Bible Question: Where does the modern day notion of church membership come from? Where is the scriptural derivation of such a practice? We, who have accepted God's salvation through Christ Jesus are already a members of the body and joint heirs with Christ Jesus. So why is membership to a local "cell" stressed so? |
Bible Answer: There are other scriptures but one of the most specific and instructive is Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. It's a proven fact, many, many times over that generally speaking most people need encouragement to be faithful to any cause, especially one like ours to Christ as our Lord and Master. Even if you're so incredibly strong that you don't need your brothers and sisters to keep you that way, you have no authority to deprive your local family of christians from sharing in your strengths and talents. We all have an ocassional tough week and need to be re-charged by those that know us and read our troubles in our faces and the way we walk. No, believe me, dear friend there's no substitute for a congregation with good, close fellowship. Try re-reading the Book of Acts and re-discover how valuable fellowship was in the first century. Then a person could cite all the passages in the Bible with the famous "one another" phrase...there are dozens of them. You simply CANNOT fully please God Almighty by yourself, it's literally impossible. I hope this helps and God bless. |