Is Local Church Membership Biblical?

The Biblical Basis for Local Church Membership

Well good evening everybody the handouts are right there. This is a front and back handout tonight so please Please hold on to it because my my thinking is we're not going to get through Both sides, but I had it printed on front and back because it's all one lesson.

It's just sort of a lengthy lesson because tonight we are going to talk about the subject of church. Membership last week we looked at church leadership actually that's what we've been doing for several weeks.

We've talked about the elders and we've talked about the deacons and we've talked about who qualifies for those offices. But tonight we are going to go a step further. We're going to say okay. We've talked about the elders.

We've talked about the deacons. We've talked about church leadership church structure. What is the church? Tonight we're going to say church membership, and we're going to ask three Very vital questions, and they're on your paper.

When when when you get it the the three vital questions for tonight are number one. It's church membership and a local congregation. I've got it, but it's church membership and a local congregation even biblical.

That that's our first and I know it's a yes-no question, but I want to if we say yes, then what? So it's a if so yes, or if so why the second question is how has church membership been misunderstood and.

Then the third question is what is church membership and a biblically functioning church. The phrase biblically functioning churches is actually a term that I I I don't remember if I came up with it, but somebody here came up with it, and it ended up being a series I did almost a year-long preaching series on the subject of The church and it ended up changing how we we ended up redoing our constitution and everything based on what the Bible said about church membership church leadership and all those things and.

And so we the title of the book that came out of that I wrote a book out of that called the biblically functioning church, so what do we mean by that? What is a biblically functioning church? Can you hear me brother you good?

Okay? All right, so We're going to look at those three questions. First tonight is church membership even biblical. And the reason why I start with that question because because I've been asked that in fact I have met pastors who don't think that church membership is necessary.

They would say this they would say When people come to our church if they're believers we treat them as members, and we just function that way there is no formal Inclusion process they don't have to they don't have to affirm a covenant they don't have to affirm a statement of faith if they're believers, and they're under our roof while they're here there with us and.

The funny thing about that is the one particular. I remember telling me that He was part of a church plant. They were planting a church and starting a church and that was the because I asked him I said what what's your process for membership going to look like as he and I were at lunch, and we were talking I said what's your process for membership?

He said we're not going to have one if you're here, and you're a believer. You're that's you're you're you're part of the church. And my immediate response was and I wasn't being snarky, and I was not being I promise I was I was being kind.

I said that won't last. I Said it just won't last. And he said well, I think it will and we kind of you know went on a few months later. It was maybe a year later. We met again had lunch again and They had a membership process and and again, I'm not saying I was a prophet.

I just know that. Here's why I said it church membership is Necessary because there because of the exclusion process which the church must uphold if You have an exclusion process. Then you must have an inclusion process.

So everybody turn to your Bibles to 1st Corinthians chapter 5. Yeah, there's what we're talking about right? How do you become a member and why is it important? Yeah, it's all it all fits together well 1st Corinthians 5.

The Apostle Paul is dealing with a very odd situation Situation. The Bible gives us very little information. We sort of have to make some deductions based upon What is said? But this is what it says it says.

It's actually reported that there are sexual immorality among you and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans. For a man has his father's wife. And you are arrogant are you not rather to mourn let him let him who has done this be removed from among you.

For though absent in the body I am present in spirit and if present I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing when you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present in the power of the Lord Jesus.

You are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. So that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. All right, what's this talking about? That's it. That's a legit question.

What is this? What is being talked about here? Andy mentioned a minute ago Church Discipline. Yeah, if you know it, yeah Church discipline. There's a guy here. He's he's having an affair with his father's wife.

Now, we don't know what that means. We're pretty certain. It's not his mother because we would have said mother right, so the assumption is the father has a wife that is not his mother which would probably be his Mother died so he married Another woman and so there this woman is his stepmother essentially and the the man is having a Illicit affair that is well known to the church.

Paul is a Paul is a he's he's Accosting the Corinthians not because this man sinned but because the church hasn't done anything about it. You are affirming this man by not Excluding him you are affirming his sin by not Challenging his behavior now you guys say that doesn't sound very 2020, right?

That does not sound modernistic at all because in the modern church and I'm gonna have a lesson later on how church discipline works but my argument is very simple. You cannot practice discipline on a person within the church unless that person has become part of the body and Submitted to the leadership of that body.

