Dr Greg Bahnsen - How to Choose/Leave a Church: How to Choose a Church (Acts 20) (Part 1)

Before we resume our series in First Peter, we have a couple of weeks that we're going to take aside to take up topical presentation of matters of interest and need in our congregation. And this morning I'm going to take up a subject which is often discussed among us, in which we, as a session, as individuals, often have opportunity to discuss, but which sometimes fails to receive the benefit of authoritative proclamation from the pulpit. And we're going to try to make up for that deficiency this morning by taking up the subject of real interest and importance, how to choose a church. And to do that, turn with me, please, to Acts, the 20th chapter. Remember that Luke is the author of the Book of Acts. Luke traveled with the apostle Paul in much of his missionary endeavors, and Luke now is describing for us the ministry travels and the preaching of Paul as we find it in the 20th chapter of his book, the Acts of the Apostles. Hear now the word of God at Acts 21. And after the uproar ceased, Paul, having sent for the disciples and exhorted them, took leave of them, and departed to go into Macedonia. And when he had gone through those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece and when he had spent three months there, and a plot was laid against him by the Jews, as he was about to set sail for Syria, he determined to return through Macedonia, and there accompanied him as far as Asia, Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus, and Gaius of Derbe and Timothy, and of Asia, Tycheus and Trophimus but these had gone before, and were waiting for us at Troas and we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days, where we tarried seven days and upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed with them, intending to depart on the morrow, and prolonged his speech until midnight. And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where we were gathered together, and there sat in the window a certain young man named Eutychus, borne down with deep sleep and as Paul discoursed yet longer, being borne down by his sleep, he fell down from the third story, and was taken up dead and Paul went down and fell on him, and embracing him, said, make ye no adieu, for his life is is in him. And when he was gone up, and had broken the bread, and eaten, and had talked with them a long while, even till break of day, so he departed, and they brought the lad alive and were not a little comforted. But we, going before to the ship, set sail for Assos, there, intending to take in Paul, for so had he appointed, intending himself to go by land. And when he met us at Assos, we took him in and came to Mitylene. And sailing from thence, we came the following day over against Chios. And the next day we touched at Samos. And the day after we came to Miletus. For Paul had determined to sail past Ephesus, that he might not have to spend time in Asia. For he was hastening, if it were possible for him to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost. And from Meletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. And when they were come to him, he said unto them, ye yourselves know from the first day that I set foot in Asia, after what manner I was with you all the time, serving the Lord with all lowliness of mind and with tears, and with trials which befell me by the plots of the Jews. How I shrank not from declaring unto you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there, save that the Holy Spirit testifieth unto me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But I hold not my life of any account as dear unto myself, so that I may accomplish my course in the ministry which I receive from the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that ye all among whom I went about preaching the kingdom shall see my face no more. Wherefore I testify unto you this day that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I shrank not from declaring unto you the whole counsel of God. Take heed unto yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit and hath made you overseers to feed the church of the Lord, which he purchased with his own blood. I know that after my departing, grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them. Wherefore watch ye, remembering that by the space of three years I cease not to admonish every one night and day with and now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace. Which is able to build you up. And to give you the inheritance. Among all them that are sanctified. I coveted no man's silver or gold or apparel. Ye yourselves know that these hands ministered unto my necessities. And to them that were with me in all things. I gave you an example. That so laboring ye ought to help the weak. And to remember the words of the Lord Jesus. That he himself said. It is more blessed to give than to receive. And when he had thus spoken. He kneeled down and prayed with them all. And they all wept sore. And fell on Paul's neck and kissed him. Sorrowing most of all for the word which he had spoken. That they should behold his face no more. And they brought him on his way unto the ship. And thus far the reading of God's word. I don't know how this passage affects you. It affects me by really softening my heart. And making me quite emotional, to be honest. Because there is so much here that really bespeaks the affection. The apostle Paul had for the church of Jesus Christ. And the affection that the elders of the church had for Paul. It's interesting at the end of the passage that