The Blessing of Church Membership

Welcome to The Dividing Line for today. My name is Pastor John Sampson. I'm one of the elders at King's Church in Peoria, Arizona. It's an absolute delight to come back again and guest host for James while he's away.

Why Church Membership Matters

And we're talking about the church and membership in the church. And we covered a lot of ground last time talking about the biblical reasons why I believe church membership is an entirely scriptural thing.

And we're going to pick up from there with a quote from C .H. Spurgeon. Once you've found a quote from Spurgeon on a subject you usually don't need to search for anymore. He usually nails it. And he wrote this, Give yourself to the church.

You that are members of the church have not found it perfect, and I hope that you feel almost glad that you have not. If I had never joined a church till I had found one that was perfect, I would have never joined one at all.

And the moment I did join it, if I had found one, I should have spoiled it. For it would not have been a perfect church after I had become a member of it. Still, imperfect as it is, it is the dearest place on earth to us.

All who have first given themselves to the Lord should as speedily as possible also give themselves to the Lord's people. How else is there to be a church on the earth? If it is right for anyone to refrain from membership in the church, it is right for everyone.

And then the testimony for God would be lost to the world. I say amen to that. And lead us on, Lord. Look to the good shepherd of the sheep to find other shepherds we can submit to. In fact, I would like you to go in your Bibles to a verse that we covered last time.

I want to just look more in depth at it now. Hebrews chapter 13, where Christ, through the writer to Hebrews, is speaking to us. As we go there, think about the responsibility on the leaders, on the elders.

John Brown, in a letter of counsel to one of his pupils, newly ordained over a very small congregation, wrote this to him. If you give an account of them to the Lord Christ at his judgment seat, you will think you have had enough.

You've got a great responsibility as a leader to look after and care for the sheep under your care, knowing that you'll give an account to the Lord for what you do with them. They are his sheep, not yours.

You are under shepherds under him. So, Hebrews chapter 13, a familiar verse, verse 17. Obey your leaders and submit to them. Oftentimes, leaders speak this word and kind of come across very authoritarian, but it's a biblical concept.

And the sheep, the people, are to submit and obey the leaders. But listen as to why. For, here's the reason why, for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

I remember, as I said last time, didn't always embrace this idea of a formal kind of church membership. But biblically, it's certainly very, very clear to me now. But there's two things that emerge from this text.

Without reading into the text, allowing it to speak, it's these two concepts. First of all, the leaders know who they are responsible for. And the people know who they are to obey and submit to. There's a relationship established.

It's not merely leaders who show up once in a while, but leaders who care for the flock. And it's people who know who they are submitted to. Obey your leaders. Not every leader out there. Your leaders.

And submit to them. So those two things are not even in question. They are there born out of the text. The people know who they're submitted to. The leaders know who they're responsible for. I have this idea in my mind, I believe it's born out of this text, that one day I will stand before the Lord regarding everyone under my care as a pastor.

I take that very, very seriously. And one day, should I stand before the Lord to give an account, as I will, what will happen will be names and people will be brought before my memory, and I will have to give an account of them.

And the Lord might say something like this. Mary Jones, she was in your congregation for three years. What did you do to equip her as a disciple of Christ? How did you encourage her? How did you come alongside her?

How did you care for her as a shepherd? And hopefully on that day I can say, well, she showed up more than eight times in that time. She was there every week and she was there and I came alongside her by praying for her regularly.

I came alongside her putting material in her hand that will encourage her at various different points. Hopefully all of that will be true rather than Mary Jones. No, sorry, doesn't ring a bell. There should be a relationship between the shepherd and the sheep, the sheep and the shepherd.

And he is to care for each one. And whether that has been a long time, maybe he's pastored that particular person for years or just a few months. That is something that is very dear to the heart of God and I take very seriously.

And the scripture here takes it seriously. It says, leaders are those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. So we are not to submit to them on every occasion if they tell us to do things that are outside the parameters of the word of God.

