Jan 25
19
Second London Confession 26.14
“As each church, and all the members of it, are bound to pray continually for the good and prosperity of all the churches of Christ, in all places, and upon all occasions to further it (every one within the bounds of their places and callings, in the exercise of their gifts and graces) so the churches (when planted by the providence of God so as they may enjoy opportunity and advantage for it) ought to hold communion among themselves, for their peace, increase of love, and mutual edification.”
(Ephesians 6:18; Psalms 122:6; Romans 16:1, 2; 3 John 8-10)
Scripture Reading: 3 John
“The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth. I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church. Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true. I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, each by name.” (3 John)
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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.
Introduction
One reason I wanted to preach through Second London Confession Chapter 26 is that I believe our ecclesiology—that is to say, our doctrine of the church—is the thing that distinguishes us the most from other traditions. For example, if you were to compare our confession of faith with the Westminster Confession Of Faith (the confession of the Presbyterians) you would find substantial agreement. Where do we differ? One, we differ somewhat in our doctrine of the church. And two, we differ in our view concerning who baptism is to be given to. The Presbyterians say that the children of believers are to be baptized, and we confess that it is only those who profess faith in Christ who are to be baptized. These two issues—our understanding of the church and our understanding of who baptism is to be given to—might at first seem to be unrelated. In fact, they are intimately related. If the church is a society of professing believers who covenant to walk together in obedience to the commandments of Christ, then it follows that it is only those who profess faith in Christ who are to be given the sacrament that marks entrance into the covenant community, and that is indeed what we find described and commanded in the New Testament. It is disciples of Jesus who are to be baptized, and these are to be taught to observe all that Christ has commanded in the church (see Matthew 28:18-20 and the book of Acts).
My point is this: if we compare our confession of faith with the confession of faith that is most like ours (to be clear, our confession is an alteration of the Westminster Confession, and not the other way around) we find that it is our doctrine of the church, and connected to this, our understanding of baptism, that is most unique.
If I were asked to summarize the distinguishing features of our ecclesiology in a series of brief bullet points, here is what I would say.
- We confess that “the Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the church, in whom, by the appointment of the Father, all power for the calling, institution, order or government of the church, is invested in a supreme and sovereign manner..” In other words, it is Christ who calls his church into existence, who institutes local church, and tells us how the church is to be ordered and governed.
- A church is instituted only when a group of professing believers covenant to walk together in obedience to the commands of Christ. This is what we confess in 2LCF 26.6: “The members of these churches are saints by calling, visibly manifesting and evidencing (in and by their profession and walking) their obedience unto that call of Christ; and do willingly consent to walk together, according to the appointment of Christ; giving up themselves to the Lord, and one to another, by the will of God, in professed subjection to the ordinances of the Gospel.” the church is not a building. It is not a service to attend. It is not a society you are born into. No, the church is a society or body that must be joined. And what is the standard for entrance into this society? A credible profession of faith.
- Each local church is independent. By this, we mean that Christ gives each local church, once fully formed, everything it needs “for their carrying on that order in worship and discipline, which he hath instituted for them to observe; with commands and rules for the due and right exerting, and executing of that power (2LCF 26.7).
- The form of government that Christ has instituted for the church is called congregational. The members of the church have power. This power has been called the power of liberty. Members have the power to consent with or withhold consent from the existing elders (if there be any installed) in the appointment and removal of officers and the reception and removal of members.
- Within a congregational form of government, elders have the power to rule with authority. As has been said, the members have the power of liberty and the elders have the power of authority. Elders have the authority to oversee, govern, lead, and rule (see 2LCF 26.8).
- We are committed to practicing church discipline according to the Scriptures, in a spirit of love, for the good of the sinner, the health of the church, and the honor of Christ’s name.
- Though we confess that each local church is independent, we believe that local churches are to seek the good and prosperity of other local churches and to enter into formal association with other churches as they have the opportunity.
It is this seventh point that we turn our attention to now. 2LCF 26.14 is about the necessity of interchurch communion. Though each local church is independent—though Christ gives each local church all that it needs to be self-governed—this does not mean that local churches are to be isolated from each other.
Second London Confession 26.14 Explained
So how should local churches relate to other local churches?
