The Biblical Necessity of Church Membership
What is the church? • Sermon • Submitted • 36:11
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· 64 viewsBeing a member of a local visible NT church is a Biblical necessity and it defines for us more closely what a church is, and what each member's responsibilites or duties ential.
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What is the church?
What exactly is the NT church? What should it be according to the Scriptures? What should it look like? How should it function? What are its goals and what is its purpose? Specifically, how should each one of us, as members of this church, function? What are the roles and responsibilities of every member of a church? Why even join a church membership in the first place?
To begin answering that question we have looked at many different pictures from the NT of what the church is like. And these pictures have given us a biblical perspective of the church. Primarily, these pictures have informed our understanding about what the Universal, Invisible church is like- that is all believers from the time of Pentecost until the time of the Rapture. We refer to the sum total of all of these believers as the universal, invisible church. Today we are going to switch our focus and begin looking at the local visible church. We, right here in Oconomowoc, WI, are an example of a local, visible church.
It was essential to begin our understanding of the church with a discussion of the Universal church because it must shape our thinking about our discussion of the local church. The local church is a microcosm of the Universal church. The local church must strive to model the universal church as closely as possible. We are a miniature representation of the universal body of Christ, and therefore we want to act, as closely as possible, just like the body of Christ as a whole. So the teaching and instruction of the Universal church must shape our thinking about the purpose of our specific local church.
What teaching about the universal church should shape our thinking about our local church?
Summary of the Images:
One Flock, One Shepherd- great desire by Jesus for all of us to be one. He made us into one flock. So the idea of unity in our local church is very important. And, subjectively, we enjoy unity, we become One Flock when, all of us to the best of our ability follow after our One Shepherd.
One New Humanity- Again unity in the church is of utmost importance to God. So much so, that God created, an objective unity for those who are part of His church. God created an entirely new race- we are now part of the Christian race. Christ broke down the dividing wall of hostility by means of his blood, and He made us all into one new ethnicity, one new family- And our new humanity transcends all other races.
“That they all may be One”- Jesus in his high priestly prayer, prayed that the Father would give us unity, and this unity is living and organic, it is like the unity that the Father and the Son enjoy. But again, unity, oneness, is critical. The other critical lesson that we found in John 17 is that this unity this oneness that is so crucial to being a church, is found in our common belief of the Word of God.
20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
Many other pictures of the church:
Ephesians 2- The church is a building- what kind of building? It is a holy temple (how should that shape our understanding of our church?), we are a dwelling place for God by means of the Spirit
I Cor 3- You are God’s field (garden), You are God’s building and there are proper and improper materials of which to build the church, You are God’s temple
I Cor 12- Image of the Body of Christ
Heb 10- Image of the people of God and the priesthood
Eph 5- Image of the Bride of Christ
John 15- Image of the vine and the branches (Picture of Christ’s relationship to the individual believer)
Summary of the Images:
All of these pictures emphasize all different kinds of relationships in the church. And I believe they all begin to describe what Christian fellowship looks like. There are different kinds or different levels of fellowship that we all have with other believers, and the question becomes at what level can we as believers fellowship together?
At a minimum we can all of us have personal fellowship (One new humanity- when you meet another person for the first time and find out they are a believer- there is instantly a level of personal fellowship with that person because of the unity we enjoy through Christ’s blood)
I think at maximum is the kind of people we fellowship with in our local church. We are to be One body, One flock, One new humanity, We are to be One and the Father and Son are One. How do we achieve that kind of unity, how do we enjoy that level of fellowship with the other believers in our church?
The answer is tied to the biblical necessity of Church membership.
Some people will argue that in the early NT church there was no such thing as church membership- especially like the membership we practice today. There was no membership list, people didn’t join the church membership like we do today. So, they view being a member of a local church as unimportant.
I would argue, that a proper understanding of Scripture, not only teaches church membership, but teaches the absolute necessity of church membership.
Pastor, where do you get that from?
Answer: I Corinthians 5.
I. Church membership is necessary because of the responsibility of every believer to hold one another accountable and even to exercise discipline over one another
I. Church membership is necessary because of the responsibility of every believer to hold one another accountable and even to exercise discipline over one another
This responsibility, this relationship of believers is detailed in I Cor 5. In I Cor 5 you find a professing brother who was engaged in scandalous behavior.
1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.
I Cor 5 is instruction for church disciple when the church is dealing with public sin. There was a man in the church who was participating in fornication with his father’s wife (step mother). This was a public sin, and it was so scandalous that even the Gentiles (unbelievers) knew about it and were shocked. This kind of thing was not done even amongst the unsaved!
