A Healthy Church Member is a

Committed Member (Part 4)

How to Recognize a Good Church
Sunday, July 20, 2014

It was December of last year, 2013, when I started the series on What is a Healthy
Church Member. This was a topical series to reinforce the theme of our 17th church
anniversary which was “Bringing All to Maturity and Many to Leadership.”

Today, as we celebrate our 18th anniversary, we will still be focusing on the same
theme, and this may go on even till our 19th anniversary. Now, if you have observed,
the series on the Healthy Church Member highlights only the first part of our theme,
which is “Bringing all to Maturity.” When we’re done with this topical series, we will
go back to our default mode of sequential exposition of a particular book of the NT,
and also touch on the second part of our theme, which is “Bringing many to
leadership.”

I hope, that by the time we finish this series on What is a Healthy Church Member,
we will have seen more Christians becoming members of a local church and
committing themselves to it, and experiencing significant spiritual growth in the lives.

Ok, now, for today’s anniversary message, I want to conclude our study on the 6th
mark of a healthy church member, which is a committed member. Under this topic,
we have looked at several things:

• Profile of a church-dater and reasons for church-dating

• Biblical support for Church membership
• Why Every Christian Should Be A Committed Member Of A Local Church

What I have been trying to convince you of as we’ve been looking at this 6th mark is
simply this: if you want to be a spiritually healthy Christian, you have to be a
member of a local church and be committed to it. There is no way you can reach the
level of spiritual maturity God desires for you unless you become identified and
committed to a specific local assembly of believers following the leading and
direction of God. This commitment is manifested by your attitude, attendance,
involvement, giving, accountability and submission to that assembly.

As I said before, although the Bible does not contain any explicit command for
Christians to become official members of a church, “we believe,” as our church
manual says, “that to properly and effectively fulfill the expected functions of a local
body of believers, formal commitment by every member is assumed.”

Again, here are some of the reasons why formal commitment is assumed in the NT:

• The meaning of the word "join" in Acts 5:13 (“None of the rest dared join
them, but the people held them in high esteem.”) makes sense only in the
context of membership. The Greek word Luke used that's translated here as "join"

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 literally means "to glue or cement together, to unite, to join firmly." “Join” is used in
the New Testament to describe a man being joined together to his wife in marriage
(Mt 19:5). It means being joined in a sexual relationship to a prostitute in 1Co 6:16,
and being joined to the Lord in one spirit in salvation in 1Co 6:17. And so the word
join in Acts 5:13 doesn't refer to just an informal and merely assumed kind of
relationship.
• There are so many passages that show our responsibility to other Christians
such as love one another with brotherly affection, serve one another, forgive
one another, as God in Christ forgave you, teach and admonish one another
in all wisdom, exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today,"
that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, and 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. Most of those commandments are
directly given to local churches and are intended to help those churches be
what God wants them to be. Those commands make sense only if you are a
committed member of a local church.
• The instructions for church discipline in Mt 18, especially that portion that
says, “tell it to the church,” would not be doable if there is not formal
membership.
• The instructions for church leaders to shepherd the flock is practicable only in
the context of membership. How can a elders oversee the flock if they don’t
even know who they are and if these people they are commanded to oversee
have not submitted to them.
• The NT church practice of keeping a list of widows in 1Ti 5:9 makes sense in
the context of membership
• The formal correspondences between established local assemblies make
sense only in the context of membership. 1Co 16:3 - And when I arrive, I will
send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem.

Now that you’ve learned these things about church membership, what should you
do?

If you are already a Christian and you are just dating the church, then I exhort you
to stop living independently or having the “consumer” mentality and start to submit
yourself for membership in a local church. Present yourself to the church for baptism
as a symbol of identification with Christ and His church. Be identified as a member of
the church. Make yourself accountable to the members and submit to its leaders.
Now if you are already a member of a church, reaffirm your commitment in your
present church. Discover your spiritual gifts and through that church begin to serve.
Don't just attend to be served but begin serve others and love them. Also make
yourself accountable to others and submit to the leaders.

Don't make that excuse that the reason you are not joining the church is because it
is imperfect. There is no perfect church today, just as there was no perfect church
during New Testament times. The NT church faced the same problems we face
today.

