Intro: Membership Matters
Have you ever asked yourself “what is the purpose of church membership?” Seriously. Why do Christians become members of a church? If salvation is by faith in Jesus, then what is church membership for? Why do some people care deeply about it while others attend church without ever being a member? Don’t they get make it to heaven regardless?
The only way to get the answer to that question is to go to the Bible and see what it says about membership – and it may be surprising to see how much the Bible has to say about membership.
To understand membership and the vision of the New Testament, we will use a map. This map is built on four biblical values: the local church, salvation, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. Each of these elements are connected to membership in a way that could be distinguished but not separated. In other words, membership is directly connected with -- and should not be separated from -- the local church, salvation, baptism, and the Lord's Supper.
When we understand how the local church, salvation, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper each relate to church membership, then we will understand the purity, beauty, fellowship, and vision of the New Testament church and biblical membership. These four aspects of membership establish the fidelity and flourishing of the family of God, and it establishes how Christians are to relate to one another within the family.
The only way to get the answer to that question is to go to the Bible and see what it says about membership – and it may be surprising to see how much the Bible has to say about membership.
To understand membership and the vision of the New Testament, we will use a map. This map is built on four biblical values: the local church, salvation, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. Each of these elements are connected to membership in a way that could be distinguished but not separated. In other words, membership is directly connected with -- and should not be separated from -- the local church, salvation, baptism, and the Lord's Supper.
When we understand how the local church, salvation, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper each relate to church membership, then we will understand the purity, beauty, fellowship, and vision of the New Testament church and biblical membership. These four aspects of membership establish the fidelity and flourishing of the family of God, and it establishes how Christians are to relate to one another within the family.
Objections to Membership: The Dysfunctional Family
The local church is referred to as a household, or a family (1 Tim 3:15; Gal 6:10; Eph 2:19). God is our Father (Rom 8:15) and Jesus is referred to as our brother (Matt 25:40; Mk 3:34; Rom 8:29; Heb 2:11-12). Together, we are pictured as one beautiful family in God.
However, when family does not operate or behave how they are supposed to, they are often referred to as a “dysfunctional family.”
Let’s be clear in this metaphor: our Father is not dysfunctional; only his sinful children are. It is the sin of his children that lead to dysfunction in the family of God. Dysfunction is a fitting word to use here, because when children sin, they cause the family not to function like it should. Those who are dysfunctional in a family exhibit continuous misbehavior which often leads to others in the family misbehaving. There are dysfunctional Christians who would object to the concept of church membership and not seek to join the family of God. They typically fall into one of five general categories.1
However, when family does not operate or behave how they are supposed to, they are often referred to as a “dysfunctional family.”
Let’s be clear in this metaphor: our Father is not dysfunctional; only his sinful children are. It is the sin of his children that lead to dysfunction in the family of God. Dysfunction is a fitting word to use here, because when children sin, they cause the family not to function like it should. Those who are dysfunctional in a family exhibit continuous misbehavior which often leads to others in the family misbehaving. There are dysfunctional Christians who would object to the concept of church membership and not seek to join the family of God. They typically fall into one of five general categories.1
1. Indifference
Indifference is another way of saying that someone simply does not care one way or the other. When a person is presented with options, there is not a reason to choose one option or the other. However, indifference is an approach which does choose an option: it purposefully and intentionally chooses the assertion that church membership does not matter. Today it is my goal to show you that such an option is a rejection of the teaching of the New Testament (1 Cor 12:12-27) and the practice of the church throughout history.
2. Ignorance
First , let’s define ignorant. There is a common belief that ignorant means “dumb” or “stupid.” It does not mean that at all, rather, it means “you don’t know.” Some people have never been taught about church membership. So, you may fall into this category simply because you have never been in a church that practiced biblical membership. If that is you, then my goal is to demonstrate that the Bible speaks to the subject of local church membership, and it clearly calls those who are Christians to obey Jesus by formally joining a local church via membership.
3. Indecisiveness
Some people want a “thou shalt” or a “thou shalt not” kind of command in Scripture when it comes to church membership. It is interesting that the same demand does not come for an even more important doctrine: the Trinity.
Just consider – nowhere in the New Testament are we given a “thou shalt believe in the Trinity” kind of command. It does not exist. The doctrine of the Trinity comes from a systematic approach – looking at all the puzzle pieces and putting them together to form a picture so clear that it is a fundamental truth of Christianity. That’s how the church has come to the doctrine of the Trinity.