So, Paul instructed the church to take specific action against this man.
A. The instruction concerning church discipline (vv. 2-5a)
A. The instruction concerning church discipline (vv. 2-5a)
2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
Paul insisted that the church should already have taken this man out of the church- “that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.” Also notice that Paul lays this responsibility and decision on the church itself. Paul does not use his own authority to remove this man engaged in scandal, but instructs the local church in Corinth to take him “away from among you.”
V. 3-
3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
Here Paul states that he had already heard enough from afar to judge the situation himself- even though I am absent in the body (I am not there personally to see and hear myself), but I have heard enough already to judge the situation as though I were present, concerning this man who has sinned.
4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Notice what they are to do in v. 5
5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
They were to remove this man from the church, and place him outside the church, and in placing him outside of the church they would be, in effect, delivering him unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh. In other words, when they removed this man from the church, he would be removed from the protection of being part of the church, and would be open to physical chastisement brought about by the wiles of Satan himself.
B. The purposes of church discipline (vv. 5b-8)
B. The purposes of church discipline (vv. 5b-8)
This was not a malicious act, in fact this was a redemptive act, the purpose of such a judgement was so that this man’s spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus- the purpose of such a judgement was to bring the man unto repentance and reconciliation (that is always one of the purposes of church discipline by the way)
A second purpose of church disciple is found in v. 6
6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
The public sin of this man was polluting the whole church, especially in the eyes of the Gentiles.
(V. 1- “such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles”)
Church discipline maintains a good testimony of the church among the unsaved. Even a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
A third purpose of church disciple is found in v. 7
7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
Church discipline halts the spread of sin, it causes others in the church to be careful in their walk with the Lord- to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. (Sourdough starter spreads to the whole dough)
And the final purpose is found in v. 8
(v. 7b) For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
The fourth goal of church discipline is to maintain the clarity of the gospel and the purity of our fellowship with Christ.
In the end of v. 7 Christ is called our passover lamb sacrificed for us. What happened in the first passover? It was the occasion where God killed the firstborn in every Egyptian household, but He spared the firstborn in Israel through the blood of the sacrificial Passover lamb. Here Paul says that Christ has been sacrificed as the Passover lamb for believers. Because of His death on the cross, we have been liberated from sin. Since that is true, what would it look like if we placed ourselves back under sin, especially this kind of scandalous public sin? It would be a serious betrayal of the gospel! It would introduce an element of pollution, or leaven, into our relationship with Christ Himself. This pollution is eliminated when the offending party is removed from the membership of the congregation.
C. An important distinction related to church discipline (vv. 9-13)
C. An important distinction related to church discipline (vv. 9-13)
In v. 9 Paul articulates a very important distinction to our discussion of church membership.
9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
Simple command- but Paul clarifies just what he means for the church
10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
He is not talking about the unsaved, that would be impossible. If we are to make disciples of all the world, we must put ourselves into the company of fornicators, of greedy people, of extortioners or swindlers, and with idolaters. Because if we didn’t we would need to be taken out of the world. But we are to be in the world, just not of the world. This is an important distinction. This is who Paul is not talking about, he is not talking about the unsaved. Who is he talking about?
11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
Paul is talking about not keeping company with any person who claims to be a believer and yet practices certain kinds of sins. Here Paul lists sexual immorality, greed, fraud, idolatry, verbal abuse, and inebriation as offenses that require some kind of response. Now these sins do not make up a comprehensive list. Rather, this list gives us guidelines for what kinds of sins necessitate this kind of church discipline. And I think we can break these sins into two categories: 1). These sins are incompatible with a profession of the gospel. 2). These sins constitute public scandals.
So if one claims he is saved (he is called a brother), and he is participating in such a scandalous sin (like fornication) that it is incompatible with his profession of the gospel, and it is a public sin a public scandal (personal sins and church discipline are handled differently- Matt 18), then the church is to institute discipline.
That is not the only distinction given. Paul adds another consideration in v. 12.
12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
Not only is Paul talking about people who profess to be believers, who are living in public sin, but also professing believers who are not without, but within. It is not the responsibility of the church to discipline other believers who are without, they are only responsible to judge those that are within. Without and within what? It’s the church. The authority of the local church to discipline other believers only extends to other believers within the church.
13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
God is responsible to judge those who are without the church. The believers in the local church in Corinth were responsible to judge other fellow believers within the church, and even to exercise church discipline against them- therefore, Paul says, put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
Right here in I Corinthians 5, I think we find Biblical evidence of the necessity of church membership.
