Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
83 Clarence Street, Ballymena BT43 5DR
Rev. Angus Stewart
Lord’s Day, 29 October, 2023
“And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed,
and heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:29)
Morning Service – 11:00 AM
Proof for New Testament Church Membership [youtube]
Scripture Reading: I Thessalonians 5:5-28
Text: I Thessalonians 5:5-28
I. From Ecclesiastical Considerations
II. From Specific Passages
Psalms: 118:1-9; 78:42-48; 74:1-3, 20-21; 147:1-8
Evening Service – 6:00 PM
Church Membership Rolls [youtube]
Scripture Reading: Romans 16:1-16, 21-24
Text: Romans 16:1-16, 21-24
I. Two Cities
II. The Levant
III. Turkey
IV. Greece
Psalms: 65:1-5; 78:49-54; 69:23-28; 87:1-7
For CDs of the sermons and DVDs of the worship services, contact Stephen Murray
If you desire a pastoral visit, please contact Rev. Stewart or the elders
CPRC Website: www.cprc.co.uk • Live Webcast: www.cprc.co.uk/live-streaming
CPRC YouTube: www.youtube.com/cprcni
CPRC Facebook: www.facebook.com/CovenantPRC
Quote to Consider
Article 59: Adults are through baptism incorporated into the Christian church, and are accepted as members of the church, and are therefore obliged also to partake of the Lord’s Supper, which they shall promise to do at their baptism.
Article 60: The names of those baptized, together with those of the parents, and likewise the date of birth and baptism, shall be recorded.
Herman Hoeksema: “From verse 3 through verse 16 [of Romans 16] we have a long list of salutations. This is possibly due to the fact that the apostle had never been to Rome. There is also the fact that the apostle must have known an exceptionally large number of saints who were members of that church. The church of Rome was what we would call a ‘floating church.’ Due to persecution, people were driven about and finally settled in Rome. The apostle had come into contact with many of them … outside of Priscilla and Aquila we do not know any of them. But we must remember … that this part also is a part of the Word of God. We must not look at these greetings as mere greetings by the man Paul. They are inspired greetings. Not only are they greetings of the Spirit through Paul to the church, but they also contain practical lessons which, although not mentioned, are clearly implied” (Righteous by Faith Alone, p. 681).
Announcements (subject to God’s will)
We express our sympathy to Tommy Duncan whose brother passed away on Wednesday. The funeral is planned for Wednesday. May the Lord comfort and uphold our brother at this time.
Catechism classes tomorrow:
5:00 PM: Corey, Jason, Katelyn, Maisie & Sebastian (Seniors NT)
5:45 PM: Felicity, Grace, Jonas, Keagan, Liam, Lucas, Sammy, Somaya, Sophie & Yossef (Beginners OT – Book 1)
6:30 PM: Eleanora, Hannah, Jorja, Penelope & Xander (Juniors NT)
7:15 PM: Angelica, Bradley, Jack, Josh, Samuel & Taylor (Essentials)
8:00 PM: Alex & Nathan (Pre-confession)
Tuesday Bible study will meet at 11 AM to consider how the local church, our mother, helps regarding the church militant, the church latent and the church triumphant.
Belgic Confession class on Wednesday at 7:30 PM will discuss the terrible reality of apostasy.
The Reformed Witness Hour broadcast next Lord’s day (Gospel 846 MW at 8:30 AM) by Rev. Bruinsma is entitled, “Israel Transgresses God’s Covenant” (Hos. 6:7).
Rev. Stewart will be speaking at a conference in Budapest, Hungary. He and Mary will be in Hungary from Monday through Friday (6-10 November), so catechism classes, and the Tuesday and Wednesday studies, will be cancelled that week.
Offerings: £1,563.15. Donations: £200 (New Jersey, USA).
Translation Additions: 2 Bengali and 1 Polish.
PRC News: Georgetown PRC and Loveland PRC have called Rev. Eriks (Unity, MI). Rev. Noorman declined the call to Lynden PRC. Rev. Decker declined the call to Hudsonville PRC. Rev. Daniel Kleyn was installed in Doon PRC last week. Pastor-elect Koerner arrived in Edmonton this week, and is to be ordained and installed in Hosanna PRC on 9 November.
The Scriptural Idea and Calling of Church Membership
Rev. Steven Key (an excerpt from “Church Membership in an Evil Age”)
Church membership is something that the Christian church has always taken seriously, because the concept is so thoroughly scriptural. But along with the departure from the teaching of the Scriptures in recent years, there has also been a steady decline in the understanding of the importance of church membership.
Many believe that to be a member of a local congregation is not so important, and that individual believers are at liberty to do as they please. If they want to join, that is fine; and if not, that is fine too. After all, they say, church membership does not make you a Christian. But while we indeed grant that having your name on a church roll will not make you a Christian, there is confusion in that argument that must be addressed by Scripture.
The Bible speaks of the church from two perspectives, as does also the Belgic Confession, one of the creeds or confessions of the Reformed churches.
