Hopefully, you have a lesson in front of you that says chapter 26 of the church, lesson 8. And let me just read the text here that is on your notes, and then we'll have a word of prayer. Romans 1-7, to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And let us pray. Father, we thank you this morning for the great privilege we have to come together as a people of God and to worship you and commune with you in delight. I thank you for each one that is here, and I pray that our time this morning would be truly profitable and helpful to our souls. and to our own thinking as it relates to the church and the living of the Christian life. I just pray it would be instructive to our minds and edifying to our hearts and it would be a blessed preparation for our worship and praise and adoration this day. So we thank you for your goodness to us. I thank you for your mercy to us. I would pray for the help of your Holy Spirit these moments to convey your blessed word in a way that's honoring to the and good for our souls. So we ask these things in Jesus' name, amen. Okay, as you know, we've been engaged in a number of studies in the 26th chapter of the London Baptist Confession of Faith of the Church. Last week, our emphasis was on the fifth paragraph. In that connection, we pursued three main lines of thought, the formation of the church, then the instruction of the church, the expression of the church and we spent most of our time in this area of the formation of the church and really saw the theme of effectual calling and how central that is to the formation of any church. and also how that relates to the regulative principle. The point there is that if a person's effectually called, they're radically different from anyone else in the world, and they're wired, so to speak, to want to worship in a way that has the mandate of Holy Scripture. There's an affinity of soul and heart between the work that has been done in their soul and God's directives to worship, there's a connection. So the people that are effectually called, they want to worship in a way that is revealed in the scriptures. So this morning, we'll seek to move through just some further paragraphs, paragraphs six and seven. And to begin with, we'll look at paragraph number six, and I'll just read this in your hearing. It says, the members of these churches are saints by calling, visibly manifesting and evidencing in and by their profession and walking their obedience unto that call of Christ, and do willingly consent to walk together according to the appointment of Christ, giving up themselves to the Lord and one to another by the will of God in professed subjection to the ordinances of the gospel. And we can break this down. So we have the character of the members here. We can break this down into three main points. First of all, is their description or description Actually, I have a description, I think, in the notes. Designation is probably a better word than description. And what I'm drawing your attention to here is the members of the church are referred to as saints. It's a term that is used many, many times in the New Testament to refer to Christians. And I just have an example here from the book of Ephesians. So we're just focusing here on the fact that the members of the churches, they are saints by calling. I just wanted to kind of re-impress upon your minds how much we find this in the scriptures, and then what is the significance of the fact that we are referred to as saints. So just in the book of Ephesians alone, it's how the apostle Paul addresses them. Ephesians 1, one, Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God to the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus. And one of the reasons that Paul gives thanks for the Ephesian believers is in verse 15 of chapter one. For this reason, I too, Having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the Saints So their love for people who are referred to as Saints is one of the reasons that the Apostle Paul gives Thanks and then in chapter 2 and verse 19 in contrast to the unconverted state of strangers and aliens you are fellow citizens with the Saints and And then in chapter three, next page of your notes, chapter three and verse eight, Paul refers to himself, interesting passages, the very least of all saints. He says to me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles, the infallible riches of Christ. And we get some further light on why he refers to himself in this way in Acts chapter nine and verse 10. It says, there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias, and he said, behold, here I am, Lord. The Lord said to him, rise and go to the street called Straight and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul. For behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in, and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight. But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to thy saints at Jerusalem. And that's a reference to obviously Paul's pre-converted experience. And he refers to himself as the very least of all saints. And if you're so inclined, you can check out 1 Corinthians 15, nine, and he regarded himself as the least of all saints because of the fact that he persecuted the church. Okay, then also in chapter 4 and verse 12, the reason which he gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors, and some as teachers, is for the equipping of the saints. Chapter 5 and verse 3, Paul points out that immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you as is proper among saints." So it's very practical because, as you're aware, saints, it means holy ones. And so these kinds of sins obviously are not to be named among any Christian. But Paul makes the point that they especially are not proper for those who are designated or described as holy ones. So just how we think about ourself, how we think about the living of the Christian life is very helpful in that respect. Ephesians 6, 18, prayer is made for all the saints. So we see in a book like Ephesians, which consists of six chapters, there's nine references, if my count is right, to Christians as saints. So this is the way in which we are to think of ourselves. We are to think of ourselves in these terms. And we find the same kind of thing in Romans and 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians and Colossians, if you get a chance to take a concordance and you look up this word saints, you'll find it's used over and over again. 