"Why should I join the church?"
Despite my seminary training and pastoral
experience, I was unprepared for this new Christian's question.
He agreed from our study of the Scripture that he needed to identify
himself as a disciple of Christ through baptism, but then he asked,
"Can you show me from the New Testament that I'm supposed
to officially join anything?"
Now he really had me.
"If I come and worship as often
as the members," he continued, "if I fellowship with
these believers as much as anyone else, if I profit from the teaching
and other ministries of the church, and if I actively demonstrate
love for my brothers and sisters in Christ here, why should I
formally join the church?"
His question struck me with an uncomfortable
logic.
I began to realize that many of my conclusions
about church membership were actually nothing more than previously
unchallenged assumptions. These assumptions were now melting into
questions of my own. Can I give reasons from Scripture why anyone
should join a church? Did the Christians in New Testament times
formally join churches or did they more of an informal relationship?
Did the churches in the days of the Apostle Paul have a membership
list? How do I respond to the rising tide of opinion that says
church membership is merely an unchallenged, but unbiblical tradition
and an unnecessary formality?
Here's what I found.
To start with, we encounter the word church
throughout the New Testament. In the great majority of instances
the term refers to a specific local church like that in Rome or
Corinth. Sometimes when we read of the church the reference is
to what's often called the church universal, that is, all Christians
everywhere. But when you read "church" in the Bible,
it almost always means "local church."
At the very least, the local church was
the fellowship of the followers of Jesus Christ in a particular
area. We know that they met together, worshiped together, prayed
together etc., as the born-again family of God. But did people
actually join this fellowship in some official way, or was it
a mutually-assumed and less formal association?
The New Testament church
practice of keeping a list of widows makes sense in the context
of membership
We know that churches in the days
of the Apostle Paul made and maintained at least one type of list.
"No widow may be put on the list of widows," Paul instructs
Timothy, "unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to
her husband," etc., (1 Timothy 5:9, NIV). As easily as the
churches had lists of widows, they could have had lists of members.
There would be no difference except for length for a church to
keep a widows' list and a membership list.
The instructions for church
discipline make sense only in the context of membership
In Matthew 18:15-17, Jesus gave us instructions
on how the church should respond when someone within the church
persists in living like an unbeliever. We read of a specific case
of this in 1 Corinthians 5 and how the Apostle Paul, writing under
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, instructed the Christians
in the church at Corinth to handle it. In verses 11-13 Paul says,
"But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone
named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater,
or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner-not even to eat
with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also
who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those
who are outside God judges. Therefore 'put away from yourselves
the evil person.'"
There was a sexually immoral man in this
church. Was Paul simply telling them not to let this man come
to church with them because he was acting like an unbeliever instead
of a Christian? No, he couldn't have meant that, for we know from
other places in this letter (cf. 14:24-25) that unbelievers were
welcome to attend church meetings. Even when they obeyed Paul's
instructions to "put away from yourselves the evil person"
and considered the man an unbeliever, they would have allowed
(even welcomed) him to come and sit under the preaching of God's
Word like any other person in town. So in what sense would they
have "put away" ("remove"-NASB, "expel"-NIV)
this man?
The best way of explaining how they would
have "put away" this man is to understand that they
removed him from the membership of the church and generally stopped
associating with him outside the church meetings.
Notice that Paul refers to those who
are "inside" and to those who are "outside."
Outside of what? As we've noted, anyone could attend their meetings.
This kind of language can only refer to a definite church membership
of converted people. For what authority does a group have to remove
someone who is already "outside" and not a member of
the group? You can't fire someone who doesn't work for you. You
can't vote in your country to remove a government official elected
by another country. You can't appeal to a court to discipline
someone who isn't within its jurisdiction. In the same way, you
can't formally discipline someone who is in an informal relationship
with you; you have no authority to do so. These people in Corinth
had voluntarily committed themselves to a formal relationship
and they knew who were official members of the church and who
were "outside."
Church discipline must be done
by the "church" (Matthew 18:17) and occur "when
you are gathered together" (1 Corinthians 5:4). Who is to
gather together? How do you know who the "church" is?
How do you determine who does and does not have the right to speak
and vote on such matters? Does the person subject to discipline
have the liberty to bring in his extended family or coworkers
who have never been to the church, or even people off the street,
and expect them to be given an equal say with those who have been
faithful to the church for years? No? Why not? Do you exclude
them from involvement because they've never been part of the church?