it says that they all wept for what Paul said. But the more especially because he said, I'll never see you again. Paul was really loved by these people. In fact, you know that they must have loved him. Because he had to send to Ephesus for them to come. He said he could not come to Ephesus. But he had an exhortation so important. That he wanted them to come and meet him in another city before he set sail. So that he would have this to say to them. This is also an interesting passage, I suppose, somewhat for the humor that is found in it. Of all the passages that people in a congregation should identify with. I guess it's the passage mentioning Eutychus. Right. None of us should forget the experience of Eutychus. Who fell asleep while Paul was preaching. Beloved though he may be. Paul apparently had the ability to be long winded. And to go on and on and on. How long did Paul preach this night? We do know that he continued to midnight. And about that time, because it was so late. And apparently because there were so many candles in the room. And the oxygen was low. And Eutychus was weighed down with sleep. The Bible says he fell asleep. And fell out of the window dead. And Paul either discovers that he's not dead, as the they had suspected. Or raises him to life. I believe the latter is the case. But whatever it is, they have great rejoicing that Eutychus is restored. And then Paul goes on. You would think if that happened in our congregation, if we had some emergency in the midst of some long winded sermon from your pastor, that we'd say, well, that's enough for today. Boy, this has really been well. Paul finishes taking care of Eutychus and then he goes on till daybreak, finishing his exhortation. Then he goes out to the the ship and it's there that the Ephesian elders meet him and he gives one more exhortation without a night's sleep. Paul's ready to preach again so much is he willing to declare the Gospel of the Kingdom? Now, as we this morning take up the subject of how to choose a church, remember that we're not in looking at Paul's preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom to think simply of entrance into the kingdom. The Gospel of the Kingdom is not simply a message about how one gets on the train going to heaven, but the Gospel of the Kingdom is also good news about how the Kingdom functions in this world and how the body of Christ is to relate to one another and what it's to do and what kind of standards it's to have. And about these things, Paul was seriously concerned. My wife has already this morning, in a very loving way, reminded me that congregations can only take so many major points and the sermon. And there are a lot that I want to give in today's. And so let me begin by saying this. I will think that I have accomplished something profitable and faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ. If I can get you to begin with this first point to see that the choice of a church is a momentously important, spiritually significant thing, that it's not like choosing a breakfast cereal. You know, we live in a free country. And if I want to eat Cocoa Puffs for breakfast, even though my wife tells me it's not good for me, if I want to eat Cocoa Puffs for breakfast, I am legally free to go in to buy Cocoa Puffs. And you know, people shouldn't discriminate against me just because I eat Cocoa Puffs. You can choose Corn Flakes if you want, or Shredded Wheat, and I can eat Cocoa Puffs, you know, and as you think about it, there's a little bit of humor in that, because none of us think that the choice of a breakfast cereal is all that important. Some of us may think that paying attention to our diet is important and breakfast cereal is part of diet and so forth, but it's unlikely that we would break fellowship with anybody here because we didn't like their choice of breakfast cereal. It's just not that important. But how important is the choice of a church? It's not like choosing this model of car to drive or this breakfast cereal to eat. The choice of a church is so important that the Apostle Paul, when he got down to talking about the principles of church life, said, I am free from the blood of all men. Paul got very serious. Now what if I were to come here and say, now look, I'm free from the blood of all men. I've told you about breakfast cereals. You'd say that's highly inappropriate. That kind of language is the language of formality and drama. Part Paul says I'm not guilty for what men will answer to God for because I haven't failed to declare to you the whole counsel of God. I have been true to my ministry. I have discharged what the Lord Jesus Christ gave me to do. And so important is this gospel of the kingdom and its far reaching ramifications for the very life of those who are saved and the way that they corporately relate to one another as the church. That Paul can say the choice of a church or the. The choice of the way a church should operate, if you want to put it that way, these are life and death matters. Now I'll tell you very briefly that historically the reason why in our country we're inclined not to take matters of church polity, government and the choice of where to worship very importantly is because in our country, praise the Lord, we have a long tradition of insisting on the freedom of choice. Now that has been perverted. Parenthetically, let me point out. Freedom of choice as originally intended by the fathers of our country meant freedom to choose your denomination within the Christian fold. It didn't mean freedom to be an atheist, freedom to be a Muslim, freedom to be a Hindu. That