So, if you believe in the doctrine of the Trinity, you should also allow for the same process to put together the puzzle pieces for church membership. To take that same logic of needing a “thou shalt” command would also lead you to reject the doctrine of the Trinity – which would mean a rejection of the nature of God.
Just consider – nowhere in the New Testament are we given a “thou shalt believe in the Trinity” kind of command. It does not exist. The doctrine of the Trinity comes from a systematic approach – looking at all the puzzle pieces and putting them together to form a picture so clear that it is a fundamental truth of Christianity. That’s how the church has come to the doctrine of the Trinity.
So, if you believe in the doctrine of the Trinity, you should also allow for the same process to put together the puzzle pieces for church membership. To take that same logic of needing a “thou shalt” command would also lead you to reject the doctrine of the Trinity – which would mean a rejection of the nature of God.
4. Independence
An independent person would typically assert that their life is their own personal business. They would simply prefer to not have accountability, or others speaking into their lives to encourage and exhort them to conform to the Scriptures.
God calls His people to submit to his divinely appointed leadership within a local church (Acts 20:28). To be clear, the Bible does not call you to submit to unbiblical, unqualified leaders – those people are to be removed (1 Tim 5). If there is an elder teaching major doctrinal error, who is immoral, or who is unqualified, then the church is called to confront them (1 Tim 5:20).
However, those who gather with the local church who refuse to submit to God’s leadership refuse the command of God (Heb 13:17) also resist the appointed people of God over each local church (Acts 20:28). They have an independent spirit that is born from a ungodly and independent culture that celebrated human autonomy more than submitting to God and the Bible.
God calls His people to submit to his divinely appointed leadership within a local church (Acts 20:28). To be clear, the Bible does not call you to submit to unbiblical, unqualified leaders – those people are to be removed (1 Tim 5). If there is an elder teaching major doctrinal error, who is immoral, or who is unqualified, then the church is called to confront them (1 Tim 5:20).
However, those who gather with the local church who refuse to submit to God’s leadership refuse the command of God (Heb 13:17) also resist the appointed people of God over each local church (Acts 20:28). They have an independent spirit that is born from a ungodly and independent culture that celebrated human autonomy more than submitting to God and the Bible.
5. Inverted
Finally, there are some whose affections toward a church are inverted. In other words, they have an emotional attachment to a church they grew up in. So, when they move to a new place to live, they are hesitant to join a church because they have a strong affection for their former church. This may happens because they are accustomed to a certain style of music or other traditions their former church may have kept. This change may be a hurdle to them joining something new or unfamiliar.
Summary
In summary, these approaches stunt the purposes of church membership to be realized. In other words, they all stifle what the Bible says regarding joining a local church.
These perspectives about church membership come from the same problem: a failure to understand or take seriously God's word and God’s intent that the local church be indispensable to the people of God.
These perspectives about church membership come from the same problem: a failure to understand or take seriously God's word and God’s intent that the local church be indispensable to the people of God.
The Goal of Membership in the Family of God
Some have argued that membership is nothing more than a way to make an exclusive club, or that membership is used to keep control of a church so that it looks or thinks a particular way. While some perceive church membership in this manner because of genuine failures of some congregations, the biblical perspective on church membership does not seek control, power, or unnecessary authority.
Rather, biblical church membership seeks two primary goals. First, it seeks to establish proper boundaries by identifying Christians with the family of God. Second, once those boundaries are established, biblical membership seeks to bring life, flourishing, and unity to those within the local church.
Rather, biblical church membership seeks two primary goals. First, it seeks to establish proper boundaries by identifying Christians with the family of God. Second, once those boundaries are established, biblical membership seeks to bring life, flourishing, and unity to those within the local church.
Goal 1: Establishing Boundaries by Identifying Your Family
In the New Testament, salvation is always followed with connection to a local church. The New Testament does not know of a Christian who does not belong to a church in the New Testament. Not only in the New Testament, but in the ensuing generations of Christians we find that the early church writers proliferated ideas for the need of the community of the local church. So important was joining the local church in early Christianity that it led the early church father Cyprian to write, “You cannot have God for your Father unless you have the church for your mother.” I would say it more like, “When we are born again, we get a new Father. We also get a new set of brothers and sisters. Rejection of one is a also a rejection of the other.”
