Here is just a summary of the second message in our sermon series, “Membership & Immersion: Baptized Into One Body.” The entire sermon can be found here.
Church membership is a formal relationship between a local church and a Christian, characterized by the church’s affirmation and oversight of that Christian’s discipleship and the Christian’s submission to living out his or her discipleship in the care of the church. While it is often claimed that the Bible does not explicitly command church membership, the Scriptures consistently assume and model church membership as the normal lifestyle of discipleship.
There are several biblical elements to this definition. First, the church body formally affirms an individual’s profession of faith. This authority was given to the church by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 16:13-19 and 18:15-18. There are several ways this is authority demonstrated in the New Testament. First, the early church kept track of their numbers—those who had confessed Christ and been baptized (Acts 2:41-47; 4:4, 32; 6:1-2, 7). Second, they used letters of commendation from one church to another affirming the faith of individual believers (Acts 18:19; 1 Cor 16:3; 2 Cor 3:1; Col 4:10). Third, they sent representatives to investigate when they heard of new believers in other areas (Gal 2, Acts 8, 11).
Second, the church body formally promises to give oversight to that individual’s discipleship. This committed oversight takes place on two levels. First, the elders are commanded to oversee the spiritual wellbeing of the flock among them for whom they will be held accountable, which assumes a quantifiable number (1 Peter 5:1-2; Heb 13:17). Second, the individual members of the body of Christ are commanded to exercise love and care for one another for the mutual upbuilding of all (Eph 4:7-16; Rom 12:4-13).
Third, the individual formally submits his or her discipleship to the service and authority of that body and its leaders. Again this submission takes place on two levels. First, just as 1 Peter 5 commands the elders to oversee the believers among them, so also the same passage in verse 5 commands the believers to be “subject to the elders.” Heb 13:17 reads, Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Second, the individual submits to the body itself. Eph 5:19, [submit] to one another out of reverence for Christ. (See also 1 Cor 16:15-16).
All of these authority/submission relationships assume by necessity a known body of people. No one can submit to or exercise authority over the church universal. The “flock among you” had to be quantified. Yet, we do not have to assume that the New Testament church was in the practice of keeping such a count—the Scriptures tell us they did. It was the pattern of the New Testament church to know who had made a credible profession of faith, to know who was formally among their number.
The New Testament assumes formal church membership. It knows nothing of a nomadic, individualistic existence for believers, hopping around from church building to church building, casually attending services. It assumes and depicts believers recognized by the greater body, affirmed in their profession of faith, and committed to life in that body under the care of that body.
Here’s a crucial question to consider as we anticipate tomorrow’s article: Who was included in the “number” of Acts 2? Those who repented and were baptized.
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