Membership Covenant
This "Solemn Covenant" originated with Benjamin Keach in 1689
and was also used by Charles H. Spurgeon
All Accepted Applicants for Membership shall join in and sign this Covenant
We who desire to walk together in obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ and His Word, do, through the assistance of the Holy Spirit, profess our deep and serious humiliation for all our transgressions. We also solemnly in the presence of God and of each other, in the sense of our own unworthiness, surrender ourselves to the Lord in a local church body according to the New Testament pattern, that He may be our God, and we may be His people, through the New and Everlasting Covenant of His free grace, in which alone we do hope to be accepted by Him, through His blessed Son Jesus Christ, Whom we take to be our High Priest to justify and sanctify us, our Prophet to teach us, and our King to rule over us in order that we may conform to all His Holy Laws and Ordinances for our growth, establishment, and consolation, that we may be His holy bride, serving Him in our generation, waiting for His second coming as our glorious Bridegroom.
Being fully convinced and persuaded of the Biblical pattern for church life, and of the presence of the Truth of Grace in some good measure in one another's lives, we do solemnly join ourselves together in holy union and fellowship, humbly submitting to the discipline of the Gospel, and all the holy duties required of a people in such spiritual communion.
1. We do promise and covenant to walk in all holiness, godliness, and brotherly love as much as is possible to render our fellowship delightful to God, pleasing to each other, and lovely to the rest of God's people.
2. We do promise and covenant to watch over one another and not sin against one another, so far as God shall reveal it to us, or to any of us, and to stir up one another to love and good works; to warn, rebuke, and admonish one another with meekness, according to the will of God as recorded in His Word.
3. We do promise and covenant especially to pray for one another, and for the increase and growth of the Church, and for the presence of God in it, and for the pouring forth of the Holy Spirit on it, and His protection over it to His glory alone.
4. We do promise and covenant to bear one another's burdens, to cleave to one another, and to have fellowship with one another as members of the Body of Christ, in all conditions both outward and inward, as God in His providence shall place any of us into.
5. We do promise and covenant to bear with one another's weaknesses, failings, and infirmities, with much tenderness and love, not publicly revealing these things to anyone outside the Church, or any within, except doing so according to Christ's rule and the order of the Gospel provided in that case.
6. We do promise and covenant to grow together in the truths of the Gospel and the purity of God's ways and ordinances, to avoid causing (and the Causers of) disputes and division, endeavoring at all times to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
7. We do promise and covenant to meet together on Lord's Days and at other times, as the Lord shall give us opportunities, to serve and glorify God in the way of His worship, to edify one another, and to work together for the good of the Church.
8. We do promise and covenant, according to our ability (or as God shall bless us with the good things of this world) to share in provision for our pastor and ministers, God having ordained that they that preach the Gospel should live by the Gospel.
These and all other Gospel duties we humbly submit to, promising and purposing to perform, not in our own strength, being aware of our own weakness, but in the power and strength of the Blessed God whose we are, and Whom we desire to serve - to Whom be glory now and forevermore. Amen.
This "Solemn Covenant" originated with Benjamin Keach in 1689
and was also used by Charles H. Spurgeon
All Accepted Applicants for Membership shall join in and sign this Covenant
We who desire to walk together in obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ and His Word, do, through the assistance of the Holy Spirit, profess our deep and serious humiliation for all our transgressions. We also solemnly in the presence of God and of each other, in the sense of our own unworthiness, surrender ourselves to the Lord in a local church body according to the New Testament pattern, that He may be our God, and we may be His people, through the New and Everlasting Covenant of His free grace, in which alone we do hope to be accepted by Him, through His blessed Son Jesus Christ, Whom we take to be our High Priest to justify and sanctify us, our Prophet to teach us, and our King to rule over us in order that we may conform to all His Holy Laws and Ordinances for our growth, establishment, and consolation, that we may be His holy bride, serving Him in our generation, waiting for His second coming as our glorious Bridegroom.
Being fully convinced and persuaded of the Biblical pattern for church life, and of the presence of the Truth of Grace in some good measure in one another's lives, we do solemnly join ourselves together in holy union and fellowship, humbly submitting to the discipline of the Gospel, and all the holy duties required of a people in such spiritual communion.
1. We do promise and covenant to walk in all holiness, godliness, and brotherly love as much as is possible to render our fellowship delightful to God, pleasing to each other, and lovely to the rest of God's people.
2. We do promise and covenant to watch over one another and not sin against one another, so far as God shall reveal it to us, or to any of us, and to stir up one another to love and good works; to warn, rebuke, and admonish one another with meekness, according to the will of God as recorded in His Word.
3. We do promise and covenant especially to pray for one another, and for the increase and growth of the Church, and for the presence of God in it, and for the pouring forth of the Holy Spirit on it, and His protection over it to His glory alone.
4. We do promise and covenant to bear one another's burdens, to cleave to one another, and to have fellowship with one another as members of the Body of Christ, in all conditions both outward and inward, as God in His providence shall place any of us into.
5. We do promise and covenant to bear with one another's weaknesses, failings, and infirmities, with much tenderness and love, not publicly revealing these things to anyone outside the Church, or any within, except doing so according to Christ's rule and the order of the Gospel provided in that case.
6. We do promise and covenant to grow together in the truths of the Gospel and the purity of God's ways and ordinances, to avoid causing (and the Causers of) disputes and division, endeavoring at all times to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
7. We do promise and covenant to meet together on Lord's Days and at other times, as the Lord shall give us opportunities, to serve and glorify God in the way of His worship, to edify one another, and to work together for the good of the Church.
8. We do promise and covenant, according to our ability (or as God shall bless us with the good things of this world) to share in provision for our pastor and ministers, God having ordained that they that preach the Gospel should live by the Gospel.
These and all other Gospel duties we humbly submit to, promising and purposing to perform, not in our own strength, being aware of our own weakness, but in the power and strength of the Blessed God whose we are, and Whom we desire to serve - to Whom be glory now and forevermore. Amen.
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