Jon Gary Williams
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The Church - Lesson 12
The Church in 25 Lessons
Jon Gary Williams
Lesson 12 - The Church: Membership Responsibilities
All relationships in life which are of value contain responsibility. Membership in the church of Jesus Christ involves the greatest responsibility man can ever have. It consist of the most serious obligations put before man. What are these responsibilities?
I. Local church membership
A. The local congregation is the only unit of organization within the church.
God 's design is for every Christian to be a part of a local congregation.
B. In the local congregation members are to be subject to its elders. They have the
"oversight" (I Pet. 5:1-3), and they "watch" for the souls of the flock. (
Heb.13:17)
II. Members have the responsibility of joint participation in the church's work
A. Tit. 3:1 "to be _________ to every ________ _________"
B. Eph. 4:16 "According to the ___________ _________ in the measure of
_______
_________"
C. II Cor. 8:7 "ye abound in _______ ________, in _________, and
___________,
and ____________, and in all _____________, and in your
___________"
D. Gal. 6:4,5 "Let every man _________ his own ________....for every man shall
_______ his own _________"
III. Members have the responsibility of maintaining unity and harmony
A. I Cor. 1:10 "that there be ____ ____________ among you"
B. I Cor. 12:25 "that there should be ____ _________ in the body....every
member
should have the _______ _______ one for another"
C. Eph. 4:2,3 "with all ___________ and __________ , with ______________,
forbearing one another in ________; endeavoring to keep the ________ of the Spirit
in the ________ of __________"
IV. Members are to uphold the church's purity
A. Christ died to establish the church's purity. (Eph. 5:26,27
)
B. Christians must live to maintain it. (Phil. 1:27; I Tim. 4:12; II Tim. 2:19-21)
V. Members are to bear fruit
A. Being united with Christ a child of God is expected to bear fruit. (Rom. 7:4)
B. How is it known that one is a disciple of Christ? (Jn. 15:8)
C. What happens to branches that bear fruit and to those that do not bear fruit?
(Jn. 15:2)