Church Membership

Introduction

English Standard Version Chapter 12

One Body with Many Members

12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

English Standard Version Chapter 5

Shepherd the Flock of God

5 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.

English Standard Version Chapter 13

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

This week we’re going to take a break from our regular preaching schedule through the Book of Revelation, and take some time to look at a subject that I think is often neglected and misunderstood. And it’s a subject that’s far more important than I think most of us realize. What was once normative for churches throughout the United States just 50-100 years ago has all but vanished today, and that is, church membership.

Little, if any, emphasis is put on formal church membership today, and I can honestly say, that in all the churches I’ve attended since I was a child, not one sermon to my recollection was ever on church membership. I’ve attended churches that host membership classes, but I’ve never heard the subject dealt with from the pulpit. Therefore, my conclusion was that it was trivial and that only mattered if you intended to be a part of making church business decisions, that it was optional, and that it didn’t have any real bearing upon my faith.

In many churches today church membership simply boils down to church attendance. If you show up then you’ve meet the minimum requirements for church membership. For instance, one church that I was a part of for many years asked only that you had been in attendance for at least six months. There was no statement of faith that you had to adhere to, classes that you had to attend, or official processes to go through, just your word that you had been attending the church for at least six months.

It’s no secret that the idea of church membership has fallen on hard times throughout the church in America. And there are many reasons for that. First, we live in a culture that doesn’t like the idea of excluding anyone, because that just doesn’t seeming very nice. In fact, one of our culture’s favorite buzz words is inclusion. That if we’re not making a point to include everyone no matter the circumstances then we must have crossed a moral line. Our culture leverages this argument to coerce Christians into approving of sinful behaviors. Therefore, we tend to avoid anything that might exclude others.

And related to that, we tend to think that formal church membership drives people away from the church. That in order to get more people into the church, that we must remove any unnecessary hindrances that might exist. And, for many, church membership has become just that, a hindrance, therefore it’s de-emphasized or removed altogether.

Another reason formal church membership has fallen on hard times is because of a particular American attitude that’s pervasive within the church. The assumption that we have the right and authority to conduct our Christian lives on our own. Therefore, we integrate the church when and wherever we please. As Americans we don’t like to the idea of submitting to anyone or any institution, we like to keep our options open.

We have a sheet on the back table titled “What is church membership?” that’s meant to define and explain church membership, and at the top of the page I included a quote from Dr. Michael Horton, a seminary professor at Westminster California. It reads, “It’s easy to want the benefits, but not the responsibilities of belonging – to friendships, to marriages, to the workplace, and certainly to the church.”

And lastly, I think one of the other reasons we chafe at the idea of formal church membership is because we don’t think it’s taught in the Bible. We don’t see any commands articulating formal church membership, or examples of members attending membership classes, or signing a statement of faith. Therefore, we conclude that it must not be necessary or a biblical teaching.

That being said, my hope this morning is to shed some biblical light on this idea of church membership, and my hope is that you will be surprised that what might have seemed foreign and unnecessary at first is in fact rooted in deep biblical convictions. That church membership is biblical and that it’s essential to a healthy church.

Church Membership Assumed

Now, what I want to point out at first, is that church membership is assumed throughout the NT. While you won’t find the phrase “church membership” in the Bible, the idea is assumed throughout, that every Christian is a part of a local church, that no biblical category exists for a Christian living independently from the local church. Listening to sermons at home on your own and calling that church, is completely against the testimony of Scripture. The entire witness of the NT runs contrary to any idea that Christians can live independently from the church. There is absolutely nothing wrong with listening to sermons at home on your own, but this is not a substitute for the local church.

Gathered together

For instance, all of the elements of worship are described within the context of believers who are gathered together. In Acts 2:42, after 3,000 souls had been added to church in Jerusalem, we read,

English Standard Version Chapter 2

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

The worship of the church was fundamentally corporate, it included corporate devotion to the apostle’s teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread together (i.e. the Lord’s Supper), and of prayer. All of the elements of worship were carried out corporately. This is one of the reasons why we don’t celebrate the Lord’s Supper around the dinner table, or by ourselves in our closets, because the Lord’s Supper is fundamentally a corporate affair. Therefore, any Christian who lives independently from the church will have no biblical context for which to partake of the Lord’s Supper.