How can you have a formal? Exclusion process if there is no inclusion process how can you be put out if you were never brought in and So right away, I would say that church discipline which is explained in Matthew 18 1st Corinthians 5 Titus 2 and other places that that and we're going to go through it like I said in a few weeks.

We're actually gonna go through the process what does church discipline look like how does it happen? What are some of the steps what happens if you don't follow the steps, you know, we're gonna go through all that.

But for now just looking at this passage. They're telling him Paul is saying you're not doing what you're supposed to as a church as a church. You should have disciplined this man, which means to deliver him over to Satan.

Which literally means kick his rear end out the door. Say the nice way get him out. He is he is in the church and he shouldn't be Again, not very modern not very 2020. And a lot of people don't like it but It's in the text so if There is an inclusion or exclusion process.

I would argue that would mean there is an inclusion process. The second argument to say why for why why would I argue that there is a Biblical church membership is that when we look at the early church there were meticulous records kept.

So not only was there a formal exclusion process, which would denote a formal inclusion process, but the inclusion process was actually Kept in in record. Give you an example acts 241. So those who received the word were baptized and there were added that day about 3 ,000 souls right there.

We have the adding of souls. We have the number Acts 246 same chapter just a little further down. It says day by day attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes. They received their food with glad and generous hearts.

Praising God and having favor with all the people and the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. So not only did they have this huge revival on Pentecost of 3 ,000 people entered the church and they recorded it.

But they also recorded the fact that every day they had new people coming into the church. And so there's records of this happening. I'm not saying there was a church secretary writing names down, but they knew that it was happening and we have that here and We see in Acts 4 another 5 ,000 come in Acts 4 verse 4.

And again, it is apparent someone was keeping a record. Someone was in charge of how many professed faith and perhaps it was the first church secretary who knows but the key is that membership in the church was known it was accounted for and it indicates to me at least and A formal method of entrance.

Now, what was the formal method of entrance in the ancient church? Amen up. We literally spent the first half hour talking about it. Baptism was the formal method of entrance into the church. That's important.

Because baptism has now become relegated to almost like an afterthought. Where baptism was in the in the ancient church how you became part of the church? Think about this is why acts 238 should not bother us.

Because acts 238 is often used by people to try to argue for something called baptismal regeneration. When I get to the ordinances lesson, I'll explain that further. I don't believe in baptismal regeneration, but I do believe Peter was right when he was asked What shall we do and he said repent and be baptized.

Repent and be baptized. For the forgiveness of sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For this promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, right? So we have that promise that but but how do you how do you come into this covenant?

How do you come into this relationship? Through baptism. You say then people have to ask the question. What do you have to be baptized to be saved that I think misses the point. Because when we ask that question We are we are inevitably trying to find a way around.

What if somebody dies and they weren't baptized? What if they truly believe in Jesus and they weren't baptized and what about the thief on the cross or you know? That's always the that that's always the issue, right?

But Mike my response to that is baptism and Salvation are always not causally linked. That baptism causes salvation. That's they're not causally linked, but they are they are genetically Linked in that they both are.

They are connected by virtue of this is what you do. I believe and I get baptized. The idea of believing and not getting baptized was foreign to the ancient church. The idea that you could believe though you agree with that.

Right the ancient church to believe and not be baptized. What are you talking about. Who in the world are you are you serious. That why would you say I believe in Jesus, but I'm not going to be baptized that just didn't make sense.

So not only did you have the formal exclusion process? Not only did you have the copious keeping of records, but you had a formal admission process. And the formal admission process was believe and be baptized.

Now somebody says but that doesn't that doesn't bring you into a local church that brings you into the Universal Church. Oh, nay, nay, so then because. If you were baptized in the church at Ephesus. Guess where you remember?

At the church at Ephesus if You were baptized at the Church of Philippi guess where you remember at the Church of Philippi because they didn't have the first Baptist Church of Philippi and the first Presbyterian Church of Philippi and the first Methodist Church of Philippi.

They had the church at Philippi right now. Galatians is different because Galatians is a region. So there was the church at Lystra and Derby and Iconium so there were churches in these cities. But it was still the church in Iconium or the church in Derby in the church of Lystra if you were baptized into those churches.

That's where you remember. Now this brings up a question well if I moved to another church did I need to be rebaptized. I don't think so I don't think so I do because we don't see that. Either in the Bible or church history the only the only example of rebaptism We see in the Bible is when those I think it's Acts 19 where the ones who'd only been baptized by John.

