Good morning to everyone. It's good to be back with the Lord's people. This morning I take a short break from the book of James, and that's the only reason why James is taking so long. So I'm going to do a couple of weeks in a subject that we haven't actually covered before. We've dealt with it in a teaching platform, but not in a preaching platform. I want to speak to you about what a biblical church looks like. One of the problems of our generation is that people are not as excited and devoted to church as before. Partly because there are so many things that people want in a church and when they don't find it, they just move on to the next best flower. Expectations have changed over the years. For many, church must have certain things that will keep them there. I read quite a few surveys that related to what is important for people in a church. Here are a few things. Church must have something for the kids. I suppose anything would. It must have social events. Must have personal sharing. I'm not sure what that means. I presume it's sharing meals or just sharing information. It must have a feeling of caring. Must meet the needs of young adults. And must accommodate married couples. They sound good, right? I mean, there's nothing wrong with all of that. But something's missing. In one survey, the most mentioned, the most absolute need that would qualify as a good church is this. Wait for it. Kresh. A baby caring service. I suppose parents need a break and so I understand that. Number three on the list is air cons. I think we fail. It is cold this morning. I think it's fair to say that expectations of what a church should have and what a church should be have been lowered. It's what makes me feel comfortable. What will keep me there is if there's a cold air con that keeps the room at the perfect temperature. Good luck. Today, church leaders are more concerned about what the world says about God's community of faith than what God thinks about the church. We are more worried about the peering eyes of the world than the pure and holy eyes of our God. Churches are more concerned about how the world responds to us. Yet Jesus said, if they hated me, what will they do to you? They will hate you also. What this reveals, is the value we have placed on things that make us comfortable in church. As long as the church does not demand too much, then I'm all in. As long as I don't have to commit, then I will commit. While there is a decrease in understanding in what is priority in the church, at the same time, preachers have moved the authority of God's Word to the bottom shelf. You know what I mean by bottom shelf, right? If you go to the library, you know all the junk books are placed at the bottom. It's not only a problem in the pulpit but also in the pew. We criticize as conservative evangelical churches charismatic churches for seeking experience. Yet in the evangelical conservative church there is a pursuit of experience on a more passive level. We may not want the shower of somebody's holy spit. Or the wolf of Benny Hinn's jacket. But believers want to feel worship. We want to experience the word in preaching. So if the preacher is not dynamic, that guy's boring us. Church was just dead today. We are quietly and secretly chasing experience while criticizing charismatics for doing the very same thing. They just acknowledge it. Sadly, church folk have become more concerned about comfort, air cons, lighting, smoke machines, and a good solid old music band like ours. However, the problem with those things is this. When they fail, then those who were kept by those things leave. None of these common desires truly express God's intent and description and desire for the church. And I think that's far more important than what we want in a church. There are certain fundamentals that should be present in any church. Any church that claims to be a biblical church or a church must have these things. Now there's a book written by Mark Dever, a very well-known book. It's called Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. I'm going to read you the nine things that he mentions. Number one, preaching. Fully agree. Number two, biblical theology. I'm not sure about that one. I'll get back to that. Number three, the gospel. Number four, conversion. Number five, evangelism. Number six, membership. Number seven, discipleship. Oh, sorry, discipline. Number eight, discipleship. And number nine, leadership. Now, some of them are actually connected, and it could just probably be five, Marks of a Healthy Church, because some of them are definitely connected. And there's not much more you can add to that. So I'm not going to be adding to the list, but I'm going to take some of the components and expand them a little bit. This sermon is the introduction to what a healthy church looks like. So when I come back next time, I'll be preaching on what a healthy church looks like. This is just the introduction. I've got one point of my sermon this morning. So when I get to that, you'll know that we are actually starting the sermon. So, What are some absolute non-negotiables of a biblical church? Firstly, a church must have a biblical understanding and commitment to the gospel. Absolutely. If a church