The Bible also describes those who are saved as being added to the church. They’re not merely saved individuals, but their added to something, that is the church. Those who had devoted themselves to apostle’s teaching were saved after hearing Peter’s sermon at Pentecost, and we read in Acts 2:41,

English Standard Version Chapter 2

41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

First, they were marked out (or set apart) by their baptism, their baptism identifies them with Jesus, they’re separated from the world, and they’re added to the church. And apparently the church was keeping records, about three thousand souls.

We’re also told that these believers were together and had all things in common. That they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes. (Acts 2:44-46) Immediately, the church becomes its own tight-knit community, taking care of one another and worshiping together. Again, this is always a corporate affair.

Established local churches

Eventually the Gospel spreads beyond Jerusalem, and it reaches the farthest parts of the Roman Empire. And as the church grows both numerically and geographically the disciples begin to plant local churches in each city. The Apostle Paul was known to stay in a place for months or even years to raise up elders. The disciples were not content to merely make converts, but they established local churches, and they appointed elders. Establishing local churches was essential to their mission.

And it’s at this point we must realize the essential nature of the local church. One of the God’s ordained means of sustaining and maturing your faith is the local church. This is why Christians plant churches wherever they go, they make disciples and they plant churches. Christians are not meant to live independently of one another. Christianity is not an individualistic faith, it isn’t just you and Jesus, or you and your Bible.

Letters to churches

This is also why many of the letters in the NT are written to particular churches. And if Paul wasn’t writing to a particular church he was writing to the elders of particular churches. For instance, we find the qualifications for elders in Paul’s letters to both Timothy and Titus with the intent of them appointing qualified elders in their churches. We never see Paul’s ministry as separate or divorced from the local church context. When missionaries are sent they’re sent by the church, they’re not intended to just go off on their own without the support and direction of the church.

One body, many members

Again, the NT assumes church membership throughout, we find no biblical category of Christians living independently from the church. Which is why Paul can use the analogy of a body and its members when writing to the church in 1 Corinthians 12:12-20,

English Standard Version Chapter 12

One Body with Many Members

12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

Universal church and local church

Now, most Christians gladly acknowledge the existence of the universal church, that there are Christians all around the world that make up the universal church, it’s only when we start talking about local church membership that we become uneasy. The reason is, because it’s within the local church context that the rubber meets the road. It’s easy to acknowledge the universal church out there, where my obligations to others is infrequent and avoidable, but to commit myself to a local church means my obligations to others becomes much clearer. All of a sudden my responsibilities to one another come with a face, they have names, and they know yours.

All of a sudden I’m confronted with the people who will become my primarily responsibility to love unconditionally, despite their sin, I’m confronted with the people that I’ll be responsible to forgive as often as they’re willing to repent, I’m confronted with the people that I may have to repent to, I’m confronted by the people who I’ll be accountable to, I’m confronted with elders who will inquire of my spiritual condition. The local church is where it gets real, it’s where we live in the light, it’s where we grow spiritually.

Obligation to Christ is an obligation to his body

And we must remember that our obligation to Christ comes with an obligation to his body. It’s a package deal, we don’t get Christ without his church. To any Christian who acknowledges their obligation to Christ, they must also acknowledge their obligation to his body. To neglect his church is to neglect Jesus himself. Your love for the church will be the litmus test of whether or not you love Jesus. Listen to what Jesus says in Matthew 25:35-40,

English Standard Version Chapter 25

35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

It’s often taught that this passage is about how we treat unbelievers in need, however, Jesus is talking specifically about how we treat one another within the context of the church. Because the church is the body of Christ, therefore, how we treat its members is how we treat Christ himself. This is why he says, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

So, our obligation to the church is an obligation to one another, and we’re not obligated to the body of Christ only when it’s comfortable, or when it suits us, just as we’re not obligated to Christ only when it’s comfortable, or when it suits us. We’re responsible to submit to one another, to love one another, to serve one another, to spur one another on to love and good works, and so on.

And these obligations are carried out primarily within the context of the local church, therefore the intention of formal church membership is to facilitate the carrying out of these obligations to one another. It formally binds us together, we agree to hold one another accountable to walk in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord. That these are the people I’m primarily responsible to on planet earth, and church membership communicates clearly to the rest of the congregation who has voluntarily committed themselves to the church.