Then what about the person who attended once five years ago? Or
those who came at Easter and Christmas last year? Or those who
regularly watch the church services on television or listen to
them on the radio, and perhaps even send money, but never enter
the building? Or those from distant cities who visit several times
each year because of family members in the church? Obviously,
Biblical church discipline must be limited to a specific group
and that must mean the church members.
The meaning of the word "join"
in Acts. 5:13 makes sense only in the context of membership
In Acts 5:13 we read of the reaction
of the non-Christians in Jerusalem after a couple within the church,
Ananias and Sapphira, had died on the spot when it was revealed
that they had lied to the church. It says, "Yet none of the
rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly."
The unbelievers had great respect for the Christians, but after
this incident none of them who claimed to be converted but were
outward-only believers wanted to join the church.
In the Greek language in which Paul wrote
this letter, the word he used that's translated here as "join"
literally means "to glue or cement together, to unite, to
join firmly." It doesn't refer to an informal, merely assumed
sort of relationship, but one where you choose to "glue"
or "join" yourself firmly to the others. Again, that
kind of language only makes sense in the context of membership.
That same "glue word" is used
in the New Testament to describe being joined together in a sexual
relationship (1 Corinthians 6:16) and being joined to the Lord
in one spirit in salvation (1 Corinthians 6:17). And it's the
very same word Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 5:11 when he says "not
to keep company with" any so-called brother who continues
in immorality, but rather to "put away from yourselves the
evil person." Clearly this kind of language doesn't refer
to a casual, superficial, or informal relationship.
So when it says in Acts 5:13 that no
insincere believer "dared join them," the "glue
word" used there speaks of such a cohesive, bonding relationship
that it must be referring to a recognized church membership.
The meaning of "the
whole church" in 1 Corinthians 14:23 makes sense only in
the context of membership
The earthly founder of the church at
Corinth, the Apostle Paul, wrote to this new body of Christians
about their many difficulties, including how to bring order to
their public worship. He began 1 Corinthians 14:23 with, "Therefore
if the whole church comes together in one place, . . ." Who
did he have in mind when he referred to "the whole church"?
The only realistic answer is "the church members." That's
why one commentator, working with the original language of this
text, translates it "If then the whole church assembles together
and all its members" [emphasis mine] and notes "(the
last two words are not in the Greek but are naturally to be understood)."1
Imagine the leaders of the Corinthian
Christians walking into the gathering of the church for worship
one Sunday. Would they have known by looking, or would they have
had some way of deciding, whether "the whole church"
was there? Surely they would have known who was supposed to be
present in a churchwide meeting and who was missing. But how else
could they have known when "the whole church" was "together
in one place" without knowing who was a member and who wasn't?
This implies a verifiable membership.
The instructions for pastoral
oversight and spiritual leadership make sense only in the context
of membership
"This is a faithful saying:,"
said Paul to Timothy, "If a man desires the position of a
bishop, he desires a good work" (1 Timothy 3:1). In other
places the New Testament also refers to a bishop, or "overseer"
as the NIV and NASB render it, as a pastor or elder (Acts 20:17,
28; Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:5-7). But what or whom does he oversee?
How can he provide spiritual oversight if he doesn't know exactly
those for whom he is responsible? A distinguishable, mutually-understood
membership is required for him to fulfill his charge.
Down in verse 5 it says of an overseer,
"for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how
will he take care of the church of God?" The local church
is compared to a family. Is anyone a casual member of a family?
No, membership in a family is a very definite thing.
"Take heed to yourselves,"
Paul instructed the elders of the church of Ephesus, "and
to all the flock" (Acts 20:28). How could they fulfill their
responsibility as undershepherds to "all" the flock
unless they knew who was part of "the flock" and who
was not? These leaders of a growing church in a large city needed
some means of identification of those for whom they were to "take
heed." A simple membership list is the logical solution.
In Hebrews 13:17 is a word addressed
to those under such overseers: "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." For whom
will the leaders of a church give an account-everyone who comes
in and out of their church services? No, it has to be a limited
group of people-the members of the church-for whom they will be
answerable. Otherwise, how can church leaders be responsible for
someone until they know he or she is committed to their care?
The Bible's instructions for pastoral oversight and spiritual
leadership can best be obeyed when there is a well-defined church
membership.
The metaphors used to describe
local churches (flock, temple, body, household) make sense only
in the context of membership
The New Testament uses several metaphors
to describe churches. Some of these metaphors describe the church
of Christ collectively throughout the world. While all of them
could potentially apply to the local church also, at least four
of these metaphors-flock, temple, body, and household-are definitely
used to refer to individual churches (in Acts 20:28; Ephesians
2:21; 1 Corinthians 12:27, and 1 Timothy 3:15). And each metaphor
is best understood in a setting of specific church membership.
