Introduction
This morning, I am beginning what will be a series of sermons on the topic of the church. We will be looking at what it means to be a member in a local church. We will be examining how the church is governed. And, we will be studying the offices that God established in the church—the overseers and the deacons.
My aim in this is not that we simply be more informed about what the church is and how it is to operate. My prayer is that, by the end of these sermons, you will be a member of a local church, officially and actively. But, membership and activity are not my highest goal. Above and beyond anything else, I pray that you and I will love the church. The church is the most precious aspect of all of creation to our God and Savior, and therefore the church must be so to us, His people.
Jesus Christ loves the church. Ephesians 5:25 says that Christ specifically loved the church and gave himself up for her. The church is an important institution to Jesus. In fact, it is the only institution that Jesus Christ said that he would build (Matthew 16:18). Jesus never wrote a letter to an individual. The only letters that Christ dictated are in Revelation 2-3. Every one of these seven letters is written to a local church.
To be a Christian, you must love Jesus. You cannot love Jesus without loving what he loves. Therefore, if you love Jesus, then you will care about the church. A lack of commitment to the institution that is being built is a lack of commitment to Builder. A rejection of the Bride is a rejection of the Groom. To neglect the community of the saved is to neglect the Savior. A lack of love for the church is a sure sign of a lack of love for the Savior (1 John 4:20).
What Is the Church?
The word church is used in two ways in the New Testament. It is used to refer to the “universal church” and to the “local church.” Of the 110 times the word “church” is used, 97 of them refer to the “local church.”
By universal (or invisible) church, we mean all of God’s people from all of history.
By local (or visible) church, I mean a particular body of Christians. More precisely, I would offer this definition of a local church:
The local church is the clearly defined community of God’s people who have repented of their sins and put faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, which they have professed through baptism and evidenced in their lives, and who have covenanted to assemble regularly to live out their common faith as they hear God’s Word taught, baptize new believers, take the Lord’s Supper, sing praises to God, pray, evangelize, encourage one another in mutual accountability, practice and submit to church discipline and exercise the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the strengthening of the body.
Therefore, the church is not:
· all the people in a particular geographic region.
· all the citizens of a political state. (Baptists historically have argued for a regenerate church, separate from the state.)
· believers and their unregenerate children.
· a random, ambiguous, irregular assortment of believers in one place. Where two or three are gathered in Christ’s name, he is present with them. But that alone does not a church make.
What Is Formal,
When I speak of membership, I am referring to the covenant agreement between an assembly of believers to live out a common faith and practice (see definition above). More precisely:
Membership is the individual believer’s public statement that he affirms and commits to the faith and practice of a local church and promises to join actively with that body. It is the local church’s public statement that the individual is a believer who evidences repentance and faith and that it accepts this person into their fellowship.
Formal – Church membership ought to be formal. By formal, I mean that the member officially declares their commitment to fellowship in a particular local church and that local church officially declares their acceptance of that person into their fellowship. This is usually done by way of congregational vote and the placing of a name on a membership list.
This is more than “common law membership.” Some states allow “common law” marriages. Once a couple has lived together for a certain amount of time and has agreed to act as husband and wife, the state grants them the legal status of being married, even though the union has not be “formally” solemnized in a religious or civil ceremony. “Common law church membership” would be when a person or family attends a church regularly for a certain amount of time and thinks of this assembly as their “church home,” even though no official, mutual statement has been made between them and the church and no inquiry has been made into their conversion and baptism, their doctrinal beliefs, etc. By virtue of being their long enough, membership is assumed by all. (“Common law membership” is fraught with dangers for both the individual and the church.)
In our case, formal church membership involves the members of this congregation examining an individual who has expressed interest in joining and then voting to accept them into the membership of the church. Upon a successful vote, that individual’s name is added to the membership list of the church. At that point, most importantly, the members of the church and that individual have promised to care for each other in a particular way in accordance with the purpose of the church (see definition above).
Active – Of course, being “voted in” and having one’s name put on the “membership list” is not enough—as important as that is. Having one’s name on the membership list is the beginning, not the end, of church membership.
Church membership ought to be active. By active, I mean the members regularly attend and participate in that local church, unless they are providential hindered (that is, prevented by circumstances beyond their control). Active membership does not mean that you have an official “office” or “title” in the church. It does mean that you show up, participate with the church in what it does, and use your gifts to build up the body.