But if they are in line with scripture, we are to obey them. And beyond that, in doing so, we are obeying Christ through his word to us here. A lot of Christians have a relationship with Jesus, but no real relationship to a local church.

And I would say, stop that. Get involved in a church because that's Christ's command to us. You'll never find a perfect one, but find one that at least honors the gospel, has the sacraments in view and applies them regularly.

The Lord's Supper and baptism for those who make a profession of faith. And certainly church discipline, which is in view in terms of what we talked about last time. Something that's been very much neglected in most churches.

I know of churches that are very large, where you can hide and people live very fraudulent lives in terms of their Christianity. People living together and leaders don't say anything, absolutely nothing.

That's not watching over the souls of the members. In fact, there is probably no formal membership. People can come and go as they like, but that's not right. That's not good. Discipline in the church is Jesus' idea for the protection of his sheep.

And the reformers, the Protestant reformers, were very, very clear that without that, there is no true church. Because wolves can run in and devour the flock, both in false doctrine and in fraudulent schemes.

If someone comes in and wants to harass the elderly and put them in schemes of finances that will just ruin them financially, it's up to elders to stop that, to make sure that the wolves do not have access to the sheep.

They need to repent or else leave the church and the church people need to be protected. And Christ will not honor a so-called church that will not protect the sheep. It's very, very clear. So moving on from there, there are other things we need to talk about as to the blessing of church membership.

Covenant Membership and One Another Life in the Local Church

What is involved in church membership? Why are we talking about it? We're talking about it because Christ has commanded it and through his apostles has really spelled out how it's to look like. I like to call it covenant membership because it's so easy to think of membership the same way we would join a gym club or get involved in a Jeep club that I talked about last time.

It's just something we can take or leave. There's no real issue if we don't show up. You know, the bucks come out of our account if we don't show up every month at the gym club. But there's no real watching over our souls going on.

Not really, not usually. There's no real call saying, we haven't seen you for three weeks. How are your biceps doing? Not really. It's up to you to just show up and do your thing. But in a church, we are to, as leaders, look after, care for, protect the Lord's people as undershepherds under Christ the Good Shepherd.

Many people have had a bad experience with church membership. People have been the target of frauds in the area of finances and false currency has been invented. But that doesn't mean we don't use the true, the right, the genuine.

People have forged $20 bills. That doesn't mean we don't use the right kind, the genuine kind of dollar bill. So in the same way, I'm very deeply grieved when I hear of leaders overstepping their boundaries, leaders falling into sin and not repenting of it.

I've heard drastic stories where a leader will try to flex his spiritual muscles to see if people will submit to him. And we'll just go around to a house and say, you know what? You need to paint your front door, which is now red.

You need to paint it green because I'm your leader and you need to submit to me. That is totally out of bounds. If a leader should say, you know, you've planned a vacation to Seattle this year, but I don't endorse that.

You need to go to Wisconsin. With all apologies for anyone living in Wisconsin listening to this. That's just stepping over the boundary. Our only prerogative as leaders is to counsel people according to the word of God.

And there's absolutely nothing about either Seattle or Wisconsin in our Bibles, believe it or not. So what's entailed in covenant membership? It is the closest thing to a marriage in the sense of someone comes to a leader, to a pastor, more preferably to a group of leaders, elders.

Eldership, I believe, is a plural commodity in the New Testament. And they say, be my elders, be my pastor, look after, watch over my soul. And in turn, the pastor and leaders, the elders say to that person, we'll do this knowing we'll give an account to Christ.

And so there's a solemnity about this, not a flippant thing. Oh, yeah. 20 minutes. Talk about what the church is. You sign up. Come on in. We'll get your name on the roll. Great, great, great. We can report to headquarters that another one's been added.

I produced a very large manual. It's close to 80 pages, I believe, 78 pages about what is involved in church membership. So everybody knows what it is that we are seeing as elders regarding what our role is, what their role is and what our doctrine is.

So everybody's very clear. And hopefully it's a blessing to have more information than you might need, than less, rather than something coming up years from now. I think, oh, you never talked about this.