First, local churches and their members should pray for other local churches and their members. This is what our confession means when it says, “As each church, and all the members of it, are bound to pray continually for the good and prosperity of all the churches of Christ, in all places…” Prayer is something that can be offered up for all churches everywhere. When it comes to prayer, we are not limited by geographical proximity. If we are aware of a church on the other side of the world, we may pray for it. And what should we pray for? Our confession says we are to pray for its good and prosperity. And the last line of the paragraph further explains what is meant by, “good and prosperity”. The good and prosperity we are to pray for is the peace, increase of love, and mutual edification (or building up) of the church.
Secondly, local churches should enter into formal association with one another whenever they have the opportunity to do so, to seek the good and prosperity of the churches. This is what is meant by the second half of 2LCF 26.14, which says, “and upon all occasions to further it (every one within the bounds of their places and callings, in the exercise of their gifts and graces) so the churches (when planted by the providence of God so as they may enjoy opportunity and advantage for it) ought to hold communion among themselves, for their peace, increase of love, and mutual edification.”
This statement can be a little difficult to follow. Let’s break it down a little.
One, the phrase “ought to hold communion together” means that local churches ought to enter into formal association with each other. This can be proven when one examines the way in which this phrase was used in the other writings of those who penned or subscribed to the 2LCF originally and by observing the practice of the churches that subscribed to this confession originally. To them, holding communion together meant to form associations, and this is what they did. 2LCF 26.15 is about the practice of associationism, and we will come to consider that statement two Sundays from now.
Two, this complex statement becomes clear when you remove the parenthetical statements. “and upon all occasions to further it… so the churches… ought to hold communion among themselves, for their peace, increase of love, and mutual edification.
Three, it helps to know what the “its” refer to. The “its” in this statement refer back to the “good and prosperity of the churches.” So the meaning is this: “and upon all occasions to further [the good and prosperity of the all the churches] so the churches… ought to hold communion among themselves, for their peace, increase of love, and mutual edification.”
Four, though removing the parenthetical comments helps bring clarity to the statement, they must not be omitted. Under what circumstances should churches form associations for their peace, increase of love, and mutual edification? The second parenthetical remark says, “when planted by the providence of God so as they may enjoy opportunity and advantage for it”. Though we can pray for churches on the other side of the world, we cannot reasonably enter into formal association with a church on the other side of the world. Why? Because we are planted by the providence of God a great distance away from one another, and so we cannot meet. Even with our technology and speed of travel, it would be exceedingly difficult to formally associate with a church on the other side of the world today given the distance, the cultural, and language barriers. It would have been impossible in the 17th century.
Five, the first parenthetical remark clarifies that when churches enter into formal association with other churches and seek to help one another, everyone must stay within the bounds of their places and callings, in the exercise of their gifts and graces. This means that members of one church must not act like they are members of another church when seeking to help them. If a church is experiencing a difficulty or a difference, members of one church should not share the information with the members of another church lest gossip and slander result. Furthermore, members of one church must not vote in another church’s affairs. I could list other scenarios, but I think you get the point. And the same is true for church officers, especially elders. The elders of Emmaus are elders of Emmaus. They might be called upon to assist another congregation, but they must be careful to not transgress the “bounds of their places and callings, in the exercise of their gifts and graces.”
Conclusion
I’m thankful for our local association—the Southern California Association Of Reformed Baptist Churches. If I had the time, I’d tell you about the many good and exciting things that are happening within our association.
My exhortation to the members of the congregation is twofold:
One, though our prayers must not be limited to the churches with whom we formally associate, we must be especially committed to praying for the churches in our association.
Two, the members of this church must be committed to allowing the elders of this church to invest time and energy into the pursuit of the good and prosperity of other churches as they have the opportunity. While the needs of this local congregation must never be neglected by the elders of this congregation, there will be times when the elders of this congregation will be called upon to help other congregations, and we confess that this is important work that must be done.
Q: How should local churches, and the members and elders of those churches, relate to other local churches?
“As each church, and all the members of it, are bound to pray continually for the good and prosperity of all the churches of Christ, in all places, and upon all occasions to further it (every one within the bounds of their places and callings, in the exercise of their gifts and graces) so the churches (when planted by the providence of God so as they may enjoy opportunity and advantage for it) ought to hold communion among themselves, for their peace, increase of love, and mutual edification.”
(Ephesians 6:18; Psalms 122:6; Romans 16:1, 2; 3 John 8-10)