is not committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is not a church. This would include a right view of God, a right view of sin, a right view of man, a right view of repentance, a right view of conversion, and a right view of salvation. When we meddle with any of those things, we have lost the authenticity of the gospel. We could probably add in there, being faithful to the Great Commission, although that is in my third point of what a biblical church looks like. In 1 Corinthians 2, Paul says, I determined nothing except Christ and Him crucified. That is foundational to any church. See, nothing else matters, like we sang this morning, but the majesty, the glory, the beauty, the grandeur of a sovereign, saving God. Understand, the holiness of God contends against us. It is not for us. It stands opposed to mankind in his natural state. It is the standard of what God desires for His presence. It is His holiness that condemns us and will consume us if we are not right with Him. God requires perfection. And this is why we have the Gospel. God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God through Him. The only way that God can accept sinners into His presence is if He take the sin of those people and place it on His Son. God needs to deal with His holiness and His justice and the only way that He can do that is to deal with it in the perfect Son. God makes his only son a sacrifice for sin in our place. In our place condemned he stood. What is that song that says, and sealed my pardon with his blood. Hallelujah. What a savior. Why is the gospel important? Turn over to Galatians. Galatians 1. Notice in verse 6, in this book Paul defends his apostleship. He defends justification and he defends the authenticity of the gospel. You see his defense of the apostleship in verse 1, Paul an apostle, not from men nor through men but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him up from the dead and all the brothers who are with me." Notice the defense of justification. Verse 3, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age according to the will of God the Father to whom be glory forever. And notice the defense of gospel authenticity. And Paul expounds these three through the rest of the book. I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel. Not that there is another gospel, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As again, we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. The primacy and accuracy of the gospel is essential to the sanctity and the sacredness of the truth. You're not preaching the truth if you let go of the gospel. Paul says he's struck. I'm astonished. marvel at the fact that you're so quickly deserting the authentic gospel for a lie. In fact the verb that he uses here indicates that they are in the process of moving away from the authentic gospel to follow that which is not a gospel. There is no other gospel than the true gospel. It may have the trimmings or the adornments of the gospel, But if it's not the one that the apostles preached, it is corrupt at its core. See, it is no help for them to merely affirm that they believe the gospel, but possess no ability to defend the true gospel or to keep away from a false gospel. It is no value to profess, to believe, yes, I believe the true gospel, but you are dabbling with a compromised gospel. Listening to false teachers and say, you know what, there's a little bit of truth in every sermon. Yeah, it will take you to hell. Likewise, it is not enough to say that we believe the gospel, but I have no basic idea of what the components of the gospel entails. If that is the case, if we cannot articulate the gospel, then we cannot defend the gospel, which means we are in no better shape than these Galatians. we are then also prone to be dragged away by that which is not a gospel. If we do not understand the gospel, its significance, its importance, and the weight of its sacredness, then we too are likely to be compromised and deceived by that which is a false gospel and will take you to a lost eternity. This then means If we are not growing in our understanding of the gospel and have the ability to defend the gospel, we are at risk to be deceived by a false gospel. No, not me. I know what I believe. I don't need to articulate it. How can a church defend against the true against a false gospel if it doesn't know what the true gospel is. You know the illustration. I was going to say you know the thing. You know the illustration about how to learn to detect a false banknote. What do bankers do? They study the genuine thing. They know the right thing, the true coin, the true banknote so well that when the false thing appears, they can immediately say, false, not the authentic one. How do we think that we are different when we don't know the true gospel and then you say, it doesn't really matter what the other churches believe or say or preach because it doesn't affect me. Notice how Paul helps him. Go to chapter 2, verse 15. We ourselves were Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners. That would be offensive to the senses of the reader. Yet we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ. So we also