Am I right they were only they had only received John's baptism. They not hold to the Holy Spirit, and so Paul says you know you need to receive the Holy Spirit. So he baptizes them and they receive the Holy Spirit, and so there's that is the only time.

That's the only example that I know of in Scripture rebaptism. So I'll give you an example. I mentioned First Baptist earlier when we were having prayer time. First Baptist Church, Dr.. Homer. Homer Lindsay.

I was actually friends with his son. My brother worked with Homer. Homer the third and they were both funeral directors or my brother wasn't but they worked at the funeral home. And so I I knew the family and everything was really sad situation because Homer the third died and then like two weeks later Homer Lindsay jr.. Died like his son him and his son died within a month of one another.

It was really really a tragic thing I'm sure for the for the mom you know to have to endure that but. But I remember it was a rule if you joined First Baptist Church from any church other than a Southern Baptist Church.

You had to be rebaptized if you came from and that was his rule. I went to a pastor's conference there, and we were told that it would we went to a class on you know membership and stuff. It was a big pastor's conference every year.

And the rule was if you are coming from a Methodist Church or Disciples of Christ Church or Anglican church any other church. You had to be rebat unless it was a Southern Baptist Church. Yes, sir.

Yes, sir. They have that if you if you come if you join a primitive Baptist Church. Yeah, and you're outside and you were outside of the primitive Baptist denomination David. That was a requirement. Yep sir.

No, this is I'm enjoying this this is not so I like this.

Do we not see in the scriptures evidence of If you were to move from one location to another location. That there was some sort of letter.

That yeah, yeah commit commendation. Yeah, I commend you our sister Phoebe and yeah, absolutely.

Paul says do we need a letter of commendation from you or to you? So I mean how many of us would say that we have that experience and it's not so Used today where if you Remove your membership from one church to another that church that was receiving you would contact the previous church.

Brother and sister so-and-so were they in good standing with a and that letter would be sent and it would be registered from one Membership to another membership. Yeah, and that was their way of Protecting The sanctity of the church the sanctity of the church, but it certainly never really got to the point where.

Well, that's what I'm saying, that's this is odd I think. But like you said you saw it in the room in the in the primitive and I think a lot of Southern Baptists. And here was the argument they made the argument they made was you had people that were coming who had not been baptized as believers.

So you had people coming from? Churches that were baptized as infants and they would say we require believers baptism. Which we require believers baptism, so I understand that but you asked the second question because my hand went up.

I said what about me if I come from the What you we used to be part of the DOC, but now you know if I come from a non-denominational church. They said we wouldn't accept your baptism either. You would have to be re-baptized too because we don't know upon what profession of faith you were baptized.

So when you get re-baptized here, we know you're getting baptized upon a you know, the right doctrine. So it wasn't it wasn't only yeah, that's what that's what was said. It was not only are you getting baptized as a believer and properly so but you're being baptized According to the right understanding of what it means.

So there's a lot and again, I've kind of gone off the rails a little bit. And I think I think it has right I think it has. Yeah, and R .c. Sproul actually made a fairly decent argument against Somebody being re-baptized at a new church.

He was opposed to re -baptism at all, but I thought it was a pretty good argument. I don't want going to it tonight, but there is an argument that Continual need for baptism and getting baptized everywhere You go is sort of violating the whole idea that this is a promise from God and this is something God has given to you.

You're having to reaffirm it everywhere you go. It's almost like you're questioning what God has promised in the in the sign itself. Which is that you've been buried with Christ and raised to new life.

So so there's there's that part of it, too, but Oh, I hadn't thought about that, but yeah that I mean There is a very important thing in the Southern Baptist Church. And by the way, we're not a Southern Baptist Church.

So I'm careful what I say, but I did graduate from the Southern Baptist School. So I feel like I'm just enough that I can talk about. But the but you're right brother in the SPC that baptism number is very important.

Which is why I truly believe if you ask a lot of Southern Baptists. How many times you've been baptized? It's it's at least twice or three times because I got baptized at BBS when they were 10 11 12 they got baptized when they went to church camp when they were 1617 then they were baptized again when they got married because they've been sinning up until that point, you know, I mean just see I mean.

It's it's you know, they got the threefold baptism, you know one for each member of the Godhead, you know, and so so. But every one of those was counted. Every one of those was sent to the you know sent in as part of their baptism numbers.

And again it all comes. No, please.

In the SPC newsletters and they went to all the membership churches first thing was giving how much You leave Baptist Church gave last month and the second thing was I'm gonna back to your point those were the two tokens that we use and so if you were on the top of the list you were considered as One of the leading churches and you weren't buying the list in either giving or baptism.

