Church Membership - Part Eight

In our church, there is a third requirement for church membership. That requirement is that you agree to support the work of the church financially and spiritually as you are able.

Remember, we are a family. The church is the family of God, and our local church is a family within the extended family of the universal church. So how does a family operate? In our family, we have visitors who often come and stay with us. We love having guests. We want them to feel at home, and we don't expect them to do the dishes or take out the trash. We serve them, and we do it joyously.

But things are different for the members of our family. If you are a part of our family, you are expected to pull your fair share of the load. You will take your turn with the dishes, and you will have assigned chores. We don't call them chores in our family, we call them acts of service or acts of ministry to the ones we love. But the jobs are the same. And if you are a part of the family, you are expected to carry your fair share.

Now certainly, babies aren't given a job. And the jobs that are given are age appropriate. I don't give my four year old a chainsaw and send him out to cut firewood. That would be stupid on my part. But we can expect our four year old to pick up his toys when he is done playing with them or help set the table. As he grows in ability and maturity, the complexity of the job will increase. And if one of our kids doesn't do his chores (I mean acts of service), he pays the consequences. Only our guests get away with doing nothing. That's how it works in our family.

Now, shouldn't we have the same expectation of people who join our local church family? shouldn't they be expected to contribute something to the well being and health of the church? If you are our guest, we will serve you gladly; but if you are part of the family, you are expected to serve along side of us. You are expected to pull your fair share.

And we will give you ministries based on your spiritual maturity and according to your spiritual giftedness. New believers won't be asked to preach a sermon, for instance, or become a deacon. No one should be given a job above their skill level. But you should expect to do some ministry within your skill level and giftedness.

This is Scriptural, you know. Ephesians 2:8-9 teach that we are saved by grace through faith, and that it is not of works. But the next verse, Ephesians 2:10, talks about our work. It says, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we could walk in them." We aren't saved by our works, rather, we are saved to work. We are created to work for God. Even before we were born, God planned work for us. God gave us at least one spiritual gift so that we could accomplish the work He'd planned. He also gave us His Spirit to indwell us and empower us to do the work. He supplies all we need.

God expects us to get the job done. What an abomination for a true believer to sit on his duff like so much dead wood and just soak up the good benefits that come from Christ without ever lifting a finger to help. Yet, how many people sit in church week after week like a bump on a log, or like a corpse in a pew? They never give back to God any of the money that he provides to them to live on, and they never serve Him with the gifts he has given them. If they were created to work for God, they have aborted their purpose.

Certainly, God gave His best to us. John 3:16 tells us, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." God sent His Son to the cross to die for us as our substitute so that He could offer us eternal life as a free gift. All we have to do is reach out our hand in faith to receive it. How can we not be so eternally grateful that we we wouldn't do anything for Him? We should be willing to pay any cost - to go any distance - for the one who loved us this much. So why then is it a strange thing if we expect members to support the work of the church?

What about you? Are you a guest or a member? If a guest, how long are you going to simply go along for the ride? When will you commit yourself to the work of ministry?

Church Membership - Part Seven

There is a second requirement of church membership. We said the first was a solid testimony of being born-again. The second, at least from our church constitution, is an agreement with our doctrinal position.

What does that mean? Does it mean that we have to agree with every jot and every tittle that's written (That's a little King James Bible lingo for you)? No! That's not what it means. Quite frankly, our church's doctrinal statement is quite basic. It isn't based on denominational distinctives, nor does it try to cover every doctrine in depth. We believe and teach a lot more than what is in our doctrinal statement. But our doctrinal statement does cover the fundamentals of the faith, especially when it comes to the nature of God, of Christ, of sin, and of salvation. Is it a perfect statement? NO! Would any of us necessarily write it again the same way? Probably not! But that doesn't mean it isn't a good statement.

Now certainly, the Bible is inspired. The Bible is perfect and changeless. But our doctrinal statement was written by fallible men. That's why our constitution provides a method to change it. It isn't easy to change, and it shouldn't be. But, yes, it can be changed. That doesn't mean we are turning heretic if we change something. But it does mean there could be a better way of stating what we believe. So we don't expect absolute and perfect agreement. That isn't what we mean when we say that it is a requirement to agree with our doctrinal statement.

What it means is this: It means we want people to join our church who believe basically what we believe. Those who join should support and agree with what we teach anmd preach. Not every jot and tittle, necessarily. We don't claim to have a lock on truth. Nor do we claim infallibility. If you disagree with what I have to say, I am more than willing to listen to you to wee if I am wrong.