Clearly Paul believed that some people were inside the church at Corinth while others where outside of it. Those inside were accountable to the whole congregation for their conduct. The congregation possessed the authority to expel anyone whose error was sufficiently grievous. This authority was mediated through the assembled church, not through private individuals or subgroups of the congregation.
D. Necessary implications learned from church discipline
D. Necessary implications learned from church discipline
What does that mean? It means that clearly there was some mechanism that existed to determine who was in the church and who was not. There had to be some mechanism to decide who should participate in a congregational decision and who should not.
Whatever this mechanism was it had to involve more that just physical presence in the assembly, for unbelievers frequented the assembles.
23 If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?
It also had to involve more than simply being a Christian, for Paul himself did not participate in making decisions. All Paul did was to tell the church what it was obligated to do. But it was NOT Paul who made the decision.
So some way had to exist to distinguish those who were bound by this relationship of accountability from those who were not. In other words, whether written or unwritten, formally or informally, some kind of list must have existed.
The truth is that the church at Corinth displayed a relationship of mutual accountability and discipline between individual believers and the entire congregation. This relationship is exactly what we would call church membership, and why I call church membership a Biblical necessity.
To become a member of a church, an individual deliberately submits to this relationship. Christians who take this step become accountable to the congregation as a whole. Since they are a part of the congregation, they also participate in hold one another accountable.
Joining a church membership is a deliberate and voluntary choice on the part of the individual. It never happens accidentally, it never happens simply by attending a church. The only way in which Christians become members of a NT church is by agreeing to submit to that congregation’s accountability and spiritual oversight.
And if a believer has not taken that deliberate voluntary choice, then he or she is outside of the accountability and spiritual oversight of the church. The church body has no authority over that individual other than the personal exhortation of Scripture. But there is a sever void of accountability and spiritual oversight when one has not agreed, when one has not made a promise to a body of believers to hold each other accountable. In other words, each member accepts certain responsibilities toward the congregation, while the congregation accepts responsibilities toward the members. Becoming a church member involves a solemn agreement, a promise that church members make to one another. And every believer needs this kind of relationship in their lives!
I do not think church membership is contrived, I do not think it is optional. I think it is necessary and imperative for the continued growth of mature believers and for the continuation of the defense and confirmation of the truth!
II. It is our agreement with one another that actually forms us into a church
II. It is our agreement with one another that actually forms us into a church
Becoming a church member involves a solemn agreement, a promise that church members make to one another. And every believer needs this kind of relationship in their lives!
11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
Why would anyone want this? Why even have this kind of agreement at all? This seems really negative! It seems negative because of the context of I Corinthians 5- church discipline for public sin. But, ideally this is something that doesn’t happen at all or very rarely. But, I Corinthians 5 does highlight the Biblical necessity of church membership, and it highlights the importance of a church covenant.
Next to the Bible, the church covenant is the most important document that the church possesses.
Why is that?
A. The church covenant represents the agreement of the members to actually be a church
A. The church covenant represents the agreement of the members to actually be a church
Not every gathering of believers is a church, because not every gathering of believers intends to be a church. Example: WSYC, WFBC Ladies meeting, Youth Camp/Family Camp, Seminaries, Bible Colleges, Mission Agencies- none of these gathering of believers constitutes a NT Church. Why? Because they do not intend to be a church. Yet, when this group of believers assembles we intend to be a local, visible NT church. And it is our church covenant that distinguishes our assembly, our congregation as a church, because it is written intention that we all agreed upon. It is a written pledge, a solemn agreement, a promise that church members make to one another, to be a church according to the pattern of the NT.
B. The church covenant states an agreement about what it means to be a church
B. The church covenant states an agreement about what it means to be a church
How many churches are there in a 100 mile radius of where we sit right now? How many would you guess? In the hundreds? I would venture to guess that there are that many different agreements about what it means to be a church. Different churches understand their nature and function differently. These differences are a major part of what makes denominations different- Lutheran, Catholic, Evangelical Free, etc. Each denomination, each church has different ideas of what a church is, what a church ought to do, and how a church ought to operate in order to do it.
Here, at Faith Baptist Church, it is our covenant and surrounding documents- our church constitution and confession of faith- that spell out our agreement with one another to be a church. It is this agreement, that turns a gathering of believers into a church. Do you know what our covenant says? Do you know what you have agreed to by joining this church? It is this covenant that makes this gathering a church.
CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS FOR
Faith Baptist Church
Oconomowoc, WI
PREAMBLE
In keeping with the exhortation of I Corinthians 14:40, "Let all things be done decently and in order," we, the members of Faith Baptist Church of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, do agree that we shall be governed by the following constitution. We cheerfully support it and agree to be governed by the constituted authority and to follow the provisions made for administration and the election of officers.
Purpose
We, a congregation of New Testament believers, are committed to building one another up in the faith to be more Christ-like, mature, Spirit-filled, and to encourage the active ministry of soul winning, discipleship, worship, and missions to the ends of the earth. We commit ourselves to defending the truth of God's Word and to doing that which is in accordance with the Word of God.
Confession of Faith
Section 1: INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE
Section 2: BELIEF IN GOD
Section 3: MAN: HIS CREATION, FALL, AND NEED FOR REDEMPTION
Section 17: MARRIAGE AND SEXUALITY
Section 18: ABORTION
Section 20: LAW SUITS BETWEEN BELIEVERS
Covenant
Having been led by the Spirit of God to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior; and on the profession of our faith having been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, we do now in the presence of God, angels, and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another, as one body in Christ.
We engage therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this church in knowledge, holiness, and comfort; to promote its prosperity and spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to its local and missionary program.
We also agree to maintain family and private devotions; to educate our children in the Word of God; to seek the salvation of our loved ones and acquaintances; to walk circumspectly in the world, to be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements, and exemplary in our deportment; to avoid all tattling, backbiting, and excessive anger; to abstain from the sale and use of intoxicating drinks as a beverage, to avoid all appearances of evil, to avoid all worldly practices which might bring reproach to the cause of Christ, and to be zealous in our efforts to advance the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember each other in prayer; to aid each other in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling, and courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation, and mindful of our Savior, to secure it without delay.
And we moreover engage that when we remove from this place we will, as soon as possible, unite with some other church of like precious faith, where we can continue to carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God's Word.
III. It is our agreement with one another that defines the duties and privileges of membership
III. It is our agreement with one another that defines the duties and privileges of membership
DUTIES OF MEMBERSHIP
On becoming a member of this church, in addition to the covenant, each member further covenants to love, honor, and esteem the pastor; to pray for him; to recognize his authority in the spiritual and day-to-day affairs of the church; to cherish a brotherly love for all members of the church; to support the church in prayer, tithes, offerings, and with other financial support as the Lord enables; and in accordance with Biblical commands, to support through a lifestyle walk affirming the beliefs and practices of the church. Each member should regularly attend the services of the church, and each member is expected to volunteer to serve within the limits of his ability.
Church membership involves more that just mutual accountability and discipline. It is much more than that- and these responsibilities are not man made- they come directly from the NT.
In fact you can study these duties and responsibilities for yourself in Scripture. They are found in the various “one another” passages in the letters to local NT churches.
A. The duties and privileges of membership correspond to the various “one another” requirements found in the NT
A. The duties and privileges of membership correspond to the various “one another” requirements found in the NT
10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
Church members are obligated to show brotherly love and affection for one another, to prefer one another (consider better, or to esteem more highly), to honor one another, and to take care for each other’s material needs.
13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.
Church members are to avoid judging one another- imposing man made standards and judgments upon each other- rather allowing God’s Word to be the standard and the judge. Church members are to take care not to trip one another up.
7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.
Church members are to receive one another just as Christ has received them.
14 And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
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.
Church members have a duty to warn one another, to admonish each other- to counsel about avoidance or cessation of an improper course of conduct. This is one of the functions of proper church music- we are not only singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord, but we are teaching and admonishing one another. “Take time to be holy,” “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe.” “It is well with my soul” These are moments to teach and admonish each other.
2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
We all have the responsibility to bear one another’s burdens (I can’t do that for every believer, but I have covenanted with you to bear your burdens with you.)
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
We all have agreed to put up with each other in love! Do we really do that? Are we slow to anger with each other? Do we allow small offenses to destroy our unity?
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
We are to forgive one another- treating each other in kindness and tenderness- even as Christ forgave us!
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.
We are to be believers filled to the brim with the Word of Christ so that we might teach one another!
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
We are to comfort one another!
11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.
We are to edify or build one another up in the faith.
That means that instructed church members need to know the nuts and bolts of congregational living. They need to know how to address conflicts. They need to know what loving confrontation looks like and feels like, both in terms of confronting and being confronted. They need to know how to deal with a soul about salvation. They should know the basic forms of counsel, encouragement, and warning. They should know how to read the Bible and understand it for themselves, and they should know how to pray effectively.