have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law. Because by works of the law, no one will be justified. What is he saying? Yes, the true gospel. This is what it means to become a believer in Christ. You cannot work your way to God. He goes on to explain, you cannot sanctify yourself by means of the works of the law, nor can you save yourself by means of the works of the law. Paul says if anyone comes with another gospel, Let him be cut off from God. If an angel comes, let him be cursed by God, separated from God. And even if I come, let me be cut off from God and be worthy of eternal temptation. That's the weight of what he says when he says accursed. The gospel of Christ is not only to be believed and affirmed and proclaimed, but also defended. Today, instead of emphasizing the gospel, we have become masters of marrying marketing strategies with gospel ministry. Look at how many churches have changed their names to seeker-friendly churches. They want to reach people. They want to be awoke. to the culture. Rebranding is done for the purpose of attracting seekers. We are more concerned about what the seeker wants than mastering the essentials of the gospel because that is what the seeker needs. Instead of a robust commitment to the gospel, churches are now investing in providing an environment of inoffensive talks. So preaching has become a talk. Churches are catering to sensitive hearers and readers and avoid the gory sections of the Bible. Oh, we will not read how God wipes out an entire nation, both men and women. Why would we do that? My sensitive ears cannot handle that. My sensitive heart cannot bear the fact that God would kill people. Missing the fact that God is a holy God. Missing the fact that God is just and that He must punish sin and sinners alike. Moreover, the pulpit has been invaded by psychological tomfoolery. You know what that is, right? And sadly, Theatrical theater, you're getting actors. Somebody said this morning, I'm a, what did you say? Celebrity. Celebrity pastors. I don't think I am. It's more about the theater you can put on. the attention you can garnish for the five minutes of preaching that you give to people. The effectiveness of the preach is no longer measured by the content of his sermon, but by how long he can keep my attention. Oh, he's such a dynamic preacher. Well, tell me what he said. It doesn't matter. He's just so good. Yeah, what did he say? Just made me feel like I wanted to be there. An alien gospel is invading the church of Jesus Christ. And church folk are oblivious to the takeover. I think the reason that is, is because the church is not adequately equipped in the gospel, understanding its components, and therefore cannot detect the false gospel. There's a cultural shift that is taking place. The church, at this current period in history, cannot withstand the ideological shift that is taking place, and it is influencing the church. Cultural shifts are corroding away our moral fiber and the church is just going along with it. You are finding a bridge between a man and a woman in the pulpit of God. Why? Not because we want to accommodate the culture, because we are not rooted in the gospel. A biblical church must understand the primacy of the gospel. A biblical church cares little what the world thinks of it, cares little what the world wants of it, cares little what society demands of it. A biblical church cares about what God decides for it to be. We are supposed to be a gospel-proclaiming ministry. That is what a biblical church is. When we speak about church, we are not speaking about the leaders of a congregation. We are not speaking about a building. We are speaking about the congregation of people that is gathered together. My coloredness came out. Together. That God has gathered together, that God is drawing together and building up as a holy sanctuary. As a church, in order for us to defend against the false gospel, we must be educated in the true gospel. Each one of us. It is sad that we can regurgitate the elemental benefits of a coffee bean. or a peanut, I won't jump on the coffee guys because I'm always on their case. You can tell me the nutritional value of that coffee bean, why it is essential for us to drink coffee with a little bit of milk and a touch of salt and a bit of arsenic. But we struggle to define grace. We struggle to define faith. We struggle to define salvation, conversion, conviction, repentance. If we should take a test this morning, maybe it should take place, and ask everybody to write a one-line definition of faith, conversion, grace, salvation, the cross. How many of us would be able to write one line of the components of the gospel? Give me the five must-haves of the gospel. How many of us would be able to say, sure, let's do it, quickly, I'll do it, put my hand up, I'm ready. Okay, not those of you in the evangelism class, because you're excused from that test. Let's not become victims of the growing trend of biblical illiteracy. We don't have to follow other churches. We can be different because God demands us to be different in order for us to defend against a false gospel. What must we know? The true gospel. In order for this church to hear the savoring words of our Savior, well done good and faithful