“I don’t have to be a member of a church to be a Christian,” she said. “I mean, it’s all about politics anyway! There was no church membership in Jesus’ day.” These are the words of a lady I talked to not long ago about covenanting with the body God has called me to shepherd. It is sad so many people have taken this view of church membership. It is even sadder that churches have allowed, and at times, given shape to this thought of church membership. Are these statements true, and if they are true; should they be true? That is heart of this post.
IS IT TRUE THAT YOU CAN BE SAVED AND NOT BE A MEMBER OF A CHURCH?
It is true that one can experience new birth and not be a member of a church. I do not want anyone to think I am putting forth the notion that one must be a member of a church to be saved. However, I would be so bold as to say, church membership is an excellent way to reflect your salvation. Let me explain. One large aspect of salvation is the doctrine of adoption (Romans 8). We have been taken from the orphanage of sin and have been transferred to the family of God. Whereas, before salvation we were orphans with no parents at all; now we are called “sons” and “daughters.” We have a new family, a spiritual family with every believer as our brothers and sisters and God as our Father. Whether I am a member of a church or not, this can be true of me. However, what better way to show that this has occurred than to affirm that local gathering of believers is my spiritual family. I affirm this by becoming of member of this family and covenanting to act as a family member. This is why a well thought through and spelled out church covenant is so important. A group of people, part of the church universal, gathering together to form a local church by covenanting together to walk by the gospel in every area of life. So, you do not have to be a member to be a Christian, but if you are a Christian this a great, biblically implied way to demonstrate your salvation to the world.
IS CHURCH MEMBERSHIP MORE THAN JUST POLITICS?
So what is church membership? It is a Christian, out of love for God and for the family God has brought together (John 13:35), covenanting to walk holy with a local body of believers and be faithful to what the Bibles says I should do in relationship to other members of the family of God. So, as a member and pastor, I covenant with the local church to walk in faith and repentance, and encourage others to do the same. All actions can occur outside of this covenant. I can give, serve, and vote (in some churches) without making this covenant. However, church membership is not about what I do, but rather about what Christ did for me and sharing that with others. He brought me into His family and so I want to join with my brothers and sisters in Christ and covenant with them to walk holy, to walk arm in arm, and come along side the weak and wounded from the battle. Perhaps you think that you do not have to become a member to do make such a covenant. I can again agree with you. My question would be why? I would contend that all reasons we give to not join a church are founded in a misunderstanding of God’s love and ultimately the gospel. Consider the following:
1. I HAVE HAD A BAD EXPERIENCE IN THE PAST
I mourn over the churches and leaders who have acted sinfully and turned people away from wanting to become members. I am frightened and prayerful for all those who lead churches, for this is a serious task for which we will be judged. However, I would say that a bad past experience is not a reason to avoid joining a church. First, it takes another churches fault out on the current body you are in. I mean most people say, “I will not join because the last church I was in…” So a person can actually punish one church for another churches actions. Brothers and sisters, this should not be. Would we punish one child for the disobedience of the other?
2. I DO NOT WANT TO SUBMITT TO ANYTHING OTHER THAN CHRIST, AND THE LEADERS OF THE CHURCH ARE JUST SINFUL MEN
This is a great statement that just has some baggage to it. I find that there should be no distinction in submission to the church and submission to Christ. If the church is putting undue restraints on believers it should seek biblical mandates. Much like we do not say, “I will only read the words of the Jesus, because all the other books were written by sinful men.” We should not cast down church leadership because men are sinful. So, the two points that I would make are: 1) A church should organize membership in such a way that does place undue burdens on its people; but rather makes it a joy to submit to her as in submitting to Christ Himself. See the picture of marriage in Ephesians 5 and know that Paul is talking about the church in this passage. 2) We should not cast off leadership because they are sinful, as long as they are repentant sinners. This brings out a good point. All men sin. However, all men do not repent. All leaders sin. However, all leaders do not repent. Ask yourself this question: Do you struggle because church leaders sin, or because they sin and do not repent? There is a huge difference! Church leaders that sin, yet repent and seek the face of God for direction and grace, are a blessing to the church. It is leaders like this that I want God to raise up in every church across the world. Perhaps you can be one of those leaders!
3. I WILL NOT BECOME A MEMBER BECAUSE THE CHURCH MIGHT DO SOMETHING I DON’T LIKE.
We must check our hearts on this issue. My concern with this argument is the lack of love it shows to the other members of Christ’s body. In other words, I recognize that this church could go down the wrong road if God does not stay at the center. However, I am not willing to help keep God at the center by uniting myself to and living a holy life in front of, this body. Membership is like becoming a member of a family. One thing is for sure; if we do not become a member, there is nothing we can do to stop a church from going down the wrong road because we have kept ourselves at a distance.
CHURCH DISCIPLINE MAKES ALL THE SENSE IN WORLD WHEN WE USE THE FAMILY ANALOGY
Doesn’t church discipline make so much more sense when we use this thought process? Just like there is discipline in our earthly families, we have it in our spiritual families as well. The difference is, when we become a member of a church we are saying that we have been adopted by Christ. So, church discipline is all about bringing people to a place where they realize that their behavior is not consistent with one who has been adopted. So I confront gossip because sons and daughters of God do not gossip. I encourage faith, because sons and daughters of God have faith. I demonstrate and encourage love, because the sons and daughters of God actively love.
You do not have to be a member of a church to be a Christian, but you will never be all God intends you to be apart from a local church. It is God’s divine means through which to make His people ready for the day of worship when there will be a multitude from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. May we all press on to the day when we worship our Father as a family for all eternity! Seek God in His Word while He may be found.