In the New Testament, a person was saved for the purpose of enjoying a personal relationship with God. But where we can tend to go wrong is think that a personal relationship with Jesus can be a private relationship with Jesus. Rather, according to the New Testament, a person is saved by Jesus Christ into a community. Salvation in the New Testament includes both being saved by Christ and joining His Body – which is a local church. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that Christians are saved and “baptized into one body” (1 Cor 12:13).
So, the question is: what body of believing brothers and sisters, that follow your Father in heaven, have you formally committed to? Who is your spiritual family? This is an important question because although salvation and membership can be distinguished, they cannot be separated. This biblical question highlights the scriptural reality that salvation is a community creating event.
In the New Testament, a person was saved for the purpose of enjoying a personal relationship with God. But where we can tend to go wrong is think that a personal relationship with Jesus can be a private relationship with Jesus. Rather, according to the New Testament, a person is saved by Jesus Christ into a community. Salvation in the New Testament includes both being saved by Christ and joining His Body – which is a local church. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that Christians are saved and “baptized into one body” (1 Cor 12:13).
So, the question is: what body of believing brothers and sisters, that follow your Father in heaven, have you formally committed to? Who is your spiritual family? This is an important question because although salvation and membership can be distinguished, they cannot be separated. This biblical question highlights the scriptural reality that salvation is a community creating event.
Goal 2: Brining Life, Flourishing, and Community to the Family
The second reason for church membership is help the church flourish. I’m sure you know what a generator is. The historical definition of generate means “life giving” or “to birth.” So, when your generator is off, it cannot give life to your tools, house, or whatever else needs electricity. When the generator is working, it gives the necessary electricity to bring your tools and machines to life. In the same way, the Bible describes believers as being regenerated by the Holy Spirit (Tit 3:5). This new life from the Holy Spirit then empowers us to love and obey the commands of the Bible. Doing so, in turn, brings life to Christians and the local church. This is what is meant by generative nature of church membership – membership brings life to the church by means of keeping the commands of God in the New Testament regarding membership.
There are many passages of scripture which specifically point out that faith in God leads to obeying the teachings of the Bible, which brings life. Consider the following scriptures:
Leviticus 18:5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD.
Deuteronomy 4:1 And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you
Deuteronomy 5:33 You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.
Proverbs 4:4 He taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live.
Did you know that surveys, statistics, and examinations of multiple churches over more than half a century has shown that one of the primary reasons churches lack vitality and health is because they lack biblical church membership? Membership is the means by which the church corporately keeps each other accountable, on the path of life, and maintains its own vitality; it is how the family of God helps each other to get home. We are not lone rangers. God has given the church tools to keep Christians in the family until the day when we see our Father face to face. Also, we cannot reject these tools, because rejection of these tools means we reject the means by which the Father brings us all the way into his family when we see him face to face.
There are many passages of scripture which specifically point out that faith in God leads to obeying the teachings of the Bible, which brings life. Consider the following scriptures:
Leviticus 18:5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD.
Deuteronomy 4:1 And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you
Deuteronomy 5:33 You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.
Proverbs 4:4 He taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live.
Did you know that surveys, statistics, and examinations of multiple churches over more than half a century has shown that one of the primary reasons churches lack vitality and health is because they lack biblical church membership? Membership is the means by which the church corporately keeps each other accountable, on the path of life, and maintains its own vitality; it is how the family of God helps each other to get home. We are not lone rangers. God has given the church tools to keep Christians in the family until the day when we see our Father face to face. Also, we cannot reject these tools, because rejection of these tools means we reject the means by which the Father brings us all the way into his family when we see him face to face.
Membership: What Does It Look Like?
The next question to ask is, “What would Christian churches look like if they studied and accepted the vision of membership in the New Testament?” Another way to ask the question is, “How should biblical membership affect the thinking and life of the New Testament church?”
My hope is that you would join me to examine closely and carefully what the Bible has to say about the purpose and benefits of local church membership to set apart the people of God and bring about the flourishing which God designs each church to experience and enjoy.
My hope is that you would join me to examine closely and carefully what the Bible has to say about the purpose and benefits of local church membership to set apart the people of God and bring about the flourishing which God designs each church to experience and enjoy.
Citations and Footnotes
1. Thabiti M. Anyabwile, What Is a Healthy Church Member? (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008), 64.