servant. We must be committed to a biblical understanding of the gospel. The only way we will withstand the waves of cultural corroding, corruption and infiltration is to know what God says in the gospel. So firstly, a biblical church must have a biblical understanding of the gospel. Secondly, a church must have a biblical understanding and implementation of godly leadership. Absolutely. The Bible only defines two ongoing leadership roles. Only two. The Bible makes clear that there is a gender distinction when it comes to leadership. And there's going to be a few of you that may start to squirm at this because your sensitive ears will not be able to handle the reality that God says about leaders. God has chosen males to be leaders in the home and in his church. That is it. Whether you like it or whether you don't. God has identified males. I'm not saying those who identify as males. No. God has identified those who are born as males to be those who lead his people and homes. We make no apology for the divinely established distinction in roles. That comes from God. And I would not, even if they put my head on a block and say, recant this. I will not and I shall not because my conscience cannot move away from the conviction of what God says in his word. We must not shrink away in the face of ideological manipulation. We cannot celebrate the pride of the depraved. You dare not. Oh no, that is for you. Be proud about what you identify as. As a Sunday school teacher, as a Bible-believing Christian, as a teacher in a school, because that's where it's taking place most of the time, as a university teacher, we cannot compromise. As a doctor or a dentist or whatever you are, whatever the vocation is that God has called you to, you cannot compromise on the distinctions and the distinctiveness of the roles that God has given you. Don't call Sally, Sam. When he is a he, you call him a he. Even if it takes your job, stand upon your conviction. Why? Because it's a directive that comes from God. As men, we must hold the line. It is always encouraging to see young men and women Let me put it this way, it's always encouraging to hear of young women who are taking stands against such things, when young men are keeping quiet about it. We must stand on the ground of our conviction. We must not waver, for if godly men are removed from the pulpit of God, if godly men are removed from the house or the household, if faithful men are feminized, if Christ-like men are compromised, then the church and the family will be exposed to exploitation. The reason why they want to feminize men and make men weak is because they are after our women and our children. You remove men from their duty, you get the church. You remove men from the home, you get the family. God has given godly men, they should be, to lead and shepherd and guide his church. 1 Timothy 3. Men, we must take up the mantle of leadership. I say we must listen to these words. Chapter 3, verse 1. The saying is trustworthy. That is equal to what Jesus says, verily, verily. This is a trustworthy saying. It's something that must be accepted. If one aspires to the office of overseer, one who looks over, he desires a noble task. Take note, if one aspires and that is to reach out for, he's going after that position, this is what is in his heart. He lives this way, he conducts himself this way, it's something that he already does because his heart is in it. Notice what it says at the end of the sentence, he desires, that is an ongoing reality that he has, he desires a noble task. Don't miss the fact that it is a He desires. God is not mistaken. He has determined men to lead in His church. But to the men of Living Whole Bible Church and whoever else is listening to this recording or online, notice what it says, He must aspire to it. He must desire it. This is something that you men must pursue. You need to be living in this way to demonstrate to the leadership of this church that you are actively living as a leader already. Not to be scared of the position and the responsibility. You are already leading in your home or you should be. That should translate to what you should be in the church of Jesus Christ. We as men must understand the importance of God's provision of the first line of defense in the church of Jesus Christ. It is men who are committed to the Word of God. Men that is unflinching in their devotion to Christ. Men that will not compromise. When their lives are at stake, when imprisonment is threatened, they will stand their ground and say, I'm committed to Christ and will not bow to Caesar. God gives shepherds to the church. God gives you that desire to lead, to care, to protect, to guide and to provide for the sheep. The office that he's talking about is one that oversees, one that looks over, the one that has a deep concern for those he looks after. You're not doing this because you want to be noticed. You're not doing this because you want to presume the place of authority over people. You're not doing this because it brings you much money. You're not doing this because it makes you famous or you become a celebrity. You're doing it because you love the flock of God, because you love God. Men, this is something we must