Church manual, designed for the use of Baptist churches

Contents

Chapter Pagf

I. Nature of a Church 5

II. Officers of a Church 22

Chapter 1 Nature Of A Church

THE term Church occurs in the New Testament more than a hundred times. The word thus translated means congregation or assembly ; but it does not indicate the purpose for which the congregation or assembly meets. Hence it is used, Acts 19 : 32, 39, 41, and rendered assembly. In every other place in the New Testament it is translated church. In its application to the followers of Christ, it refers either to a particular congregation of saints, or to the redeemed in the aggregate. It is employed in the latter sense in Ephesians 1 : 22; 3 : 21 ; 5 : 25, 27. Here we have the expressions, " Head over all things to the Church ? ; " To him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages world without end " ; " Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it . . . that he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it. should be holy and without blemish." In these passages, and a few more like them, it would be absurd to define the term Church as meaning a particular congregation of Christians, meeting in one place for the worship of God.

Our business, however, is with the other signification of the word church. In a large majority of instances it is used in the Scriptures to denote a local assembly, convened for religious purposes. Thus we read of " the church at Jerusalem/' " the church of God which is at Corinth/' " the church of the Thessalonians," " the church of Ephesus," " the church in Smyrna," " the church in Pergamus," etc., etc. Nor are we to suppose that it required a large number of persons to constitute a church. Paul refers to Aquila and Priscilla and " the church that is in their house." to Nymphas and " the church which is in his house," and in his letter to Philemon he says, " to the church in thy house." A congregation of saints, organized according to the New- Testament, whether that congregation is large or small, is a church.

The inspired writers, as if to preclude the idea of a church commensurate with a province, a kingdom, or an empire, make use of the following forms of expression, " the churches of -Galatia," " the churches of Macedonia," " the churches of Asia/' " the churches of Judea " ; but they never say the church of Galatia, the church of Macedonia, etc. Wherever Christianity prevailed in apostolic times there was a plurality of churches.

In answer to the question, What is a church?/ it may be said: A church is a congregation of Christ's baptized disciples, acknowledging him as their Head, relying on his atoning sacrifice for justification before God, and depending on the Holy Spirit for sanctification, united in the j belief of the gospel, agreeing to maintain its I ordinances and obey its precepts, meeting together for worship, and cooperating for the extension of Christ's kingdom in the world. If any prefer an abridgment of the definition it may be given thus : A church is a congregation ( of Christ's baptized disciples, united in the belief of what he has said, and covenanting to do ^what he has commanded.

If this be a correct description of a church of Christ, it is manifest that membership must be preceded by important qualifications. These qualifications may be considered as moral and ceremonial.

Moral. Among moral prerequisites to church-membership may be mentioned

Repentance. John the Baptist, whose ministry was " the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ," preached, saying to the people, " Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." His was the baptism of repentance. When John was cast into prison Jesus " came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, " The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand : repent ye and believe the gospel." When the apostles were sent forth they " preached that men should repent." The Lord Jesus after his resurrection said : " Thus it is written and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations." Peter on the day of Pentecost said, " Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins " ; and Paul, who testified at Ephesus for three years " repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ," proclaimed in Athens, " God commandeth all men everywhere to repent/' The New Testament is full of the doctrine of repentance. It is a doctrine of the gospel. The law knows nothing of it. The language of the law is, Do and live — not Repent, that you may be pardoned. Repentance involves such a change of mind in regard to sin as is indispensable to a proper appreciation of the blessings of the kingdom of Christ. Hence no impenitent sinner can constitutionally enter into the kingdom. There is no place more inappropriate for the impenitent than a church of Christ.

Faith. This is another moral qualification for church-membership. Great importance is in the Scriptures attached to faith in Christ, as will appear from the following passages : " He that believeth on him is not condemned." " He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." " These things are written that ye may believe ttiat Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye may have life through his name." " He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." " By him all that believe are justified from all things." " Whom God hath

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set forth as a propitiation through faith in his blood . . . that he might be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus." " Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. "

These passages, with many others, clearly show that in the economy of the gospel faith in Christ is recognized as an essential principle. Why is this ? Not because faith is a meritorious exercise. There is, there can be, no merit in it. This is evident, because faith is a duty, and there can be no merit in the performance of a duty. But, while faith possesses no merit, it brings the soul into vital contact with the blood of atonement, which possesses infinite merit. It unites to Christ. Its province is to receive Christ, and with him all the blessings of the " new covenant." Christ is emphatically the object of faith. The faith which avails to salvation has respect to him and embraces him.

