A Pastor’s Perspective On The Church
Hebrews 10:24-25
Pastor Darrin Wright – November 22, 2009
Introduction
In
their book Why We Love the Church,
authors Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck discuss the state of the church in
The
authors write, “The church is often understood as nothing but a plural word for
Christian, so that wherever two or three are gathered in Christ’s name –
regardless of where they are, what they are doing, and what sort of polity is
in place (if any) – there you have a church.
The cause and result of this minimalist definition of church is our
current crisis in ecclesiology.”
The
answer to this problem is to develop a more thoughtful, biblically robust, and
historically rooted ecclesiology. We
must develop a faithful and captivating picture of the church as the Bible
describes her and as she’s lived out and lived into real life.
I. The Pictures of the Church. (What a Church Should Look Like – Not
Exhaustive)
·
The Bible uses many striking word pictures to describe
the church.
·
Each of these word pictures is packed with meaning
concerning the church.
A.
The Church Is
Christ’s Bride.
1. In Ephesians
5:25-32, Paul uses the analogy of marriage to illustrate Christ’s love for the
church.
2. Ephesians 5:22-23 (ESV) – “Wives submit
to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of
the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.”
3. Ephesians 5:25-27 (ESV) – “Husbands,
love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that
he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the
word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor; without spot
or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”
4. Josh Harris – “God invented
romance and pursuit and the promise of undying love between a man and a woman
so that throughout our lives we could catch a faint glimmer of the intense love
Christ has for those he died to save.”
5. We should love
the church and care about it because Jesus does.
6. We should be
passionately committed to the church because Jesus is passionately committed to
the church.
7. John Stott – “On earth she
is often in rags and tatters, stained and ugly, despised and persecuted. But one day she will be seen for what she is,
nothing less than the bride of Christ, free from spots, wrinkles, or any other
disfigurement, holy and without blemish, beautiful and glorious. It is to this constructive end that Christ
has been working and is continuing to work.
The bride does not make herself presentable; it is the bridegroom who
labors to beautify her in order to present her to himself.”
B.
The Church Is A
Body.
1. 1 Corinthians 12:27 (ESV) – “Now you are
the body of Christ and individually members of it.”
2. Ephesians 1:22-23 (ESV) – “and he put
all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,
which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”
3. Colossians 1:18 (ESV) – “And he is
the head of the body, the church. He is
the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be
preeminent.”
4. Colossians 2:19 (ESV) – “and not
holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together
through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.”
C.
The Church Is a
Family.
1. Ephesians 2:19 (ESV) – “so then you
are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints
and members of the household of God.”
2. Almost every
time the word church is used in the New Testament it means a particular gathering
of Christians.
3. Galatians 6:10 (ESV) – “So then, as
we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who
are of the household of faith.”
D.
The Church is a
temple.
1. Ephesians 2:21-22 (ESV) – “in whom the
whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the
Lord. In him you also are being built
together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”
E.
The Church Is A
Flock.
1. 1 Peter 5:1-2 (ESV) – “So I exhort
the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of
Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed:
shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight.”
F.
The Church Is An
Expression Of The Body Of Christ In The World.
1. Ephesians 3:9-11 (ESV) – “and to bring
to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God
who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God
might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose
that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
2. A local church
is a visible, tangible, real world expression of the body of Christ.
3. As we express
our union with Him through service, worship, and love, we become the physical
manifestation of our Savior on earth.
Illustration:
II.
The Purposes of The Church.
(Where The Church Should Focus – Not Exhaustive)
A.
Live God’s Word
Together.
1. By having a
passionate commitment to the church, we show our neighbors that the new life
made available through Jesus’ death on the cross is also the foundation for a
new society.
2. By living the
gospel as a distinct community, the church accomplishes the mission of
displaying the transforming effects of the gospel for the world to see.
3. The lost will
not be able to see this picture if we remain detached from each other and go
our separate ways.
4. We practically
live this word together by observing the ordinances of the church:
a.
Baptism – shows those
who have been saved and who have indentified with the death and resurrection of
Christ.
b.
Lord’s Supper – shows those
who are continuing in fellowship with Christ and are remembering His death
until His return.
c.
Discipline – The process
that removes a person from the church who is acting and living in ways that
contradict New Testament teaching for godly living. In order to most helpfully love the person in
unrepentant sin, and so as not to confuse others as to what it means to be a
Christian, church leadership longingly puts them out of the church in the hope
they’ll be restored.
5. Question: How Do we accomplish this? We have the leadership of a pastor and
staff. We have the care and
encouragement of a church family.
B.
Pursue
Godliness.
1. John Piper –
“Sanctification is a community project.”
2. Our individual
and direct relationship with God through Jesus is the greatest privilege – and
yet God in His wisdom has created all of us to need others too.
3. God has ordained
that much of his grace flows to us through others.
4. Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV) – “And let us
consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to
meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all
the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
5. We really need
the ministry of others.
C.
Worship
1. We can worship
anytime, anywhere, and in complete solitude.
But something unique happens when we worship together.
2. Don Whitney – “God will
manifest His presence in congregational worship in ways you can never know even
in the most glorious secret worship.
That’s because you are not only a temple of God as an individual, but
the Bible also says (and far more often) that Christians collectively are God’s
temple…God manifests His presence in different ways to the “living stones” of
His temple when they are gathered than He does to them when they are apart.”
