Is Church Membership Biblical / Necessary? Lessons From the Steve Lawson Scandal

Hello and thank you for watching this video. We're going to be talking about church membership. Is it biblical? Is it important? I'm going to say yes, and yes, I'll show you the Bible verses. I'll give you all the information that you need.

Here's what I've noticed. There are people out there who would say that church membership is not biblical. Typically, maybe not always, but typically it's an issue of authority. People don't want to come under the authority of a pastor or a group of elders because they want to do what they want to do.

Church Membership and the Question of Authority

They don't want to be held accountable. Nine times out of ten, if somebody is arguing about or resisting church membership, that's the root cause. You can pretty much take it to the bank. Again, are there some exceptions?

Maybe, but that's almost always what it is. We are accountable to the Lord and we are accountable to one another. But if you're not part of a local church and you're just a lone ranger Christian, then yeah, you're not really accountable to others and that's a problem.

That is not biblical. So, first off, what's the best biblical argument? I think if you look it up, you'll get verses like 1 Corinthians 12 .27. It says, now you are the body of Christ and members individually.

Paul is writing this to a local church and he says, you are the body of Christ and individually you are members of the body of Christ. I mean, that's a strong argument. Romans 12 .4 -6 pretty much says the same exact thing.

The Local Church in Acts and Matthew 18

On the day of Pentecost, Acts 2, it says, then those, verse 41, those who gladly received Peter's word were baptized. In that day, about 3 ,000 souls were added to them. Well, who's the them? The apostles, the church.

Who was added? 3 ,000. So, they knew who they were. Here's the thing. The sheep have to know who the shepherds were, right? The apostles and later the bishops. And the shepherds need to know who the sheep are.

For example, Jesus in Matthew 18 with the church discipline process. He says that you go to the person and if they don't listen, you bring two or three. And if they still won't listen, you bring it before what?

The church. Well, how are you going to bring it before the church if you don't know who the church members are? See, it's really implied straight throughout the New Testament. So, let's talk about this.

Why Church Membership Matters for Accountability and Care

Church membership. Is it important? Yes. I talked about why it is biblical. Just did that. We're going to give more verses in a moment, but why is it important? Number one, because of accountability. Okay.

So, we're dealing with, and I say we, the body of Christ is dealing with this whole Steve Lawson scandal. And it has implications for the body of Christ worldwide because these, not this issue specifically.

I mean, it's a blip on the radar, but it does raise questions and people are realizing that, hey, this guy, Steve Lawson, wasn't even a member of a local church. And because he was not a member of a local church, there's no accountability.

And because there's no accountability, he was able to lead a double life. And now that he got caught, nobody can hold him accountable because, well, at least that's the argument because he's not part of a church.

So, at least for accountability purposes, the local church and church membership is very important. Also for encouragement and edification. Living with a Christian life is difficult. You need encouragement.

You need to be built up. You need the fellowship. You need to have other people to come alongside and encourage you and help you out. So, accountability. Let's just go through some reasons here. I'm going to read from this article.

It says, accountability, church membership can help individuals stay committed to their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Being part of a church community provides a sense of accountability, encouraging personal growth through worship, Bible study, prayer, and fellowship.

Also, teaching and learning. Churches often provide teachings, Bible studies, and resources that help members deepen their understanding of Scripture and apply it to their lives. Now, I think YouTube is great.

I'm obviously on YouTube right now. You're watching on YouTube. But if you're just sitting on your couch watching YouTube videos, that's not church. That is not the body of Christ. Just about every pastor and every Christian I know acknowledges that and would say, if this is the totality of your Christian life, sitting in your chair watching YouTube, you don't get it.

This is helpful. Of course, there's a lot of garbage on YouTube as well. This can be helpful. It's supplemental. But this is not church. What we're doing right now is not church, obviously. Also, community and fellowship.

Support network. Church membership creates a close-knit community where people can support one another in times of joy and hardship. It fosters relationships that are centered around shared values and beliefs, and that is so important.

Mutual encouragement. Being in a church community allows believers to encourage one another in their faith journey, celebrate milestones, and share experiences. I get it. Someone's going to say, and I really do understand this, somebody would say, well, Mike, especially someone who knows our situation, they might say, Mike, you're the pastor of a church and you have a membership list, and there's a few people on your membership list who are almost never there.

They're on the membership list, they are church members, but they almost never go to church. And then there's other people that are not members, they're attendees, and they're there every week and they contribute and they're a blessing.

So, this is the problem, right? That there are some people who are members, but they're not acting as members. And then there are some people who are acting as members, but they've never made the commitment to become members, and it's reversed.

Let me say this, just because people aren't doing what they should be doing, it doesn't negate the necessity of church membership. Yeah, there's a lot of situations that are not ideal, but that really doesn't change the facts.