• In Acts 5 we read of hypocrites in the church. Remember the incident

about the husband and wife whom God killed because they lied about the
sale of their lot.

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 • In Acts 6 we see complaining and grumbling among groups in the local
church. Greek-speaking Jewish Christians vs. Hebrew-speaking Christians
because of unfair distribution of food and funds.
• In Acts 15 we read legalistic members of the church. These church
members claimed that people need to be circumcised and obey the Law of
Moses in order to be saved.
• In the latter part of chapter 15 we find church leaders quarreling that
resulted in a separation of ministry.
• In chapter 2 of Paul’s letter to the Galatians we read of the church leaders
Peter, Barnabas and others living in hypocrisy and compromise.
• Read 1Corinthians, and you find a whole assortment of problems:

o Divisions over Christian Preachers (1–4)

o A member having sexual relations with the second wife of his
father (5)
o Members of the church bringing other members to court (6:1–11)
o Sexual immorality and going to temple prostitutes (6:12–20)
o The wealthy shaming the poor during the Lord's Table (11:17–34)
o Elevating speaking in tongues above others spiritual gifts (12-14)
o Questions re the resurrection (15:1–58)

The NT shows that the early churches had their own share of moral and doctrinal
problems but the Lord Jesus nor the apostles did not say to the believers to reject
the church or to stop joining it. The instruction of the Lord Jesus and the apostle Paul
was to remove unrepentant sinners from the local church. They never told Christians
to live independent of the church because there was no perfect church. In fact,
despite the problems of the church of that period, the author of the book of Hebrews
wrote that believers should not neglect to meet together, as is the habit of some, but
encourage and to stir up one another to love and good works, and all the more as
they see the day of Christ's return and judgment drawing near (Heb 10:24-25).

Today, I want to conclude this series connected to committed church membership

with some guidelines on how to discern a good church. In order to do that we need
the instruction of the Word of God. On the basis of the Word of God alone we will be
able to discern to which local church we must join ourselves.

How Do We Recognize A Good Church?

[Note: Though not quoted verbatim, most of the words or ideas in this study are
from Richard W. De Haan, former president and teacher of RBC Ministries from 1964
to 1984.]

Many people are drawn to a church by its beautiful buildings. Others are more
interested in the size of its membership. Still others are attracted by its choir or
musical program. Many are attracted by the personality or the ability of the pastor to
communicate or entertain the listeners. Some look for a church with a good program
for young people and children. There are also others who are drawn to a church
because of loyalty to a denomination, its location, or friends or business prospects
who attend. Others look for a church that make them feel special.

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None of the reasons I gave you are biblical reasons for recognizing or choosing a
good church. The most important thing to consider in choosing a church is what does
it believe and teach. As someone said, “I’d rather be in a church that meets in an old
broken-down building with no choir, an out-of-tune piano, and a stammering
preacher who teaches the Word of God than attend a church that’s proud of its
beautiful buildings, magnificent choir, or eloquent minister yet denies or ignores the
clear teaching of Scripture and lacks the presence and power of the Spirit of God.
What is believed and preached in a church is all-important!”

The very first thing you look for in choosing a good church is its doctrine.

1. A good church holds fast to the essentials of the faith.

▪ Ac 2:42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching.

▪ 1Ti 4:13,16 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of
Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. … 16 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
▪ 2Ti 4:2-4 says, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season;
reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 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, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and
wander off into myths.”

I want to give this clarification. Let me repeat what is common knowledge. There
is no perfect church. And, I’m sorry to disappoint some of you, but you may
never find a church with which you agree on every belief and practice. So it is
important to point out the essential doctrines that all true churches should
believe and if they are present, you can confidently identify with that local church,
work in it, and worship there with enthusiasm and joy. But if these fundamentals
are missing or denied, beware!

What are the essentials of the Faith?

▪ Bible
▪ Trinity (beliefs about God, Christ, HS)
▪ Man
▪ Salvation
▪ Church
▪ End times

a. Scriptures Alone (Sola Scriptura)

A good church will be correct, first of all, in its beliefs about the Bible. It will
believe and teach that the Bible is the inspired Word of the living God. The
Lord has given us the Scriptures, His infallible written revelation to man.