3. When the church
is together to worship and to hear God’s Word preached, nourishment and
encouragement occur that can’t happen quite the same anywhere else.
4. Our corporate
worship edifies and strengthens us and glorifies God in ways nothing else can.
D.
Live A New life
1. Many people in
the world claim to be Christians but aren’t living a new life.
2. You cannot claim
to have saving faith and continue to walk in darkness.
3. 1 John 1:6 (ESV) – “If we say we
have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice
the truth.”
4. Our assurance of
salvation must include a changed life.
5. Mark Dever – “If you do
not live a life marked by love toward others, the Bible has no encouragement
for you to think that you’re a Christian.
None.”
6. Mark Dever – “do you want
to know that your new life is real?
Commit yourself to a local group of saved sinners. Try to love them. Don’t just do it for three weeks. Don’t just do it for six months. Do it for years. And I think you’ll find out, and others will
too, whether or not you love God. The truth
will show itself.”
7. Mark Dever – “Joining a
church won’t save you. It’s only the
death of Christ that saves you. He alone
is our righteousness. But if He really
is our righteousness, if we really love He who we have not seen, it will show
itself by us loving those that we do see.”
8. The local church
is the place where our new life in Christ is lived out and proven.
III. The Pastor’s Perspective On The Church. (How A Church Should Function – Not
Exhaustive)
A.
Pastoral
Principles.
1. Shepherding.
a. Jeremiah 10:21 (ESV) – “For the
shepherds are stupid and do not inquire of the Lord; therefore they have not
prospered, and all their flock is scattered.”
b. 1 Peter 5:1-4 (ESV) – “So I exhort
the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of
Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you,
exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have
you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your
charge, but being examples to the flock.
And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown
of glory.”
c. Ronnie Floyd’s Top Priorities For
Pastors: feed, lead, and
intercede.
2. Sanctified Shepherd.
a. 1 Timothy 4:11-16 (ESV) – “command and
teach these things. Let no one despise
you for your youth, but set the believer’s an example in speech, in conduct, in
love, in faith, in purity. Until I come,
devote yourself to the public reading of scripture, to exhortation, to
teaching. Do not neglect the gift you
have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their
hands on you. Practice these things,
immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the
teaching. Persist in this, for by so
doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
b. There is an emphasis on being a healthy leader.
3. Sanctifying Shepherd.
a. Colossians 1:28-29 (ESV) – ‘Him we
proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may
present everyone mature in Christ. For
this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within
me.”
B.
Pastoral
Principles.
1. Preaching And Teaching.
a. 2 Timothy 4:1-5 (ESV) – “I charge you
in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the
dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:
preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke,
and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not
endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for
themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from
listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober minded, endure
suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
2. Equipping.
a. Ephesians 4:11-16 (ESV) – “And he gave
the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to
equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 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, so
that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried
about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful
schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in
love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it
is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it
build itself up in love.”
b.
We must receive
the equipping.
c. Acts 6:1-7 (ESV) – “now in these
days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the
Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected
in the daily distribution. And the
twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, it is not right that
we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you
seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will
appoint to this duty. But we will devote
ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. And what they said pleased the whole
gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit,
and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus,
a proselyte of
d. We must receive the equipped.
Illustration: The Pastor’s Study
The Pastor’s Study is a symbol of the
calling of the Christian minister to be the shepherd of a flock of god.
His sermons are prepared to feed the
congregation on God’s Holy Word.
Here the work of the church is planned
so that the congregation may grow in grace and bear fruit in fellowship,
teaching, and witnessing.
Here you will always find a friend and
counselor in time of need.
He will not be surprised at your sins,
nor will he judge you in them, but he always invites you to share in the wisdom
and love of God, the knowledge of forgiveness of sins, and the saving grace of
God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
You are always welcome.
Conclusion
Kevin
DeYoung And Ted Kluck – “The church is not an incidental part of God’s
plan. Jesus didn’t invite people to join
an antireligion, antidoctrine, anti-institutional bandwagon of love, harmony,
and reintegration. To be sure, He showed
people how to live. But He also called
them to repent, called them to faith, called them out of the world and called
them into the church.”
Kevin
DeYoung and Ted Kluck – “The New Testament knows nothing of churchless
Christianity. The invisible church is
for invisible Christians. The visible
church is for you and me.”
Kevin
DeYoung And Ted Kluck – “find a good local church, get involved, become a
member, stay there for the long haul.
Put away thoughts of revolution for a while and join the plodding
visionaries. Go to church this Sunday
and worship there in spirit and truth, be patient with your leaders, rejoice
when the gospel is faithfully proclaimed, bear with those who hurt you, and
give people the benefit of the doubt.
While you are there, sing like you mean it, say hi to the teenager no
one notices, welcome the blue hairs and the nose ringed, volunteer for the
nursery once in a while. And yes, bring
your fired chicken to the potluck like everyone else, invite a friend to
church, take the new couple out for coffee, give to the Christmas offering, be
thankful someone vacuumed the carpet, enjoy the Sundays that click for you,
pray extra hard on the Sunday’s that don’t, and do not despise the day of small
things (Zechariah 4:10).”