No, we did. And we hammered it out. And this is a solemn thing. And I'm excited about it. And one of the reasons for that is I believe it's entirely scriptural. And starting the church in our own living room, King's Church, the reason it was called King's Church is we want the king to be proud of it.

We want to find out what he's regulated in the word of God. And as you probably know, that's an ongoing process. And it's been exactly that for me to understand what God has said. And I'm more sure of what God has said now than I was previously, obviously.

And I believe that the Lord will continue to lead and guide his church into the truth of his word. And I'm coming back to what the church has done for centuries. They've had these boundaries in place.

And we've thrown them off thinking that we're more free in doing so. But as a wise man once said, if you see a fence, find out why they put it there before you remove it. And the biblical parameters of fencing in the church so that they are protected, so no wolves can get in, has been done for the benefit and the provision and the protection of the sheep.

Understand that. So there's three expressions of commitment in covenant membership. There's the covenant that we have as Christians, all Christians in a local church. There's more than that. The understanding that we're one body, we're one in Christ, we're members one of another.

Over and over, we see that in the New Testament and actually mean something. If I were to read all of the one another scriptures in the New Testament, Ephesians 4, 25, which, as I said last time, Paul wrote to the Ephesian church to say, that's a reason we should not be lying to one another because we're members of one another.

That's a powerful statement. That's unusual. You think he would say we shouldn't lie because of God's character. He's a God of truth. All that is true. But he says in this particular portion of scripture, the reason is we're members.

There's a different kind of relationship that we have with each other that we don't have with the world. That's not true of the Jeep club or the gym. You don't say, I'm not going to lie to you because you're a fellow member of the gym club.

No, but when Paul says or writes, we're not to lie because we're members, surely it means something. We're members. That's a reason. That's a basis for us. Not lying. We've got a unique relationship as brother and sister in Christ.

So the one another scriptures, they're all over the New Testament. Love one another. You can't do that by yourself. Just as I've loved you, you also ought to love one another, though many. We are one body in Christ and individually members, one of another.

Romans 12, five Romans 12, 10 outdo one another in showing honor. Live in harmony with one another. Romans 12, 16, Romans 14, 13. Therefore, let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.

Romans 14, 19. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual up building, literally building up one another. Romans 15, five. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another in accordance with Jesus Christ.

Romans 15, seven. Therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God. Romans 15, 14. I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.

Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you. Romans 16, 16. First Corinthians 12, 25. That there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

It's not just individually we sign up, but individually we are now part of a team and we look after one another. When one is hurting, all are hurting. When one rejoices, all rejoice. Galatians 5, 13. For you were called to freedom, brothers.

Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Who's the one another? It's the local church. Galatians 6, 2. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Some people might be saying, well, why don't you get to some profound things and some parsing of Greek words? I tell you, this is very profound. The relationship we ought to have with one another. If you actually look at it, it's powerful.

It's astonishing. The kind of relationship we should have one toward another. Ephesians 4, 2. Colossians 3, 13. With all humility, I said humidity because I'm thinking it's pretty humid out in Phoenix right now.

It's on my mind. It's hot and humid. Those two things normally don't go together. When it does, it's not good. With all humility and gentleness with patience, bearing with one another in love. Oh, it's just me and Jesus.

I just got my favorite television preachers and I tune them in each week. How convenient. How convenient. They're not going to be around when you need their help. They're not going to be praying for you.

Can you really call them at the middle of the night? If you're in a crisis, can they walk you through when one of your family members are in trouble or even die? Are they able to do that? Will they lay hands on you and pray for you?

Will they come alongside you? Will they pastor you? A CD can't shepherd you. An MP3 can't shepherd you. A DVD can't shepherd you. Someone who is a shepherd can give you one of those things. But those things by themselves don't shepherd you.

And Christ wants to shepherd you through God-appointed leaders who are never perfect. In fact, God has only ever had one qualified person walking and working for him through history. And that's the Lord Jesus Christ.

