Why Church Membership?
Welcome to the Family
November 14, 2021
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I. Is church membership biblical?
Biblical Evidence for Church Membership
A. The description of the church
Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. —Romans 12:4-5
So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. —Ephesians 2:19-20
We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit. —Ephesians 2:21-22
B. The call to practice church discipline
“If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. —Matthew 18:15-16
If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector. —Matthew 18:17
C. The requirement of Christians to submit to their leaders
Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit. —Hebrews 13:17
D. The requirement of leaders to care for their flock
As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. —1 Peter 5:2
Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor. —1 Peter 5:3-4
II. What is church membership?
Church membership is when a person says to a local church that they desire to belong to this community and be shepherded by its leaders, and its leaders say back, we will watch over your soul and care for you.
III. Who is church membership for?
Church membership is open to all those who belong to Jesus Christ by faith and want to be identified as part of His holy people.
And you are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ. I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people. —Romans 1:6-7
I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. —1 Corinthians 1:2
This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus.
I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the church leaders and deacons. —Philippians 1:1