Because, activities like confronting, counseling, encouraging, warning, disciple making, evangelizing are not the sole responsibility of spiritual leaders. These kind of things are the duties and privileges of all the members of our church. These are the kinds of things that ordinary saints must learn to do if we are going to progress toward being a church that is biblical.
Being a church member is not just about voting in a business meeting or partaking in the Lord’s supper- it is much much more. Do we really think about it this way? Do we each of us view these duties and privileges as something I must do. Or is this something the mature believers or the pastors or the deacons should do, but not me?
The truth is that we, all of us who are members, have willingly entered into this agreement with each other about what it means to be a church, and it is our covenant our agreement with each other that defines what our responsibilities actually are.
Just imagine what our church could become when all of us take this responsibility with the utmost seriousness!
B. The duties and privileges of membership dictate our unity or our fellowship with each other
B. The duties and privileges of membership dictate our unity or our fellowship with each other
If this is going to be true about us, about our agreement:
We engage therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this church in knowledge, holiness, and comfort; to promote its prosperity and spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to its local and missionary program.
And if I am going to follow all of the “one another” passages of Scripture with fellow members within my local church,
THEN: I must be very careful with whom I fellowship with in a local church setting!
Why?
It all goes back to our understanding of the Universal Church.
Illustration of Universal and Local Church
It was essential to begin our understanding of the church with a discussion of the Universal church because it must shape our thinking about our discussion of the local church. The local church is a microcosm of the Universal church. The local church must strive to model the universal church as closely as possible. We are a miniature representation of the universal body of Christ, and therefore we want to act, as closely as possible, just like the body of Christ as a whole. So the teaching and instruction of the Universal church must shape our thinking about the purpose of our specific local church.
What teaching about the universal church should shape our thinking about our local church?
Summary of the Images:
One Flock, One Shepherd- great desire by Jesus for all of us to be one. He made us into one flock. So the idea of unity in our local church is very important. And, subjectively, we enjoy unity, we become One Flock when, all of us to the best of our ability follow after our One Shepherd.
One New Humanity- Again unity in the church is of utmost importance to God. So much so, that God created, an objective unity for those who are part of His church. God created an entirely new race- we are now part of the Christian race. Christ broke down the dividing wall of hostility by means of his blood, and He made us all into one new ethnicity, one new family- And our new humanity transcends all other races.
“That they all may be One”- Jesus in his high priestly prayer, prayed that the Father would give us unity, and this unity is living and organic, it is like the unity that the Father and the Son enjoy. But again, unity, oneness, is critical. The other critical lesson that we found in John 17 is that this unity this oneness that is so crucial to being a church, is found in our common belief of the Word of God.
Summary of the Images:
Levels of Fellowship Illustration
All of these pictures emphasize all different kinds of relationships in the church. And I believe they all begin to describe what Christian fellowship looks like. There are different kinds or different levels of fellowship that we all have with other believers, and the question becomes at what level can we as believers fellowship together?
At a minimum we can all of us have personal fellowship (One new humanity- when you meet another person for the first time and find out they are a believer- there is instantly a level of personal fellowship with that person because of the unity we enjoy through Christ’s blood)
I think at maximum is the kind of people we fellowship with in our local church. We are to be One body, One flock, One new humanity, We are to be One and the Father and Son are One. How do we achieve that kind of unity, how do we enjoy that level of fellowship with the other believers in our church?
It is dictated by the duties and responsibilities of membership- which are dictated by the agreement that we all make with each other (covenant), which is based on our common belief in the Word of God.
I cannot have unity with someone who does not believe in the inspiration of the Word of God, I cannot have unity with someone who rejects the deity of Christ, I cannot have unity within the church with someone who has made themselves friends with the world.
The church is more than just the building, it is more that just a social hub, it is more than just a place to hear preaching, it means more than just coming and filling in an empty chair. It is a solemn agreement, with other like-minded believers, to be as closely as possible, the kind of church that God wants us to be. It means fulfilling the duties and privileges of being a member. It means being ONE flock, and and one new humanity, and having the Oneness that Christ prayed for.
We are the church, we are God’s dwelling place, God’s holy temple, and we are growing into what God wants us to be. And all of us as members have agreed to be this with each other.
We engage therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this church in knowledge, holiness, and comfort; to promote its prosperity and spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to its local and missionary program.
Being a member of something like this is essential, it is a privilege, it is biblical.