freedom of religion meant denominational freedom. I think that's the best way to put it in our day and age. That is to say there would not be an established denomination. And that's why the Constitution of the United States prohibits. The federal government does not say anything about the states, interestingly prohibits the federal government from establishing, say the Episcopal Church or the Baptist Church or the Presbyterian Church or what have you, as what everybody must be in this particular country, that is the state church. We do not have that. We have a tradition of freedom, denominational freedom. But you see that, and that's a good tradition to have, I believe. And we can talk about that on another occasion, if you want. But that does not imply that the choice, individually and before God of a denomination or a church to worship with is somehow insignificant. It's just a matter of different strokes for different folks or how you flip a coin. It's a very important matter. So important that Paul. Paul will discourse all night long. But before he gets on that ship, he wants to tell the Ephesian elders, you must pay attention to what I'm going to tell you. Well, we'll come Back to Acts 20 in a minute. Why is this such an important subject? Why should we consider it? This morning I can think of five. There are more, but at least five good reasons why we want to ask ourselves, how should a person choose a church? The first is, and I think most obviously so that we'll understand the true nature of and the marks of the church of Jesus Christ. As for the sake of doctrinal comprehension, what is the church all about? And this sermon this morning intends to help you understand that the nature of Christ's church. Secondly, however, it shows us what the biblical ideal for a church is, according to which we should strive to reform our own church. Once I set before you what the Bible says a church should be, then we should say, no, where am I individually? And where are we corporately falling short? What should we be doing to come closer to the ideal? So it gives us a model for reform. Thirdly, it offers us guidelines that we can use to help members of our congregation or that members of our congregation can use themselves to be helped in locating a new church when they move to another area. That has happened in our own short church life too many times for me to mention. When people go to another area, then sometimes they find it difficult to find a church and they want to know how should they choose? Well, hopefully our words this morning will help there. And fourthly, it should enable us to give practical and faithful advice to our friends and to our associates who may be in the process of settling on a church home. You know, so often when people visit us or when you know that somebody's looking for a church, we want to commend our own church to them. And I think it sounds like. Well, I don't know how to put it. It's like we're hawking our wares or hustling them. You know, come join us, be with our party, be with our group. Well, I think you should encourage people to come to our church. I hope that you feel like you can and that you will do that. But the important thing is that you give them faithful biblical advice, when applied, will lead them to see, well, this is the kind of church they want to be at. Okay, so it's not just a matter of, you know, rooting for our side. It's a matter of what are the principles by which people should want to be with us or what principles should we offer them, whether they choose our church or not, that are God honoring principles for the choice of a church. And then finally, I think the consideration of this subject, how to choose a church, provides us a basis for evaluation when professing believers change from one church to another, which happens all the time these days. And when one person goes from one church to another, we have to be able to form godly and faithful biblical evaluations of that particular action. So then, let's begin this morning as we ask ourselves how we choose a church by asking the first and primary question, what makes an organization a church? What is it that makes this group of people, this doing these things, a church rather than something else? And I have an illustration here. Let's assume that we have a woman that attends Bible study fellowship on a regular basis. I guess most of you know, Bible Study Fellowship is a fairly large national organization, international now, that has a set curriculum and leaders and a particular program and way of teaching. And women, often enough women who have unbelieving husbands that prevent them from going to church on Sunday or hinder them going to church can come. And also women in churches that long for more study of the Bible and during the weekday get together and have what they at least consider in depth study and discussion of God's word. My point here has nothing to do with Bible study fellowship, by the way. It may be bad in your eyes, it may be good in your eyes, but what I want to ask you is, is that a church, after all, Christian fellowship is accomplished there. For all I know. Some groups may even sing. So there's a sense in which they praise God corporately there, and they certainly teach or attempt to teach the word of God there. Is that the church, though would a person have attended a church of Jesus Christ if she had gone to Bible Study Fellowship? To answer that question, you say you need to know what are the distinguishing marks of a church? What is it that distinguishes the church over against related but different kinds of