Faith in Christ — the faith w T hich instrumentally achieves the sinner's justification before God — is an essential qualification for church-membership. No unbeliever has the shadow of a claim to citizenship in the kingdom of Christ. The formal mention of regeneration as a prerequisite to church-membership

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has been omitted, because it necessarily coexists with repentance and faith. Every penitent believer is a regenerate person. Regeneration is the spiritual process by which we become new creatures in Christ — are born again — born of the Spirit — born of God — quickened together with Christ — renewed after the image of God, etc., etc. " Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus," is the language of Paul to the Galatians ; and the beloved disciple says, " Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God." If faith therefore, as we have seen, is a qualification for church-membership, regeneration must be also ; for it is so inseparable from faith, that every one who believes in Christ is born of God. And it follows, that if faith is a prerequisite to baptism, regeneration is likewise. This being the case, regeneration does not occur in baptism.

Let it never be forgotten that the only suitable materials of which to construct a church of Christ, so far as spiritual qualifications are concerned, are regenerate, penitent, believing persons. To make use of other materials is to subvert the fundamental principles of church organization. It is to destroy the kingdom of Christ; for how can there be a kingdom without subjects — such subjects as the King requires ?

It is a regulation of the Head of the Church that his spiritual subjects be organized into visible, local communities. We read therefore, in the New Testament of churches — another name for these communities. There are frequent references to local congregations. These congregations had a regular, visible organization; and there must have been some visible act of initiation into them. What was it? This leads to a consideration of

2. The ceremonial qualification for church-membership. This qualification is baptism. There can, according to the Scriptures, be no visible church without baptism. An observance of this ordinance is the believer's first public act of obedience to Christ. Regeneration, repentance, and faith are private matters between God and the soul. They involve internal piety, but of this piety there must be an external manifestation. This manifestation is made in baptism. The penitent, regenerate believer is baptized into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. There is a visible, symbolic expression of a new relationship to the three persons of the Godhead — a relationship entered into in repentance, faith, and regeneration. We are said to be baptized into the death of Christ. We profess our reliance on his death for salvation ; and we emblematically declare that as he died for sin, so we have died to sin, and have risen from our death in trespasses and sins to newness of life. We solemnly commemorate the burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and are ourselves symbolically buried to the world. In baptism our sins are declaratively remitted — formally washed away. Washing in water frees the body from literal impurity. Baptism is a symbolic release of the soul from the defilement of sin. There is an actual, a real remission of sins when we believe in Christ — there is a declarative, formal, symbolic remission in baptism.

That the views, now presented, of the moral and ceremonial qualifications for church membership are in accordance with the New Testament will be seen by referring to the commission of Christ, as understood and executed by the apostles, on the day of Pentecost. The commission said, " Go, teach [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 things, whatsoever I have commanded you." A great awakening took place under Peter's preaching, and repenting thousands accepted salvation through Christ. It is added, " Then they that gladly received his word were baptized : and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." Subsequently it is said, " The Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." The converts to the faith were first baptized and then added to the church. This shows baptism to be prerequisite to church-membership. It was so regarded at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, when the apostles began to act under the commission of their risen Lord; and it is morally certain it was so regarded wherever they established churches. And as churches in all ages must be formed after the apostolic model, it follows that where penitent, regenerate, baptized believers in Christ are found, there are scriptural materials for a church. Such persons having first given themselves to the Lord, and then to one another, in solemn covenant, agreeing to make the will of Christ as expressed in his word their rule of action, are, in

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the New Testament sense of the term, a church. Whether they are many or few in number, they are a church. But in the absence of penitent, regenerate, baptized believers in Christ, there cannot be a New Testament church.