We're all sinners. I'm the biggest sinner I know. And I'm only doing what I do by the grace of God. One preacher said it this way. If you knew the sin in my life that I've thought and done and said, you wouldn't be coming to listen to me.

But don't get uppity. If I knew the sin in your life, I wouldn't talk to you. It goes both ways. We need the grace of God, even for ministry. So, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ, Ephesians 5, 21.

Philippians 2, 3. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Or count or regard one another as more significant than yourself. Do not lie to one another saying that you've put off the old self with its practices.

There's Paul giving another reason why we shouldn't lie. Because we've put off the old self. Therefore, encourage one another with these words. Encourage one another. 1 Thessalonians 4, 18. The previous one, Colossians 3, 9.

1 Thessalonians 5, 11. Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up just as you are doing. You can't do that if the only Christian you're involved with is someone who's on television. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.

1 Thessalonians 5, 15. There's many more, but let me give you one more. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 1 Peter 4, 9. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another.

For God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Don't we often hear that verse quoted just out of its setting? God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. What's the implication of the verse?

Well, it's part of a sentence which starts with you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Those older and those in the office of eldership. Some would have us believe you can fulfill all of these things by just meeting with a group of loosely related people at Starbucks.

But no, each of these commands were actually given to local churches to be fulfilled and pursued in the context of relationship which was constituted by a membership. There was a formal membership in the local church in the early days of the church.

So that's what church membership is. It's a caring for one another. It's a protection for one another. The Bible tells us to do that. It does not tell us to sanctify one another. We can't do that. Humble one another.

Scrutinize one another. Pressure one another. Embarrass one another. Corner one another. Interrupt one another. Defeat one another. Shame another. Judge another. Run another person's life. Confess one another's sins.

Intensify one another's sufferings. And point out one another's failings. Actually it was Ray Ortland who gave me that list and I appreciate that. He wrote it out and found it on his blog. Excellent insight.

We're not to do any of those things. We're to do what the Bible says. Love one another. So amongst other things it's by the grace of God we obey our responsibilities in the local church. We don't do it perfectly.

No one does. But it does mean that we acknowledge that's what God calls us to do by the power he supplies as we commit ourselves to pursuing him. The second aspect is there's a commitment of all believers in a local church to the leadership of the elders whom God has raised up.

We dealt with that a bit last time and a little today as well. But we want to be known. And I want to be held accountable to what the Bible says my relationship and my walk with God should be. And I want a leader to lead me.

I believe every elder is subject to the other elders and even as an extension to the church. And if he goes astray there are things that should be in place that will require him to come into line. So is the case.

So people have had bad experiences but again let's push past that and see the Lord saying come on. Trust me. Walk with me in this. And the third expression of this commitment is on the part of the elders to the people whom God has called them to lead.

Elders, Oversight, and the Plural Male Office

Pay careful attention Paul said to the elders of Ephesus when they met in Acts chapter 20. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the church of God which he obtained with his own blood.

Interesting that's a very much a powerful verse regarding the deity of Christ. It was not God the father or God the spirit who became man but God the son. And it talks of him God obtaining the church with his own blood.

Interesting shepherd the church of God the flock of God that is among you. First Peter 5 exercising oversight not under compulsion but willingly as God would have you not for shameful gain but eagerly not domineering over those in your charge.

But being examples to the flock. So what it means for us as a local church King's Church and whichever church you're a part of is that there should be in place a promise where these things are taking place.

We're saying we're going to care for you. We're going to look after you. We're going to stay true to the faith as much as we can by the grace of God. Come aboard. We'll care for you. And the people then say do that.

And if I go astray I want to give you permission to speak into my life as an elder as an eldership team. And if that involves church discipline I'm saying with a sound mind here come be to me what I need as a sheep so that I'm not caught in the thicket.

But I'm actually able to stay in the pasture of the Lord as a sheep. We ought to be on the guard against false teaching. And that's why every elder is required to be apt or able to teach. Doesn't mean that everybody is as an elder has a pulpit ministry per se.