You got. They made it known to you. Oh No, yeah.

And you what was in two numbers? It was baptisms and giving. I thought the Sunday school numbers would have been in there, too because that was always that was always funny when I would spend time with my the guys at seminary because they were all part of Baptist churches, I was the only non Baptist and We were sitting around talking.

It was always how many do you have in Sunday school? How many do you have in Sunday school? And I was like, why don't y 'all count how many are in church? I don't know why but it was always Sunday school numbers was always the the way.

Yeah, I remember that now we did that at the old church. I remember you'd go in and they'd say gave this much and then last week's giving. Yeah. Alright, well, let me get back to so does everyone understand my argument my argument is there was a formal exclusion process.

There was a formal record keeping of records and there was a formal inclusion process. Therefore church, I would say church membership is biblical. I would say as soon as a person becomes a believer. It should be the desire of their heart to be among other believers in Fellowship, we we stand at a unique time in history.

Where there's literally churches everywhere you turn around in our area now. It's not this way if you go out west into California and other places. There's not always a church on every corner. Certainly not a biblical Church all the way all around but where we are.

I mean, there's a lot of churches and. So that adds to the difficulty of understanding local church membership. Because you're a member of Sovereign Grace Family Church that has a group of elders that are.

This is our church and we function as a church. Literally a block away. There's Bold City a Mile away. It's first Baptist Ocean Way. Chet's Creek just opened across the street from them and 1122 is being put in at the old food line.

Yeah, so we've got literally throw a stone, you know, you can hit churches all around not all. Equal as far as theology and doctrine, but that creates another problem for that whole inclusion exclusion process.

Because let's say a person is excluded because of sin. Another church would say well, we want you to come to our church. So no matter what we're going to accept and so therefore the exclusion process sort of hits a bit of a snag.

Because the whole purpose of excluding according to first Corinthians 5 what we read was that the person would recognize their need that they would be Separated from the body and they would recognize the need for the body and want to come back to the body.

But if but if all it is is I walk out of Sovereign Grace Church and I walk into Bold City Church. And there's no change. There's the Bold City doesn't ask me and I'm not saying they wouldn't. I don't know anything about Bold City.

I'm just saying but if I walk out of Sovereign Grace because I've been I've been put under discipline and I walk out of here. And I walk into Bold City and they say come in welcome. We want to have you we don't know questions asked then that that causes the issue of The whole function of discipline to have a problem.

So. But just because that's the case doesn't mean that church membership is any less valuable or any less important. This is why we have a new members class. It's not a long class. Ron and Wilma just went through it.

It was only you know one class that you come to with me. We go through the statement of faith. Do you understand what we believe about these things? Do you have any questions? Do you feel like we have?

We've fully explained to you who we are in our faith and what we believe. Do you understand what it means to become a member of a church? What's expected of you and what? You should expect from the church by the way on the back of your sheet.

That's what we're going to do next week. What what should the church expect from you? And what should you expect from the church? We're going to go through each of those things because that is very important and We didn't do this in the new members class, but we probably should this should probably be part of it because this is.

This is really important expectations right and So we're going to talk about that but The concept of becoming a member involves understanding what the church believes and Saying I want to I want to come under that I want to come into that I want to be a part of that and I support it you know, we are a church that affirms the doctrines of the Reformation and.

So that does distinguish us from a lot of churches in this area. So whereas as I mentioned Bold City and Chet's Creek and and all those other churches. What would distinguish us is and this is how people find us people say I want to reform church and you go from a thousand churches in Jacksonville to a small handful of churches and Where we are on the north side.

One of the only ones I can't think of any other well, there's brother Rod's churches over here I can't think Eastport Eastport show. Yeah, brother. Steve is Calvinistic yeah. Yeah, so he that so them and Rod and us.

So we're all small churches, too. So that's the thing right that that would distinguish us as a body. So someone who's holds those convictions like Ron and will me I can't hate to keep bringing you up.

But you held those convictions. I talked to your former pastor today. I talked to Brian. We had a great conversation. We're friends on Facebook now. Yeah I said we're friends on Facebook now. So but but.

They came from a church. The pastor was 1689 which that's the London Baptist Confession of Faith. That's the fit. That's the confession that they held to and that's very that that would be very close to what we believe.