desire. Where will leadership come from in the next generation of our men if they are not pursuing it, if they are not desiring it? Don't get me wrong, God is able to preserve His church and protect His church, but if men fail, you can be guaranteed that the church will fail. The counterpart to that is this. When churches fail, who failed? Men did. Yeah, but you don't know my wife. You don't know my wife. It sounds awfully familiar. I wasn't here when she came into existence. I don't know this woman. It's not me that made her, it's the woman you gave me. Yet who did God hold accountable for the decision of Eve to eat of the nut apple? Who did God hold accountable? Adam! Adam, where are you? Men, I know it's not easy to hear. God calls us to leadership. This is a trustworthy saying. If anyone aspires to the offices, I've heard somebody say this. Well, there you go. It's open to anybody. Read further. He desires. There's a reason grammar has a masculine part in it because it identifies whom God is speaking about. He desires a good task. How can he be a one woman man when he is not a he? You cannot argue against that. It must be a man. A compromise in leadership will eventually lead to a compromise in the church, which will eventually lead to a compromise in theology, which will eventually lead to a compromise in the gospel. I remember Mark saying, this is like 15 probably longer, 15 years ago, where he says, when they start to dabble with a clear, concise expression of leadership, you can count it, that the gospel will eventually be compromised. Why? Because they don't take the word of God seriously. Paul does not say, yeah, I am sorry. I don't want to offend the feminist. I'm sorry, but you know, God kind of wants men to lead. He's absolutely sure on this thing. So I'm not sorry. If your sensitive ears cannot handle the reality, go find another church. This is God's word. If you're not willing, let me put it this way. The reason you are reacting against what you're hearing is not because you love God's word. Because if you did, you would be submitting to it. It is very clear. Men, the very position of male leadership is under assault by culture and now by churches. God does not cater to the desires or the disagreements of men and women. It doesn't matter if you like it or not. God does not care that we do not like male leadership. And yes, there have been an abuse in the position of male leadership. But when God calls men to the church and to lead in the home, He's calling them to a godly life of leadership. And some might say, well, I agree with you on elders or bishopry, but what about deacons? Look at verse eight. Deacons must likewise be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine. There, 90% of us go. Not greedy for dishonest game. Listen to this. They must hold. They said word again. It's an absolute necessity. They must hold to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. They must be schooled in the gospel and hold to the truth. This is deacons. They should not be wavering on the truth. And let them be tested first. then let them prove themselves and serve as deacons. If they prove themselves blameless, their wives, I'm sorry, it's absolutely clear what a deacon is. Their wives likewise must be dignified. The first lady must be dignified. Where are the first ladies? Dignified women, not slanderous, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. The wives of deacons also have a responsibility, but they are not deacons. Let deacons each be the husband of one wife. God gave the church two clear roles with regards to leadership. Elders and deacons. If you have anything else, Let me put it this way. Male elders and male deacons, if you have anything else, you fail to qualify to be called a biblical church in this category. You may be biblical in every other front, on every other ground, you may be sound in the gospel, but you fail on this category. I know I lose a lot of friends on that. I cannot argue with the clarity of God's Word. The church needs godly leaders, not Sunday devotees. You understand what I mean, right? This is who you are in your life. This is what you pursue as a regular habit of existence. John MacArthur. on leaders says, quote, since godly leaders have always been the backbone of the church, amen, it is essential that they be qualified. In an unsuccessful church, the issue is all too often not poor programs or uncommitted people, but substandard leadership. Absolutely. Godly leaders are not produced by Bible colleges or seminaries. They merely give the tools with which to work. Nor do pulpit committees or ordination councils make men fit for ministry. They merely have the responsibility to recognize those who are already leaders. Only the Holy Spirit can produce true spiritual leaders." End quote. There may be fuming feminists sitting and listening to this, squirming in their seat at home, or they've put it off. Cannot listen to that nonsense. There may be millennials or Gen Zers who are thinking, why male leadership? Why can't you just say leadership? That's so archaic. That's so oppressive. My soul cannot take that. Stop using that word male. Listen, God is not chauvinistic. And God doesn't care what you think. What