Church Membership

Our pastor, John Piper, preached a sermon this past week on church membership. It was an interesting, thought provoking sermon. His four main points were that:
1. Membership is implied by the way the church is supposed to discipline its members (Matthew 18:15-17)
2. Membership is implied in the simple fact that excommunication occurs (1 Corinthians 5:12-13)
3. Membership is implied in the Biblical requirement to submit to elders and leadership (Hebrews 13:17 and 1 Thessalonians 5:12)
4. Membership is implied in the way it requires elders to care for the flock (Acts 20:28)

Our pastor encouraged Christians to be members of a local church. The way the Bible talks leads us to think that if you are a Christian, then you are a member of the church. This got me to thinking, why does the Bible not explicitly say something like "You should become a member of a local church" if that is what is pleasing to God. I think there are two main reasons:
1. When people became Christians back when scripture was written, it was natural for them to want to connect and submit to a body of believers in this way. They did not have a church on every street corner that they could walk in and out of on any given Sunday. Many times, Christians were persecuted, so they needed other Christians to help them and to keep watch over their souls. They needed the church. It was a privilege to be a part of the church. The battle early Christian church leaders were fighting was not trying to get people to join their church because it was such a privilege to the early Christians to even have a church that they could be "members" of.
2. Kind of related to #1, Christianity was not part of the culture like it is today. Church for us today in America has become the cultural thing to do. For us the idea of church has become something you go to on Sundays and Wednesdays. For them, the church was the body of believers that were there to help keep watch over your souls and to help them grow in their walks with Christ. Again, they needed the church, and they knew it.

We need the church today just as much, if not more, than early Christians needed it. We are battling with the same sin that they battled with, so we need leaders in our lives who are giving their lives to watch over our souls and to think for our growth in Christ. The Christian life is not meant to be lived alone, but with a body of believers in a local church.

To listen to our pastor's sermon, you can go here