CONSTITUTION OF CHURCHES

When the interests of Christ's kingdom require the formation of a new church the customary mode of procedure is about this : Brethren and sisters obtain letters of dismission from the church or churches to which they belong, for the purpose of entering into the new organization. It is well for this purpose to be stated in the letters. When they meet together at the appointed time, a Moderator and Clerk pro tern are appointed. The meeting is opened with devotional exercises. Sometimes a sermon is preached, especially when it is not intended to have recognition services at some future day. Reading the Scriptures and prayer should be considered indispensable. This being done, the letters of dismission are read, and the parties concerned resolve by solemn vote to consider themselves an independent church. What is called a church covenant is adopted, as also Articles of Faith. These Articles of Faith are not intended as, in any sense, a substitute for the word of God; but only as an expression of the views of the constituent members as to the prominent teachings of the Scriptures. It is very important to the peace, efficiency, and usefulness of a church that there be among its members substantial harmony of sentiment as to what the Bible teaches. Differences of opinion on little matters, so regarded, have sometimes illustrated the truth of the inspired exclamation, " Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth ! " It would have saved hundreds of churches a great deal of trouble, if they had remembered, at the right time, that neither two nor any other number, can walk together, except they be agreed. Ordinarily, a church at the time of its constitution, selects a name by which it is to be designated, and appoints its officers. This, however, is not indispensable. It is sometimes best, for prudential reasons, to defer the election of officers.

RECOGNITION OF CHURCHES

The same importance is not to be attached to the recognition as to the constitution of a

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church. It is not necessary to the validity of church organization Still, the advantages resulting from a suitable recognition should not be lightly esteemed. It adds much to the influence of a new church to be cordially endorsed and welcomed into the sisterhood of churches. This is usually done by a council of recognition, composed of ministers and others from churches in the vicinity. Sometimes councils examine very closely the facts connected with the formation of new churches, Articles of Faith, etc. ; but generally are so well satisfied as to make no special investigation. Recognition services usually embrace R£3/ling the Scriptures, Prayer, Sermon, giving the Hand of Fellowship, and a Charge to the Church.

HOW MEMBERS ARE RECEIVED

There are two ways of receiving members into a church.

I. By Experience and Baptism. 2. By Letters of Dismission from sister churches. In accordance with the first way, persons wishing to unite with a church give an- account of the dealings of God with their souls, and state the " reason of the hope that is in them " ; where-

B upon, if, in the judgment of the church they " have passed from death unto life," they are by vote of the church recognized as candidates for baptism, with the understanding that when baptized they will be entitled to all the rights and privileges of membership. Great care should be exercised in receiving members. Many churches err at this point. They do not observe the requisite caution ; for they receive persons who give, to say the least, very imperfect evidence of piety. There is much danger of this, especially in times of religious excitement. Pastors should positively assure themselves that those who are received for baptism have felt themselves to be guilty, ruined, helpless sinners, justly condemned by God's holy law ; and under a sense of their lost condition have trusted in Christ for salvation. After baptism — usually at the first celebration of the Lord's Supper — it is the general, and should be the universal custom for the pastor to give the hand of fellowship to the newly baptized, in token of their having been received into full membership. This affords the pastor a suitable opportunity of saying something as to the import and obligations of the Christian profession.

The other way of becoming members of a church is by presenting Letters of Dismission from sister churches. These letters affording satisfactory proof of their Christian character and standing, the applicants for membership are received and the hand of fellowship given, as in the former case. It is proper to say that by sister churches are meant churches of similar faith and order. Hence no Baptist church can receive and recognize, as a passport to membership, a letter from any Pedobaptist organization. There is such a lack of similar faith and order as to render this utterly inadmissible. It sometimes happens that persons who have been baptized where there is no church, and persons who, owing to the extinction of the church to which they belonged, or to other circumstances, find themselves without regular Letters of Dismission, wish to enjoy the privileges of membership. In such cases it is only necessary for the church applied to to be satisfied of the worthiness of the applicants, and they are received.

HOW MEMBERSHIP CEASES

Membership in a church terminates in three ways.

1. By Death. The dead can have no place in any earthly congregation of the saints.

2. By Exclusion. A church has the right, according to the Scriptures, and is under obligation to exclude from its fellowship any member who holds heretical doctrines, or lives inconsistently with the Christian profession. More will be said on this subject in the Chapter on Discipline.