organizations? How's the church different from a seminary? And that sort of thing is asked by seminary students often. How's the church different from a Christian college? How is the church different from an evangelistic organization? How's the church different from InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. What is it that makes the church the church and not any of these other kinds of fellowships? The answer to that question, I think is best found by looking at the paradigm of the earliest Christian church as we find it in the New Testament. Turn in your Bibles to Acts, the second chapter. We'll range beyond this in a minute. But for right now, look at Acts chapter two, and I'm going to give you what I consider the five indispensable marks of a true Christian church. You look at Acts 2, especially verses 41 to 47. Now this is right after you see the day of Pentecost, the sermon by Peter, where so many people are converted. And immediately we are told, verse 41. Then they that received the word were baptized and were added unto them in that day about 3,000 souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles teaching and fellowship in the breaking of bread, and the prayers and fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles and and all that believed were together and had all things common. And they sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all according as any man had need. And day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to them day by day, those that were saved. Notice first of all that the church, the earliest church object, Jesus Christ, adhered to apostolic doctrine. The thing that marked it out as a church rather than an auto repair shop, to put it bluntly, is that it was the doctrine and outlook and teaching of the apostles to which they adhered. Verse 41 says those that received the word that the Apostle Peter was preaching. Verse 42, they continued steadfastly in the Apostles teaching and fellowship. The apostles teaching not everybody's opinion. They didn't have a commune where everybody had everything in common when there came some physical or financial need. But of course, everybody was free to have his own opinions about religious matters, like whether there's a God, how many gods, whether Jesus is one of them, how he saves what he saves, and so forth. This was not your local Unitarian society. They continued in the Apostles doctrine. And not only that, they continued steadfastly in the Apostles doctrine. It wasn't just incidental that it was the apostles doctrine they held, but steadfastly they adhered to the teaching of the apostles. Why? Because the apostles were the commissioned and authoritative spokesman for the Lord. Jesus Christ Jesus said that he would give his Spirit to lead them into all truth, to guide his church and to be his representatives on earth. That's why in Galatians 1, Paul says, what I tell you is not from men, but it's from a revelation of Jesus Christ. The apostles teach in the place of Jesus. And so those who want to belong to Jesus Church, the Christian church, steadfastly adhere to the doctrine of the apostles. Secondly, we see that there's an administration of the sacraments. Verse 41 says, those who received the apostolic word were baptized. And we read also in verses 42 and 46 of the Breaking of bread. The breaking of bread. An allusion, I believe, not simply to eating their daily meals, but to taking of the Lord's Supper. The breaking of bread being a way of designating that. And so we have adherence to apostolic doctrine. Secondly, the administration of the sacraments. Thirdly, fellowship in worship and mutual concern. Fellowship in worship and mutual concern. Verse 42, they continued in fellowship and the breaking of bread and the prayers. Not only did they praise God together and have this kind of fellowship and worship. Verses 44 to 47 indicates that nobody was wanting among them. They so cared for each other that they'd even sell the things that they had so that others who were in need would have the need satisfied or met. So the Christian church is marked by that kind of fellowship. By the way, in our day and age, in a very doctrinal church like the Orthodox Presbyterian Church is, we often enough have a de emphasis upon that. And I don't believe it's right. I believe that doctrine is crucial. And I will say in a few minutes that doctrine is, in a sense, the foundational point. But doctrine by itself does not a church make. It's when that doctrine creates new life in people who love one another in fellowship that it creates the Body of Christ. So it's fellowship in worship and mutual concern. Fourthly, evangelistic outreach. This is very obvious. I mean, it comes right from an evangelistic setting. Peter says in verse 40. And with many words he testified and exhorted them, saying, save yourselves from this crooked generation. And those who believed were baptized, and so forth. So it's clear that the church is interested in evangelism. And the Lord added to them, day by day, those who were being saved. The church must remember the commission given to it by the Lord of the Church to go and make disciples of all nations. And then fifthly, the church is marked out by discipline in purity, harmony and good order. Discipline in purity, harmony and Good order. In chapter 4 of Acts at verse 35, you'll notice that as offerings are brought to the church, where are they placed? Not in a blue offering box on the literature table as you go out. In the days of the early church there was a very highly symbolic way in which the order of the church was