people don't realize is that male leadership is an act of protection by God. He gives men the responsibility to bear the brunt of leadership, to protect the family, to protect the church. It's an act of protection. It's a gift from God to give men to the church to love God's people on his behalf, to love the family on his behalf. And what do women say? I want freedom. Give me freedom. God adequately provides protection for you and you want freedom? I don't think you understand it. Go back to Genesis. God doesn't scream at Eve. He scolds Adam. God holds men to be responsible for leadership in the home and to give account for the sheep. Similarly, God holds men accountable for the home. Men, when you say, I do, you don't grow in leadership. You are a leader. God holds you accountable. Why does this matter? Chapter three, verse 15. If I delay, you may know. So I write these things, which is the verbal sense of verse 14. that you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God. God gives instruction with regards to leadership, with regards to faithfulness to the gospel, with regards to godly lives, with regards to church interaction. This entire book is a manual of how the church should conduct itself. So male leadership that is given in this passage of scripture is given by God so that we may know how we ought to conduct ourselves, not in our church, but the household of the living God. It's His church. So get this, you don't get to debate leadership. You don't get to disagree on leadership. You don't get to dislike leadership. If you do, tough luck. It is God's church, therefore He has the right to determine what leadership should look like. I have an hour left. People may say I'm unkind to the sensitive reader and listener. Yeah, I don't care how you feel about the Word of God. You may dislike me, and you may dislike what I say at times, and that is fine. You can come tell me about that. But your unwillingness to accept this communicates your unwillingness to submit to the authority of God's Word. That is the problem. It is not me, it is not the fact that I said, may leadership, and if that triggers you, praise the Lord, come and speak to me. I'll pray for your salvation. Paul says this is worthy of acceptance, and we must accept it. When we meddle with, I think it's absolutely clear, the clear standard of God's decree of leadership. then we fail to uphold what God desires for His house. Take note at the end of verse 15. He says, the church of the living God, a pillar and a buttress of the truth. This is why it matters. Because the church is that which upholds the truth. And when the leadership crumble, remember what I said, eventually your theology is affected and eventually the gospel is compromised. It's clear, it's simple, anything else is settling for something less than God has desired for His church. So first, a church must adhere to the non-negotiable of the gospel and church leadership. And then thirdly, the church must also have an understanding and observance of the ordinances. Now we've gone through this quite a few times, so I will take a brief moment just to speak about this. We have looked at baptism in what is baptism about a year ago, and we have not looked at what breaking of bread is. But baptism and breaking of bread are the essentials of church activity. They're fundamentals to the existence of any church. And most Christians will agree on it. What they do disagree on is the mode of baptism and the frequency or the nature of the breaking of bread. And you can have debates to the nth degree. That is fine. But most of us agree on the fact that you must have baptism and you must have the breaking of bread. Now turn to Matthew 28. They are those who make the case that we have the right to and should baptize infants. This is on the lips of Jesus. Verse 18. And Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. So the divine decree, the divine demand that Christ gives you is holy. It is authoritative because of who he is. Go therefore and make disciples of all 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 have commanded you. And behold, I'm with you always to the end of the age. Go and make disciples. That is a compound command. The main verb, the main command is make disciples. The complement to that main is go. So it's implied and it implies gospel ministry. So go and make disciples. Tell me, how do you make a disciple of an infant? How do you make a disciple of a baby? Let's read this again. Go therefore and make disciples of all babies, baptizing them in the name of the Father. No, that's not what it says. If that is what you see, if that is what you are thinking, you are changing the words of Christ. It's clear. It's crystal clear. Baptism are for those who are being made disciples. You cannot make a disciple of an infant. Case closed. Stop the nonsense of baptizing infants. They do not have faith. Baptism is an important testimony that Christ has left to the church of the change that he brings to the lives of his people. How does a baby even do that? can hardly talk, and it's saying, I'm identifying with Christ. Let me hear the testimony of that baby, and I will believe you. And I will say, let's go ahead, baptize them. 1 Corinthians 11. You should know this, we look at this every first week of the month. Verse 17, let me just read the relevant section. Verse 20, when you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. It just happens that we have a meal this morning. Hopefully Paul is not speaking to us. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. I don't see any alcohol, I think we are safe. What? Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? And someone has taken that as a command. you see the implication. So Paul says the previous verse one gets hungry and another gets drunk and then the next line he says what do you not have houses to eat and quote get drunk in so they're taking that as a command and saying well there you go you can go get drunk at home and that's not even what he says he's chastising them Do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? The breaking of bread is not a time to come and eat something. That's his point. It's not a time to have a festival. It's time to remember the death of Jesus Christ, verse 23. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, he took the cup after supper, saying, this is my cup in the new covenant. This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. Now, look, people get all wound up about that it has to happen on a Sunday morning, it has to happen every Sunday morning. Okay, show me that in the text. It's the words of Jesus that he's repeating here. It doesn't occur in the text, right? There's no frequency given, only that it is required. First of all, if we really want to be biblical, when should we do the breaking of bread? Listen again. That night when he was betrayed, he took bread. When did they break bread? At night. So if you really want to be biblical, let's have a night breaking of bread, which means next Sunday evening we are gathering together and then we are breaking bread and having a meal in between. Because that's what they did, right? But we understand that Paul is not giving us the command of the sequence of things, but he's giving us the command to do a certain thing, which is remember the Lord. Now there's arguments from Acts that they did it every Sunday, and we can look at that, but we can look at that on Wednesday. Time and frequency is not as important as the fact that it is observed. So those two things are essential to a biblical church, that you observe baptism and that you observe the breaking of bread. So first of all, a biblical church practices the two commands which Christ gives, upholds the gospel, and is unflinching on church leadership. I'm going to end with this one. I have four more, so I'm going to end on this one. Fourthly, a church must have a biblical understanding and respect for the authority of scripture. What does the church fundamentally believe about the Bible? Are they governed by tradition? Are they governed by creeds? Are they governed by culture? Are they governed by God's word? How do they handle and respond to this authoritative word of God? That defines a biblical church. Listen to Psalm 119 verse 61. My heart stands in awe of your word. Let that settle. My heart stands and marvels at your word. When scripture is central in the life, not only of the preacher, and it must be, but also in the pew, then people will marvel at the clarity, the authority, the purity, and the power of the Word of God. Those people will turn the world upside down. Because they do not care what people say about their faith. They don't care what the conviction is in the world. They would be ready to die for the cause of Christ. A conviction in the absolute unshakable jurisdiction of God's Word drives us to an unshameable uncompromising boldness. Our faith does not fail when we are persecuted. Go to Hebrews. Why? Because we believe the promises of God. In this book, the author deals with the temptation to depart from the faith in the midst of persecution. They are not only bombarded by heresy, but one step away from a church community like them is safety. You won't be persecuted. You'll be preserved from death. But you remain faithful, you stand the chance of dying. Listen to how this author encourages them. He gives them a list of men and women who have been faithful throughout the ages, throughout history, because of the promises of God. They stand upon their promises and they are willing to die for what they believe in. And he ends with this, verse 32. What shall I say? What more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. Now I don't encourage you to go and do that. Quench the power of fire. You can't. We can't. They have been empowered by a different era where the spirit worked differently. Escaped the edge of the sword, the Lord may help with that, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreigners, foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured. Do you see how he changes? All the good that they've done and faithfulness that they demonstrated, and then he switches. Some of them were tortured, refusing to accept release. Just recant. Just denounce. Just say, I don't really believe it. All you have to say is, I don't really believe it. You may believe it, just say so. and you'll be fine. So that, refusing to accept release