Why Church Membership?

Doxology:

This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!

Scripture Reference: Acts 2:41

Context

We are currently working our way through a series of messages on church membership. These three messages are the same three lessons that we teach when someone goes through our “New Member’s Class”.

Last week, we looked at “The Purpose of the Church”. We discussed how the church has been called to Testify (or bring glory to God), to Equip and train up leaders, to do Ministry (such as Evangelism, Discipleship, and Missions), to Pray, and to have Oneness and be unified in Christ.

When you align these words vertically and look at the first letter of each word, you see the word TEMPO. This is the calling of the church. We are called to be constantly building TEMPO within the church. And I believe that this is exactly where God has called us to be right now. As we fulfill all of these biblical functions, God will be glorified, and we will make an impact for Christ in our community.

Today, we are going to use that as a foundation to discuss church membership.

Why Church Membership? Right....

That seems to be the question of the day. Why can’t we just come, enjoy one another’s presence, and serve alongside one another in brotherly love without doing the whole membership thing?

To be fair....there are some today who believe that. They don’t exercise church membership in their church.

So why do we?

That’s what we want to unpack today.

Acts 2:14 NKJV

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words.

Content

What is Membership

Remember that last week, we spoke on the fact that a church body is more than just a congregation, it is a family. In Scripture, they sold their possessions so that they could bless others within the body. They broke bread together. They worshipped together in the temple daily. They supported one another, studied with one another, prayer with one another, and sacrificed for one another. It truly was a family in every sense of the word.

If that is the case, to join a church is to join a family. It should be thought of on the same level as an adoption. The person joining the church in membership is to be brought in, loved on, welcomed into the fold, and in every sense of the word, be considered one of the family. At that moment, they begin to bare the name of the body:

Where do you go to church? Oh, I am a member of the Allons Baptist Church family.

With that being said, church membership should be considered and treated as a very big deal. It is not just about having a big number. It is not just about bragging rights to say that you are one of the largest churches in the county. Matter of fact, it has nothing to do with any of that. It is about locking arms with a group of people whom you call brothers and sisters in Christ.

Our Church Membership Covenant, whom every prospect member receives and must agree to before joining, says this (2nd - 4th paragraphs):

It is to bind oneself to the family as one does to their own family

It is to agree to be governed by the beliefs of that body

It is to agree to be held accountable by that body if you were to get out of line

It is to agree to support the body in service, in prayer, and in one’s finances

It is to agree to learn and grow and then teach your children the things of God

It is to abstain from worldly sin so that you might represent the body and therefore God well

It is to watch over, protect, and look out for your brothers and sisters in Christ, even when it means they might get mad at you

It is to give your family the benefit of the doubt, stand behind them, support them, love them, forgive them when they make mistakes.

Church membership is not just about having a name on a piece of paper. It is about joining yourself to a body, and as a member of that body, to pledge to do your part so that the body as a whole might function well.

Hebrews 10:25 NKJV

25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Because of the seriousness of the nature of church membership, there are certain qualifications that must be met before one can become a member (Saved, baptized, read and agree to the church membership covenant): 1st paragraph of the covenant.

Acts 2:47 NKJV

47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

So church membership is not something to enter into lightly. Before someone joins the church, I would recommend that they attend that church for some time. I don’t think you can put a number on it, as it will differ from one family to the next, but it is definitely not something to rush. Evaluate the church and make sure that it is a biblically functioning church, or at least is trying to be.

Does it have a sound biblical theology? Does the preacher cover the full truth of Scripture and not stray away from the difficult passages? Do they preach and teach on sin and the consequences of it?

Is the church unified? Is there a bunch of gossip going on in the church? Is there feuding amongst its members?

What does the children’s ministry look like? Are they attempting to reach the young people of the community?

Does the church have a heart for the poor, the needy, the widows and the orphans?

What financial position is the church in? Get a copy of the church’s yearly budget and see where they spend their money. This will tell you the heart of the church.

All of these things, and more, constitute a biblical church. If you dumb down your attendance to a specific church to just the preaching or worship experience, you are severely limiting the growth, development, and involvement that you could experience elsewhere.

Now some might still say, “Yeah, but you haven’t shared any verses that really support membership. It sounds good, but where is it in the Bible? You can love people and support people without membership.”

Biblical Basis for Membership

Logically speaking, we could give many reasons for why Church Membership simply makes sense, but to be fair, those who do not utilize church membership could also logically provide reasons why Church Membership doesn’t make sense.

So I want to show you four specific areas to where the Scriptures speak to the need of Church Membership. If we stick to the Scriptures, then we don’t have to worry about logic and reason. Amen!