A flock of sheep isn't a random
collection of ewes, rams, and lambs. Shepherds know their flocks.
They know which sheep are theirs to care for and which are not.
Sheep belong to specific flocks. This is also the way it should
be for God's spiritual sheep. A temple building, just like
a church building, shouldn't have any loose bricks or blocks.
If it does, something's wrong. Each one of them has a definite
place. "There is no place," said an English preacher
long ago, "for any loose stone in God's edifice."2
The same analogy is true for a human body. Your body isn't
a casual collection of loosely related parts. You don't keep your
fingers in your pocket until you need them. They are joined. They
are members of the body. The local body of Christ should be like
this also-those joined to Christ, who are members of His body-should
express that relationship through a visible membership. And in
a household, a family, you're either a member or you're
not. So if you are part of the family of God, show it by joining
a local expression of God's family.
British pastor Eric Lane sees additional
significance in this quartet of metaphors:
God has given us four pictures of the church, not one. This is not just to emphasize and prove the point by repetition, but also to say four different things about what it means to be a member of a church. To be a stone in his temple means to belong to a worshipping community. To be part of a body means to belong to a living, functioning, serving, witnessing community. To be a sheep in the flock means belonging to a community dependent on him for food, protection, and direction. To be a member of a family is to belong to a community bound by a common fatherhood. Put together you have the main functions of an individual Christian. Evidently we are meant to fulfill these not on our own but together in the church. Now can you see the answer to the question why you should join a church?3
We've just seen
five Biblical indications that New Testament churches had membership
lists of some sort. They knew who was a member and who was not.
When people became followers of Jesus, or when followers of Jesus
moved to another town, they formally identified themselves with
a local church-they joined it. "In the New Testament
there is no such person as a Christian who is not a church member,"
writes Douglas G. Millar. Conversion was described as 'the Lord
adding to the church' (Acts 2:47). There was no spiritual drifting."4
Perhaps you are persuaded that the churches
in the days of the New Testament had membership lists and that
people joined the churches instead of "drifting." Are
there other Biblical reasons why Christians should be members
of a church today? Here are some . . .
You prove that you're not
ashamed to identify with Christ or His people
Jesus said (in Mark 8:38) that if anyone
is ashamed to identify himself with Him on earth then He will
not identify Himself with that person when he or she stands before
God in the Judgment. Joining a church is one of the plainest ways
of saying you're not ashamed to identify yourself with Jesus and
with His people. Jesus certainly
made a formal commitment to identify Himself with His people when
He left Heaven to come to earth and die as a man. Can, then, one
for whom Christ died be reluctant to identify himself formally
with the others for whom Christ died? California pastor John MacArthur
explains and asks further, "You have been joined together
with Christ. . . . You bear His name. Are you ashamed to belong?
Are you ashamed to bear that identification with other believers
of like precious faith? . . . Shouldn't you be willing outwardly
to identify with the visible, gathered members of that group to
which you eternally belong?"5
When you join a church you make it clear
whose side you're on. You're telling the family of God that you're
part of the family too, and that you don't want to be considered
on the "outside" (1 Corinthians 5:12-13) any longer.
You stop being an independent
Christian and place yourself under the discipline and protection
of other Christians
In Matthew 18:15-17, Jesus set up an
accountability system. When a professing believer starts living
like an unbeliever, those in the church who know about it are
to confront him about his sin. First, one is to go to this person,
and then, if he will not listen, the one is to bring one or two
others along for a second conversation. The goal is to restore
him back to full fellowship with the Lord and his fellow believers.
If he persistently and unrepentantly refuses to return to the
Lord, the final step is to report the matter to the church. Then
everyone in the church has the chance to win the person back.
And if he continues in his sin, the church is to withdraw fellowship
from him as the final means of showing him his need to repent.
If you aren't part of the church, they
have no authority over you and cannot do what Jesus said to do.
Unless you join the church, your independence places you outside
the way Jesus wants things to happen. Incidentally, when Jesus
says in verse 17 to bring this matter "to the church,"
how do you know who should be notified (and who should not be)
unless there is a formally recognized membership?
