Membership Matters: Part 1

Introduction

In the movie, Castaway, starring Tom Hanks, a FedEx executive is shipwrecked on an island by himself. He has to learn how to survive on his own which means to cook for himself and provide shelter.

While Tom Hanks character had physical needs, he also had emotional and psychological needs. He draws a face on a volleyball and calls it Wilson.

Because he had no community, he created a pseudo-community with a volleyball. This ends with the volleyball being lost at see and Tom Hanks manically screaming, “Wilson,” at the volleyball as it floats away into the ocean.

In the same way, we are starved for true community. So often we create counterfeits to ease the pain of a lack of community.

Today, I hope to share with you true community. How wonderful it is. How incredible it is. But most of all, how easy it is to attain in Christ.

Romans 16:1–16 ESV

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well. Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them. Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

While this passage is not a theological treatise it illustrates tangibly shows us that the church is made up of people. This is in ROMANS! The greatest theological work of all time. This passage seems a little colloquial, don’t you think? No, Paul is talking to real people.

What I love about this passage is the names. They aren’t just names. They are lives, families, aspirations, occupations, etc. God brought them together by His grace to the church in Rome.

These people are bound together. In this text, we see that the church is made up of people, beloved by God and one another.

They belong to the church, and the church belongs to them.

I hope to accomplish two things this morning. (1) I want to make a case for Biblical church membership from the Scriptures. (2) I want to share the invitations (or benefits) of church membership.

Explanation

A Biblical case for church membership.

Hebrews 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.”

Matt Chandler, when wrestling with church membership, came across this verse. He was struggling with the concept of church membership.

He pastors in Dallas. “Am I responsible for the entire Dallas metroplex?” Am I responsible for every church withing a 25 mile radius of Lexington? On the other side of this question, “are you responsible for everything that every pastor/church leader in this community teaches?” Obviously not. So there are smaller units, and we belong to those units.

Acts 6:1-6, when deacons are elected, we see the church addressing a complex issue within their local body.

Deacons were needed to care for widows.

The local church elected them under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

In 1 Corinthians 5, we see Paul admonish the church to exercise discipline on a man who is living in gross sin, because there is a contamination of the body with his continued fellowship there.

In Romans 16:1-16, we see this beautiful picture of the people in the local church. Paul is addressing each of them, commending what they do well, and encouraging them.

Romans 16:16 “Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.”

You are a local body, and these other local bodies want to encourage you.

Finally, one enters into membership in a Baptist church by believer’s baptism. (Acts 2)

We believe that you must be regenerate, or saved, before you can be baptised. Baptism is a symbol of what Christ has done in you and your entrance into the local church.

I am not going to speak too much to this point today, because I am planning to address it at length in a few weeks when we discuss the ordinances.

The invitations of church membership.

An invitation to a covenant.

When you become a member of a church, you are covenanting with the people around you to get them to the throne of grace. They are covenanting with you to do the same thing.

You are both giving of yourself for the sake of the kingdom, your sake, and their sake.

We are bound to one another. Not to our group or family or Sunday School class, as good as they may be. We are bound to all of one another.

If you are in our church, and you are in your 20’s and 30’s, you are bound to our older folks. You are called to love, serve, and care for them.

If you are older, you are bound to our younger folks. You are called to encourage, love and care for them.

An invitation to belonging.

We enjoy what some pastors call an ecclesiological buffet. We have all sorts of churches that do all sorts of activities, events, etc. I see people skipping from one thing to another to another.

We do something here, and we enjoy something there. We never really belong anywhere.

That is a problem.

Not, I am not telling you not to do things at other churches. AT ALL. We have all kinds of events here and invite others. We work together. Not at all what I am saying.

I am saying that the primary source of your spiritual diet and community needs to be in one place.

Illustration: Your family unit plays sports all over, eats out, spends the night at others homes, a regular dinner with another family, etc.

But you only have one home. That’s what I am advocating for. That you find this place as home.

We have believed the lie that consumerism is better than belonging. I am not arguing for exclusivism but for deep, deep, deep roots.

In belonging, we have people who walk through life with us and for us.

With membership in a local church, we can belong in ways that we never have before.

With membership in a local church, we are locking arms with those who are walking towards the throne of grace.

Parent, it is good for your kids to know where you are. Do they know where you serve, worship, and seek God. Can they say, my family belongs here?

An invitation to spiritual growth.

Sometimes, people leave as soon as they see the flaws in a church. More often, people leave as soon as the church begins to see flaws in them.

The church is not flawless. We are not flawless.

We make the church a better place. The church makes us better followers of Christ. You have to make a commitment to that exchange.

The longer I stay somewhere, the more likely people will figure out I am not as good or shiny or put together as I advertised. Good! That’s where God works.

You may be slothful in zeal. God places us before zealous people to rekindle our zeal for Him.

You may have a lack of patience. God may teach us by placing us in front of patient people OR leading us to people who try our patience. Both are an act of His grace to sanctify us.

You may be overwhelmed with consumerism or materialism. You may have large, character-altering idols. This place is the place they get fixed.

We are invited to our spiritual growth and others as well.

When we see something a church doesn’t do or have, we can go on to the next one.

But, there’s a distinct possibility that God isn’t asking you to leave but to fix it.

Where you see need, be the one who meets the need. That way, others are fed as well.

Most of the ministry that happens in this place isn’t done by me. It’s done by all of you.

Our presence encourages one another. Let me give you an example.

Last week, we sang the song, “Is He Worthy?” As Matthew sang that question, we all replied in song, “He Is.”

When we sing that song, we apply it to each other.

There have been times in my life where singing those words were hard. I needed to hear other people sing it too.

An invitation into God’s community.

Jonathan Leeman, writes, “Church membership is the way that we embody and experience the Biblical images of the Christ and the church.”

The best illustrations the Bible has for us come from what we are together - not apart. The church relates to God on a Trinitarian level - as the body of Christ, the temple of the Spirit, and the family of God.

The body of Christ - We are guided by, nurtured in, and directed by Christ as His body while He is the head.

The temple of the Spirit

Dustin Benge - The role of the Holy Spirit is to bring beauty out of chaos. That is what the Holy Spirit does in us.

The family of God - to be the children of God means two things - Status has been bestowed on us that we could never earn, and it is a higher status than we could ever even dream to achieve.

Invitation

I want to invite you to join our faith family.

I want to invite you to give your life to Jesus.