typified. They placed their offerings at the apostles feet. Who dispensed the funds for the church? Well, at that point the apostles did. Now in Acts 6 we find that they are so concerned to take care of the widows and those who are in financial need that an argument, the first major argument in the Christian church comes up over whether the Hellenistic or Grecian Jews are Christians, are getting mistreated, are not getting as good a treatment as the Jewish converts Christians are. And at that point the apostles recommend that the congregation vote for deacons who will be approved by the apostles. So again we see that the church is organized and has good order because of the government of the church as it's developing already in chapter 5, verses 9 to 11 in the book of Acts, you will see that Peter says to this is now Sapphira Ananias wife. How is it that you have agreed together to try the spirit of the Lord? Because they lied about an offering, that they were making a contribution. And at that point church discipline in the most dramatic sense is imposed. Ananias and Sapphira are struck dead from heaven. The presence of the apostle Peter for their lying to the governors of the church. Boy, you need to take that seriously. Not that the elders of this church may strike you dead or call down fire from heaven, but God at the very inception of his church says order and integrity in my church and before the governors of this church is a life and death matter. And it's the apostles that are central here. Of course in chapter six of Acts, I've already said we have the development of the diaconate. In chapter 15 the first doctrinal dispute is taken up and you see that it's handled by means of a graded court. The elders from the various churches come together in Jerusalem and there they debate the point theologically and settle it and then impose that on the other churches. A decree from the apostolic council goes out and other churches are to submit to it. What I'm pointing out here is that there's a discipline in the earliest Christian church and in purity, whether it be doctrinal or life, in harmony with one another, in good order in the way that they administer their life. And what happens there in Matthew 16 and 18 very quickly you'll remember that Jesus referred to the Church binding and loosening those who will enter and those who will not enter the kingdom. And he speaks of interpersonal disputes resolved by telling it to the Church. He Sundays, and where two or three are gathered together in my name for what? For the purpose of discipline, settling disputes, I am there in their midst. In First Corinthians, chapter 5, Paul speaks of the Church being united and excommunicating a man who is living in unrepentant sin. In chapter six, he shames them. He says, can you not settle your own disputes? God intends for the Church to have such a good order and wise men among you that you don't go to the secular magistrates when you have ought against one another. Well, I could go on and on. My point is then, the Church is marked by discipline, a discipline that brings purity, harmony and good order to what it does. In fact, the Westminster Confession of Faith at this point can be read at chapter 25, sections 4 and 5. Our confession tells us this Catholic, that is universal church has been sometimes more, sometimes less, less visible, and particular churches which are members thereof are more or less pure, according as the doctrine of the Gospel is taught and embraced, ordinances administered and public worship performed more or less purely in them. The purest churches under heaven are subject both to mixture and error, and some have so degenerated as to become no churches of Christ, but synagogues of Satan. Nevertheless, there shall always be a Church on earth to worship God according to to his will. I think we can derive two observations concerning the scriptural marks of the Church from what the confession here tells us. First of all, any organization which is a true manifestation of the Church of Jesus Christ will display these marks, maintaining the Word and sacraments through a sufficient discipline. It says, and nevertheless no church on earth is perfect in any of these areas. No church is perfect in its doctrine, no church is perfect in its discipline, no church is perfect in its administration of sacraments. No church is perfect in its evangelistic fervor. No church is perfect in its fellowship and worship and mutual concern. Nevertheless, no Church on earth is perfect in any of these areas, but rather manifests the distinguishing marks of Christ Church with greater and lesser purity. And all churches, all true churches, need to help each other move toward great greater fidelity regarding the marks of the Church, and thereby toward more perfect unity with one another. And that's why in our form of government now, which is we have a confession of faith written in the 1640s, and a form of government which governs this particular denomination, in its application of Scripture and the confession of faith. And we read in our form of government. The visible unity of the Body of Christ, though not altogether destroyed, is greatly obscured by the division of the Christian church into different groups or denominations. In such denominations, Christians exercise a fellowship toward each other in doctrine, worship, and order that they do not exercise toward other Christians. The purest churches under heaven are subject both in mixture and error, and some have gravely departed from apostolic purity. Yet all of these which maintain through a sufficient discipline, the