3. By Dismission. Letters of Dismission are granted to members who apply for them, provided they are in good standing. The fact that disciplinary proceedings have not been instituted against a member is generally to be taken as an evidence of good standing; and, therefore, of a right to a letter of dismission. There are, however, some exceptional cases. A member who asks for a letter of dismission with the purpose of evading church discipline, because he has reason to expect it, has no right to a letter. Such a case must be investigated. The general rule would be to grant a letter to the member who asks for it, provided he would not be subject to discipline if he did not ask for it. The time at which a dismissed member ceases to be a member depends on the church that grants the letter. Some churches consider the connection as terminated as soon as a letter is granted. The great majority of churches, however, and very properly, regard dismissed members as under their jurisdiction until they are received into other churches. Some churches have a way a getting clear of members by a process which is called " dropping.'" This is considered less disgraceful than exclusion, and is resorted to chiefly in the case of members who for a long time, willingly, absent themselves from the meetings of the church, or have gone, the church knows not where. The dropping process is unnecessary. It differs but little from exclusion — not at all in its effects. That is to say, the dropped as well as the excluded are no longer church-members. It may be said too, that members who habitually stay away from the house of God deserve exclusion, as do those who, not prizing church privileges as they ought, emigrate to other places without asking for Letters of Dismission.

Chapter II Officers Of A Church

IT cannot be said that officers are essential to the existence of a church; for a church must exist before it can appoint its officers. After this appointment, if, in the providence of God, they should be removed by death, it might affect the interests, but not the being of the church. It has been well said by an able writer, that "although officers are not necessary to the being of a church, they are necessary to its well-being!' No church can reasonably expect to prosper which does not obey the law of its Head in regard to the appointment of officers. It is obvious too, from the teachings of the New Testament, that pastors and deacons are the* permanent officers of Christian churches. Paul, referring to Christ's ascension gifts, says : if And he gave some, apostles ; and some, prophets ; and some, evangelists ; and some, pastors and teachers ; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ" (Eph. 4 : 11, 12). Apostles, prophets, and evangelists filled extraordinary and temporary offices. There are no such offices now. Pastors and teachers, the same men, are the ordinary and permanent spiritual officers of the churches, while the office of deacon has special reference to the secular interests of churches. Of these officers in order:

I. Pastor. This term was first applied to ministers having oversight of churches, because there is a striking analogy between such a minister and a literal shepherd. A shepherd has under his charge a flock, for which he must care, and for whose wants he must provide. The sheep and the lambs must be looked after. The Lord Jesus, " the great Shepherd of the sheep/' the chief Shepherd, virtually says to all his under-shepherds, as he did to Peter, " Feed my sheep," " Feed my lambs." It is worthy of remark that this language was not addressed to Peter till the Saviour obtained from him an affirmative answer to the question three times propounded, " Lovest thou me ? " As if he had said, " I love my spiritual flock so well, I cannot entrust the sheep and lambs composing it to any man who does not love me." And love to Christ must be regarded in all ages and in all places as the pastor's supreme qualification. All other qualifications are worthless if this is absent. Talent and learning are not to be undervalued; but they must be kept under the control of piety, and receive its sanctifying impress. With regard to the pastoral office, there are two things worthy of special consideration.

i. The Work of Pastors. Truly theirs is a work. Paul says, " If any man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work/' It is indeed a good work — the best work on earth — but a work. We must not suffer the term bishop to suggest any such idea as the word in its modern acceptation implies. In apostolic times there were no bishops having charge of the churches of a district of country, a province, or a kingdom. A bishop was a pastor of a church, and the New Testament, so far from encouraging a plurality of churches under one pastor, refers, in two instances at least, to a plurality of pastors in one church. (See Acts 20 : 28; Phil. 1 : 1.) In the former passage the elders of the church at Ephesus are called overseers, and the word