2Ti 3:16-17 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for
teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17
that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

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 A true church believes that the Bible is entirely trustworthy, sufficient,
infallible and supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. A true
church believes that all the 66 Bible books are equally inspired and that they
are the sole source of written divine revelation, which alone can bind the
conscience. The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation
from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be
measured.

b. Trinity
The second way to recognize a good church is to examine its belief about God.
No church can possibly be sound in doctrine if it rejects the teaching of the
Bible regarding the Trinity. The Bible teaches that God is one (Dt. 6:4) but at
the same time, in this one God is three distinct persons: Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. The Father is God. The Son, Jesus Christ, is God. The Holy Spirit
is God. And each of these three members of the Trinity is a Person. They have
always existed. They are equal in power and knowledge. Yet they are so
unified in their essence that they are not three gods but one God.

The Bible presents the first person of the Trinity as the Father. He is light
and there is no darkness in Him. He is love, but he is also a consuming fire
(Heb 12:29) who punishes the evildoer. No teaching about God can be called
biblical if it fails to recognize His holiness as well as His love. It must
acknowledge His hatred and judgment of sin as well as His pleasure of
righteousness. A minister who preaches God’s love without ever mentioning
God’s wrath is not presenting the whole truth.

The Bible also presents the second person of the Trinity as Jesus Christ, the
Son of God. A true church presents the full deity and humanity of Christ. The
Bible teaches that Christ is truly God and truly man. The deity of Christ, for
example, is explicitly stated in the opening verse of the gospel of John: “In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God” (Jn. 1:1). Paul says in Col 2:9 that in Christ, “the whole fullness of deity
dwells bodily.”

But Jesus is not only God, He is also man. The fact of our Lord’s deity and
humanity is clearly indicated in Philippians 2:5-8. He was born of the virgin
Mary. During His life on earth, He as a man became weary, He was hungry,
and He suffered physically. Nevertheless, He was truly God. This is a mystery
which we accept by faith. If a church denies the absolute deity and genuine
humanity of Christ, then it is not a true church.

A church that is correct in its Christology will also believe in the virgin birth of
Jesus. It will teach that Mary was a virgin when Christ was born. A church
that is correct in its Christology will also believe in the atoning death of Christ.
It will teach that Jesus, the sinless One, died on the cross for sinners. Yes, He
died as our substitute. A church that is correct in its Christology will also
believe that Christ literally arose from the dead.

The Bible also presents the third person of the Trinity as the Holy Spirit.
Some people think of the Spirit is some force or just an influence that comes
from God. But the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is a Person and He is God.
And since He is God, He is also co-equal and coeternal with the Father and

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 the Son. So beware of those who deny the personality and deity of the Holy
Spirit.

c. Man
A good church will also be correct in its understanding of man. A good church
teaches that man was directly and literally created by God and that man was
created in the image and likeness of God. A good church believes that Adam
and Eve fell into sin and that in Adam's sin the whole human race fell and
therefore all human beings who are born into this world are born with original
sin, with the exception of Christ. Man is spiritually dead and he is totally
incapable of any spiritual good nor can he repent and believe to be saved,
except by the grace of God. Only through regeneration by the Spirit of Christ
can salvation and spiritual life be obtained.

d. The Way of Salvation

A good church will be correct in its understanding of the way of salvation. It
will proclaim the message of salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone
(Eph. 2:8-9). A good church will deny that salvation is in any sense a human
work. Human methods, techniques or strategies by themselves cannot
accomplish man’s salvation. Now in saying that salvation is by grace—
completely apart from human effort—we are not denying the importance of
baptism, church attendance, or living a good life in obedience to the
commands found in God’s Word. Not at all! All of these things are vitally
important. But they are not done in order to be saved. Rather, they follow as
the fruit, the result, the evidence of a genuine conversion experience. Paul
wrote in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in
them.”

e. The Church
A good church will be correct in its belief about the church. The word church
may refer to either the invisible universal church or to a visible local assembly
of believers. The universal church consists of all who have received Him as
Savior, regardless of color, race, standing, or denominational label. It’s the
one true church. The visible local church refers to local assemblies of
believers—groups of Christians who meet regularly for worship, instruction,
fellowship, evangelism, and the observance of the ordinances.

