Let's stand together for the reading of God's word and give attention to it as we do. In our text is Acts 7.9-38. We'll be looking at 38 and the implications of 38 this morning. Then fled Moses at this same, and was a stranger in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons. And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. And when Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight. And as he grew nearer to consider it, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying, I am the Lord God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, thirst not beholden. The Lord said to him, put off thy shoes from thy feet, for the place where thou standest is holy ground. I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people, which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and have come down to deliver them. And now come, and I will send thee into Egypt." This Moses, whom they were so saying, who made thee a prince and a judge, the same God sent for a prince and a deliverer. by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush. He brought them out doing wonders and miracles in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years. This is that Moses which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, even of your brethren, like unto me, him shall ye hear. This is he that was in the congregation in the wilderness, with the angel which spake to him in Mount Sinai, and with our fathers who received the lively oracles to give unto us. And that is the end of the readings, God's Word. Let's pray. And we ask, Father, in mercy, you would teach us today. Give us understanding and wisdom as we consider your Word. Let us see what is here and all of the implications for us. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Please be seated. But one more time, this morning we have great rejoicing, great cause of rejoicing, not only for the fact that we assemble this day remembering the resurrection of Christ. And so the first day of the week is a day dedicated to God and communion with Him and rejoicing, not only for that, but for the joy we have this day in the Christian profession of an adult believer. And it wasn't too long ago, it was a couple of weeks ago, we had a service, a baptismal service in baptizing an infant child. Today we get to practice believer's baptism as Presbyterians, and that's a lot of fun too. An act in which we recognize God's work in assembling the Church to Himself. And our text this morning is Acts 7, 29-38, but I'm really just interested in verse 38 here, and it's hardly an expositional text. The exposition of it throws the topic open to us, and we're going to spend our time tracing the connections here. I'm interested in verse 38 for the language and its bearing on our practice. And I'm reading from the 1599 Geneva Bible. This is he that was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel. Okay, in the congregation. And that's the word translated from the Greek. It's the word Ekklesia. In the authorized word, it's Moses who was in the church in the wilderness. And if you look at the authorized version of the scripture, every word church is that word ecclesia from the Greek. And we are today interested in the church to know what it is, and to know when it started, and to try to deal with men's ideas about the Christian church that are less than biblical in our day, because confusion reigns in our day with respect to the issues. You ask the man, the church man on the street, you know, when the church guard were told, well, the New Testament, Christ set up a church for himself, the New Testament creation, the Christian churches. In some cases, men even conceived that God himself, not only is the church a New Testament thing, but God himself did anticipate it. It was a provisional thing, something he came to in history because of men's rebellion and the problems that created it. So God himself didn't even precede the church in the Old Testament. Moreover, they tell us there's no interconnection among churches, but one is voluntary, and that the church, when you begin to define it, is a local, autonomous body. In fact, in many circles, there is no official membership. And so to join the Church is not even considered as meaningless. And that's some of the problems that we deal with when we think about the Church. Now, our text, on the other hand, I think, refutes this conception at its root. And it opens for us the understanding with which to evaluate the rest of these ideas. In other words, when you come to the Scripture to look at it, The Church, in Scripture, is a different conception that's presented in Scripture than what men present to us as their definition, their idea of what Church is. And so that's what we want to do today, is kind of trace this thing and its relationships. The Greek word ekklesia. is the New Testament word. And in the New Testament autographs, obviously, that was Greek. It's a Greek word. So we don't expect to find the word Ecclesia in the Old Testament, though the Old Testament is written in Hebrew, a little bit of Chaldean, and so on. When men begin to define what the word is, a reference is made to the English words that are used in the Old Testament. Now, this is interesting. In the first place, Because when you begin to say, what does the Greek word ekklesia mean, the words that are used to define what ekklesia means are English words translated from the Old Testament. Words like congregation, words like assembly, gathering. So it has the sense, ekklesia has the sense of a congregation, a gathering, a popular assembly. Strong defines it as a calling out or a popular meeting, especially a religious congregation. In other words, it does have a generic use as well. We should use the word assembly, I think, to describe this. It's a good word. And he says, in other words, it's a Jewish synagogue or a Christian community of members. important for us to think about. In other words, Mr. Strong, James Strong, sees that the same word applies to the Old Testament gathering as it applies