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thus translated is the same rendered bishop in Philippians I : i ; I Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:7; 1 Peter 2 : 25. Thus does it appear that pastor, bishop, and elder are three terms designating the same office. This view is further confirmed by a reference to Peter 5 : 1, 2, where elders are exhorted to feed the flock — that is, to perform the office of pastor or shepherd — taking the oversight thereof, etc. — that is, acting the part of bishops or overseers. For the word translated taking the oversight belongs to the same family of words as the term rendered bishop in the passages cited. It is plain, therefore, that a pastor's work is the spiritual oversight of the flock, the church he serves. Like a good literal shepherd he must care for the feeble and the sick, as well as for the healthy and the vigorous. Some he can feed with " strong food," while others can digest nothing stronger than " milk." He must exercise a sanctified discretion, and " study to show himself approved to God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth/'' Much depends on dividing the word of truth rightly; and hence the necessity of study — prayerful study, imbued with the spirit of the Master. The administration of ordinances as well as the preaching of the word is the proper business of the pastor. It does not accord with the plan of this volume to elaborate any topic, and therefore the work of the pastor cannot be enlarged on, nor is there room to present the many motives to pastoral fidelity. The mention of two must suffice : the church, over whose interest the pastor watches, has been " bought with the precious blood of Christ " ; and the faithful pastor will, when " the chief Shepherd " comes, " receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." What motives to diligence and faithfulness could possess more exhaustless power !

2. The Authority of Pastors. All things earthly are liable to abuse, and that feature of congregational church government which places all the members on an equality in the transaction of church business, has been, in some instances at least, suffered to interfere with the deference due to pastors. There is a class of Scriptures whose import is not sufficiently considered — such as the following: " And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you ; and to esteem

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them very highly in love for their work's sake/' " Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine. " " Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken to you the word of God." " Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves : for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account." In these passages pastors are referred to, and there is claimed for them an authority not belonging to other church-members. They are to be esteemed highly for their work's sake. Whatever esteem their personal merits may excite, they are to be chiefly esteemed for the great and glorious work in which they are enagaged. On account of this work they are to be regarded worthy of " double honor," that is, special honor. This surely is reasonable, for pastors are chosen by the churches over which they preside. The churches act voluntarily, and the love which prompts the choice of a pastor should secure for him reverential respect in the performance of his duties. The words rule, obey, and submit in the foregoing quotations mean something. The ruling is not unrestricted, neither is the obedience and submission. The pastor is to rule in accordance with the law of Christ. No other kind of rule is legitimate or obligatory ; but when he rules in accordance with the will of Christ, obedience and submission on the part of the members of the church are imperative duties. Andrew Fuller well says, " It is in this view, as teaching divine truth, and enforcing divine commands, that the servants of God, in all ages, have been invested with divine authority." 1 It may be added that this is the only sense in which men can be invested with divine authority.

Distinguished scholars are of opinion that the two passages quoted, which refer to ruling, should be translated thus : "Remember your leaders," etc. " Obey your leaders/' etc. Admitting the correctness of this rendering— and it cannot be denied — still the idea would not be essentially different. Pastors in leading their flocks do, in one sense, rule them ; and in the only sense in which they should rule them. While the proper exercise of pastoral authority is essential to the spiritual welfare of a church, pastors must beware of assuming a power which does not belong to them. They

1 Complete Works, Vol. I, p. 197.

must remember the words of Peter : " Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock/' There must be, in the exercise of pastoral authority, nothing like priestly lordship or clerical despotism ; but the influence of pastors must grow out of the fact that they faithfully obey the will of Christ, the great Shepherd, and thus set an example worthy of imitation. There is nothing which gives a pastor so much influence as unreserved consecration to the work of the Lord. As the influence of judicious pastors increases the more they are known, the pastoral relation should be rendered as permanent as possible. It should not be dissolved for any slight cause. As to the custom of some churches that choose their pastors annually, it would be difficult to say too much in condemnation of it. It is vastly injurious both to pastors and churches. Pastors should be chosen for an indefinite period. If the work of the Lord prospers under their labors, well; if they find after a sufficient trial, that they are not accomplishing good, let them resign.

II. Deacons. The office of deacon originated in a state of things referred to in the sixth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. It is said that " when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. " The " Grecians " were Jews as well as the Hebrews, but they spoke the Greek language, and were probably not natives of Palestine. The members of the church at Jerusalem " had all things in common/' and a distribution was made out of the common stock " as every man had need." This seems to have been done at first under the immediate direction of the apostles ; and the intimation is that the large increase of the church interfered with an impartial distribution of supplies. The apostles saw that, if they made it their personal business to " serve tables," it would greatly hinder their work in its spiritual aspects. They said : " It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables ; wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word."