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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Where does membership come from? | NT general Archive 1 | jalanlambert | 123232 | ||
You speak as if I don't believe that we need church membership that we are somehow going it alone and have no checks and balances. I attend a local assembly that has memberships, however I choose not to belong to this Club with its rules. Isn't Gods order for the Church enough? Must I play the game of being accepted by the Church body because I tell them that I want to belong? I don't think so. Why must we call ourselves members of something that we already have membership in. Is the local church membership a better one than the Lord as given? It is entirely mans effort to control. JAL | ||||||
2 | Where does membership come from? | NT general Archive 1 | Rowdy | 123244 | ||
I've noticed there's quite a few posts lodged on this thread, so maybe you've missed some or all of mine. Their numbers are 123115, 123150 and 123194. You can find any post by inserting this no in the Quick Search in the upper right corner of your screen or in this case, just look for my name on the thread. In my posts, I've cited several scriptures, the sum total of which, clearly indicate God wants us to be a vital, genuine and hard working member under the leadship of the elders appointed to lead that particular congregation. If we find a congregation that IS following God's Word, then it's up to us as submissive and obedient children of God to humble ourselves and submit to their leadership. If you don't agree with some of the things they're doing AND they're available for discussion as items the NT allows for options, then maybe you can influence a "wave" of change. But this is usually done only after you've invested some time and effort into the congregation showing your willingness to be an active part of that group of christians. If you're not an actual, devoted member of the hard-working bunch of christians in a particular congregation but prefer to stay on the periphery or the outer edge of that group, then you get what's coming to you, which is a reflection of what you put into it. If on Judgment Day, you are still in this condition, the Lord might question your true loyalty to Him and He might hesitate to confess your name to His Father as being one of His, but of course that's between you and God. You see, we're suppose to draw nearer and nearer to God and He will draw nearer to us. We're also supposed to grow and take on more responsibilities and develop our talents as cited in Jesus' parables. Hope this helps and God bless. --Rowdy |
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3 | Where does membership come from? | NT general Archive 1 | jalanlambert | 123267 | ||
Rowdy, I appreciate your comments and your understanding of the Word of God. I believe that your goal in answering on this subject is to help. Thank you for that. The place that I differ with you is regarding the need for registered members of the local church. You said that it is important for us to be an active part of the local assembly, and devoted to a hard bunch of christians. I couldn't agree with you more. However, why would I need to do anything more? What is it that requires my name on some church roster. If I am already doing Gods will for my life and active in the church ministries, why would God ask me to sigh on to something that I have already committed to? The problem I see with mans membership is that it can't add one thing to bring glory to God or the furtherence of the Gospil that the born again christian can't do withoout church membership. Jal | ||||||
4 | Where does membership come from? | NT general Archive 1 | Rowdy | 123269 | ||
I can only suggest your re-reading all of my posts on this thread. You seem to have missed my most important bottom line conclusion. The way I see God's Word, He doesn't give us an option. Either we become a part of the actual devoted, hard working christian we know we should be or we might not make it to Heaven. It's my conclusion that if we're not fruitful in the "Lord's vineyard," He'll cut us off as being unproductive and cast us in the everlasting fires of Hell. I do hope you'll continue studying and praying on this subject. This is NOT just merely important...it's crucial to our salvation. God bless. --Rowdy |
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