But they're able to come alongside the people and say you know what I've heard that you're listening to people who deny the deity of Christ or salvation by the grace of God alone. What's this I'm hearing.

Walk that through with me and then can show them the biblical text that will correct. Paul told Timothy to preach the word and with it to rebuke and correct and bring people into the knowledge of God's word even though it might be unpopular.

Do it in season and out of season. Literally good times and hard times when they like it and when they don't. I don't know if every sheep loves to be sheared. I don't know what goes through the mind of a sheep but certainly it doesn't look that comfortable.

But it's a healthy thing. And if I go astray there are people in my life who can speak into me fellow elders and also elders across town and people nearby elders nearby who say what's this I'm hearing you teach.

And at times they've done it. And I'm grateful for that. Then I can explain how I'm right and they're wrong. No then I can explain and they can say oh I hear I hear you. I hear what you're saying. So that in a nutshell is what covenant membership is all about.

It's all about all of us committing ourselves to one another to be and to do for each other all that the New Testament requires. And you and I can't do that without some kind of formal church membership.

And it's about the flock acknowledging that God has raised up shepherds to know them to feed them protect them. And their commitment then is to follow that leadership when they are in agreement with scripture.

It's all about the commitment of the leaders to joyfully keep watch over their souls and their willingness to sacrifice everything for their sakes and their growth in Christ Jesus. It's it's a hard thing being a leader at times.

Oftentimes I've shaken literally in my boots when I've had to get up and correct something that was out of order by someone who was not having the people's interest. I've had to do that. It's it's a hard thing at times you know church history wise but even in our own day.

There are some countries could actually happen here in the US at times as we look down the corridors of time so to speak where leaders especially will be imprisoned for their faith and for their diligence in standing for the word of God.

I've been to foreign lands. I've been to China. I've been to Mongolia. I've been to India where many people are imprisoned for their faith. But it starts usually with the leaders. It starts with the pastors.

I am aware of pastors who spent at least 15 years behind bars just because they are a leader in the church of Jesus Christ. It's not a thing that is known about too much in the West. Thank God we've had a lot of freedom.

I don't know how long those freedoms will continue to exist. But we do not should not go into ministry for fame and adulation and for financial gain. But because of the call of God and because we love people we love God and we love people.

And that's the case. So here's some practical reasons why it's important. This word commitment. It's something that it's almost a curse word in some religious circles and a lot of people say I'm not into organized religion.

Well do you want the disorganized kind. I don't believe Jesus would be proud of that either. But what we're doing as leaders and elders and people is to look through the New Testament say how does God want this thing called his church to function.

Jesus said I will build my church. And as such he's the owner of it. He's a sustainer of it. And he has ordered that certain things take place there so that when we come together we're not scratching our heads as to what happens but we do things according to his will.

So we prefer to date the church rather than marry her. We prefer to have her around for special events take her out. And when life feels lonely keep her around for a rainy day. And membership is one of the ways to stop dating churches and actually marry one.

That's Kevin DeYoung who said that. But more than that it defies the temptation most of us feel to be totally independent. We have an independent streak running through our nature and I think in the Western world America leads the way in being independent.

We actually celebrate a day of the year. July 4th every year celebrating independence happens to be from the country I'm from when America shook off the tyranny of the British Empire all those years ago.

But we like to celebrate the fact we're independent. We do our own thing. We serve no sovereign here. We're one of the placards that were raised before the war with the British. And so in fact during the war as well.

But the fact is Jesus' kingdom is a kingdom. God's kingdom is a kingdom. And that word kingdom means king and dom. Dom short for domain. It's the domain of the king where the king reigns. And the church is an expression of the kingdom of God.

It's not everything in the kingdom but it's an expression of the king and his kingdom. And he rules by the scepter of his word. And so covenant membership facilitates that accountability as few other things can.

When we join a church we're offering ourselves to one another to be encouraged, rebuked, corrected and served. We're saying I'm here to stay. I want to help you grow in godliness. Will you help me do the same?