In the first place, there is the one holy catholic church. And by that word “catholic” we have no reference whatsoever to the Roman Catholic Church. “Catholic” refers to the universal aspect of the church, the one holy universal church of true believers in many denominations and countries, gathered throughout the ages. The truth of Scripture concerning that holy catholic or universal church is summarized concisely in our Heidelberg Catechism, Question and Answer 54:
What believest thou concerning the holy catholic church of Christ?
That the Son of God from the beginning to the end of the world, gathers, defends, and preserves to himself by his Spirit and word, out of the whole human race, a church chosen to everlasting life, agreeing in true faith; and that I am and for ever shall remain, a living member thereof.
Essentially, therefore, the church is the body of Christ, invisible, an object of faith, not sight.
But besides that truth of the church, Scripture also makes clear that the one holy, universal church comes to manifestation in individual congregations under the leadership of God-appointed office bearers who serve that local body of believers. That is the aspect of church membership and our calling to church membership that we consider here. There is a clear relationship between the one who is taken into the church organism, that invisible body of Christ, by regeneration and the bond of faith, and membership in a local church.
The invisible body of Christ and the visible congregation are not two separate entities, but two important aspects of the one church. Although one can distinguish them, they are inseparably related. So inseparably related are they, that one expresses personal unity with the body of Christ when he joins a faithful congregation, and one forsakes the body of Christ when he leaves or stands outside of a faithful congregation. The believer must find fellowship with the other members of Christ’s body. He is compelled to do such by the Spirit of Christ.
That truth is well attested to scripturally. To the New Testament believer, faith in Christ and participation in His church are inseparable.
In Matthew 18:15ff., Jesus teaches us the order to follow in calling an erring brother or sister to repentance and restoring fellowship when a breach has developed between individual members of the church. If the guilty person refuses to listen, Jesus instructs us to bring the matter to the church That clearly points to believers being recognized as members of a local congregation.
In Acts, chapters 2-5, for example, many were brought to faith through the preaching of the apostles. However, they were not left hanging on their own. Instead, they are spoken of as being added to that number who were already a part of the church at Jerusalem.
In Acts 20:28, Paul instructs the elders in the church at Ephesus to take heed to themselves and to all the flock over which God has made them overseers. Those elders were not in doubt as to who were members in their congregation. Taking heed to the flock would be impossible, if there were no recognizable membership. To that same church at Ephesus Paul wrote a letter in which he gave instruction as to the importance of congregational life. Christ blesses His elect through the congregation, to which He gives His Word and Spirit. Out of Christ, that whole body, having been fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth—see how intimate is that fellowship—according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love (Ephesians 4:16).
From those references, which are only a few, it ought to be clear that we may not think of the church institute, that which is visible, as something disassociated from the one invisible body of Christ. You may not put asunder what God has joined together!
Dr. Abraham Kuyper used a fitting illustration, when he spoke of the peas in a pod. If you raise peas in a garden, it is impossible that you tend the peas, but ignore the pod.
True, when the peas are ripe, and picking time has come, you shell the peas and throw the pod away. Similarly, you remove a scaffolding when once the building has been completed within it. Just so, the Lord God will sometime come to throw away the visible Church. But the present is not yet the season of harvest. The scaffolding is necessary still, and the pod must needs be. Hence, you may not be indifferent about the visible Church, wrongly supposing that the invisible, spiritual Church can mature without her.
… But church membership involves more than being on the membership list of some church and attending the worship services on Sunday.
There are responsibilities connected with that church membership. Those responsibilities are spelled out throughout the Bible; and the Word of God that I preach comes to me and to His people every Lord’s Day with a “thus saith the Lord,” that places before us responsibilities that are inescapable. Those responsibilities that are yours as a member of Christ’s church in whatever place, may all be summed up by the calling to glorify the Lord your God by loving Him with all your heart and mind and soul, and loving your neighbour as yourself. That sums it all.
That implies many things, of course.
In the first place, the necessity of church membership, and the calling to glorify God in your church membership, immediately places you under the calling to evaluate today’s churches, including the one in which you currently have your membership. Only a true church is a proper body to join and in which to remain. As a member of that church, i.e., of a local congregation of believers and their children, you have the calling before the face of God to submit to the teaching ministry and to the discipline of that church.
You are obligated, according to Scripture (I Corinthians 9, Galatians 6:6ff., and many other passages), to care for the poor and to support the ministry of the Word, in its broadest sense, with your money, reflective of what God has given you. You are obligated to support the work of Christ with the various gifts and talents God has given you (Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and many, many other passages)—with your time and prayers, your fellowship and upbuilding words, even your admonitions for the love of the brother or sister who is departing from the way of the Lord.
And for the glory of God, we are also obligated to live lives of separation and holiness. That means that we find no fellowship with the ungodly and unbelievers and, as in times of apostasy and reformation, that we come out from among those who manifest themselves as belonging to the false church.
Exercising that responsibility of church membership becomes increasingly difficult in the advancing apostasy in the church today …
