Bible Question: What, if anything, does God say about church membership? My family has been going to a church for two years, but have not become members. We attend every service, are extremely active in several ministries there, tithe faithfully, and are always willing to help out in ANY way we can. Our pastor asked my husband yesterday when we planned on joining the church. My husband said, as nicely as he could, that he did not feel led of the Lord to join just now. Our pastor got angry and said that everything that we do for God meant nothing without being a member of a church, and that we would not receive any eternal blessings for any of it? WHAT? We just want to see lost people find Jesus, that would be our greatest reward. Does anyone know where he is getting that from? |
Bible Answer: Dear Being, I can understand why people would be hesitant about really making a commitment to other believers and submitting to the authority of those who Christ placed over us. It takes time, energy, and effort. It isn't convenient or comfortable. It creates all kinds of obligations. Remaining uncommitted gives us the freedom to flit over to some other congregation if someone should offend us or pressure us in any way. After all, the Biblical pictures of being built together into a temple, knit together into a single body, joined together into a holy nation, and adopted into a the divine family are probably just old fashioned ideas promulgated by our grandparents. Furthermore, all those lost folk out there might think we were strange if we drew together into some sort of local, loving unity. Given enough time, certainly the Lord will provide us with just the right feelings about joining a church, so we needn't search the Scriptures on the subject. In Him, Doc PS The above is tongue-in-cheek... but I hope it helps you think more seriously about the question. "If the church is a building, then we must be bricks in it; if the church is a body, then we are its members; if the church is the household of faith, it presumes we are part of that household. Sheep are in a flock and branches are on a vine. Biblically, if one is a Christian, he must be a member of a church. Leaving aside the concrete particulars for a moment -- whether membership lists are kept on white cards or on computer disks -- we must not forsake our regular assembling (Hebrews 10:25). This membership is not simply the record of a statement we once made or of affection toward a familiar place. It must be a reflection of a living commitment or it is worthless, and worse than worthless, it is dangerous. Uninvolved members confuse both real members and non-Christians about what it means to be a Christian. And active members do the voluntarily inactive members no service when they allow them to remain members of the church, for membership is the church’s corporate endorsement of a person’s salvation. Again, this must be clearly understood: membership in a church is that church’s corporate testimony to the individual member’s salvation." --Dr. Mark Dever |