We're placing ourselves under leaders submitting to their authority. And both ways there's a commitment going on. Why do people resist this idea? I think because we love our independence. Why would we love our independence?

It's just human nature. We want to do things our way. People have had a bad experience perhaps. I'm very sympathetic to those who have but that does not negate what Jesus is saying to us now if we take the Bible seriously.

Through the writers, through the apostles, Christ has made his will very clear. Somebody might say I've been offended in the past by a church that had a membership drive. And all you could hear about was get members, get members, get members, numbers, growth, numbers, growth.

Well I'm put off by the exact same thing. All I can say is good for you, I agree, I'd be offended at that too. It should be done just like a marriage with a lot of time and a lot of thought going into it.

Is this a place that honors the word of God? I look past how big the choir is and whether they have a choir. That's not something that you see outlined in the New Testament. I'm not looking at the youth group or the children's ministry.

Again, you don't see those things in the New Testament. It's something we've added. The music, the lighting, the coldness of the room, all of these things. You go back into the early church and they met underground because they're in fear of their lives.

Just have to go to Rome and see the catacombs where many were worshipping God with full expression beneath the ground because that's the only place they could do so safely. Even then, it was not always clear that they would survive the night in doing so.

It feels exclusive, some people say, to have membership. I can't really understand that because we're not excluding anyone when we talk about membership. If you are a Christian and want to follow the Lord, then be baptized and get involved in a local church.

Join a church. Anyone can do that. Whoever, whosoever will. I believe in those whosoever wills. I just believe that God has explained that only those who are his elect will, actually will, to do that.

Membership's been used to prevent some members from serving the church. People might say, well, you need to define what you mean, serve. We don't require membership for someone who wants to attend a house group.

But shouldn't we require something of people who's going to stand up and lead a house group? Shouldn't we know what their doctrine is? I don't think we're taking our role as leaders very seriously if we allow anyone to teach.

We need to be able to say, can you sign on the line here that you embrace this particular creed or confession of the church, which has been accepted by Christians through the centuries? The Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Chalcedonian Creed, the Confessions.

At our church, we embrace the New Hampshire Baptist Confession for members and also the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith for elders. We want to make sure that those who are teaching actually embrace what we believe the Bible teaches.

These creeds and confessions are not equivalent to scripture, but at the same time, they are like guardrails. As I've explained on a previous dividing line, they're like guardrails that the church has said, this is what we believe the Bible teaches.

You see, every cult member says they believe the Bible. Well, a lot of them, but then they give very erroneous views as to what the Bible teaches. They deny the deity of Christ, deny the Trinity, deny justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

It feels too formal and too structured, some people might say. Well, I believe in being relaxed and organic in that sense of having fun, but your body needs structure. And if your skeleton's in trouble, so is your body.

You break a bone and your muscles feel it. So it is in the body of Christ, there should be some structure that allows for growth. Lazy, sloppy unity isn't going to last. I believe in being informal, but there are certain times when we say, you know what?

This is what the word of God says, and we're going to do it because God says it, just because he says it. It feels tough for me because I was deeply hurt by membership. Again, I'm sure that's true. Let's just commit to not doing that at the church where we're functioning.

Let's make sure that we are loving one another, putting people before ourselves. Somebody might say, I'm fearful of being controlled. Good. I don't want that as much as anyone else. So find a place where you can feel that the elders aren't wishing to control you.

Lead you, guide you, protect you, feed you, nourish you. Yes, yes, yes, but control, no. Someone might say, well, I'm a member of the Universal Church. Why do I need a local church? Without being too blunt, because the Bible says, moving right along.

I'm not trying to be harsh. I just believe what I'm telling you. You mean you actually believe what you said on the last prayer? Yes, I do. People might say it's not in my spiritual DNA to have formal membership.

Never had it before. Well, adjust. It's in the spiritual DNA of your relationship with God, because God is the one who's behind membership. I believe that. I actually believe that. That's why I'm talking about this.