to the New Testament gathering, and that's helpful. And so, he is the compiler of the concordance, you know. And, in fact, he points out it could be members on earth or saints in heaven or both. When you begin to say what the church is, they might be members on earth or they might be saints in heaven or both. Now that is, that's a comment that references another text in the New Testament, Hebrews 12 and verse 23. And I'm going to turn here for a minute because this is important in terms of trying to define what the church is. Hebrews 12 and verse 23. And really, you have to put this in context, I think. Let's go back to Hebrews 11 and 1. Now, faith is the grounds of things which are hoped for and the evidence of things which are not seen. For by it our elders were well reported of. Through faith we understand that the world was ordained by the word of God, so that things which we see are not made of things which did appear. By faith offered unto God a greater sacrifice than came, by the which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts. by which faith also, he being dead, yet speaketh. By faith was in him translated, that he should not see death. Neither was he found, for God had translated him. For before he was translated, he was well reported of, that he had pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him. For he that cometh to God must believe that God is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek him. By faith, Noah, being the warden of God, and of course we could go on. By faith, Abraham, and then Sarah also. And by faith, Isaac, and then Jacob, and then Joseph, and then Moses. And he gets down and he says, look, and what should I more say? Time would fail me to tell. Of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah, also of David, and Samuel, and of the prophets, who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, of taking promises, stop the mouths of lions, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. So you get an idea of who the men are in the great catalog of faith in Hebrews 11. Now look at Hebrews 12-1. Wherefore, let us also see that we are compassed with so great a cloud of witnesses, cast away everything that presseth down, and the sin that hangeth so fast on, and let us Run with patience the race that is set before us. Who is the cloud of witnesses that he's talking about in Hebrews 12 on? That's the catalog of faith in Hebrews 11, isn't it? Aren't these men's lives in the testimony the witness that he has in view when we come into Hebrews 12? So 9 tells us there are all these men who obtain promises everything that had the testimony of God, and they did it all by faith. And without faith, it's impossible to please God. And so when we come to Hebrews 12, we are surrounded then by this cloud of witnesses who, through faith, did everything that they did and were well-reported of in the Scripture through faith. Now, when you come along in Hebrews 12, down to verse, well, 18, let's start at 18. For here not come unto the mouth that might be touched, nor to burning fire, nor to blackness, and darkness, and tempest. Neither to the sound of the trumpet and the voice of words, which they had heard excuse themselves that the word should not be spoken to them any more, for they were not able to abide that which was commanded. Yet, though a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned or thrust through with a dart. And so terrible was the sight which appeared that Moses said, I fear and quake. But here come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the celestial Jerusalem, and to the company of innumerable angels, and to the assembly and congregation of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just and perfect men, and to Jesus the mediator of the New Testament, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not, despise not him that speaketh. For if they escape not which refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven, whose voice then shall be heard." Now again, back to verse 23, notice those words we used, the assembly and congregation, the authorized vergences, the general assembly and church. OK, of the firstborn. And who is the firstborn? Jesus. So what we're come to, and it's interesting here, is at the beginning of the final, now what is it? We've got all these men who live their lives and through faith obtain promise. And they are the cloud witnesses. And we, when we are assembled, are assembled unto them. in part. God, the judge of all, Jesus, the mediator of the New Testament, the general assembly, congregation, or church of the firstborn. There's that word again, ecclesia, church, translated church. So the thing is, when you look at scripture and you begin to define what the church is, Strong had really hit it on the head. You know, it could be the church, the church could be When the word church is used to describe it, Stephen in Acts 7 says the church was with Moses in the wilderness. The Ecclesia, the church, was with Moses in the wilderness. And when the writer of Hebrews gets onto it, dealing with the differences between Old Testament and New Testament, he talks about them and their lives and how through faith they conquered in this life and then he envisions them as a church in heaven. And they are the church, the general assembly and church of the firstborn in heaven. So you can see how the word church in the New Testament is used with respect to those who have gone on before, who lived their lives and obtained testimony by faith that they were righteous, or, and whether they're pictured in history with Moses in the wilderness. Or now, as glorified in heaven with Christ, it is the church, either way you look at it. And it's the Old Testament believers, the Old Testament saints, that that word describes. Well, that's quite interesting. In this text, Moses is said by Stephen to be in the church in the wilderness. And that is the Holy Spirit calling man to assemble to Him. And that's what the Church is. It is a group of called out ones. It's a group