A good church will recognize the distinction between a local and the invisible
church. Its members will acknowledge that their assembly or denomination is
not the only true church. They will not exclude from the body of Christ those
believers in Him who don’t have their particular ecclesiastical label. Rather,
they will see all who have placed their trust in Christ as fellow members of His
body, the one true church. They will accept them as brothers and sisters in
Christ.

f. Endtimes
Finally, a good church will be correct in its understanding of the endtimes and
the coming of Christ.

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 Richard De Haan, a well known Bible teacher in the 20th century said:

The most momentous and far-reaching event in human history was the
birth of the Lord Jesus Christ nearly 2,000 years ago. There is much
more to the story of Jesus, however, than His first coming. His virgin
birth, His sinless life, His bodily resurrection, and His ascension into
heaven are all facts of history—but they are not the end of the story.
There’s much more. That which lies ahead is glorious! The Bible tells
us that Jesus Christ is coming again. When He does, we shall see the
complete unfolding of God’s great plan of the ages.

I realize that even within evangelical circles, people disagree about the
endtimes. But our differences must never become occasions for
division and strife. Rather, let’s remember that in spite of our various
convictions, as brothers and sisters in Christ we can love one another
just the same. The important thing is this: We agree that Jesus Christ
is coming again. Any church that denies His personal return as an
actual, future event falls short of the standards for measuring a good
church.

In addition to its belief in the second coming of Christ, a good church

will also recognize the reality of both heaven and hell.

Bible-believing Christians are looking forward to a beautiful place

called heaven. Based on their faith in God’s Word, they anticipate with
delight the joys that await them in their eternal home. And this hope
brings healing to the wounds of their earthly existence and quenches
their sorrows.

A good church not only believes in a place called heaven, but it also
warns unbelievers of a real place called hell. If you believe the Bible,
you simply cannot avoid the fact that there is a heaven to be gained
and a hell to be shunned. One of the marks of a good church is its
belief in and its scriptural teaching about both places.

2. A good church is characterized by biblical preaching.

It is not enough for a church to hold on to the essentials in order to be

considered a true church. Some churches will claim that they are true church
because they keep a document that tells them what they believe in formally. You
may find this in their Statement of Faith yet in practice, they deny these cardinal
and orthodox doctrines. Keeping an orthodox statement of faith while at the
same time hiding it from the congregation by not preaching it or burying those
truths, will cause a true church to degenerate into a false church.

A good church will have a biblical message. It will be a place where the Bible is
believed and faithfully preached. Paul wrote to Timothy:

2Ti 4:1-5 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:2 preach
the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort,
with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people
will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate

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 for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from
listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be
sober- minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your
ministry.

From Richard De Haan:

Paul said, “Preach the Word!” And that’s one of the first things you should
listen for when looking for a church home. Is this a place where the Word of
God is preached and practiced? Or are the messages from the pulpit mere
moral sermonettes intended to tickle the ears of fickle Christians? Are the
messages mere expressions of the preacher’s opinion, or are they proclaimed
with the authority of the Scriptures behind them? Is there not only “milk” for
spiritual infants but also “solid food” for those who have matured in the faith?
Paul said, “Preach the Word!” And that’s exactly what is done in a good
church.

3. a good church administers the ordinances as Christ instituted them.

The Lord Jesus Christ has sovereignly instituted and appointed two ordinances to
be observed by the church to the end of the world. The one is water baptism in
the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Mt 28:19-20). The other is the
Lord's Supper (1Co 11:26).

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the

Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the
believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer's death to sin,
the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ
Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a
church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to
the Lord's Supper.

The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church,
through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of
the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.

4. A good church worships and prays.

o Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing
one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

o Eph. 5:18-19 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but
be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart

o The early Church was devoted to prayer. 1Ti 2:11-4 First of all, then, I urge
that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all
people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a
peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it
is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved
and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

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5. A good church exercises genuine fellowship.

