Is Church Membership Biblical?

I must admit, Facebook is an excellent place to get new ideas for topics to write about on my blog.  And, as is bound to happen when people discuss discipleship, someone brought up the topic of church membership a few weeks ago.

When I lived in Alaska this topic would come up quite often. Being a very independent people, they had difficulty understanding why they should to belong to a local “church,” because they felt they could worship God anywhere, and at any time.  I can’t remember how many times I’ve heard someone say, “I don’t need to join a church. I can worship God anywhere I wish.” Or “I can’t stand going to church, it’s just filled with hypocrites.”

The truth is, they are not totally wrong.  Jesus never asked people to go to church, but Jesus did asked

people to join a family, a community, a body. And that family is the local church. Church is not a weekly requirement of an hour or so. Rather, God has designed the church family to be an essential part of your daily growth.

And those that do join a local church, do so because they are drawn to a particular church for totally unbiblical reasons—a friend is there, they like the music, the church is friendly, they have a program for their kids, and so on.

So, are there biblical reasons for joining a “local” church? I’m sure I can come up with quite a few, but let’s start with these seven reasons:

1)  Membership in a Local Church Establishes Your Commitment to Christ and the Local Church. Consistently in the gospels, Jesus Christ calls you to a commitment to Himself and to His will for your life. Followers of Christ are marked by their commitment to Christ.

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)

2)  Because God requires us to come together for worship and hearing the Word.
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is...” (Hebrews 10:25a)

3)  Church discipline must be done by the "church."
“If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.” (Matthew 18:17)
“When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 5:4, 5)  

4) Membership in a local church places you under the proper authority. You are to be under the authority that God has set up for your own protection.

Hebrews 13:17 instructs us to, “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

How can you obey this command of Scripture if you are not committed to a local church? It’s clear that this verse assumes you have a committed relationship to a local, biblical church. The leaders are given to you to keep watch over you. Protection and care cannot be administered to the level of benefit you need if there is no commitment.

5) You participate in a stronger, more unified effort of God's people to obey Christ's command to reach others.
According to estimates by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, the world population (the total number of living humans on Earth) was over 7.3 billion as of July 1, 2015.  Only by joining together workers, and combining resources will the “church” be able to fulfill the Great Commission to disciple and baptize the nations.  (Matthew 28:19, 20)

6) Membership in a Local Church Provides the Structure for Effective Spiritual Growth and Ministry.

Ephesians 4:11-16 teaches that God has equipped the local church with all of the people and tools that are necessary to do what God wants done. The people have the spiritual gifts, and the tools are found in the Word of God. Together, God uses these to grow His people spiritually and to teach them how to serve each other more effectively. The goal of this is to have local churches where people do not bounce around from problem to problem (4:14), but instead learn how to solve problems God's way and also learn how to grow together. God provided you with gifts that need to be sharpened and used in the local church. "Each part does its work" (4:16).  In order for you to do your part, you must become a part!

7) And finally, when joining a local church, you encourage new believers to the same “good works” of commitment to the local body of Christ.
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24, 25)
If you do not join a church, what sort of example are you to new believers when you remain uncommitted to the local church?

In these verses, God defines and gives reasons for joining a church, and to show us what it means to be a member of a church. To be part of a “body” means to belong to a living, functioning, serving, witnessing community.  In the New Testament there is no such person as a Christian who is not a church member, and conversion was described as the Lord adding “to the church daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47)

We must remember that Church membership involves responsibility, and we must never lose sight of the great privilege that it is. Church membership, is membership in the body of Christ, and is the greatest honor a person can have in this world.  Have you committed yourself to becoming a member of a local, biblical community?

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