’s worth talking about! It’s even worth singing about, which explains why there are hymns about it that we can sing in church today!
Let’s take another look at these two pictures of the early church. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” This first description happened right after Pentecost, and the Church received more than 3,000 new members in one day! I’m pretty sure there were no membership classes that time.
In those early days, this togetherness didn’t just happen on Sunday, but nearly every day different groups of believers ate together. Partly it is because this teaching was so new. And partly because it was so dangerous. The resurrection of Jesus was big news! But not everybody believed it. So, the Jews became sharply divided between those who believed in Jesus and those who did not.
Among those who didn’t believe it, the Pharisees and synagogue rulers were angry with the new believers. In the beginning of chapter four is the first time Peter and his associates were arrested for preaching about Jesus in the Temple. And not much later, you remember how Paul the Apostle went after them? So, if you were suddenly being rejected from your religious home, wouldn’t you have a tendency to want to hang around with people who shared your faith, for support and encouragement?
The Bible also says, “Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.” That could draw a crowd. I sure wouldn’t want to miss anything if great stuff like that was happening. One result is recorded in verse 44. “All the believers were together.” That means they all met together in one place! All 3,000? It’s possible. Some think they created a gathering spot or campground outside the city limits, especially if they had no place else to go because of being rejected by friends and family who didn’t believe. It also says they “had everything in common.” They took care of each other. Verse 45, “They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.”
Verse 46 says, “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” This was happening in spite of the trouble being stirred up by the Pharisees and leaders. Nothing could really stop their excitement!
A little later on, in Acts 4:32-35 we read, “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.”
It's a picture of people filled with love for God and for each other. The way we do it today won’t look exactly the same. But God loves it when he sees that attitude and desire showing up in the way we care for each other and support each other in the ministry. In addition, Jesus said that such caring would be our most powerful witness! In John 13:35, Jesus says, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
This level of camaraderie happens under extreme circumstances. But we Christians just need to understand that our circumstances are extreme! We live on a spiritual battlefield. If that doesn’t sound right because it looks like we live in relative peace, then it means the devil has lulled you to sleep on the battle field. His troops are over running the place and you don’t even know it. Maybe you’re not feeling the stress because you’re not aware of it. But there is a war on! It is a war for the souls of your neighbors and loved ones.
I have one more illustration. I have heard that in the Marines, or at least in one command, the officer in charge always made sure that his men ate first. He ate last, after everyone else was satisfied. Once, all the food was gone. There was none for the commanding officer. His troops rallied and won a major battle, partly because they were motivated to make sure their commander got a meal from somewhere. They were willing to sacrifice for him because he had already sacrificed for them. That’s the sign of a good leader. He lays down his own interests for the sake of the greater good. It is what Jesus has done for each and every one of us.
In light of all this, and it being New Year’s Eve, I feel it appropriate to review with you the membership commitments that most of the people in this room agreed to when they formally became members of this congregation, and by extension the EPC denomination. In some churches, membership is reviewed and renewed every year. That keeps it intentional and it reminds everyone of their common goals and duties.
Here are the acknowledgments and promises you members have made, and you others may make if you consider committing to membership.
“Do you acknowledge yourselves to be sinners in the sight of God and without hope for your salvation except in His sovereign mercy?” This first question is about agreeing that you need to be saved by grace. Only sinners get to be Christians. Anybody who thinks he or she is good enough already, or can be good enough with just a little more effort, is refusing to acknowledge this very basic gospel truth. In addition, anyone acknowledges this truth must go on in life as a merciful servant who is willing to extend the hand of fellowship and welcome to anybody else who walks into your life or through that door without looking down on them as if their sin is worse than yours.
The next acknowledgment is, “Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Savior of sinners, and do you receive and depend upon Him alone for your salvation, as He is offered in the gospel?” That one is about who Jesus is and how he alone bears the name by which we may be saved. In that sense this is a very exclusive organization, not that we exclude anyone, but that they exclude themselves who think that there are many ways to Heaven or that they don’t need Jesus.
Next comes more than what you believe. Now something is to be expected of you in return, not to be saved mind you, but because you are saved and God has works prepared in advance for you to do. It asks, “Do you now promise and resolve, in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, that you will endeavor to live as becomes the followers of Christ?” This is a commitment that any believer ought to be making in their hearts as followers of Jesus, so why not say so publicly in a commitment to church membership?
Then comes, this, “Do you promise to serve Christ in His Church by supporting and participating with this congregation in its service of God and its ministry to others to the best of your ability?” That’s the part that’s asking a little more than just coming on Sundays. Do you know it is a proven sociological fact that 20% of the people in any congregation do 80% of the work? This is not a guilt trip. This is a challenge to reconsider whether there is any more you can do to step up and even things out a bit.
The last one is the hardest because it holds us accountable to each other. Here it comes, “Do you submit yourself to the government and discipline of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and to the spiritual oversight of this Church Session, and do you promise to promote the unity, purity and peace of the Church?”
This is the part that acknowledges the fact that people are only human and conflict is inevitable sometimes. But peace is possible when we follow the principles given to us in Scripture that teach us how to aim for the Truth and love one another along the way. This works best when no one “assumes command,” but all are set to serve one another. The Word of God is our guide book, our highest authority, so no one can Lord it over anyone because, we all answer to God.
What does it all come down to? What does it look like? It looks like Family! A family you choose to belong to because God has chosen you.
I’ll close with one more description of life in the family of God, what it should be and what it can be if we all commit to it. Col. 3:12-17. “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
That’s beautiful! That’s the kind of organization that I want to be long to don’t you? Let’s make it happen. With God’s help we can. Amen.
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