From Richard De Haan:

Five qualities that are characteristic of a church that exercises genuine

fellowship:

1. The members of an ideal church are loving. Speaking to His disciples,

Jesus said in Jn 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love
one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all
will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

True fellowship involves loving with a selfless desire for the good of others.
It’s reaching out to those who need the encouragement of genuine love.

2. The members of an ideal church are caring.

1Co 12:25-26 that there may be no division in the body, but that the
members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member
suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice
together.

Caring includes such activities as praying for one another, visiting the lonely,
ministering to the sick, and comforting the bereaved. Through prayer and the
practical demonstrations of loving and caring, we fulfill the biblical admonition,
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2).
Sorrows are lessened and joys are increased when others share them. It’s
encouraging for a believer to know that his brothers and sisters in Christ are
praying for him. How wonderful it would be if every member of the church
really felt cared for!

3. The members of an ideal church are forgiving. Believers in Christ

should be ready at all times to forgive those who have wronged them. Be kind
to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ
forgave you (Eph. 4:32).

4. The members of an ideal church are forbearing. The apostle Paul,

writing to the Ephesians, indicated to believers that they were to walk “with
all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in
love” (Eph. 4:2). If we are really “bearing with one another in love,” we are
patiently making allowance for the weaknesses of others. Irritability and
impatience are selfish responses, totally out of keeping with Christian
character.

5. The members of an ideal church are submitting.

Heb 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch
over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this
with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you

6. A good church is evangelistic in spirit.

From Richard De Haan:

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 A good church will recognize the importance of bringing lost souls to Christ.
The Lord Jesus Himself announced “the Son of Man has come to seek and to
save that which was lost” (Lk. 19:10). A good church will have an evangelistic
mission. It might also have a deep social concern for the physical and
material needs of people; but if that becomes its primary mission, and
evangelism is given a back seat, then its priorities have been confused. A
sure sign of a good church is a burden for lost souls.

This is not to say that the right kind of church should have an invitation for
unbelievers every Sunday without exception. Evangelism can be
demonstrated in other ways such as through home Bible studies, personal
witnessing of its members, radio and television outreaches, home visitation
programs, and other ministries that may be appropriate to a church in its own
community.

Evangelism also goes beyond getting people saved. A good church will have a
concern for promoting Christian discipleship and growth.

Closely related to evangelism is missions. A good church will have a strong

missionary outreach. It will have a global concern. Jesus told His followers to “go
into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mk. 16:15). Also, in
Acts 1:8 our Lord said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come
upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

7. A good church has a regenerated membership.

From Richard De Haan:

A good church will have a regenerated membership. If a church membership

includes unsaved people (good as they may be, and of the highest reputation
and respect in the community), beware! If it welcomes into its membership
men and women who have never been born again, it is not a good church.

Again, please don’t misunderstand. We should encourage the unsaved to

come to church, to hear the Word, and to be confronted with the good news
of God’s saving grace. But to receive them as members before they are saved
and to give them a voice and a place in the affairs of the church is to stain its
purity, compromise its principles, and diminish its power.

Paul commanded in 2Co 6:14-16:

14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has

righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with
darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a
believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of
God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,

and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

8. A good church has biblical church leadership.

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 Elders or overseers have a very vital role for the well-being of churches. This can
be seen in the following passages:

• Act 14:23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church
and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they
had put their trust.
• Tit 1:5 --The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out
what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed
you.
• Ac 20:17,28 –17 From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the
church... 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the
Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God,
which he bought with his own blood.
• Heb 13:17 --Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep
watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that
their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage
to you.

They should therefore be chosen according to the principles laid down in

Scriptures such as those found in Titus 1:5-9 and 1Ti 3:1-13.

9. A good church applies biblical discipline to correct its faults.

A true church administers biblical discipline in order to preserve pure doctrine

and holy living.

• Mt 18:15-17 If your brother sins against you, [c] go and show him his fault,
just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother
over. 16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every
matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' [d] 17
If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen
even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

• 1Co 5:9-13 I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually
immoral people-- 10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are
immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would
have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing you that you must not
associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or
greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man
do not even eat. 12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the
church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside.
"Expel the wicked man from among you."

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