gathered, congregated, assembled to Christ in any particular time in human history, or for that matter, as eternity is viewed, they are the Church of Jesus Christ, the Church of the Firstborn. And I think we ought to contemplate that a little bit before we move on. Because, you know, what can you do to escape the force of these two texts? Well, you could say, well, that Old Testament thing is a church of sorts, but not the same church as what we have. I mean, it's an assembly in the generic sense, okay, it's an ecclesia. In the generic sense, it's not the church of the New Testament. As if the word was used in two different senses, you know, as the Old Testament church is looked at. Christ's church is somehow different from the Old Testament one, and so these texts, though it does speak of a church, don't really apply. Now, wait a minute here, look at this. Not only does the New Testament call the Old Testament assembly a church, But it says that we are assembling to them. That when we come together here on earth, we are assembling to them. Now, you see how skewed it would be to say that that's so much different? Well, then what business do we have, you know, with them in their position? But it's not that at all. They are Christ, and they are pictured in heaven with Christ, and we as we come, to hear preaching. We, as we assemble, are assembled and joined with them in their glorified position in the worship of God as we assemble. If we assemble to them, then how can you define them as being something different than the Church of Jesus Christ? Of course, they're called the Church of Jesus Christ. The firstborn is that name for Jesus. It was the first begotten of the dead. So again, if it was two different things, if that was us, we're kind of sort of, in some different sense than what we are, then you can't picture us in the Christian church of our day as assembling two Christ and the saints who have gone before. The whole thing is skewed, tossed to the ground, really. when you begin to look at what Scripture says. And so, what's the membership in the Church? Well, in this case, it's those that are true members, those that died in faith, those that obtained testimony that they were righteous through faith. Moses and the believers of the Old Testament are pictured as glorified, and we in the Christian Church as assembling to them. And their example, and vividly now, their example in history, where some of them fell away, where some of them despised the one that spoke, is warning to us who are in history not to do the same thing. So the Old Testament church, an example of those who failed, though they were members in that church, is held up for us as warning. that we ought not to lust after evil things, and some of them lust it, and be tempted, and all those kinds of things. So, again, what we as New Testament saints are brought into and assembled to that Church in Heaven, the Church of the Firstborn. And when we come into the presence of God, we are also coming into the presence of an innumerable company of angels and the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn and to Jesus, the Mediator of the New Testament. And so the point is this, if they are in Christ's Church in Heaven, how dare we define it? as something otherwise, how dare you define their experience as being something different from that, or the church as something different. There's one church, there's one fold, one shepherd in the scripture that Jesus teaches us. And what that means is the church began in the Old Testament period with the assembling of men to Jesus Christ. And that's what we have to look for in our definition, in our concept of where the church began. It was shortly after the fall of Genesis 4.26 that in the family of Seth, men began to call upon the name of the Lord. That's what the scripture says. Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord. These were following in the footsteps of the one that had gone before, Abel, who again in Hebrews 11.4 is said, who by faith offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice that came. So when you begin to look for believers in the scripture, those who as individuals in their families believe God and seek God, you can find Abel who by faith offered his sacrifice. You can look at the family of Seth and men beginning to call upon the name of the Lord at that time. Or you can go on and look at Abraham and Abraham's house, who was all of God, who, where he went in his circumstances with God, built altars and offered sacrifices for his family and also called upon the name of the Lord. Now, that is not to say, when you begin to trace men calling upon God's name or the worship of God in families, that is not to say that they have church offices or ordinances at that time. When Abraham's house worshiped, Abraham led in that worship. He built the altar. He offered the sacrifices. He called upon God in worship and for aid. And so, though those men walk in the early Old Testament period and are included in the table of faith and in Christ's general assembly and church in heaven, that doesn't mean that the Bible refers to them as the church in that period of time. That reference, that word church, is reserved for Moses' time and the church in the wilderness. Now, what is the difference? What's different between Abel and Abraham on the one hand and Moses on the other? What is different is not the fact that they worship. They all worship God. It's not the fact that they believe. They all believe God. The early saints worshipped God and offered sacrifice for themselves and for their families. But with Moses, there is an institutional structure that is added to these. Moses wrote, by the revelation of the Holy Spirit, God's Word. So with Moses, you have the written Word that is added, given then, to the believers. And subsequently, the Word was read and preached by the Levites in the Old Testament. You remember that the vision of the Levites is really quite fascinating to me. It's very interesting. But when you take, of course, and God who calls men to himself, and