Word and the sacraments, and their fundamental integrity, are to be recognized as true manifestations of the Church of Jesus Christ. All such churches should seek a closer fellowship in accordance with the principles set forth above. Now, the second thing that our confession of faith teaches us, however, is that while none of us are perfect and all of us have the marks of the Church in greater or lesser degree at each point, some organizations are so lacking in, or have so degenerated with respect some distinguishing mark or marks of the Church that they are no longer or not at all to be considered true manifestations of Christ's Church. And the Lord of the Church requires the identity and the integrity of His Church to be maintained by separation from such bodies. And so our form of government says in the same chapter from which I've been reading, the manifestation of the unity of the Church requires that it be separate from the world. Apostasy in faith and life is destructive of the fellowship in Christ. Only by rejecting such error can Christian fellowship be maintained. There are many antichrists, many false apostles and teachers. From these the Church must turn away, and those who steadfastly hear the voice of false shepherds and follow them cannot be regarded as the sheep of Christ. There are organizations which falsely call themselves churches of God, and others which once were churches but have become synagogues of Satan. Communion with such is spiritual adultery and an offense against Christ and his saints. These are strong words, but they are faithful and true words. No church is perfect. All churches manifest all those which are true manifestations of the truth. Church of Christ manifest the marks in greater and lesser degree. But there are some organizations which, because of their apostasy in doctrine or life, are not churches of Christ and are not to be accounted as such, and from which we are to separate. And if we will not, if we steadfastly hear the voice of false teachers, we in the end may not be considered the sheep of Christ. For Jesus says, my sheep, hear my voice and follow me. So let me summarize what we've said Thus far, there are biblical marks of a church, making it a true manifestation of the body of Christ. And these marks will be displayed in some degree or other. But that degree can be so minimal that some organizations do not qualify as true churches of Christ. How then should we choose a church? We know what a church is. We know that we can't expect perfection. But at some point we have to break off from groups. How then shall we choose a church? What is the standard we should use? First of all, the standard we use is dependent upon the nature of the church. What is the church? Well, it's the kingdom of Christ. And who is the head of the church? It's the Lord Jesus Christ. And how does the Lord Jesus Christ rule His kingdom? By His Word. And therefore, the standard in choosing a church is the word of God, nothing less. The standard for choosing a church must be the Word of God. When a person makes the decision, I will go to this church, it must be the sort of decision that can be warranted by sola scriptura. Why am I being so emphatic about this? I'm being emphatic because in our day and age, the emphasis is exactly the opposite. The emphasis is who has the best youth program, who has the most beautiful edifice, who has the most full church calendar and program, who has the kind of stained glass windows I'm looking for, who has a parking lot that I can get in and out of with ease. Now I see you smiling. I have at some point in my Christian life heard each and every one of those excuses reasons used for choosing one church over another. On what basis do we choose a church? If the Bible teaches. You know that I don't think it does. But I'm saying if the Bible teaches that the size and facility of the parking lot is a standard, then so be it. And if the Bible teaches that the kind of pomp and circumstances or color of the stained glass windows and is a basis for choosing a church, then so be it. And we must hear that and we must be corrected in it. But if the Bible doesn't, we must use other standards than personal convenience and personal preference. I guess you knew that I would take that position. And I think implicitly all of you believe it, but it must be entered into the record in the name of God. I exhort you, when you tell people how to choose a church and when you choose one, Sola strike scriptura. Not sola scriptura in every other area except the ones impinging on my personal preferences, Sola scriptura everywhere and here especially because of the nature of what we're doing. Now, let's look at Paul's example in Acts 20 and get some idea of what he considered important about a church over which he would weep and preach all night long and call to the elders to come out and hear before he would set sail. In Acts 20, I want to bring out just a few elements of this chapter. It's a fascinating one. In verse seven, notice the regular administration of the sacraments. And upon the first day of the week, when they were gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed with them. Now, later on, if any of you have questions as to why our session is moving toward weekly communion, here's why. Because on the first day of the week, Paul and the others got together to break bread, which I take as an indication of the Lord's Supper on the first day of the week. That was their regular habit, to break bread. The argument many people give is, well, if we have communion too often, then it won't be a special