Related to this idea of spiritual authority,
recall Hebrews 13:17, the passage we examined which tells us to
obey the leaders of the church and submit to them because they
keep watch over our souls. The leaders of the church are to "watch
over" you by providing spiritual protection for you and caring
about your growth in Christ. You place yourself outside that spiritual
watchcare unless you join a local church.
You participate in a stronger,
more unified effort of God's people to obey Christ's command to
reach others
The last thing Jesus said before returning
to Heaven is known to Christians today as the Great Commission.
It's found in Matthew 28:19-20 where Jesus told His disciples
(and us), "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have
commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of
the age. Amen."
I've met a few people who weren't interested
in church membership but who were zealously witnessing to others
about Christ and trying to make disciples for Him. Since they
do so well what relatively few Christians do at all (i.e., share
their faith), why emphasize church membership to them? They need
to see that joining a church is like putting one candle with many
others. They will give off more light collectively than the one
lone candle ever could, and together they will have a greater
penetration into the world's darkness.
And as your local church reaches across
the country and around the world in direct and indirect support
of missionary work, you can participate in ways of reaching the
world for Christ that you could have never dreamed otherwise.
In contrast, consider the potential negative
impact on your efforts to talk about Jesus if you don't join His
earthly body. John MacArthur says we should ask ourselves, "How
wonderful can Christ be if we're not even committed to being associated
with His church?"6 How believable is our testimony
of the goodness and greatness of Christ if we don't want to identify
openly with Christ's family?
You have a greater opportunity
to use your spiritual gift "for the profit of all"
At the moment of salvation when the Holy
Spirit comes to live within a believer in Christ, He brings a
gift with Him. "There are diversities of gifts, but the same
Spirit," Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:4. He continues
in verse 11, "But one and the same Spirit works all these
things, distributing to each one individually as He wills."
For what purpose does God gift each Christian? The answer is in
verse 7: "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to
each one for the profit of all." God gifts you individually
so that you will use your gift "for the profit" of others.
You have a greater opportunity to do that when you use your gift
in and through local church membership.
Yes, you can use your spiritual gift
for the good of God's people without joining a church. But in
a lot of churches, many of the ministry opportunities are available
for church members only. That's because the church wants to know
that you stand with her doctrinally and support her ministry goals
before you're asked to minister in certain positions. Besides,
remaining outside the membership of the church may say more about
your desire to serve than you intend. "Not joining the church,"
according to MacArthur, 'is saying, 'I don't want to serve the
only institution Christ ever built."7 So the best
way to maximize the effectiveness of your spiritual gift is to
use it "for the profit of all" in a local church as
a member.
You openly demonstrate the
reality of the body of Christ
"Now you are the body of Christ,"
Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, "and each one of you
is a part of it" (1 Corinthians 12:27, NIV). But how can
we see the body of Christ? When you join a church, you make it
visible. You give a living demonstration of the spiritual reality
of the body of Christ. You show that even though you are an individual,
you are a part of the body, you are joined together with others.
You take the body of Christ out of the realm of the theoretical
and give it a meaning that people can see.
As pastor and author Ben Patterson puts
it, "To join a particular part of the body of Christ is not
to bring something into existence that was not there before. It
is simply to make actual what is spiritual, to prove that the
spiritual is real."8
You participate in a more
balanced ministry than you can otherwise experience
In Ephesians 4:11-16 we read of the Lord
giving gifted men such as evangelists and pastor-teachers to the
church. We're taught that each part-every member-of the church
body has a job to do for the body to function properly and grow.
It's a picture of wholeness and balance. We need this God-ordained
mutual ministry to be what God intends.
Further, God has designed us so that
we can't get this well-rounded ministry on our own. No one develops
the proper spiritual symmetry just by listening to Christian radio,
watching Christian television, or reading Christian books. You
can't get this kind of maturity merely by participating in a group
Bible study. Unless you're an active part of a local church, your
Christian life and ministry will be imbalanced.
You demonstrate your commitment,
not to "spiritual hitchhiking," but to "the proper
working of each individual part" in the visible body of Christ
Some time ago in the magazine of the
Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, a writer made an interesting
observation about the hitchhiker. He wants a free ride. He assumes
no responsibility for the money needed to buy the car, the gas
to run it, or the cost of maintenance. He expects a comfortable
ride and adequate safety. He assumes the driver has insurance
covering him in case of an accident. He thinks little of asking
the driver to take him to a certain place even though it may involve
extra miles or inconvenience.
Think about the "spiritual hitchhiker"
who has settled all his major questions about the matters and
has definitely decided where he wants to attend church, but now
wants all the benefits and privileges of that church's ministry
without taking any responsibility for it. His attitude is all
take and no give. He wants no accountability, just a free ride.