who is the one who gives them for various offices, is not bound by what we might call the natural talents any man has. And so it's fascinating to me that God can call Aaron's sons, and you know, Gershon, Kohath, and Moreri are Aaron's three sons. And then he can say, OK, well, what I'm going to do is take the sons of Kohab and Amram, and from Amram's line, we'll get the high priest, and we'll get all of those who are responsible for the ministry in Jerusalem. And then from the other line, we're going to get all the musicians and singers. And then you remember that in the division of the Levites, you had this dispersion of Levites in the various towns and cities throughout the kingdom. So that God's Word then was taught and God's worship was established and there was a creation of the synagogue system on an ongoing basis that is evident in the Old Testament. In Psalm 74 verse 8 you'll see that The Babylonian captivity, part of the terror of the Babylonian captivity is the destruction of the synagogue system that had grown up in the Old Testament period. And these enemies that had come in had burned up all the synagogues of God. They tried to stamp out the worship of God, which was localized and dispersed throughout Israel at that time. So I'm pointing out, then, that the difference between a man worshipping God in his home, even offering sacrifice in his home in the Old Testament, and what the Bible calls the Church, is the establishment of an institutional structure that furthers the Word of God in terms of ministry and the preaching of God's Word, and as we will see in a minute, membership and government. The synagogue system first and the ministry of the Levites on a local level established at that time the preaching of God's Word. And secondly then, this official concept of membership operated in the Church in that time. The Old Testament Church is told to discipline members who engage in certain actions. And I can give you Leviticus 7 as an example of this. Leviticus 7 and verse 25. For whosoever eateth of the fat of the beast, of which he shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord, even the person that eateth shall be cut off from his people. Neither shall he eat any blood, either a fowl or a beast, in all your dwellings. Every person that eateth any blood, even the same person, shall be cut off from his people." Now, what's interesting about that is the concept of cutting off. You know, how Paul uses in the New Testament, with respect to the Jews of his day, the illustration of a tree and branches and how you cut off a branch and here these Gentiles are grafted into the root of the tree and they partake of sap. The root of fatness of the tree, that cutting off language has to do with pruning, cutting away, putting away. And that's the language of the Old Testament as it describes the disciplining of members in the church for certain sins. What it simply means is to be cut off, is to be rejected. when it's used with reference to religious crimes. I mean, there are times when the cutting off is obviously death. But it's civil crimes that you're looking at with respect to that language. And so when they put someone to death for a civil crime, he is cut off. And in some cases, God says, if you don't discipline him, if you won't put to death a murderer, I will cut him off. And that language has to do with not only the man, but his children as well in the judgment of God, which is God's prerogative. So the idea here is that in the Old Testament, there is this concept of being part of the thing, part of the church of the Old Testament. And certain sins result in your being cut off, that is, cast out of the assembly at this time. And again, at this point, whether your concept in this is a written role, which I don't doubt may have happened, the Jews had, as you know, many scribes, and scribes are spoken of throughout the entire Old Testament. But whether the concept is of a written role or merely the practical application of these principles in a community doesn't really matter that much, because the basic idea is that the Church has a concept of membership in which there is a place and time to cast out or to cut off a member for certain sins. And that is simply to say that added to this worship we see in the old patriarchs, in Abel, and in Seth's house, and in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, added to those things where men call upon the name of God, where they offer sacrifice, where they recognize Him as their God, at the time of Moses is the written word that is then to be preached and taught, and the concept of an assembly or a community wherein there is membership and discipline. And those two things, when they are added, all of a sudden we see that the thing is called church. And that is simply to say this, that the defining features of a church in the Old Testament are the worship of God with the sacraments. and the preaching of the words and church discipline. Those things are what is present in the Old Testament church. And in the transition between men who worshipped in their homes And the calling of an assembly is the addition of the preached word and discipline or concept of membership and being cut off for certain sins and that kind of thing. That's the point. All three of these areas are necessary to define a church in history. So let's stop for a minute. Do you follow what I'm saying? This is really important. When we look at the Bible and its concept of the church, we don't find that the church is a New Testament entity at all. That the word church is used with respect to Moses in the wilderness, or it's used with respect to a heavenly assembly that includes men who lived with Moses, as well as those that had gone before. or came after, you know, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, and those. So that it is Christ's church and assembly to Him that is made up of men from every kingdom, nation, and tribe, men from all periods of time in history, men who call upon God, and all who were counted righteous by faith. That's the