Therefore, membership is not:
· a statement of mere sentiment, nostalgia, or fond feelings for a church you once attended.
· a mere embracing of a family history or tradition.
· an indication of “where your heart is” although your body is not.
· putting your name on the list and deciding to show up when you feel like it.
Just as there are many problems that accompany “common law” (non-formal) church membership, “inactive membership” is fraught with dangers to the individual and the church.
The Best Path
It is healthiest, wisest and most biblical for us to emphasize, encourage and practice formal, active membership. I say both “formal” and “active” because there are probably three types of professing Christians here this morning. There are many of you who are formal members of a church and actively committed to that body. There may be some of you who are actively committed to a local church but who have not formally “joined” it. And, there may be some of you who are “formally” members of a church but who do not attend or participate with that local church.
My desire this morning and next Sunday morning is to convince you from the Bible that it is best, wisest and most biblical to be a “formal” member of a local church and to be “active” in the church of which you are a member.
Defense of Formal, Active Membership
This morning, I will be defending the concept of having a formal, clearly defined membership. Next Sunday morning, I will be defending why you ought to be active in the church in which you are a member (or, why you ought to transfer your membership to the church in which you are active).
Formal – Should We Have Formal Membership?
Many will be quick to object to formal membership by saying, “I don’t see anything in the Bible that specifically says that I must officially join a local church!”
I don’t give this objection much credit, to be honest. I think that this objection is usually a cover for another reason, since the person making it probably does many things that the New Testament does not specifically state that they must do. Why are they not consistent? Because there is usually another reason or two lying under the surface—a fear of commitment, a bad experience in the past, the fear of offending friends or relatives by removing membership from their churches, or the selfish desire to do what they want and not do what they don’t want to do, etc.—none of which is a good reason not to join the church.
I am convinced there are many passages in the Bible that together present what I believe is a convincing case that the church ought to have a formal system of membership.
1) Lists are commonly used by God and his people throughout the Bible to clarify who is “in.”
Old Testament –
Did you know that we have a book of the Bible called “Numbers” and that it is called “Numbers” because in it, Moses and Aaron assemble the whole congregation of Israel together to be “registered by clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, head by head.” Do you know why they had such a precise registering of the people? Because, we are told in Numbers 1:1, the Lord instructed Moses to make such a list.
Did you know that these people went up to
…of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, Hattush. Of the sons of Shecaniah, who was of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah, with whom were registered 150 men. Of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men. Of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men.
I could go on for awhile. Why do we know this? Because Ezra made a list.
Did you know that these people came up from
Nehemiah 7:7-14 The number of the men of the people of
I could go on for some time, even talking in detail about the priest, the temple servants, the sons of Solomon’s servants, how large the whole assembly was and how much they gave to the work. Why do we know all this? Because Nehemiah says in Nehemiah 7:5, “Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first…” God inspired Nehemiah to make a list of who was there, and he did so by beginning with a list that was already available.
God inspired a list! How do you think God or Nehemiah would have responded had a person said, “O, sorry. No need for me to register. I can do just as good of a rebuilding without registering as I can with my name on the list, thank you” or “I’m committed to the rebuilding of Jerusalem, but I’d really prefer to leave my registration with the little synagogue we worshipped in down in Babylon. I had a hand in building it and it’s so near and dear to my heart that I couldn’t bear the thought of being registered any place else.”
New Testament –
1 Timothy 5:9 gives instruction for which widows are to be “enrolled,” which could be translated “put on the list.” Now, if lists were made for which widows the church was to care for, is it really so hard to believe that the church would have a list of its members?
In Philippians 4:3, the Apostle Paul writes about the “book of life.” We learn about the “Book of Life” in many passages in Revelation (3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27; 22:19). It is the book that was written before the foundation of the world and includes the names of all of God’s redeemed people. Anyone whose name is not found there is not one of God’s people and shall be thrown into the lake of fire. Imagine someone saying, “O Lord, you can just blot my name out of that book, because I can be just as good of a Christian—prophesying, casting out demons and doing mighty works in your name—without being on an official list!”
If God commanded his leaders to keep a detailed record of who was part of the nation of
2) The language used in the New Testament implies and requires a clearly defined and formal membership.
