Covenant of
Lakeville Baptist Church
Lakeville Baptist Church
Having, as we trust, been brought by divine grace to repent and believe[i] in the Lord Jesus Christ and to give up ourselves to him, and having been baptized[ii] upon our profession of faith, in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, we do now, relying on His gracious aid, solemnly and joyfully renew our covenant with each other.
We will work and pray for the unity of the Spirit in the
bond of peace[iii].
We will walk together in brotherly love[iv],
as becomes the members of a Christian Church, exercise an affectionate care and
watchfulness over each other and faithfully admonish[v]
and entreat[vi]
one another as occasion may require.
We will not forsake the assembling of ourselves together[vii],
nor neglect to pray[viii] for
ourselves and others.
We will work to deepen our relationship with the Lord Jesus through regular Bible reading [ix].
We will work to deepen our relationship with the Lord Jesus through regular Bible reading [ix].
We will endeavor to bring up such children as may at any
time be under our care, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord[x],
and by a pure and loving example to seek the salvation of our family and
friends.
We will rejoice[xi]
at each others’ happiness and endeavor with tenderness and sympathy to bear
each other’s burdens and sorrows[xii].
We will seek, by Divine aid, to live carefully in the world,
denying ungodliness and worldly lusts[xiii],
and remembering that, as we have been voluntarily buried by baptism and raised
again from the symbolic grave, so there is on us a special obligation now to
lead a new and holy life[xiv].
We will work together for the continuance of a faithful
evangelical ministry in this church[xv],
as we sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines. We will
contribute cheerfully[xvi]
and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the church, the
relief of the poor[xvii],
and the spread of the Gospel through all nations.
We will, if we move from this place, 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.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen[xviii].
[i]
Acts 11:18, “When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified
God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.”
2 Timothy 2:25, “In meekness instructing those that
oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the
acknowledging of the truth;”
[ii]
Acts 28:19, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”
Acts 2:41, “Then they that gladly received his word
were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand
souls.”
Acts 8:36-38, “And as they went on their way, they came
unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder
me to be baptized? 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.”
Acts 16:14-15, “And a certain woman named Lydia, a
seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us:
whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were
spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us,
saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house,
and abide there. And she constrained us.”
Acts 16:33, “And he took them the same hour of the
night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.”
[iii]
Ephesians 4:3, “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
[iv]
Hebrews 13:1, “Let brotherly love continue.”
1 Peter 1:22, “Seeing ye have purified your souls in
obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see
that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:”
1 Peter 3:8, “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having
compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:”
[v]
Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom;
teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
1 Thessalonians 5:14, “Now we exhort you, brethren,
warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be
patient toward all men.”
1 Corinthians 4:14, “I write not these things to shame
you, but as my beloved sons I warn you.”
[vi]
2 Corinthians 10:1, “Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and
gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am
bold toward you:”
Galatians 4:12, “Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am;
for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all.”
Philippians 4:2, “I beseech Euodias, and beseech
Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.”
[vii]
Hebrews 10:25, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the
manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see
the day approaching.”
[viii]
Philippians 1:3-11, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in
every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, For your fellowship
in the gospel from the first day until now; Being confident of this very thing,
that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of
Jesus Christ: Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I
have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and
confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. For God is my
record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. And
this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in
all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be
sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the
fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise
of God.”
James 5:16, “Confess your faults one to another, and
pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a
righteous man availeth much.”
[ix] Psalm 119
2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Romans 15:4, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
[x]
Ephesians 6:4, “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring
them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”
[xi]
Romans 12:15, “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.”
[xii]
Galatians 6:2, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”
[xiii]
Titus 2:11-15, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to
all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should
live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that
blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus
Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and
purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things
speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.”
[xiv]
Romans 6:1-4, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may
abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer
therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ
were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into
death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the
Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
[xv]
Matthew 28:18-20, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is
given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:
and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
[xvi]
2 Corinthians 9:7, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let
him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”
1 Corinthians 16:1-3, “Now concerning the collection
for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do
ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as
God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. And when I
come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring
your liberality unto Jerusalem.”
[xvii]
James 1:27, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To
visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself
unspotted from the world.”
[xviii]
2 Corinthians 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.”
