What is it?
According to the Bible, church membership is a commitment every Christian should make to attend, love, serve, and submit to a local church.Where is it in the Bible?
- Throughout Old Testament history, God made a clear distinction between his people and the world (see Lev. 13:46, Num. 5:3, Deut. 7:3).
- Christ says that entering the kingdom of God means being bound to the church “on earth” (Matt. 16:16-19; 18:17-19). Where do we see the church on earth? The local church.
- The New Testament explicitly refers to some people being inside the church and some people being outside (1 Cor. 5:12-13). This is much more than a casual association.
- The church in Corinth consisted of a definite number of believers, such that Paul could speak of a punishment inflicted by the majority (2 Cor. 2:6).
- Not only does the New Testament speak of the reality of church membership, but its dozens of “one anothers” are written to local churches, which fill out our understanding of what church membership should practically look like.
Why is it important?
Biblical church membership is important because the church presents God’s witness to himself in the world. It displays his glory. In the church’s membership, then, non-Christians should see in the lives of God’s changed people that God is holy and gracious and that his gospel is powerful for saving and transforming sinners.http://www.9marks.org/what-are-the-9marks/membership
I think church membership is extremely vital, and I really respect the way Grace Church handles this. Not only is membership an important aspect at the church, but there is a membership class that teaches essentials doctrines and theologies that Grace holds to. I know for myself that I was impressed with how serious Grace takes membership as opposed to how sloppy it can be done and is done at many other churches.
ReplyDeleteAnother aspect to note is that marks 7 and 8 (Church disciple and Church Discipleship) are best fulfilled within a community of Church members, not merely people that come on Sunday morning alone.