Church. That's the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn written in heaven. Notice God has a written role written in heaven that we are assembled to as Christians in our day. So again, you have the concept. When we think about a church on earth, when we think about a church in heaven, it is based upon the word, it is a worshipping body, it has preaching, it has sacraments, it has discipline. And that's what defines a church. It doesn't matter where you're at in history. We see the church instituted in Moses when God added to his own worship the preached word, the written word being preached and discipline for the community. Now, so again, word and preaching of the word is essential to the church. Biblical worship and the sacraments are appropriate. And those sacraments were appropriate, certain things appropriate in the Old Testament, certain things appropriate in the New Testament, with the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ, and yet they are given by God and defined by Him. And then you've got to have membership and discipline to have a church. If you don't have membership and discipline, you are disobedient. You don't have a church. Now, see, here's the problem we face in our world. And it is a sad commentary, I think. that in redefining the Church as a New Testament thing, men have at the same time rejected its defining attributes. Okay? In other words, we have churches in our day that have no concept of Church discipline. You know, Matthew 18, at verse 17. I don't want to start that. 15. If thy brother trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone. And if he hear thee, thou hast won thy brother. But if he hear thee not, take yet with thee one or two, that by the mountain two or three witnesses every word may be confirmed. And if he refuse to hear them, tell it to the church. And if he refuse to hear the church, also let it be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. I say unto you, whatsoever ye bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Now see, there is the concept of cutting off just like it was in the Old Testament. If this man will not repent and obey the Word of God, he is to be cut off. And it may start with an individual offense. Somebody does something against God's Word, against someone else. And then you're going to go to him and start this thing, and you're looking to win him, but if he won't hear, if he won't obey, if he won't repent, he is to be cut off. That's church discipline. And in our day, in these areas of redefined church, where we try to define it as a New Testament ordinance, and fail to recognize the continuity of the two Testaments, what we also fail to recognize is The fact that the things that really make it a church are not in worship and not in calling upon God's name alone, but involve discipline and involve preaching. So we have these places in the redefined concept that have nothing to do with discipline. A man can commit adultery against his wife. A woman can divorce her husband. on non-biblical grounds, and nothing is said. Nobody does anything about it. The church keeps shaking your hand, and, hi, how are you? Come on in. You're welcome. The once a year that we participate in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, you're welcome to engage yourself and to do this thing. There's no concept of sin and offense as enforced by the assembly, the congregation. And in redefining the Church, we've rejected the very things that define it, as opposed to just worship, calling upon God's name. The fact that it is an assembly, that there is the Word, and that's the basis of our assembly and faith, that the Word is ministered, is preached, and that there is discipline to enforce it. If you don't have those things, you don't have a Church. And it's sad to say that the redefined concept is not really a church, biblically, in God's definition. Secondly, Acts 20. I'm going backwards here. Acts 20. Just an example of the primacy of the Word of God. Acts 20, verse 7. And the first day of the week, the disciples being come together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow, and continue the preaching until midnight. You know the story. A young boy fell off his seat in the window, fell asleep, and fell down out of the window. He was dead, and Paul raised him. But you see how the primacy of preaching is there? I mean, it's a long sermon. all day, all night, till midnight. You know, what time do you usually assemble? If they assemble at 8 o'clock, how long does the sermon go? About a four-hour sermon. That's how important the Word is. And again, in this redefined concept, if we want to come together and have a puppet show, if we want to come together and have a little 15-minute sermonette, that's good enough in men's eyes, when what we see in the New Testament is privacy of preaching and interest in preaching. Men are serious about God's Word and want to know what it says because they have in their hearts the desire to fulfill it, to do what God commands. They're saying, what should we do? How should we live? Tell us. And that's what they want from the preacher. And then when you look at what Christ has done, what the Ascended Christ does, Ephesians 4, At verse 9, I don't see how you can escape the force of this in your thinking here. Now, in that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is even the same that ascended, far up above all heavens, that he might fill all things. He therefore gave some to the apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the repairing of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edification of the body of Christ, till we all meet together in the unity of faith, and that acknowledging of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, and unto the measure of the age, the fullness of Christ, that henceforth we be no more children, wavering and carry about with every wind of doctrine, by the deceit of men, and with craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive. But let us follow the truth and love of