religious exercise for us. Well, we have to guard against that kind of spiritual dullness that can overcome us. But the fact is, scripturally, it appears they had communion weekly. We have it every other week in at the first of the year, we will finally have it every week. But the regular administration of the sacraments was followed. In verse 7, we also see the prolonged exposition of God's truth. Paul discoursed with them, intending to depart on the morrow, and prolonged his speech until midnight. This is something which may even step on toes in our congregation. I assure you I did not devise anything to say this morning to step on anybody's toes. But the fact of the matter is that we, I think, I take it with pretty good spirit. We joke about how I sometimes preach over time, but whether it's me or some other preacher you have or some other pastor in the future that you have, I hope this church will always be marked by people saying, don't worry so much about the clock. We want to hear more. That's why we're here. We're not here to go through the formality that says in America church services are one hour long, and at the 60th minute you better be having the benediction or you're imposing on us. You're being rude. Don't you know there are football games and roast in the oven? What do you think the Apostle Paul would respond to American Christian culture on that point? I don't think he'd have anything cutesy to say about it. He prolonged his speech to midnight, and he expected People to listen. He thought what he had to say was important. Important. Now he's inspired and I'm not. Sometimes I think I have something important to say and I may be wrong. But hopefully you'll give me the benefit of the doubt. And not just me. It's my position that I'm talking about. Whoever is your elder teaching you, if he prolongs his speech, you say, well, that's what the church is all about. We want to know more. We want prolonged exposition of God's truth. Now, prolonged may mean that we go on next week. Next week. Because another problem we have is sometimes people say, well, the. Do we have to spend so much time, so much detail in all of this? The answer is yes. God doesn't give us material because it's useless. He gives us material because it's to be mastered. And so that should always be a mark of a true church of Christ. Prolonged exposition of God's truth and full declaration of biblical doctrine. We come to a real crux matter here. When in verse 20, we see Paul's saying, I shrank not from declaring unto you everything that was profitable. Paul says, I didn't pull back because I thought, well, there's a particularly influential family in this church that isn't going to like it. If I have this to say or if I say this, this is going to be offensive to certain people. Or I mean, how can I expect these people to expect to learn the doctrine of predestination and about the millennium and church discipline all in one sitting? Paul says, when the occasion arose, I didn't shrink back from telling you what needed to be said. And what did Paul declare? How much. How much was important in the church over which he would weep and demand that the church listen and the elders take heed. In verse 27, he says, I shrank not from declaring unto you the whole counsel of God. And those churches in our day which do not preach the whole counsel of God either by intentional unbelief, I mean by their conscious rejection of what we consider the whole counsel of God, or because they think it's just not a good policy to make all of that important, the fact is they fail to do what Paul said. And this is where Paul said, I am free of the blood of all men because I have declared to you everything God wants you to know. And when we choose a church that willfully refuses to preach the whole counsel of God, we are not free. And that church is not free from the blood of all men. It's time that we take doctrine and church life seriously. It's a life and death matter. It's not a matter of a one hour formality where we all get together and as long as we hear something nice from the Bible that makes it good, that is not enough. And to say that it is enough is offensive to the Lord of the Church. Because it's to say, you gave us too much, you overdid it. But Jesus doesn't overdo it. He knows what his kingdom needs. He knows how his church should be governed. And he expects the ministers of his church to declare the whole counsel of God or to answer to him for it. And Paul said, I will not have to answer for that. I declared to you everything profitable because the whole counsel of God was my outline. You notice Also in Acts 20, evangelistic fervor in verses 20 and 21, Paul says that he publicly taught from house to house, testifying to Jews and Greeks, repentance toward God and faith to our Lord Jesus Christ. The church must be an evangelistic church, wanting to see people converted, brought to repentance and faith. Notice in verses 28 to 31 that the church is governed by elders who discipline and protect the flock. Take heed unto yourselves. He's speaking to the elders now, and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to feed the church of the Lord which He purchased with his own blood. I know that after my departing, grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them. Wherefore watch out. Remember that by the space of three years I didn't cease to admonish everyone night and day with tears. Paul says, you elders must discipline the sheep. You must keep them together on the right path. And when wolves would draw them aside, and when men from within their very midst would