In 1 Corinthians 14:23, Paul begins an argument by saying, “If, therefore, the whole church comes together…” To whom is Paul referring to when he says “the whole church”? The context shows us it cannot mean the “universal church” because in verse 33 Paul refers to “all the churches of the saints.” Paul is referring to a situation in which “the whole [local] church” is assembled together. The question we are faced with is how one knows if the whole church is assembled if there is no formal membership. You cannot. Therefore, this language implies there was a way of knowing whom the church consisted of—a clearly defined and formal membership.
In Acts 5, Ananias and Saphira were struck dead for claiming to be converted, yet lying to the church. In response, verse 11 tells us that great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard about it. In verse 13, Luke writes, “None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem.”
The word “join” is significant. It can be translated as “join closely together, to cling to, to unite.” It is the word used in 1 Corinthians 6 for joining your body with a prostitute or joining your spirit with the Lord. Obviously, it does not refer to something casual, informal or merely assumed. It is a strong and bonding union that this word “join” signifies. And, it is used here and in 1 Corinthians 5:11 for being a member of a local church. This means that membership is not informal or assumed, it is something strong and significant.
3) The instruction on and practice of church discipline in the New Testament implies and requires a clearly defined and formal membership.
In Matthew 18, Jesus outlines instructions for how to love a brother who is in sin in order to bring him to repentance. The final step is to “tell it to the church.” And then, if the sinning brother “refuses to listen even to the church,” he is to be treated as a “Gentile or a tax collector,” that is, as an unclean person who is outside the people of God.
Several questions face us in applying this teaching. The first is, “Who is to be told?” Jesus says, “Tell it to the church.” Obviously, he cannot mean the “universal church,” for most of the universal church is physically dead. Therefore, Jesus means, “the local church.”
But, then we are faced with the question, “Who constitutes the local church?” Am I to tell every person who shows up for corporate worship? Obviously not, since unbelievers (such as young children) would be in attendance. “Telling it to the church” requires that the membership be clearly defined so that we know who “the church” is.
Likewise, Jesus speaks of this person refusing to listen “even to the church.” Obviously, the “church” is speaking. This means that the church has somehow made some kind of unified decision. Now we are faced with the question of who gets to join in “speaking.” When a large group speaks, there obviously must be some means of deciding the opinion of that body, likely a vote.
So, who gets to vote? Who gets to help decided “Yes, this person should repent” or “No, they are innocent”? Is it anyone in attendance? Obviously not, since unbelievers could be there. Therefore, there must be a formal and clearly defined system of membership for the church to follow our Lord’s instructions in Matthew 18.
In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul gives instructions to the Corinthian church regarding how to deal with a sexually immoral man. They are, he says, not to associate with him, or with anyone else who bears the name of “brother” and yet is guilty of serious, unrepentant sin.
Paul clarifies in verses 9-13 that he is not referring to “outsiders” but to those who call themselves Christians but refuse to live like it. They are to judge those who are “inside the church.” It is interesting that Paul uses this language of “outside” and “inside” the church.
What does it mean to be “outside the church” or “inside the church?” The word “church” is never used to refer to a building. So it is not referring to those in the meeting house.
Neither can being “inside the church” refer to assembling with the church for worship. We know this because later, in 14:24, Paul speaks of unbelievers or “outsiders” entering their assembly. Therefore, we know that those who are present for worship are not all “inside the church.”
The only option left is that those who are “inside the church” are converted people who are officially part of the body. There must be a formal and clearly defined system of membership to distinguish who is “inside” and “outside” the church.
In 2 Corinthians 2:6, Paul speaks of a church discipline case by referring to “the punishment of the majority.” Here we are faced with the question of how they determined what constituted a majority. You cannot know if you have a majority if you do not know the total number you are dealing with. In order to have had a “majority,” then they had to had a clearly defined and formal system for keeping track of who was a member and therefore able to vote.
4) Pastoral duties imply and require a clearly defined and formal membership.
1 Timothy 3:1 speaks of the office of pastor as “overseer.” Verse 5 defines this by saying he is to “care for God’s church.” Obviously, this cannot mean the “universal” church because most of them are physically dead—not to mention that it would be impossible for a pastor to care for even all the living Christians on the globe! Therefore, Paul must be speaking of the pastors’ duties in overseeing a specific, local church.