Leadership

Hebrews 13:17 NKJV

17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

According to the Scriptures, being the position of a spiritual leader within the church comes with great expectation. When God calls a man into the ministry, whether it be in some form of pastoral role, a Deacon role, a Worship Leader Role, etc., that individual is taking on the spiritual welfare of all those God has given to him.

Notice that it says here in the verse, “for they watch out for your souls”. Every spiritual leader within the church is responsible for the spiritual well-being of those under him. That is why when someone goes missing without notice for a few weeks, they get a phone call. They are concerned with your well-being. They want to make sure that everything is ok. They are responsible to God for you.

1 Peter 5:1–5 NKJV

1 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. 5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

So we see here that not only are the elders, or spiritual leaders of the church, responsible for the spiritual well-being and development of their flock, but those who are not within the spiritual leadership of the church are to submit to them.

But the question is, how can a spiritual leader know who they are responsible for, without having some form of an organized list to guide him? Furthermore, how can the individual know which leader to submit to outside of church membership?

The spiritual leadership of any church body must know who they are to give an account for before God. They cannot fulfill their role in doing so without that knowledge. The individuals of each local body must also know to whom they are to submit to, so that they might be faithful to God in doing so.

This is where Church Membership comes into play. It is necessary in order for the spiritual leaders of each church to effectively fulfill the command of God to shepherd the flock, and it is necessary in order for the individual sheep of that flock to submit to their leaders.

This brings us to the next area of which membership is needed:

Church Discipline (Accountability)

Part of watching over the flock is holding the flock accountable. When a sheep goes astray, the shepherd will leave the 99 to go after the one. Why? Because he loves all of his sheep and he is accountable for them all. So he will go find the sheep, and do what he must to bring that sheep back into the fold.

In all fairness, church discipline has almost become a thing of the past, but according to the Scriptures, a biblical church will exercise church discipline.

Now let me explain exactly what this doesn’t mean and what it does mean.

Church discipline does not mean:

That the spiritual leadership of the church is the sin police. It is not the job of the spiritual leadership to hover over and nitpick every little detail of one’s life. If that were the case, that’s all we would do. There is not a single person in this room that is perfect, and if we were to address every little sin of every person’s life, that within itself would be a full time job....for multiple people.

It also doesn’t mean that the spiritual leadership is to be constantly looking for a fault in someone’s life. That goes against the very heartbeat of what it is designed to be. We are not to be expecting failures, and looking for them. As already stated, if that’s what we are doing, we will not have to go very far to find a fault in someone’s life. Matter of fact, the farthest we would need to travel would be to the nearest mirror, and we would find more than faults to address. So that is not what it means.

Church discipline does mean:

That we are to love our people, and out of that love, we are to look out for their spiritual well-being, as previously quoted from Scripture. This means that when something does come up within one of the member’s lives that is open, blatant, and unrepented of, it must be addressed. It must be addressed for their own sake, so that they might come to see their sin and repent of it and come back to the Father. It must also be addressed for the spiritual well-being of the body as a whole. As we stated earlier, to be a member of a church is to bear the name of that church, but to bear the name of that church is also to be accountable to that church.

Accountability is not a bad thing. We all move and operate a little better when there is some accountability in our lives. And if we are truly a family, then we should have no problem being held accountable by one another.

Matthew 18:15–17 NKJV

15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

These verses provide the basis for church discipline. The purpose is to bring the individual back to God. It is to reveal to them how damaging their actions have become, or might become, in hopes that they will align their hearts to God and repent of the sin. If they do repent of that sin, then you are to move on and rejoice and that a brother or sister has been restored unto fellowship.

If they do not repent, then you are to increase the situation, even to the point of removing them from the membership of the church. This is the last thing that is to be done of course, not the first. And it should only be the case when the church is in agreement that their actions have been ungodly and the people show no signs of repenting or changing.

1 Corinthians 5:1–6 NKJV

1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife! 2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. 3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

1 Corinthians 5:12–13 NKJV

12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”

So we see how membership plays a part here. When someone has unrepented of sin, blatant sin, open sin in their lives that is obviously against the will of God, and they show no signs of changing their ways or repenting of that sin, they must be removed from the body. How could this be so, if there was no organized body to start with?

Fellowship and Communion

Notice that it said in Matthew 18.17

Matthew 18:17 NKJV

17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

The love, support, and accountability that we are commanded to show to one another is reserved for those within the body.

Now here me out. At the beginning of the year, we walked through the Sermon of the Mount. We discussed how that we are to be loving, caring, compassionate, and even broken over the sin of all people. But there is a difference in how we do that to those outside of the church, versus those who are within the church.

All throughout Scripture, caution is given to how close of a relationship we are to build with those who are outside of the church. Though we are to love all, be a neighbor to all, help all, and pray for all, there should be a clear distinction between those who are within, from those who are without.