Elders responsible for members

Church membership also helps the elders of a church to lead. Elders are charged with shepherding the members of their local church, and will be held responsible for doing so. In Acts 20:28 when the Apostle Paul was exhorting the Ephesian elders he told them,

English Standard Version Chapter 20

28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

and then in Hebrews 13:17 we read,

English Standard Version Chapter 13

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.

Formal church membership makes it clear who the elders are responsible for, to whom they will give an account, and who has willingly submitted to the church’s authority. Many Christians deliberately avoid formal church membership to keep their local church at arms length, and are content to remain in no man’s land, attending and participating from time to time when it suites them, while avoiding accountability.

This is why mere attendance is a disastrous way of determining church membership. One minute I’m someone’s pastor because they walked through the door, and the next minute I’m not when they don’t come back. However, formal church membership defines and communicates our relationship to the church, and it helps the elders to shepherd the church.

Members submitting to elders

Conversely, church membership helps you know which elders you’re called to submit to, and it enables you to fulfill your biblical responsibility to them. Christians are commanded to submit to church leadership, without exception, which presupposes that every Christian is intended to be a member of a local church. As we just read in Hebrews 13:17,

English Standard Version Chapter 13

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

One must know who their elders are in order to submit to them. 1 Timothy 5:17 also says,

English Standard Version Chapter 5

17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”

One must know who their leaders are to know whom to direct their honoring. Hebrews 13:7 says,

English Standard Version Chapter 13

7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

You must know who your leaders are if you’re going to imitate their faith. All of these texts clearly presuppose church membership, therefore formal church membership is meant to facilitate these very obligations, both to one another and to our elders.

Every Christian should make it their priority to become a member of a local church, to submit themselves to local church leadership. To look for elders who they can, in good conscience, subject themselves to. The elders of a local church are intended to protect, disciple, and shepherd those under their care, therefore, to resist church membership is to resist God’s ordained means of shepherding his people.

Christians often move across the country or to another state without once taking into consideration whether a faithful church exists where they’re going. And, unfortunately, this often reveals just how low a view we tend to have of belonging to a local church. To our shame we’re often more concerned with whether our kids will have certain athletic or academic opportunities than whether they’ll grow up in a church, surrounded by elders and members who care supremely for their salvation.

Facilitates church discipline

Formal church membership also facilitates church discipline. Without accountability it would be impossible for the church to carry out church discipline. While we often imagine excommunication when someone uses the phrase church discipline, excommunication is a last resort. Listen to what Jesus says in Matt 18:15-17,

English Standard Version Chapter 18

15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Church discipline begins with one another, “if a brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” This is almost always where church discipline begins, between individual members of the church. One brother approaches another to reconcile, and hopefully this it where church discipline begins and ends most of the time, with private reconciliation.

However, without formal church membership, without members having clearly communicated their willingness to submit to one another, church discipline can escalate quickly, and become impossible for the church leaders to manage. Those who are not formal members of the church can more easily walk away from their responsibility to one another, and their responsibility to the church’s leadership. Formal church membership is meant to facilitate accountability and reconciliation within the church and between its members. Church membership is intended to preserve the health and integrity of the church.

Conclusion

Therefore, we encourage every Christian to become a member of a local church, not just because it’s beneficial, but because it’s biblical. You should make it your goal to seek out a biblically sound church wherever you are and to become a member of that church, to submit to its members and its elders there. We’re not called to merely hop between churches or to attend but not participate, if you’re a Christian then its assumed you’ll be a member of a church somewhere, that you’ll be submitted to elders somewhere, for this is how the Lord intends to shepherd your soul.

Church membership should cause you to grow spiritually, when you bump into imperfect sinful people like yourself you’ll learn how to love unconditionally, you’ll learn to have mercy, you’ll learn to be patient with others, you’ll learn to die to yourself, you’ll learn how to submit to others even when you disagree with them, you’ll grow spiritually.

Anyone who’s married knows that sanctification didn’t really start in their life until they got married. Living shoulder to shoulder with another person who is radically different than you forces you to grow. Until marriage you had no idea how self serving you were. And anyone who has children knows that your sanctification goes to a whole new level when you have children. If you didn’t know you were self-centered before, you will then. A six month old will have no mercy on you, but you’ll be more like Christ because of it. In the same way when we commit ourselves to the local church there will be plenty of opportunity to grow spiritually. However, there is also much joy to be had for those who are a part of the family of God.

Prayer