This is not meant to discourage those
who are attending a church to find answers about Jesus Christ
and are still uncertain about their eternal destiny. If that describes
you, your first priority is to come to Christ rather than to come
for church membership.
Neither is this intended to deter those
who are sincerely and actively seeking God's will in a decision
about a church home. Sometimes that decision cannot be made quickly.
A wise person evaluates a church carefully before joining its
membership.
A "spiritual hitchhiker," however,
has no real intention of joining the church, at least not soon.
He only wants to enjoy its advantages without any obligation on
his part. He wants convenience without commitment, to be served
rather than to serve. But every true Christian is to be committed
to "the proper working of each individual part" (Ephesians
4:16, NASB) in a local church. When you join a church, you're
saying you believe in taking your "individual part"
and that you don't want to be a "spiritual hitchhiker."
You "exhort" new
believers to the same "good works" of commitment to
the local body of Christ
In the familiar passage on church commitment,
Hebrews 10:24-25 says, "And let us consider one another in
order to stir up love and good works, 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."
Notice the command to "consider one another" that is
associated here with church involvement. Bear in mind the message
you give to other believers, especially new believers, if you
do not join a church. What are you modeling to new believers when
you remain uncommitted to the local church? Do they see your example
and learn that the church isn't important enough to join? Do they
get the message that the Kingdom of God is not worth such an investment
of yourself? Do they interpret your actions as saying that the
work of God does not deserve a full commitment?
On the other hand, joining a church is
one way of "exhorting one another" as this passage puts
it, "to love and good works." When you do join the local
church you provide a positive example that says, "This is
worth being a part of and I recommend it to you."
You encourage a ministry
when you consider it faithful and join it
Suppose John loves Mary and sees no one else but her for ten years.
Every time they are together he tells her that he loves her, but
never proposes to her. Finally, after a decade she has enough
nerve to ask him, "John, why haven't you wanted to marry
me?"
If he says, "I'm just trying to
make sure," how do you think she would feel? Of course, she's
glad he says he loves her, and she's thankful for all he does
for her, and she's pleased that he doesn't see anyone else, but
in spite of all that, she's going to be somewhat discouraged because
he doesn't love her enough to decisively commit himself to her.
The people and pastor of a church are
glad whenever you attend. But if you keep coming and never join,
they may begin to wonder what Mary wondered about John, despite
how happy you seem to be with the church and how many wonderful
things you say about it. So there is a sense in which your attendance
and involvement can actually discourage the church and its leaders
if, after a reasonable time, you do not join it.
Conversely, the church is encouraged
(the NASB and NIV render "exhort" in Hebrews 10:25 as
"encourage"), and its leadership is encouraged, when
you indicate by joining the church that you love it and think
it is a Biblically faithful ministry worthy of your commitment.
Turn from living for yourself
and follow Christ, the Head of the church
Membership in a local church does not
mean that you are part of the body of Christ. Without Christ,
church membership means nothing. Hell is filled with people who
were church members. Before you respond to the challenge of church
membership, you must make sure you know Jesus Christ, who is "head
over all things to the church" (Ephesians 1:22). Your greatest
need in life is not to be on the membership roll of a church;
it is to be made right with God by the One who died for the church,
who created the church, who loves the church, and who is returning
someday for His true church.
What should you do? The Bible says you
should repent and believe in the Gospel (Mark 1:15), i.e., the
message about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
To repent and believe in this way involves turning from living
for yourself and turning in faith to Jesus Christ. Recognize that
your sin has separated you from God (Isaiah 59:2; Romans 3:23).
You've repeatedly broken God's laws and this excludes you from
His family and from eternity with Him. Come to Christ, however,
and He can make you right with God. Believe that His death can
cleanse you from all guilt before God and provide you with all
the righteousness God requires. This is infinitely more important
than church membership.
Present yourself to the church
for baptism as a symbol of identification with Christ and His
church
Ten days after Jesus had ascended back
to Heaven, the Holy Spirit of God descended upon the believers
who were gathered in Jerusalem. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter
preached that morning to the crowd that had gathered because of
the Jewish Feast of Pentecost. About three thousand people turned
from their sin and believed that the crucified and risen Jesus
was their Messiah and God. Then, according to Acts 2:41, "those
who had gladly received his word were baptized." If you have
received (i.e., believed) the word about Jesus Christ, you should
be baptized.
