Members

(Acts 4:23) Is church membership taught in Scripture? In our study of the New Testament the Lord reveals His purpose in belonging to a local church. Membership matters. (0965250314) ----more----

 

Questions about Church Membership

A very kind lady called me one day, and she was a little perturbed, we might say, by something that I had given in a Bible message regarding church membership. She said to me, I don't believe in belonging. I don't believe in being a member of a local church. I don't believe that's found in the Bible.

Biblical Basis for Church Membership

And I said to her the truth of the matter is I believe in a local New Testament church, which means I believe that the local church has autonomy. They have the right to do it any way they choose to do it. But the principle of belonging to a local assembly. Is certainly found in the Word of God.

Now, how they keep up with those members and how they track them and all that kind of thing, that's not laid out in scripture, but belonging certainly is. As a matter of fact, at the very beginning of the early stages of the New Testament church, you find it repeatedly emphasized. 

Examples of Church Membership from the Book of Acts

Let me show you what I mean. Acts chapter 4, verse 23, refers to the apostles after they had been beaten and persecuted. The Bible says in Acts 4:23, "And being let go they went to their own company and reported all of the chief priest and elders had said unto them." Look, they belonged somewhere. They had a company, there was a group that they were connected to and watch this.

They were not only connected, they were accountable. I think right in this example, in Acts chapter 4, verse 23 perhaps is one of the reasons why people don't like the idea of membership. People don't wanna belong because they don't wanna be accountable. I. They wanna be attenders and not members, spectators and not participants.

There are far too many people today who view the church as something they just come and observe. So they slip in at the last minute. They sit and they watch the goings on and then they slip out very quietly and they're not expected to do anything. May I tell you that is not the church that Jesus started and knowing the local New Testament church there is great accountability.

Lemme show you again. How about Acts 5:12, "And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch and of the rest durst no man join himself to them, but the people magnified them. And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes, both of men and women." Did you hear it? There were some people that joined them, and there were others that said, we're not joining this group. They were. They were afraid. They were frightened. When people look at the New Testament church they may either be attracted or they may be repelled.

And it has everything to do with their attitude towards Christ. If you love Christ, you'll love being with his people. If you love Christ, you'll love what he's doing in this world. And so here were people who were choosing whether they were going to join this local assembly or not. Here's another example.

Paul's Joins the Church

Acts 9:26, the Apostle Paul originally called Saul has just gotten saved, praise God, but there's a little issue because they're all afraid of him. He was a terrorist. He'd been killing Christians and imprisoning them. So in Acts 9:26, the Bible says, "And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples. But they were all afraid of him and believed not that he was a disciple." And I love the next verse 27 says, "But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way and that he had spoken to him and how he had preached boldly Damascus in the name of Jesus, and he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem."

What do we learn from the example of Paul and the early church in Jerusalem? One thing we know is there was a visible body. There was a local church, there was a group there that met together. Then we know they had an identifiable body of doctrine. They believed something. They were preaching Christ, and only those who could line up with their doctrine.

We're joining them, then we know people could join them because Paul wanted to, he wanted to put himself in line with this local group of followers of Christ. And then we know that only a true disciple was admitted. 

Criteria for Church Membership

Now, that's very important, because we believe that to be a member of a local New Testament church, you first.

Must know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior, that only those who are willing to publicly confess Jesus Christ and follow him in baptism should be admitted into the membership of the local church. If I go stand in a ga