𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣
• Choose one person in this group. Without telling us his or her name, describe the person to us.
• What do you think makes a person difficult to love?
• Have you ever thought of what you would like written on your epitaph? What would you like people to know you for? Why?

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘴, 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭. 𝗘𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟯:𝟲

Is being a member of a local church important? If the church is open to all, what is the value of membership? What are the distinguishing marks of church members?

Membership is a thoroughly biblical concept. Just as families, tribes, and our bodies have members (Romans 6), so does the Church. The apostle Paul wrote that the moment Gentiles believe the gospel of Christ, they become 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 of Christ. In God’s great plan, His people are distinct and set apart from others. The Bible emphasizes the distinction between those who trust God and those who don’t.

The truth is, our responsibilities as church members are borne from our responsibilities as Christians. We are to love and worship God, be baptized in water, participate in communion, hear and obey God’s word, and share life together. In this lesson, we will look at the responsibilities we have to God, one another, our church community, and the world.

𝟭. 𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗼𝗱.

. . . 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩. 𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭:𝟮𝟬

As members of the body of Christ, the grand obligation of our lives is ultimately the glory of God. Everything else flows from this, and no duty or responsibility is more important. The chief motivation of all we do inside and outside the church is God’s honor and glory. How is this grand obligation evident in your daily decisions and actions?

𝟮. 𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.

“𝘈 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘐 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳: 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.” 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝟭𝟯:𝟯𝟰

Christianity is a community matter, and Christian life can only be fully realized in relationship with others. The New Testament has at least fifty-nine commands about relating with 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, such as bear with one another (Colossians 3:13), honor one another (Romans 12:10), and carry one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). We cannot obey any of these in isolation; they are done in the context of relationships within the local church. As Christians, we have a responsibility to carry out these “one another” commands. Why should we do this, even when it is difficult?

𝟯. 𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆.

𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘶𝘱𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭𝟰:𝟭𝟵

𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵—𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭—𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝗘𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟰:𝟭–𝟲

Church members are obliged to pursue 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 and 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 within their congregation. Strife and divisiveness should be actively avoided for the sake of God’s honor and our Christian witness. Because Christians share the same Spirit and mind, unity must be a natural expression of that Spirit. How have you learned to pursue peace and unity in your local church?

𝟰. 𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱.

“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘑𝘦𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘑𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩.” 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝟭:𝟴

The Church has a responsibility to the world. We have mentioned how, first and foremost, church members are to make disciples, preach the gospel, and serve the poor, the marginalized, and the disadvantaged. But the Church does more than these. Our responsibility to the world includes being:
• the salt that preserves the world from corruption
• a city on a hill that throws light onto our darkened society
• the collective conscience of a nation
• God’s hands and feet to the downtrodden
• the prophetic voice that thunders against injustice and evil

How does the Holy Spirit empower us to fulfill our responsibilities as Christians and be Christ’s witness to the world?

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
• How can you honor and worship God through what you do at home, at work, and in your community?
• Recall a difficult time in your life. Who helped you get through it? How can you be available for someone else this week?
• What is your profession and how do you think this helps in fulfilling the church’s responsibility to the world? How can you help people know God through what you do?

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥
• Thank God for your church community. Pray for your church to be strong in faith, hope, and love.
• Pray that the Church would fulfill its responsibility to God, one another, and the world.
• Pray that the Church would be God’s hands and feet to the downtrodden. Pray for the gospel to be preached in every nation.