Okay, let's continue reading. Service and ministry. This is another reason why church membership is important. Churches often will offer numerous ways to serve, both inside and outside the church. Membership provides opportunities for individuals to use their spiritual gifts and talents to serve one another, whether it's through teaching, ministry, mission work, or charity.

Also, mission and outreach. You really can't send out missionaries without a group of committed members who are giving, okay? Without a group of people who are consistently giving, missions work would be impossible, and then you couldn't carry out the Great Commission.

Church Membership, Ministry, and Mission

So, in that way, in many other ways, church membership, again, it's implied. If it's not taught explicitly in the New Testament, it's certainly assumed or implied all throughout the New Testament. Next, leadership and guidance.

Churches provide spiritual leadership, often in the form of pastors or elders who offer guidance, wisdom, and pastoral care. Members can rely on these leaders for counsel, encouragement, and prayer. And again, someone could say, well, I was part of a church, and I was going through this or that, and I had a need, and I reached out to the pastor, or the deacons just dropped the ball, or they ignored me.

And that might be true, and that might be tragic, but just because somebody, again, isn't doing what they should be doing, it doesn't nullify what God has ordained, okay? Mentorship and discipleship. Obviously, being part of a church, you have an opportunity to be a mentor to somebody, or to be a disciple, and you can find people to teach and encourage and all the rest.

But it really comes down to, oftentimes, accountability. Discipleship and correction. This is the next one. Church membership can be a means for individuals to be held accountable in their walk with Christ.

This is, again, why a lot of people don't want to become a member. They don't even join a church. Sometimes they just hop around here and there. It's because they want to remain unaccountable. Again, nine times out of ten, there could be somebody, you're not a church member anywhere, and it has nothing to do with you being a rebel.

But most of the time, that's what it's about. So, church membership can be a means for individuals to be held accountable in their walk with Christ. If a member strays from the faith, the church can provide love and correction and discipline to help restore them, okay?

And we could continue on and talk about emotional and practical support, bereavement and loss. You know, when you're going through a time of loss or suffering, you need to be able to lean on other people.

We need to bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. This is biblical commitment to the body of Christ. Imagine if nobody was a member of a church. If there were no church members, there would be no churches.

And if there were no churches, then what? I already referenced this, but I'll mention it again. 1 Corinthians 12, let's start in verse 25, the apostle Paul says that there should be no schism in the body.

And remember, he is writing to a local church, which the Corinthians, do they have an official membership list? Whether they had names written down on a piece of paper is beside the point. The church members in Corinth knew who their fellow Christians were, their fellow church members.

Paul says that there'd be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. Or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

Now you are the body of Christ and members individually. Okay. Next verse Romans 12, four through six, Paul writes again to a different local church, which had a whole different group of members for, we have many members Paul says in one body, but all the members do not have the same function.

And people say, see, it's not talking about members, like church membership is talking about body parts. Well, that's the analogy, but Paul is talking about individual people who are members, just like you have a, your hand is a member and you have different body parts.

Yeah, that's the analogy, but he's talking about it in correlation to people who are members of the church, right? So you can't just dismiss this passage. So we, verse five, being many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another, having then gifts differing according to the grace of God.

Okay. Then he talks about spiritual gifts. And if you have spiritual gifts, where are you going to exercise them? You do it to a large degree in the church. Okay. And again, it's assumed Acts chapter two, 3000 souls were added to them, right?

Then it says they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship. So they continued to gather and they had fellowship and they broke bread. They took communion Hebrews 13, 17, obey those who rule over you and be submissive for they watch out for your souls.

Add those as those who must give an account. So those who rule over you. Okay. So who's the, you who's the, they like you need to know the sheep need to know the shepherd, the shepherd need to know who the sheep are got questions .org says this about Hebrews 13, 17, whom will the pastor give an account for except the members of his own church.

He is not responsible for all the Christians in the world, only for those under his care. Likewise, he is not responsible for all the people in his community, only for believers under his leadership, his church members.

In other words, membership in a local church is a way of voluntarily placing oneself under the spiritual authority of a pastor. Again, it's implied. And I think at this point, if you're looking at this honestly and clearly, yeah, you can make these arguments members versus attendees that they have membership lists and how do they do it?

Exactly. I get it. But church membership, absolutely biblical. And if you're not a member of a local church, you know, you could just ask, ask the question before God, just you and God and say, Lord, why am I not a member of a local church?

See, he knows the reason. You probably know the reason. Maybe there is a good reason. I don't know, but I would ask that question between you and God, talk it over and say, Lord, do you want me to be part, be a member of a local church?

I think he's going to say yes. So, thanks for listening. And until next time, may the Lord be with you. Have a great day.