And so that's why they came here. That's why they drive all the way from Normandy to get here versus, you know you know, maybe somewhere between and. Why do you think brother Mike drives all the way from the beach, you know, that's called worshiping out of.

Conviction instead of worshiping out of convenience. I think so. I think that's true.

I think I think now I do I do wish we all lived in a closer proximity. I wish that we I know you wish we all lived in Callahan, but. But but that is the one difficult thing about having a church like ours because part of the reason for the body being the body is that we do life together and We have a hard time doing life together when brother Andy's and Yuli and I'm in.

I'm gonna be in Callahan hopefully soon and You know brother Mike's at the beach I'll be close to brother Jack because we'll be both being Callahan for brother Richard lives way over in Marietta. You know, so that that does make it a little difficult.

To fulfill some of the things that we would like to do doing life together doesn't make it impossible. We do it but. But like my brother Aaron Bell, you all know Aaron he became the pastor at Redeemer Church in Yuli and He and I were talking the other day and you know, he is committed to being right there close by his people.

He wants to be near them. And I think that's wonderful that that's part of his desire. And so it's it's one of those things or you know, it doesn't always work out that way. You want to say something brother?

Go ahead.

Yes, amen. That's right, and so that would identify a specific church in the locality. That's one of the reasons why a lot of church a lot of people Steer away from joining any local church because they don't want to.

Total line and I use that term total line under a specific not only a specific set of doctrines, but a specific set of practice which is.

Which is a real issue. You just gave me a thought for so I want to I want to add to what you just said. Everybody's heard the word orthodox, right? Orthodox means straight believing or straight thinking or straight doctrine.

Ortho think about like orthodontist who works in your teeth. They work to straighten your teeth. That's what ortho means. It means to straighten so orthodox means straight beliefs or straight doctrine.

Orthodoxy should lead to ortho praxi and that's what he's talking about. The right thinking should lead to right practice right church practice right home practice right living. Right, right faith should lead to right behavior, right and then orthodoxy orthopraxy leads to doxology.

Doxology is worship. You know, we always sing the song praise God from whom all blessings flow call that the doxology. Doxology is in worship. It's the outworking of our or of our theology our theologies begins with right thinking and Right practice which becomes right worship.

And so these three things. Yes, if you're looking for a church These should be the things. Are they teaching right? Are they living as they believe and are they worshiping in accord with what they believe?

Those are that all fits together and. And and that's why I would I would go on to say this and I know we only answered the first question tonight. But the question of is is church membership biblical.

I would say yes, because why would you not want to be? United. With a body of believers that you share orthodoxy that you share orthopraxy and that you share doxology with. Why would you not want to be committed?

It's almost like this and forgive me if anyone would consider this crass I don't mean for it to be but we've come to a day in time for a lot of people never get married. They just live together. They never make the commitment of Covenant marriage and the same thing the same attitude is in the church.

I'm going to come and I'm going to enjoy all the benefits of Praise and all the benefits of teaching and all the benefits of fellowship, but I'm not going to commit because in commitment there's Responsibility there's expectations.

So next week, we're going to look at what those expectations are. But the big I would say church church membership is completely biblical. I think we have ample evidence to say that it's certainly something that we should we should be Committed to the local church.

The church should expect from us and we should expect from the church. There should be a mutual Relationship almost and I would go I would even go as far as to say there should be a form of covenantal relationship.

Where when we join we say we're saying we all are covenanted together to believe together to live together to support one another to rebuke and reprove one another to be a family as the body of Christ.

Yeah, no now explain that because I want to make sure you're saying Yes, absolutely, so we are coming in and saying we want to be a part and do it the right way. All right, so we didn't get to the second two questions.

Which is how has church membership been misunderstood and what is church membership and a biblically functioning church? Well, the third one is going to be answered by the back of your sheet the expectations.

Church Membership as Covenant, Family, and Commitment

But here's the answer to the second question. How has church membership been misunderstood? I think it's been misunderstood as being part of a club rather than part of a family. It's been it's been misunderstood to be a social a social club rather than a spiritual family and We'll talk maybe that'll be the intro for next week.

We'll talk more about how what that looks like Because what happens in a social club not much. People get together and talk and have fun. But ministry doesn't happen ministry is what the church should be about.

So let's let's we'll finish with prayer. And we'll open with that next week father. Thank you for this time of study. Thank you for brother Andy and our ability to work together and work off of each other.

I've really enjoyed tonight father and I thank you for this small group that comes and and father may you be glorified and are seeking to Study your word in Christ's name. Amen.