The Role of the Church in the Life of the Believer

2 John 1:5 – And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another.

One aspect of the post-modern American church that is backward from God’s teaching in Scripture concerns the church’s role in the life of the believer. People who attend church today enter the doors with a consumer mindset. In other words, they go to church expecting to leave feeling good about themselves or inspired to reach a higher level than they currently are; and when their expectations are not met, they get upset. However, The Westminster Confession of Fatih gives us good, biblical teaching about the church’s role.

The WCF teaches us not only the biblical description of the church, as we saw last week; but it teaches that the visible church is for the “gathering and perfecting of the saints, in this life, to the end of the world: and does, by his own presence and Spirit, according to his promise, make them effectual thereunto (1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 4:11-13; Matt. 28:19-20; Isa. 59:21)” (25:3). Of course, the Sabbath gathering of the saints is important to God. He gave the command in Genesis 2:1-3 and then validated it on Mount Sinai through Moses (Ex. 20). Jesus taught another reason for the gathering of the saints, deeds of mercy and necessity. Gordon Reed reminds us, “ When the Lord Jesus came to earth, He taught by example and precept that it was right to do good on the Sabbath. It was right for Him to heal the sick and care for the needy” (Gordon K. Reed, Westminster Daily Devotion, June 13). So, there is a facet of church life where people are to help, minister, and love one another. When someone is struggling with some issue, the church should be the first place they run.

Another aspect of the church’s role in a believer’s life consists of teaching them to be more Christlike, which is called sanctification. Worship plays a part in this work. God requires worship from his covenant people. People who deal with emotional stress or mental issues demand more than ever a day for rest. Yet, it is deeper— “in Christian worship our minds and affections are raised from earth to heaven, and we are reminded that only the things of the Lord are eternal and of utmost importance” (Reed, June 16). It is in worship that we are constantly reminded of our dependence on God for life and all its needs. 

A third side of the church’s role for the believer consists of biblical teaching and preaching. The Westminster Shorter Catechism states, “How is the Word made effectual to salvation? A. The Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching, of the Word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort, through faith, unto salvation (Neh. 8:8-9; Acts 20:32; Rom. 10:14-17; 2 Tim. 3:15-17)” (WSC 89). God’s Word is central in his redeeming someone from the issues with which they labor. However, as much as the preacher preaches, and the Sunday school teacher teaches, it is the Holy Spirit that makes his Word effectual. He must be active in the reading and the hearing of the Word. When the hurting person worships and enjoins themselves with the saints, they receive the committed preaching of Bible-believing pastors and teachers. God promises only to bless the Words of Scripture. When a church emphasizes the teaching and preaching of the Word, a supernatural event occurs where the living God meets with and speaks his Word to His people. He builds believers up into holiness of life, and God’s people receive the comfort he offers in his Word.

A fourth aspect of the church’s role is the administration of the sacraments. The sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion are properly administered by an ordained minister of the covenant family. In this way, the Holy Spirit makes them effectual for the believer. The WLC question 161 explains what that means, “How do the sacraments become effectual means of salvation? A. The sacraments become effectual means of salvation, not by any power in themselves, or any virtue derived from the piety or intention of him by whom they are administered, but only by the working of the Holy Ghost, and the blessing of Christ, by whom they are instituted (1 Peter 3:21; Acts 8:13-23; 1 Cor. 3:5-7)” (WLC).

A fifth aspect of the church’s role includes church discipline. After its discussion of the “keys of the Kingdom” being given to the officers of the church (Matt. 16:19; 18:17-18; John 20:21-23; 2 Cor. 2:6-8), WCF 30:4&5 explains the emphasis like this: “Church censures are necessary, for the reclaiming and gaining of offending brethren, for deterring of others from the like offenses, for purging out of that leaven which might infect the whole lump, for vindicating the honor of Christ, and the holy profession of the gospel, and for preventing the wrath of God, which might justly fall upon the church, if they should suffer his covenant, and the seals thereof, to be profaned by notorious and obstinate offenders (1 Cor. 5:1-13; 11:27-34; 1 Tim. 1:20, 5:20; Matt. 7:6; Jude 23). For the better attaining of these ends, the officers of the church are to proceed by admonition; suspension from the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper for a season; and by excommunication from the church; according to the nature of the crime, and demerit of the person“ (1 Thess. 5:12; 2 Thess. 3:6, 14-15; 1 Cor. 5:4-5, 13; Matt. 18:17; Titus 3:10).

It is important for us to grasp two reasons for this distinguishing mark. First, the church’s use of church discipline is to restore a covenant child who is in sin back to Christ and into the church itself. If they are not a covenant child then church discipline helps to remove them from the church family.  Wilhelmus Brakel states, “The end and objective of church discipline are spiritual and this neither pertains to all men as such, nor to the meting out of physical punishments” (Wilhelmus Á. Brakel, The Christian’s Reasonable Service:2, 161).  Therefore, church discipline is a means of having the sheep spiritually healed and restored. There is also the second matter of church discipline that often gets overlooked, and that is the church’s role to protect the sheep from the pastor-counselor. There is story after story of rogue or incompetent pastor-counselors who harmed and abused a vulnerable church member. It is the role of the leaders/elders of the church to hold accountable those who are pastoring, counseling, or disciplining other members. Again Brakel states, “They who administer censure must do so in all fairness, without respect of persons. They must also do this with as much carefulness, meekness,  and gravity so that it can be seen on their countenances that they are conscious of the presence of the Lord Jesus and are performing this task in HIs Name” (Brakel, 162).

For our summer series this year, we will systematically go through the “one another” passages of Scripture that we might be sanctified to grow more to the image of Christ’s bride to which he has called us.