so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with a sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated, of whom the world was not worthy, wandering about in deserts and mountains and in dens and caves of the earth. All of these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised. Since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us, they should not be made perfect. Speaking about the new covenant and the future fulfillment of the kingdom. They went through all of that. Why? Because of their faith in God. Only The Word of God can cause such conviction. Flimsy faith does not come from God. It is faith that is granted by God that is unmovable in the face of death, that is unflinching when danger arises. It stands its ground. Why? Because it believes the promises of God. They died not receiving the promise, but they believed in it. What drove the Reformation was the Word of God unleashed in the lives of God's people. A church that honors God is a church that has a high view of the Word of God, the God of the Word. When saints are leaking scripture, they are a force to be reckoned with because they fear nothing. But the problem is that we no longer stagger in amazement at God's Word. We are distracted by the shiny, glittery display of this world that have no bearing on eternal things. Oh look, shiny things daddy. We are captivated by what is outside, temporal things. A devotion that drives us away from the Word of God. When we are captivated by God's Word, and I don't have the time to go through the passages to prove this, when we are captivated by the Word of God, it affects how we live and the world sees it. Second century philosopher, unbeliever, Aristides or Aristides says this, quote, speaking of Christians, they abstain from all impurity in the hope of recompense that is to come in another world. For their servants or handmaids or children, as for the servants or handmaids or children, they persuade them to become Christians, evangelize, by the love they have for them. And when they become so, they call them without distinction, brothers. They do not worship strange gods. They walk in humility and kindness and falsehood is not found among them. They love one another. Interesting from a worldly perspective, he notices that. When they see the stranger, they bring him to their homes and rejoice over him as a true brother. For they do not call brothers those who are of the flesh, but those who are in the spirit and in God. So the stranger is those who is a Christian. And there is among them a man that is poor and needy. And if they have not abundance of necessities, they fast two or three days. that they may supply the needy with the necessary food. They observe scrupulously the commandments of the Messiah. They live honestly and soberly as the Lord their God commanded them. Every morning and all hours on the account of the goodness of God toward them, they praise and laud Him over their food, their drink, and they render Him thanks. And if any righteous person of the number passes away from this world, they rejoice and give thanks to God. And they follow his body as though he was moving from one place to another, which was strange to the pagan world. And when a child is born, they praise God. And if Again, it chances to die in its infancy. They praise God mightily as for one who has passed through the world without sins. Such is the law of Christians. Such is the conduct." That's a testimony. 2nd century looking at the believers of their time and the testimony that they believe is that these people love one another, care for one another, are not willing to dabble in worldly things, but they are committed to the Christ, to the Savior, and to His commands. Why? Because of their commitment to Scripture. It is Scripture that drives devotion. They leave a glisten of light and a savory taste of salt in a world that is otherwise dark and tasteless. When we divorce ourselves from the sufficiency and the clarity of scripture, then behavior that honors God becomes a chore. You know what that means. It becomes difficult. It becomes a burden. We have to work hard at it. A church that is biblical, has a high view of God, has a high view of leadership, has a high view of the ordinances, has a high view of the authority of God's word, and then has a high view of membership. But I will leave that one and the rest until next time. So if you want to hear the rest of the sermon, come back. That's my introduction for the series. God desires us to be biblical. God desires us to be the kind of church that is different. We don't have to follow the trend. We don't have to be like any other church. If we are biblical, we will stand out. We will be different, and we will honor our God. Let us pray. Father, we are thankful to you that you have given clear instruction as to what you desire of us as your people. It is not easy because there are many distractions in this world and from other churches. Help us not to look to them, but help us, Lord, to focus on you, to be committed to your word, and to be faithful to it. Thank you for the clarity of your word and help us to be faithful to it. Now we give thanks to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.