come to draw them aside, you must protect them. Sometimes sheep don't think they're being protected. They're saying, hey, we don't need this. Bug off. But true shepherds will still say, we are protecting you. Jesus wants us to do this for you. And you may go off if you choose. You have the political and legal freedom to do it. But in the eyes of God, you need to be warned against destructive ways. Paul says, you elders do that. And finally, in verse 35, notice as well the ministry of mercy to those in need. Paul says, look, I labored with my own hand so nobody would have to support me. And I gave you an example And I want you to remember the Lord Jesus Christ, how he said, it's more blessed to give than to receive. And you know, one of the problems with our own congregation, in our congregation, it's just like every other in. So I'm not trying to single you out. One of the problems with the Christian church today is that most people choose a church because they want to see what they can get. Paul says it's more blessed. Jesus says it's more blessed to give than to receive. We choose a church because we want to minister to others in the most mundane financial affairs of the poor and poverty stricken, to the most sublime and spiritual needs of a person who is suffering spiritual depression. We come to church because we want to give. We have a ministry to share with others. Well, these things we see that in Paul's example in Acts 20. How should you choose a church? First you have to make sure it's the church. It has the marks that I told you. And you must be ready to say that at some point. Some organizations aren't even churches because they are so miserably deficient in some mark or the other. And then having decided that, we're going to only go to those organizations which have those marks in some degree or other. I think the standard we use is God's word, not personal preference. And then if Paul's example is anything to us, we look for a church that preaches pure doctrine and in its fullness, that regularly administers the sacraments, that ministers to one another because it's more blessed to give than to receive, that is struck with evangelistic fervor and has elders who oversee the sheep and protected against wayward living doctrine. That's the kind of church you want. And if it's another kind of church that you want, if somehow you think, well, but shouldn't we also worry about the parking lot and the stained glass windows? Then I want to suggest to you that you're going beyond the word of God and very likely, if you will, examine your heart against the word of God, because there are certain preferences that you hold more dear than what the Bible itself has to say. Now, my friends, the exposition ends for today because this is just part one of how to choose a church. Because we really need now to take some of these principles that we've been looking at and apply other qualifying matters to them. What do you do when there isn't a church like this around? What do you do when you have to move? What do you do when no reform is possible? What kind of separation for unbelief and apostasy is called for. And all these matters are probably another sermon's worth that I will continue next Lord's day, and I will lay it upon you to be sure that you're back to hear the conclusion of the matter. But for now, let's end and ask God's blessing on our lesson. Let's pray. Lord, help us to take the church seriously and not treat it like so many in our American culture do. Indeed, not to treat it as we so often in the past have. Lord, help us to see that if this is the kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Christ, his body, his very bride, that we can't be indifferent to it and we can't presume that our preferences and conveniences are somehow determinative. Lord, this is your church, not ours. You are the Lord of the church. You are its head. You govern it. And so, Lord, we pray that you would teach us to choose with respect to your church and body those principles that honor you, that come from you, which will serve your ends and not our own. Help us to be faithful, help our church more and more to exhibit the marks of the Church and not to take them for granted, lest we become, through our dullness and indifference, we become degenerate in one area or another. Lord, we pray this morning you'd forgive us because our evangelistic fervor has been so low. Lord, we pray this morning you would forgive us because our fellowship has so often been formal in a matter of a certain time, on a certain day of the week. Lord, we pray you would forgive us because often when we've proclaimed doctrine and tried to do it fully, we've done it out of pride and not out of a sense of submission to you. And Lord, we pray your forgiveness this morning as well. Because we have not honored the discipline of the Truth Church, we sometimes seen it as a nuisance and an inconvenience to us. We pray that we would see the shepherding of the sheep as important because the overseer, Jesus Christ himself, has sent shepherds so that the sheep would not be harmed but would be led into paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Lord, we pray especially that as we come now to enjoy the sacrament of the Lord's Supper in the Lord's Church, that you would bless our church, help us to be more faithful, more pure, more zealous as we approach the gospel, as it's seen here, that we would have the benefits of the covenant of grace sealed upon our hearts, and we might more faithfully walk as your covenant people because of this sacrament. For it's in Jesus name we pray. Amen.