What Does Church Membership Mean? part i

Welcome to this Prospective & New Members class. The purpose of this class is to:

Establish the biblical case for church membership & specifics about GBC covenant, constitution, and polity.

If you are a new member, this class will help you understand why it is good that you are a member and will inform you about more specifics of Grace Baptist Church.

If you are not yet a member, this class will equip you with reasons behind our practice of formal membership and information about the polity, ministries, and practices of Grace Baptist Church.

We will organize this first lesson around the following questions:

Is there a biblical case for church membership?

Is there a biblical case to be made for formal church membership?

Are there biblical responsibilities because of my church membership?

Is there a biblical case for church membership?

In order to answer this question, we must work from the same list of definitions. First, what is the church? Within this question about defining the church, we will examine GBC constitutional and the biblical definitions and metaphors in the scripture.

Second, what is meant by membership? Within membership we will examine what confession that binds us together and the matter of submission versus joining.

What is the church?

The GBC Constitution reads as follows:

We believe that the church, with Christ as its head, is a congregation of baptized believers associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel, observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws; exercising the gifts, rights and privileges in them by His Word...

The scriptures introduce the word church in Matthew 16:18

Matthew 16:18 KJV 1900

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

It is here where the Greek word ekklesia is used. This word means called out assembly, and it would have been used, in that time, as a physical assembly of people.

A definition that is helpful is given by Jonathan Leeman when he says,

A local church...is a group of Christians who regularly gather in Christ’s name to officially affirm and oversee one another’s membership in Jesus Christ and his kingdom through gospel preaching and gospel ordinances.

Leeman, J. (2012). Church Membership: How the World Knows Who Represents Jesus (pp. 62–63). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

In the scriptures, the church is often referenced metaphorically — writers use different analogies to help the readers understand the cohesive nature and intention of this called out assembly.

Body - I Corinthians 12:27

1 Corinthians 12:27 KJV 1900

27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

Vineyard - I Corinthians 3:9

1 Corinthians 3:9 KJV 1900

9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.

Building - I Corinthians 3:10

1 Corinthians 3:10 KJV 1900

10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

Temple - I Corinthians 3:16

1 Corinthians 3:16 KJV 1900

16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

Bride - Ephesians 5:25

Ephesians 5:25 KJV 1900

25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

Family - Ephesians 3:15

Ephesians 3:15 KJV 1900

15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

BELIEF VIDEO FROM RODNEY HEDGE: LINK IN PROCLAIM.

Application/Considerations:

Visible - The large number of uses of the word church indicate that there were assemblies gathering in visible ways.

Relationship - There were relationships that demanded activities towards each other or amongst each other. Example: Colossians 3:9, 13 and Colossians 4:16

Cohesive - The metaphors indicate the unity or cohesiveness that was expected. Ephesians 4:1-3

People/Not building - Though metaphors are used, the term church is referring to the visible body of people and not the building or house in which they were gathering.

That is how we get to our constitutional definition:

We believe that the church, with Christ as its head, is a congregation of baptized believers associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel, observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws; exercising the gifts, rights and privileges in them by His Word...

What is meant by membership?

[The confession of the church] First, membership implies that the body of people are bound together. The membership is bound together by a confession. Scripturally this confession is found in Matthew 16:16

Matthew 16:16 KJV 1900

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

When someone is living in the church community, their lives and mouths should confess that Jesus is the Lord of their lives — the anointed One of God. In response to this, Jesus makes a statement that is telling in Matthew 16:19

Matthew 16:19 KJV 1900

19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

[The accountability for the confession] Second, there is established accountability for the confession.

(i) Keys signifying authority will be given to this church. (ii) These keys are to the kingdom of heaven. The following sentence indicates that whatever the church authoritatively binds or loses on earth will be affirmed in heaven. What does this mean? There are two important truths:

The church either affirms or denies the confession that someone makes when they declare Jesus as their Christ. Later, this will be evident in the matter of church discipline.

The church is directly connected to the kingdom of heaven.

Local churches are embassies of the kingdom of heaven. [Ibid, 27]

Local churches are given authority by Jesus.

Quote: “…Jesus has instituted the local church by giving it the “power of keys.” Narrowly, this means it can remove a person from church membership (under the authority of God’s Word). By implication, this means it has the enforcement mechanism necessary for establishing the basic structures of the kingdom life, such as deciding who is publicly recognized as a citizen.” [Ibid, 25]

Considerations/Applications:

This does not mean the local church saves anyone.

This does not mean the pastor is a dictator.

This does mean that Jesus has given authority that is either submitted to or rejected.

Thus, it would be better to think of local church membership in terms of submitting rather than joining.

Objection: There is a tremendous adverse reaction to this teaching of the local church, but the New Testament would not have known of Christianity apart from local churches. In assessing the symptoms of unbiblical ideas about individuals Christians and church one man said this the result of a disease.

“The basic disease behind all of these symptoms…is the assumption that we have the authority to conduct our Christian lives on our own. We include the church piece when and where we please.” [Ibid, 24]

A member then is one who claims Jesus as the Christ and submits to the affirmation of that confession by a local body of witnesses (church) who affirm him as a citizen of the kingdom of heaven.

GBC Church Covenant: [Jim Winters]:

CHURCH COVENANT Having been led, as we believe, 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, of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, we do now in the presence of God, angels, and this assembly most 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 give it a sacred preeminence over all institutions of human origin; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the Church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the Gospel through all nations. We also engage to maintain family and secret devotions; to religiously educate our children; to seek the salvation of our kindred 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 and all products and practices which defile the body, and to be zealous in our efforts to advance the kingdom of our Savior. 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 the rule of our Savior to secure it without delay. We, moreover, engage that when we remove ourselves from this place, we will as soon as possible unite with another church of like faith, where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.

Is there a biblical case for formal church membership?

In order to answer this question, we will look at some presuppositions in the scripture about the early church, church ordinances, and church discipline.

Are there biblical responsibilities because of church membership?

In order to answer this question, we will look at matters of discipline related to confession, utilization of gifts, regular attendance, and support of the church.