I am not called to be the pastor of just any and every local church. I am not called or responsible to God as the pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church, Shiloh Baptist Church, New Covenant, River of Life or the Wesleyan church down the street on the corner, just as their pastors are not called or responsible to oversee you. I am responsible to care for a particular local church—
That raises a question for the pastor: Just who constitutes the local church that I am to care for? Is it anyone and everyone that sits in its seats? Obviously not, because unbelievers attended and they are not part of “the church.” The church consists of regenerate, saved people, not just everybody. To know whom I am to care for requires some sort of formal, clearly defined membership. The pastor must know who is in and who is not in order to know whom to care for.
A similar argument could be made from Acts 20:28 where Paul tells the elders of the church in Ephesus, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” Paul does not say “pay careful attention to…all the flocks.” An elder is responsible for caring for all the flock in which he is an overseer. Who is the flock? Not every Christian everywhere, but every member of the local church. And, unless there is a formal, clearly defined membership, the elders are left without direction for who God has called them to care for.
Likewise, we read in Hebrews 13:17 this word to believers—“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”
The pastors—referred to here as ‘leaders’—are keeping watch over souls “as those who will have to give an account.” I—and every other pastor—will one day be required to give an account for the souls we were called to keep watch over. How do we know which souls we are to keep watch over?
As I said before, I am called by you and by God to keep watch over the souls of
There will be times when I—and others—will need to make decisions about who to give priority to in terms of pastoral care and benevolence care. We want to minister to everyone. We care about everyone. But, we only have time and resources to visit and call on and care for so many. There is hardly time for one pastor to visit every member once a year, much less anyone and everyone who happens through the door! Yet, when a decision must be made, then my attention must go to those God has called me to keep watch over—and I will determine who that is by looking at the formal membership list. If the name is not on that list, I am not sure if I am called to be pastor to that person.
This passage says that you should help your leaders keep watch over you with joy and not with groaning, because a groaning pastor is of no advantage to you. By formally joining this church, you say to us “
To refuse to formally join the church creates confusion and muddies the waters of pastoral care in a way that leads to groaning. And groaning is harmful and unprofitable to you, to me and to the church as a whole. So, for the sake of your pastor, your church and yourself, formally join the church.
Applications
I could go on with several more biblical and practical reasons that formal membership is the wisest and biblical path to follow, but time does not allow for it. Some of these I will cover in our membership class, beginning in the evening service on February 11. Others I will leave for you to read about in the suggested books.
I want to close with a few basic applications from what we have discussed:
1) Join the universal church.
Do not mistake what I’ve said this morning to mean that being a member of a local church is required for salvation. On the one hand, there are many who are in heaven who were never had their name on the roll of a local church—because they couldn’t or because the church didn’t have one. On the other hand, there are and will be millions in hell who have their names on the rolls of a local church—even Southern Baptist Churches.
The most important thing that you can do is become a member of the universal assembly of God’s people. That is done by turning away from your sins and trusting in Christ to forgive you. This involves believing that he died under God’s wrath, shedding his blood to purchase his church and rising from the dead to give them life.
2) Profess that faith in baptism.
If you have turned from your sins and are submitting to Christ in faith as your Savior and Lord, then tell the world by being immersed in water in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Baptism upon profession of faith is the entry sign into the New Covenant church.
3) Formally join a local church.
God does not intend for us to live the Christian life on our own. The Christian life is one of commitment and accountability to other believers. Find a church of believers where the Bible is lived and taught. Then formally link arms with these believers to help them, as they help you, to follow Christ together.
4) Live out the meaning of church membership.
Finally, if you have already done those three things, examine how you are living out the membership vows you have made. Membership is a bond with a body of believers. Are you bound to them? Are you serving them? Are you walking with them?
The church is the bride of Christ. You cannot love him and not love her. Can you, with an honest heart, sing and say: “I love Thy Church, O God”? And will you commit to doing all that love entails?
For many (or most!) of the insights in this sermon, I am indebted to:
- Donald S Whitney – Spiritual Disciplines Within the Church
- Mark Dever – 9 Marks of a
Healthy Church - Wayne Mack – To Be or Not to Be a Church Member?, That is the Question!
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Bethlehem Baptist Church
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