all things, growing up in Him, which is the head, that is, Christ. Now, do you see the whole point here? Christ, the Ascended Christ, when He goes and ascends to heaven, He receives gifts and He gives gifts to men. And the gifts are the ministry, the gifts of ministry for the church, so that as a Christian, I sit under true preaching and as I receive that preaching, I am warned about the errors and the lies and the foolishness of men that swirls around me. Now, if I didn't have that, I would be like a child who can be, you know, how you can deflect the attention of a child with any trinket, show him a little trinket. Oh, look at this. He forgets all about the thing he was just wanting over here. If you deflected his attention and acknowledge him, he's on this side. And that's that's how men are. That's how Christians are. Apart from the teaching of God's word, apart from true preaching, Christians All of us are like this. We can be deflected like a little shot. Again, how that's described. Carried about with winds of doctrine. Here's somebody's idea, and it blows into the church. And everybody's blown this direction. And they have this foolishness. And they're trying to serve God with more foolish doctrine. That's what it's like. That's what it is in the church. It is in our day, like Paul's day, in the Christian Church, apart from serious and true preaching of the Word of God. So if you can't get down to the facts of Scripture and the application of those facts and delineate and make distinctions between truth and error in terms of words and the meaning of words, then you're blown around. You're just blown away by the stuff that swirls around in the Church. You're like a leaf in the parking lot. You ever see those on a September day and the wind blows through and what's leaking? Like this. That's what you're like. So, this is the situation. So it is a sad commentary. that in redefining the church, we have missed the things that actually give it its meaning. It's not mere worship. It's not mere calling upon God's name. It's true preaching and discipline. And that's the difference between Abel and Moses and what Moses had in the wilderness. And it's the difference between the true church in our day and a bunch of people carried about by the doctor who are trying to worship God. Well, so you're beginning to see that the ideas that men have in our day aren't correct. I want to take up the issue for a minute of defining the Church as a local autonomous body. You know, that's a popular definition in our day. And I can't really do justice to that topic right now. If you want a reference on it, look at the Westminster Confession of Faith. well, rather the work of the Westminster Assembly in a document they called the form of Presbyterial Church Government. And that is, there is in that an excellent exposition of the New Testament. They lay it out, what it is, what church government is like, how the church is organized and structured, and then they make reference to the New Testament and show you from the New Testament the issues related to the question of global autonomy versus a connectedness in the church. And I'm only going to refer to that and tell you, look, that's the best place to look, that's what you'll look at. But in the New Testament, large cities like Jerusalem clearly had more than one congregation meeting together. I mean, that is clearly the case. In Acts 21-20, remember when Paul is comes to Jerusalem and James says to him, now look, this is right before his capture, this is toward the end of the apostolic period, right before Paul's capture, James says, brother, you see, in Acts 21-20, you see how many thousands there are Jews in Jerusalem that believe. Now, I mean, we have in our day, some means of assembling thousands. I mean, you could go to a football stadium or something like that. Some of these big stadiums, while they tore down, they helped 80 to 100,000 people. But there's nothing in their world, there's no means of communication that would suffice for one man to speak to that many people. And so it's obvious, when you talk about how many thousands there are that believe, we don't conclude that they were all one congregation. They all came together in the Colosseum of all places, not in Jerusalem. You know, to hear the word preached. You look at Acts 6 and verse 2, the reason the apostles couldn't minister The almsgiving and so on and so forth, and they had to have deacons, because there was too much for them to do. They were going to give themselves to the Word, the ministry of the Word. Now, you've got 12 apostles, and it was all one congregation. Look, I could preach every 12th week, and I got plenty of time on my hands. But that wasn't that at all. And so, they were itinerated. They were in different congregations, and there weren't enough of them to go around, because there were thousands at the week. So what you have in the city of Jerusalem alone is thousands of converts. You have apostles, 12 of them, that are too busy to minister something else, and it's the ministry of the word and prayer that they've got to stick with. And yet you see in Acts 15 and verse 6 that they come together to concern themselves with the government of the church, though there are many congregations. And though there are many apostles preaching, when there's an issue that involves the truth of the gospel, the doctrine in Acts 15 is the Judaizing heresy, when that thing hits And there's a meeting call, and they all come together to hear this thing and to decide on questions of doctrine. That's what we're talking about. That's the connectedness of the church that in our modern world is being so often denied. I mean, it's just not understood, not seen. And I'm only briefly dealing with that because it's a bigger topic than that, but not only in Jerusalem, but in Antioch and other places. you have many churches. And, you know, there are churches, for instance, in Philemon's house. There's a house church, seems to be a church plant, where there also is a local minister across the city, and he's