“A covenant is a compact or agreement entered into by the members of a local church body, in which each one agrees to live according to the principles of Scripture. Where a confession defines ‘right belief,’ a covenant defines ‘right behavior.’” I wrote those words nearly two years ago in a brief article on two key documents that govern our Baptist church, and the more I reflect on them the more I am convinced that we ignore these documents to our peril. If we neglect our confession, we invite doctrinal compromise, and if we neglect our covenant, we invite a sort of everyone-doing-what-is-right-in-his-own-eyes kind of situation. Our confession also serves as a teaching tool. This is why we began studying through our articles of faith all the way back in the Fall of 2012 and continued teaching them line by line until the Spring of 2016. Over the course of more than 100 studies, we learned a great deal about what the Bible says about the nature of God and his revelation, man, sin, salvation, the church, our future hope, the coming judgment, our spiritual enemy, and our responsibilities toward civil government. You could use our confession yourself to teach someone the basic principles of Christian doctrine!
On the other hand, our covenant serves as a practical measure of how we’re doing in relation to one another in the church. It spells out what we owe to one another and how we commit to live in this community of believers. But if we don’t review those expectations from time to time, how likely is it that we are actually following them? How will we know if we stop? And what does it say about our integrity if we do not keep the covenant that we entered into when we joined? Do you even know what our covenant says, and, more importantly, what it means?
EBC Covenant
Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior; and, on the profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and of the Holy Ghost, we do now, in the presence of God, angels and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another, as one body in Christ.
We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this church, in knowledge, holiness, and comfort; to promote its prosperity and spirituality; to sustain its worship ordinances, discipline and doctrine; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry and expenses of the church, the relief of the poor and the spread of the Gospel through all nations.
We also engage to maintain family and personal devotions; to religiously educate our children; to seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances; to walk circumspectly in the world; to be just in our dealing, faithful in our engagements, and exemplary in our deportment; to avoid all tattling, backbiting, and excessive anger; to abstain from the sale and use of intoxicating beverages; to avoid all appearances of evil; to avoid all worldly practices which might bring reproach to the cause of Christ and to be zealous in our efforts to advance the Kingdom of our Savior.
We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember each other in prayer; to aid each other in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, always ready for reconciliation and mindful of the rules of our Savior to secure reconciliation without delay.
We moreover engage that when we remove from this place, we will as soon as possible unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s word.
If this covenant is supposed to serve as a guide to our behavior toward one another as members of this church, then we need to read it and compare our own attitudes and actions to see if we are keeping the promises we made when we joined the church. Are there any areas with which you are currently struggling and coming up short? Take some time to pray and ask forgiveness from the Lord, if you have failed to live up to your obligations. Remember that this is the covenant you agreed to follow when you joined Emmanuel Baptist Church. It’s not some arbitrary standard which someone else is applying to you and your life, it is a standard which you embraced.
But what if there are parts that you do not understand? Parts which are at least a little bit unclear in how they are to be practiced? If that is the case, then it is the responsibility of the church to clearly and carefully define the terms that are used and clarify any confusing language so that we all can affirm this covenant, not in ignorance, but with full knowledge of what we affirm. It may even become necessary for a church body to revise its covenant either to reflect different points of emphasis or simply to bring clarity where there is confusion. This is something we will consider next time.