1 Corinthians 14, 33, God is not a God of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. So that's the way he's thinking in terms of the church as the place where the saints are, where the saints gather. So the churches, the true church of God, they consist of those who are designated in Scripture as saints or holy ones. 2 Thessalonians 1.10, when he comes to be glorified, referring to the second coming, when he comes to be glorified in his saints on that day. So this is clearly a concept, excuse me, a way that we should think of ourselves. Charles Hodge in his comments, on Romans chapter 1 and verse 7, which we read, he says this. It's one of those designations peculiar to the true people of God, and expresses at once their vocation and that to which they are called, holiness. The word hagios, saints, in accordance with the meaning of kadosh, that's the term from the Old Testament, signifies clean, pure, morally consecrated, and especially as applied to God, holy, worthy of reverence. People of Israel, their land, their temple, and so forth, are called holy as separated and devoted to God. The term saints, as applied to the people of God under the New Dispensation, includes this idea. They are saints because they are communities separated from the world and consecrated to God. A second heading with respect to the paragraph here would be the term manifestation, and here I'm thinking of the words where the paragraph says, visibly manifesting and evidencing and in and by their profession and walking their obedience unto the call of Christ. And here I have some further verses on holiness, because it just seems like kind of a logical movement from being referred to as saints. What's the practical application of that? If it means holy ones, the practical application of that is to seek to live holy lives. So I have some texts that bring that out. Hebrews 12, 14, follow peace with all men. holiness without which no man shall see the Lord." 2 Corinthians 7, 1, First Peter 1, 15, Be holy yourselves also in all your behavior, because it is written, you shall be holy, for I am holy." And I have here, these are just some bullet points from J.C. Ryle's book on holiness, to kind of flesh this out a little bit. What are we talking about by holiness? And I thought these are helpful, and if you have to, and if you want to read that, it'd be great. And he develops each of these even further. But just to get a sense of practical holiness, he says, Thirdly, a holy man will strive to be like our Lord Jesus Christ. Fourth, a holy man will follow after meekness, long-suffering, gentleness, patience, kind tempers, government of his tongue. A holy man will follow after temperance and self-denial. Luke 9.23 says he was saying to them all, if anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. A holy man will follow after charity and brotherly kindness. A holy man will follow after a spirit of mercy and benevolence toward others. A holy man will follow after purity of heart. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Number nine, a holy man will follow after the fear of God. Ecclesiastes 12, 13 says, let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep his commandments. This is the whole duty of man. A holy man will follow after humility. You younger men likewise be subject to your elders and all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another. For God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble. A holy man will follow after faithfulness in all. It should be the duties and relations in life. Colossians 3 23. Whatever you do, do your work heartily. Ask for the Lord rather than for men. Romans 12, 11, not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. And then he says, last but not least, the holy man will follow after spiritual mindedness. Paul says, I urge you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. And also under this heading of manifestation here, you notice in this paragraph, there's a commitment to obedience, visibly manifesting in evidence and by their profession and walking their obedience unto that call of God. And I just want to elaborate a little bit, not too much on this, But the point I want to make here is that a commitment to obedience, I don't know what the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the obedience. It might have negative connotations, you know, because authority can be abused and we all understand that. But the only point I want to make here is that the concept of obedience in the realm of being a Christian, that should be something that is precious and enriching to our heart and our thinking. I just want to give you some reasons why that is the case. It's in this this part of the confession, but the first is that our Lord's work on the cross for our salvation, that is presented as an act of obedience. In Philippians 2-5, Paul says, but emptied himself, taking the form of a bond slave, and being made in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Romans 5, 19, for as through the one man's disobedience to many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one, that many will be made righteous. Matthew 26, 39, he went a little beyond them and fell on his face. and prayed, saying, Father, if it is possible, let this come pass from me, yet not as I will, but as thou wilt. And then a second reason, just by the way here, you're aware of this, but in John Murray's book, Redemption Accomplished and Applied, he has a section on the atonement that is very helpful in terms of some category that you put sacrifice and redemption and other redemptive terms under. and he indicates it's obedience. So it's kind of an all-encompassing term to help us to understand the character of the atonement. Jesus' death for us on the cross, it's an act of obedience. Secondly, becoming a Christian is an act of obedience. Hebrews 5-9, having been made perfect, he became to all those who obey him the source of eternal salvation. John 3.36, he who believes in the Son has eternal life. He who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. And then in 1 Thessalonians 1.8, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. I would compare it to faith. Becoming a Christian is an act of faith, and then you become a person of faith. You continue to trust the promises of God. You continue to rely upon God. Becoming a Christian involves repentance, turning from sin and turning to Christ, and we continue to repent. We continue to turn from sin. And it's the same idea here. Becoming a Christian is an act of obedience, and then it's also the theme of the Christian life. Well, then third, a pattern of obedience to God through his word, it's pleasing to him. 1 Samuel 15, 22, Samuel said, and to heathen the fat of rams. Jeremiah 7, 22, For I did not speak to your fathers or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices, but this is what I commanded them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you will be my people, and you will walk in all which I command you, that it may be well with you. And then Matthew 28 to 20, this is the section that the confession actually quotes or makes reference to. Jesus came up and spoke to them saying, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe. all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you even to the end of the age here." So they are to observe everything that the Lord commands. And Leon Morris has a helpful comment here. He writes, Jesus is not speaking about