got a congregation as well. So, if you want to know, search it out, because it's all there to be seen. That brings us back to membership. I just wanted to mention that. Let's talk about the vow of membership. What I'm saying to you is the word church is first applied to an assembly that is assembled to God and Christ at the time of Moses when these other things are added to worship and sacraments or sacrifices and so on. But when these other things, when the preaching of the Word and when discipline is added to the worship of God and assembly is brought together, that is when the Bible first called it the Church. So it's constituted as a Church with Word, Sacraments, and Discipline. Now, at that time, we're talking about the time of Moses and the Exodus, at that time You also see the individual nature of the covenant relationship on men's part. The church is constituted a church in history, and when it is, it is done with an oath. And that oath is a voluntary agreement on the part of men. So what we see is first an offer, Exodus 19 and verse 3. Actually 3 to 8, Exodus 19 verses 3 to 8. Here is God who is coming through Moses to the people. And he has delivered them at this point out of Egypt. And then there is an offer made to the people to be the Lord's people. Notice what he says. But Moses went up unto God, for the Lord had called out on the mountain and saying, shall thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel, You have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles' wings, and have brought you unto me. Now therefore, if ye will hear my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be my chief treasure above all people, though all the earth be mine. You shall be unto me also a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. And you see in that an offer that what we're interested in eliciting from the people is consent, that they'll be the Lord's people. Well, if you've seen my power, you've seen all that I have done, do you want to be my people? You know me, I've revealed myself to you. Do you voluntarily enter into covenant with me now as a free people? Verse 7. Moses then came and called for the elders of the people and proposed unto them all these things which the Lord commanded him. The people answered all together and said, all that the Lord has commanded we will do. And Moses reported the words of the people unto the Lord. You see how there is an offer and then a voluntary acceptance of that offer. God calls the people to himself and they agree. They consent. They say, yes, we will do this. Well, that's the beginning. They consent to have him as their God, as their king. this wilderness generation, which did not live up to the calling of this thing. And again, in Deuteronomy 27, this time a different generation, a new generation, is called to the same thing. Deuteronomy 27 and verse 9. And Moses and the priests of Levi spake unto all Israel, saying, Take heed and hear, O Israel, this day thou art to become the people of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt hearken therefore unto the voice of the Lord thy God, and do his commandments and his ordinances, which I command thee this day. And Moses charged the people the same day, saying, These shall stand upon Mount Gerizim to bless the people. When ye shall pass over Jordan, Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin, these shall stand upon Mount Ebal to curse Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. The Levites shall answer and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice. And then there is this recitation of blessings and curses. Well, curses, actually, for the violation of the covenant. Now, 27.9, through Deuteronomy 30, we see a similar ratification. And if you look here at verse 26, Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law unto them, and all the people shall say, So be it. Now, what you have is a voluntary condescension. to be the people of God, to enter into covenant with Him. And then an agreement that this is the way I'm going to live. This is what I'm going to do. Cursed be the man that turns aside. Cursed be the man that violates these laws. I voluntarily am coming into a relationship with God where I'm going to live a certain way. Pay attention to the principles of Deuteronomy 29, 1-15. These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab beside the covenant which he had made with them in Horeb. Moses called all Israel and said unto them, you've seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh and unto his servants and unto all this land. The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, those great miracles and wonders Yet the Lord hath not given you in part to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear unto this day. And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes are not waxed old upon you, neither is thy shoe waxed old upon thy foot. You have eaten no bread, nor drunk wine, nor strong drink, that ye might know how that I am the Lord your God. After ye came unto this place, and saw I not king of Hegemon, and Ah of King of Bashan came out against us unto battle, and we slew them, took their land, and gave it for inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manasseh. Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do to them that ye may prosper in all that ye shall do. We stand this day, every one of you, before the Lord your God, your heads of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, even all the men of Israel. your children, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood to the drawer of thy water, that thou shouldest pass into the covenant of the Lord thy God, and into his oath which the Lord thy God maketh with thee this day. For to establish thee this day a people unto himself, that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Neither may I this covenant and this oath with you only, but as well with him that standeth here with us this day before the Lord our God, as with him that is not here with us this day." Now you see the concept here is that you are voluntarily coming into a covenant relationship where God will be your God and you're promising obedience to Him. That's the essence of this thing that's involved in membership in the Christian church. And that's simply to say that if you begin to think biblically on this thing, we'll begin to define the church in terms of its relationship to God as an assembly called out by Him, as an assembly that's given besides the ordinances of worship and the sacraments. the Word itself, and the preaching of the Word, and a biblical method of disciplining members who live scandalous lives, then you begin to see, well, look, that's when the Word calls in a church, when it has these things, and it is for the blessing of the people of God, that they aren't carried about by a lens of doctrine, that they have fixed ordinances and a government that is responsible. And then when we look at it and see, That when it was constituted, there's an oath involved and a voluntary consent involved. That's what it is we're practicing today. That's what this is all about. Begin to think biblically about the church, you realize these things are all necessary. So that's a brief introduction. I mean, you can't do it all in one sermon, but get the idea. In line with this whole thing, we ask those who, as believers, seek baptism and membership to take a vow. And it's a simple vow. I'm going to read the words of it again. But the idea here is that you're being brought, you're coming to be admitted to the Christian Church as a body. And as a believer you come, and by baptism, which is a sign and seal of your engrafting in Christ, You're engaging yourself to be His, to enter into this body. And so, we ask some simple questions. Do you acknowledge yourself to be a sinner in the sight of God and justly deserving His displeasure and without hope saved in His sovereign mercy? Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of sinners? Do you receive and rest upon Him alone for salvation as He's offered in the Gospel? Do you now resolve and promise in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit that you will endeavor to live as becomes a follower of Christ? Do you promise to support the Church in its worship and work to the best of your ability, that you submit yourself to the government and discipline of the Church and promise to study its purity and peace. That's a basic issue and not very detailed terms about the relationship that you're coming to when you profess faith in Christ. and you come to him for admission to the church. That's what membership is all about. It's this covenant relationship. It's this voluntary engagement on your part to be a member, to participate, to be involved in this thing, recognizing that this thing is Christ's. It is his assembly. It is an assembly he has built from ages past. And when it's all done, when human history is over, it will be the church of the firstborn, written in heaven, that finally assembles unto him in all his glory as the Christ of Christ. That's what membership in the Christian church is all about. Let's pray. And we do ask, Father, that you would Bless us this day with understanding that we would see, perhaps better than we ever have, the relationships that are involved in the Christian Church. Help us to understand, to be committed to these things. Help us to reject the ideas of men that would depreciate the significance of membership. And rather, let us take this in seriousness and with due attention. and with great blessing as we seriously engage ourselves to be yours and come vowing our obedience to your work. So bless us this morning we pray. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, it's our pleasure to have you here. Come on. Again, it's a pleasure. And Tabby has this problem with christening and baptism and things like that. She never really has been baptized officially into the name of Christ. And so it was kind of a, you know, in church what circulates is, well, we don't believe in that. We got to do some kind of thing. And so it was kind of an engagement that was done on her part. So I'm going to ask again the questions that I read, and people will give affirmation. Of course, I've met with her, and she's been with us for four and a half years, something like that. So this is not something that she has come to suddenly, considered suddenly. She's wrestled with the ideas. teaching and so on. Let me ask you the question. And of course, I've met with her and we've discussed these things. And so I am satisfied that her profession is a good one and that she is a believer in Christ. Do you acknowledge yourself to be a sinner in the sight of God, justly deserving His displeasure and without hope, saving in His sovereign mercy? Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of sinners? Do you receive and rest upon him alone for salvation as he's offered in the gospel? And do you now resolve and promise in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit that you will endeavor to live as becomes the follower of Christ? Do you promise to support the church in its worship and work to the best of your ability? And do you submit yourself to the government and discipline of the church promise to study is pure. So it's Tabitha, the land of water. I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. acknowledge God's work and salvation in the people of Baltimore. What a blessing. You want to say amen? Let's pray for her. And we do thank you, Father, for your work. It is a blessing and a great mercy that you've shown Tabby. We ask that you will continue in her life to bless her with knowledge and understanding to make powerful your word and holy. to give her grace and faith and your blessing and that as she has come and sought membership in the church and voluntarily submitted to your word in this ordinance that you would delight in her and pour out your spirit upon her for the great blessing of herself, her family and her children and all that you give her in life. So be with us, we thank you in Christ's name.