Band of Brothers

I know! That title is sexist, not politically correct, completely unacceptable. It is just that ‘band of brothers’ is an expression that has a particular vibe. I considered using ‘society of siblings’ but it didn’t seem to have that same vibe.

The phrase came to mind when I was thinking about the church and about church membership. I wasn’t quite sure what it meant. I asked AI. Apparently, "Band of brothers" implies a deeply bonded group of people (originally men) who share a profound commitment to one another forged through shared experiences, often hardship or adversity, supporting each other as they pursue a mission bigger than themselves. The phrase gained prominence through Shakespeare's Henry V ("We few, we happy few, we band of brothers") and later through works about military units.

Is that an apt description of how God sees His church?

It has been E.T.’s practice to have an annual Mission Membership Sunday. COVID disrupted everything but we plan to bring it back on November 10. It is an opportunity for everybody to reaffirm their commitment to Jesus and their commitment to this church. For people who might not have done that before, or not done it as part of this church before, it is an opportunity to publicly state their commitment to Jesus and their commitment to this church.

I know that some people have reservations about church membership. For some it seems like a bureaucratic formality that is not in the Bible. Are you not a member of a church simply by virtue of being involved? Why does there have to be a formal process? We will talk about those things next week, but to my mind, this is not about church bureaucracy; it is about what it mean to be a church.

I am going to try to persuade you that membership is absolutely biblical and important. If you are not persuaded, I am not going to be upset about that. There are different points of view. [You can be wrong if you want to!]

READ Acts 2:22-24, 31-47

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter, who only weeks before had denied even knowing Jesus, preached fearlessly to a crowd of Jews, accusing them of having killed the Messiah. “God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah. We have waited thousands of years for the Messiah – the One who would save us – and you killed Him!”.

Under the conviction of the Holy Spirit they cried out, “Brothers, what shall we do?”. That was a desperate plea. They knew it was true. They had killed their Saviour. “What can we do? What hope is there for us now? We are doomed. Can we ever be forgiven?”

They had just killed the Son of God. God responded by offering them mercy and forgiveness. This is the grace of God. Not only would they be forgiven but they would receive the Spirit of God in their lives. Peter replied, “Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call”.

They thought they were completely lost. They thought they had done the unforgivable. The reality was that this was all God’s plan. Jesus died paying the price for the sins of the world precisely so that they could be forgiven. They expected judgement; they were offered grace.

That is our story too, isn’t it? We deserve judgement; God offers grace.

Those who accepted his message were baptised and 3,000 were added to their number that day.”

Those who accepted his message. God’s offer requires our response. 3,000 people were baptised. Was that everybody in the crowd, or were there some who rejected this offer of grace? Who knows, but 3,000 accepted his message. You are right; I have done wrong, and I need God’s forgiveness. Yes, I believe that Jesus is the Messiah who died for me. Yes, I trust in Him – in His sacrificial death – for my forgiveness. Yes, I trust Him enough to make Him the Lord of my life. Yes, I will live my life now for Jesus. Yes, I repent. I have been living for myself but now I want to live for Jesus.

3,000 people were baptised and became part of the church. The phrase “were added to their number” tells us that those who had not been part of the church, that day were added to the church. They crossed a line. They joined. A massive change happened that day. On another occasion Paul wrote to the Colossians:

Colossians 1:21-23

21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

In Acts 2, it is very apparent that they immediately became a church.

Acts 2:42-47

They devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers… And all who believed were together and had everything in common. They sold their possessions and distributed the proceeds to the poor. Daily they attended the temple together and broke bread. They praised God and the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

They were now part of the Christian community, because they had put their faith in Jesus. Biblically, belief leads to church. Belief in Jesus means becoming part of Jesus’ church.

Some people will say that means the universal church. When I became a Christian, I became part of the world-wide church made up of Christians everywhere and throughout time: the Church, capital C. That is true but, in the Bible, when people became Christians, they also joined real, local churches made up of real people. That is what God intends – being part of a real church made up of real people.

In Acts 13 Paul and Barnabas were sent out on their first missionary journey by the church in Antioch. They travelled through Crete and Turkey preaching the good news of Jesus. People were converted.

Acts 14:21-23

21 They preached the gospel in that city [Derbe] and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, [in other words, they retraced their steps, returning to the places they had just been. Why?] 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. 23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.

In each of these places where there were brand new Christians, there was now a church. These people had come to know God through faith in Jesus. Paul’s next concern was to grow them, so he strengthened and encouraged. But note also that each church needed some structure. They appointed elders in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.

The church is God’s plan for Christians. The church is where Christians are to be loved and supported and nurtured. The church is where those who have come to know, then grow and go.

What is each local church to be like? How does God see His church? What is our church to be like?

Is a church a ‘band of brothers (and sisters)’? In biblical terms, is it a deeply bonded group of people, profoundly committed to one another and to a common mission? Or, does the Bible portray a church as a loose affiliation of uncommitted people who might or might not care about each other?

In the Bible one image used of the church is an army. In Shakespeare’s Henry V, the English army at Agincourt was vastly outnumbered by the French. They were also exhausted and demoralised. But King Henry rallied them with a speech speaking of the honour of being part of this battle, the honour of fighting together and possibly dying together.

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;

For he today that sheds his blood with me

Shall be my brother.

The Bible also uses family language to describe the church. It uses the language of brothers and sisters implying unity and loyalty. The Bible uses the image of a body made up of many parts – many members – all valued, all dependent on one another.

1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 24-26

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptised by one Spirit so as to form one body… But God has put the body together, giving greater honour to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.

That is ‘band of brothers’ stuff: no division, concern for one another, suffering together.

Think of all the ‘one another’ commands in scripture – love one another, forgive one another, be patient with one another, encourage one another, pray for one another, carry one another’s burdens, live in harmony with one another, serve one another, etc. (there are lots of them) – they all assume we are living in close community where we are interacting and relating and doing life together. They all assume that profound commitment to one another.

Many of them assume that things are not easy. They are written for difficult times. Forgive one another implies there has been hurt. Be patient with one another implies that someone is being frustrating. Encourage one another implies that someone is discouraged. Submit to one another recognises our sinful desire to get our own way. Do not grumble against each other recognises our natural tendency to grumble. This is all real, nitty-gritty stuff. Sometimes people do not want to be associated with a church because it is not perfect, but God expects us to be committed to a local church that is made up of real people with real issues. And to work to make it better by being patient, by serving, by loving. Jesus calls us not to be just loosely associated with a church but to be right in there, involved in the nitty gritty, involved in the tough stuff – deeply involved with real people to whom we are committed.

The biblical picture of a church calls for commitment. Commitment to Jesus is the doorway into the church but then God calls us to be committed to the people and the life and the mission of a local church. That is what membership is about. Membership is simply saying yes – yes to Jesus, yes to a church.

Some people might be saying, “yes, but…”. We are going to talk about this more next week, and I would be very happy if you want to talk about it one-on-one. As I said at the beginning, you might not be persuaded but I believe God calls us to say, “Yes, Count me in. I want to be part of this”.

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