Baptism is a church ordinance commanded
by Christ (Matthew 28:19). If you have trusted Jesus Christ as
Savior and Lord, you should present yourself to a local church
as a candidate for baptism. By this means you will openly identify
yourself as a follower of Christ and a member of His body.
Present yourself for membership
in a local, New Testament church if you've been Scripturally baptized
and your membership is elsewhere
Have you come to Christ and been baptized?
Then you should formally identify yourself with the people of
Christ where you live. If you have moved, or for some other reason
have membership in a church you no longer attend, you should unite
with the believers of a Biblically-based, Christ-centered church
where you can participate faithfully. (See Acts 18:27 and Romans
16:1-2 for a New Testament example of Christians who identified
with and served with a local congregation even when they were
in a place which might not have been their permanent residence.)
When I was in college I faithfully attended
a local church. After about a year I realized that my membership
needed to be in that church, not the one back home that I grew
up in but now rarely visited. So I presented myself for membership
in the church where I was worshiping regularly. Today I encourage
students to become members of a church in their college town,
because that's where they are most of the time. If they are home
for the summer, I suggest that, if practical, they move their
membership back to their hometown church for those three months.
There are two good reasons for doing this. One, there's no guarantee
that their plans won't change and that they won't be back either
at their school or at that particular church in the fall. Two,
this develops a healthy pattern of thinking "Join a church
here" whenever they relocate. This habit will serve them
well when they graduate and move away from college to who-knows-where,
not to mention each of the several times they are likely to move
in the coming decades.
Reaffirm the commitment implied
in your present church membership
If you are presently a member of the
local church you attend, you should exercise your spiritual gifts
in and through that church (see Romans 12:5-6a). Membership implies
commitment and activity. All the living parts of the body of Christ
should be working and fulfilling their God-intended function.
Think about this:
a member of a human body, such as a heart or kidney, cannot exist
apart from the body, except by some temporary and artificial sustenance.
But this isn't what it's designed for. In this sheer existence
the organ doesn't fulfill its function in the body. It isn't nourished
in the way God intended through the body, but subsists only through
some synthetic way that provides mere maintenance but doesn't
stimulate growth or development.
In the same way, a true member of Christ's
body is not designed to operate independently or outside
the body. An authentic part of Christ's spiritual body cannot
be content while separated from the rest of His earthly body.
That's because he or she is made for interdependence, not independence.
As wonderful and sophisticated as the
heart is, it was never made to be just a heart, but a part
of a body. It has no value to the body outside the body.
And the heart itself can't thrive outside the body. As incredible
and wonderful as you are, Christian, you were never made just
to be an individual Christian, but a part of body.
As every organ and every cell is God-created to be an active member
of the human body, so every true Christian is God-created to be
a active member of a local body of Christ.
Are you a true Christian? Are
you an actively and Biblically involved member of a local body
of Christ? "Belonging to the church," says John MacArthur,
"is at the very heart of Christianity."9
Church membership involves many responsibilities,
but we must never lose sight of the great privilege that it really
is. "We must grasp once again," said Martyn Lloyd-Jones
of London in the mid-twentieth century, "the idea of church
membership as being the membership of the body of Christ and as
the biggest honour which can come a man's way in this world."10
1 C. K. Barrett, A Commentary
on the First Epistle to the Corinthians (New York: Harper
& Row, 1968), p. 324.
2 Joseph Hall, as quoted in John Blanchard, More Gathered Gold (Welwyn, England: Evangelical Press, 1986), p. 43.
3 G. Eric Lane, I Want to Be A Church Member (Bryntirion, Wales: Evangelical Press of Wales, 1992), p. 21.
4 Douglas G. Millar, Should I Join A Church?, The Banner of Truth, Issue 62, Nov. 1968, p. 21.
5 John F. MacArthur, Jr., Commitment to the Church, Tape GC 80-130 (Panorama City, CA: Grace to You, 1994.
6 MacArthur tape GC 80-130.
7 MacArthur tape GC 80-130.
8 Ben Patterson, Why Join A Church?, Leadership, Fall Quarter, 1984, p. 80.
9 MacArthur tape GC 80-130.
10 D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Knowing
the Times (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1989),
p. 30.
Taken from Spiritual Disciplines Within
The Church by Donald S. Whitney, Moody Press, copyright 1996.
Written permission to publish on www.ovrlnd.com granted.
Buy Spiritual Disciplines Within the Church
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To contact Dr. Whitney or to see his web site, visit SpiritualDisciplines.org.