education for education's sake. He speaks of the taught as observing what Jesus has commanded. In other words, Jesus is concerned with a way of life. As we have seen throughout this gospel, he continually urges his followers to live in a manner pleasing to God. He has objected to the sterile legalism of many in his day, and has gone beyond the letter of the law to the things that are rightly seen as arising from its spirit. So there is to be instruction and there is to be purity of life. We should not miss the significance of all the things. Jesus is not suggesting that his followers should make a selection from his teachings as it pleases them and neglect the rest, since the teaching of Jesus is a unified whole. Disciples are to observe all that this means. Well, then a third term with respect to this paragraph is permission, and there actually might be a better word than this, but I'm emphasizing here permission in the sense that there's a voluntary acquiescence on our part in submitting to the commands of Christ. The paragraph we're looking at here. It says and do willingly consent to walk together according to the appointment of Christ giving up themselves to the Lord and one to another by the will of God in profess objection to the ordinance of the gospel and notice the words here do willingly consent to walk together so involvement in the church membership in the church or obedience to Christ commands It's not some sort of external coercion here, but it's voluntary, it's voluntary. And some of the texts that are helpful in this respects, Acts 2.41, so then, those who had received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about 3,000 souls, and they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. And as you know, Peter just preached a sermon, They have Pentecost, all these people were converted. What do converted people want to do? What do they desire to do? This is it. They were devoting themselves, teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayer. It's what they desired to do. 2 Corinthians 9, 7, let each one do just as he has purpose in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. So it makes a point there in comparison to giving or with respect to giving. And then 2 Chronicles 29.9, And then one other passage, Ezekiel 36.25 and following, I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I'll give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." And verse 27, I'll put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you'll be careful to observe my ordinances." And 1 John 5, 3, this is the love of God that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. They're not grievous or they're not heavy. Okay. Secondly, the autonomy or the authority of the church. And here we're looking at paragraph seven, paragraph seven. The authority, excuse me, the autonomy of the church to each of these churches thus gathered according to his mind, declared in his word, he hath should be given all that power and authority, which is in any way needful for their carrying on that order in worship and discipline, which he hath instituted for them to observe, with commands and rules of the do and right exerting, executing of that power." So here we're emphasizing the autonomy of the local church. Sam Waldron uses the phrase, it's authoritative power. And his quote is, The local church is an independent body accountable to the Lord Jesus Christ, the head of the church. All human authority for governing the local church resides within the local church itself. Thus, the church is autonomous or self-governing. No religious hierarchy outside the local church may dictate a church's beliefs or practices. Autonomy does not mean isolation. So he uses this phrase, authoritative power. So the subject of the paragraph is the power and authority that's possessed by the church. And there are three passages that are helpful here in making the point. The first one is Matthew 18 and verses 15 to 20. I'll read at least a part of this. If your brother sins, and go and reprove him in private. If he listens to you, you've won your brother. If he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax gatherer." We can stop there. The only point I want to make there is to be taken care of in the church. The church is presented here as that group or assembly that is to deal with this particular issue. Another helpful passage, if you turn to the next page, is in 1 Corinthians 5 verses 1 through 13, a case of church discipline. And the first five verses are kind of germane to our discussion here. The Apostle Paul writes, it's actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, as someone has his father's wife. And you have become arrogant and have not mourned instead in order that the one who has done this deed might be removed from your midst. For I on my part, though absent in body, but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Paul has apostolic power here, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are assembled and I with you in spirit with the power of the Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. But the thought here is, you should have dealt with this as a church. He's an apostle, he has apostolic authority, but the point being made here, I think, and I believe, is that you should have dealt with this. It's like, I shouldn't have had to tell you about this, you should have dealt with this within the confines of the church already. Okay. And then thirdly, or next I should say, there's a quote here from Waldron that I think is helpful. He says in the letters to the seven churches of Asia in Revelation 2 and 3, the subject of church discipline is repeatedly emphasized by Christ, but each church is held solely responsible for its own members and their discipline. Christ never asserts, assumes, or implies that the other churches may exercise church discipline by intervening in another church's affairs. The other churches are not, for example, held responsible or told to act for the discipline of Laodicea? Well, I feel like there's more to say here, but I just haven't got anything else to say. And so let us look to the Lord in prayer. Father, I just pray that you would take these considerations and apply them to our hearts and apply them to us even as a local assembly. We pray that you would help us to grow in our love for the person of Christ and especially we pray that you would help us to grow in being conformed to the pattern of a local New Testament church that you reveal in your word. We pray we as a local assembly would increasingly be like your design for the church. So we do pray in these days that you would help us and assist us in these pursuits. And it would redound to your glory and your honor. I thank you for each one that is here and pray that you would bless our time together this morning and prepare our hearts for adoration and praise and worship. And may you be exalted in all that we do this day. And we ask these things in Jesus name, amen.