With that being said, we are never to lessen our love and compassion for those who are without. Rather, we should increase our love and compassion for those who are within. Listen to what Scripture says:

1 Corinthians 16:20 NKJV

20 All the brethren greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

Can you imagine? When you join yourself to the family of a local body, you are becoming a member of that family. For so long now, we have been told that men are not to hug other men. That’s just weird. And it can be if done inappropriately, but within family, men hug men all the time.

When we see a brother or sister out at the store, we should be excited to see them. There should be such a relationship between the members of the church, that the world notices a difference.

We have allowed the standards of the world lessen the affection that we have towards one another in Christ.

If we have an unbelieving child, we would not think twice about wrapping them up tight and hugging them with all we got, but yet when a believing brother or sister in Christ comes to us, they get only a handshake. Just to put that in perspective, it is to allow the relationship that we have with someone through human blood to outweigh the relationship that we have with someone through Christ’s blood. We know better.

You might say, “But brother Thomas, if we met a brother in the middle of Jerry’s IGA, hugged them up tight, and then prayed with them right there in the middle of the store, it would make a scene. People would think that we are crazy.”

EXACTLY!!!!! They should see that there is something different about you. Can you imagine what they thought of the Christians in the day of Jesus. Jesus shunned noone with the Gospel. He even went to the Samaritans.

You think the Hatfields and McCoys had a feud… they don’t hold a candle to the Jews and Samaritans. The Hatfields and McCoys was only two families and their feud lasted for a few generations. The Jews and Samaritans were two complete nationalities and their feud lasted for centuries.

But somehow through Jesus and the first Century Church, Jews and Samaritans were coming together in fellowship and communion. This was the most absurd, insane thing that people had ever heard of, but in Christ, they were family.

Those who have been saved and born again have been brought together under the blood of Christ. We have been washed and cleansed and made new in His name. We have been adopted into the same family… the family of God. We have been given the same hope… the hope of eternal life in Christ. We have been given something that the unbelieving world does not have… the Holy Spirit of God, which unites us in the will of God beyond that of any worldly relationship.

Ephesians 4:1–6 NKJV

1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

We are one in Christ.

Availability for Service

When it comes to certain positions within the church, we require that the leaders of those positions are indeed members of this church. Why do we do that?

To be a leader means that you have influence. You are going to have influence over anyone who is a part of whatever ministry or team that you are in charge of leading. Matter of fact, John Maxwell, who is known for his years in the leadership industry says, “Leadership is having influence and having influence is leadership.”

The greatest leader in your church is not the person with the greatest title, but rather the person with the greatest influence.

With that being said, being in a position of leadership does bring with it a certain level of awareness and attention. So before we place someone in such a position, we must make sure that their heart is in tune with God, and with that their goals and ambitions are in line with the heartbeat of the church. If the spiritual leadership feels that the church should be headed one direction, while a certain individual thinks that the church should be headed in a different direction, then it would be unprofitable for the church to place that individual in a role of leadership. It would inevitably lead to unnecessary conflict down the road.

Furthermore, that’s the way they did it in Scripture:

Acts 6:3 NKJV

3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business;

In this text, the apostles have determined that the church has grown large enough that they needed help with the administration of certain tasks within the ministry. They were being pulled away from studies of the Word of God to handle these things, so they decided to bring on seven men who could help carry the load. But look at where these men came from: “Seek out from among you…”

They were not told to go find men elsewhere, but to find men who were already a part of the body.

Therefore, whenever a church begins looking for someone to step up and take on some responsibility, they are going to search from within the membership. These people who are consistent in attendance, consistent in beliefs, and consistent with the heartbeat of the church are the ones to whom should be looked at for service in these roles.

Commitment

Membership matters. If you are not currently a member of Allons Baptist Church, but you have been thinking about it, please come see me. That is why we are preaching these messages, so that everyone understands exactly what it is and how important it is.

Whoever you are, you have gifts and talents that should be in service for the Lord. We want to come alongside you and help you figure out exactly what that is and what that should look like.

But let me say this, being a member of the family of God is far more important than being a member of Allons Baptist Church. If you have never placed your faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, today is the perfect day for you to do that. He died for you so that the penalty of your sins could be forgiven and so that you might experience a better life. Please do not let that pass you by.

In order to be saved, the Scriptures tell us in Romans 10:9-10 that one must Admit that they are a sinner, Believe that Jesus is who Scripture says He is, and Confess before God and others that He rose from the grave three days after being murdered.

Admit, Believe, & Confess. Would you do that today in prayer? Right there where you are, everyone bow, just pray to God and do those three things. Admit, Believe, & Confess. If God is drawing you to be saved, today could be the day you become part of the family of God!!!

Amen!!!!