Quick Thought for Meditation – Bear Burdens – Galatians 6

Galatians 6:2

“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”

Much is said in scripture about our responsibility to bear the burdens of those we love.  Often this is in regards to sorrows and tribulations.  However, in this context it is clear that the Apostle Paul is referring to ideas of sin and restoration to the church.  Thus, the burdens being referenced in this verse are the sins that particular members might be committing that would interfere with them being a part of the church.  So how are we supposed to bear the sins of others?  We cannot bear them in a sense of taking them upon ourselves for only Christ was able to do that.  What we can do though is to pray for the person, counsel them, and be an example unto them that they might correct their walk.  This is the law of Christ for his law is one of love.

Quick Thought for Meditation – Restoration – Galatians 6 (Part 1 of 3)

Galatians 6:1

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”

The Apostle Paul has spent a large portion of the first five chapters of his letter to the Galatians in rebuking them for their missteps in the faith.  Now, as he comes to this last chapter he is going to conclude his thoughts with ideas regarding love and forgiveness.  Ultimately, standing for the truth and having standards of conduct for living and not scriptural if there is not a way for the believer to be forgiven of the mistakes they make.  Truth and standards of conduct should not be divorced from love.  Thus, the apostle Paul begins this chapter with this verse.

Quick Thought for Meditation – Vain Glory – Galatians 5

Galatians 5:26

“Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.”

As Paul wraps up this 5th chapter and also this series of thoughts and prepares to conclude his epistle he again reiterates this point to the Galatians.  Nothing should be done for our own glory or to spite one another.  Though Paul is very clear that there is right and wrong in regards to the service of the Lord he also makes it clear that we should strive to approach matters in a way that embodies love and peace towards one another.  This is true between churches, but especially true within a singular church.  Paul tells them to stand for the truth, but to do so in love and compassion for one another for envying and strife will only make matters worse.  Again, the call for one to love thy neighbor should be for positive action rather than avoid the negative.  Do unto others as we would want them to do to us.

Quick Thought for Meditation – Love Thy Neighbor – Galatians 5

Galatians 5:14

“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

Paul continues his admonition toward service in the church with this verse.  Telling the Galatians that the law of God, not the law of the Old Testament, but the law as given by Christ Jesus in his ministry is reduced to one word.  That one word being love.  Then he tells them that they are to “love thy neighbor as thyself”.  The vital thing to note here is that this is a positive commandment not a negative rebuke.  In other words it is a commandment that should propel us toward action rather than guard us against negative choices.  This commandment should make us want to go out and do things for others as we would want them to do things for us.  Let us not twist this commandment into guarding against the negative as the world has done but keep it in the true sense as a motivator for our actions.

Tuesday Tea – Examining the Documents of the Church – With New Members – November 20

In the Tuesday Tea article last week I defined the general purpose for each of the three documents of the church.  Each serves a role and should be important to the members, though none ever take the place of the scriptures as the rule for faith and practice.

This week I will examine how two of these documents should be used by potential new members or those that have joined the church within the last year.  This article is driven by the question, “If we do not use these documents as a church, why do we have them?”  My hope is that this article will help us as churches use these documents in a better fashion.

Should we hand them out at the door?

The obvious question arises, when does the church give these documents to potential new members.  Should we hand them out the first time a person visits?  The clear answer to this question is a resounding “No!”  These documents should never be what a visitor sees about the church.  The thing they should observe is the love between members, the simpleness of the worship service, and the clear Love of God expressed through the preaching.  These documents should not surface until a visitor begins asking questions about membership in the church.  Even then they should not overrule love and counsel, but should be used as a tool of communication.

The Importance of the Articles of Faith

In presenting the Articles of Faith to new members the document should not become a “citizenship test”.  In other words, it should not reach a point that the potential new member has to be 100% comfortable with each and every element of the Articles of Faith.  However, if they are not comfortable with the majority of the articles or key articles regarding the nature of God and the method of baptism then membership is not a good fit as of yet.  However, even then a continued study of the articles of faith should happen and hopefully more agreement can be reached.  If the new member does express a belief in the truth of Jesus Christ and a willingness to be baptized by immersion then the process of membership should move forward.

Acts 8:37-38

“And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.”

What about the church covenant?

If the Articles of Faith express the beliefs of the church and the new member accepts and believes those things, then what role should the church covenant take?

In the day and age we live many churches have blended into the world to the point that there are no standards of conduct.  The role of the church covenant should be to let the new member or potential new member know that the Primitive Baptist church is not a loose connection of people, but a tightly knit family of believers.  They should understand their role in the family and how important they are and will continue to be to the other members of the church.

It is truly a blessing from the Lord when a pastor and church have the opportunity to welcome new members to the church.  These two documents should be used to help welcome the new member into the congregation and make them fully a part of the congregation.

May the Lord bless you this week!

Elder JW