But what we don't want is for someone to join the church with an agenda to change us. We are an Independent Bible Church by conviction. That's what we are going to stay. If you want a Universalist Unitarian Chruch that denies the doctrine of the trinity and contends that everyone will eventually be saved, well, how can I say it kindly? Our church isn't for you. If you are looking for a church where everyone speaks in tongues and gets slain in the spirit, our church isn't for you. If you are looking for the high church where the service is read out of a book, our church isn't for you. Do you see what I am saying? We are an Independent Bible Church. If that is what you are looking for, this is the place for you. If you want something else, you need to look elsewhare.

Does that mean we wouldn't want you to attend our services? Of course not! We would be honored if you worshipped with us. And there are many wonderful, mature Christians who disagree with us on some doctrines. But we are what we are because we believe this is what God wants us to be. We believe this is what God tells us a church should be. Join us if that's what you believe.

But don't join us if your goal is to change us. That would only bring schism to the church. In Proverbs 6:16 it says, "These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him" Then, after listing six, the seventh is, "And one who sows discord among brethren." Don't be one of those who sows discord in this church. If you don't believe what we believe, don't join. Or come and sit quietly in a pew as our guest. But don't try to bring upheaval by pushing doctrines contrary to our core beliefs. That's why we require agreement with our doctrinal statement from people who join the church.

Church Membership - Part Six

We've talked about the need to assure that every church member is a born-again believer - that in order to be a member of the local church, they already are a part of the universal church through their faith in Jesus Christ. But why is this important?

As a congregational church, we believe that Christ is the head of His body the church, and the church takes her orders from Him. But how can an unsaved person receive guidance from christ through His Holy Spirit if he doesn't have the Holy Spirit within him? How can he possibly vote on issues with Christ's mind if he doesn't possess Christ? He can't.

Churches that allow unsaved people into their membership inevitably go liberal over time. It's only natural. How can they help it? If they have unsaved people helping shape the direction of the local church, how can it stay true to the course? That's why requirement Number One is a clear confession of faith.

Does that mean we don't want unsaved people to come to our church? Do we not want them to attend? Don't be silly! Of course we do! They are most certainly welcome. We invite them to come. We desire that they hear the Gospel message and respond to it. We want them to get saved. So, yes! We want them to come as our invited guests. But we don't let them put in a change of address until they become part of the family. Until they profess Christ, they are simply that - invited guests.

Church Membership - Part Five

Last time, I said that the non-negotiable requirement for membership in the local church was that one be born-again. That is the requirement to be part of the universal church, so it must be the requirement to be a member of the local church. But why? Why is it important? Let's think about it. And I am assuming you are a Christian, so let's think as Christians.

Who should the church call as their pastor? What is the most important criteria? Who should the church choose as a deacon? Or, who would you want the church to pick as the Sunday School teacher for your kid's class? Do you see what I am getting at? The first and foremost qualification must be that they are saved - that they are born again - and then that they have some measure of spiritual maturity.

Requiring church membership is a minimal way of assuring this. To say that, if you want the privileges and responsibilities of church membership, you have to make a commitment to join; isn't too much to ask. And it isn't hard for a genuine believer. To join our church, there are three simple requirements. We will cover the first today.

The first requirement is that you be born-again. This is the only requirement to be a part of the universal church. You must be born-again through faith in Jesus Christ. In other words, you must be a Christian. But being a Christian requires that you make a confession of your faith. This is what it teaches in Romans 10:9-10:

"That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

We think it is important for a believer to profess his faith.

"But, wait a minute," You may say. "I'm already a Christian. I automatically became part of the universal church when I trusted Christ, didn't I? Why shouldn't I automatically be a member of the local church?" The simple answer is, Christ can see your heart. He knows whether or not you have trusted Him. We don't. And it is our job to guard the local church. So we need you to tell us about it. We need to hear your testimony of salvation before you join. We need you to tell us what you are trusting in for salvation.

Certainly not everyone who claims to be a Christian is one. We talked about that back in our discussion of the Parable of the Wheat and Tares. Not every profession of faith is genuine. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, Matthew 7:21-23:

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'"

You only have to think of the cults that come to your door to know the truth of this. They claim to be Christians. They work like crazy. Some of them put us to shame with their zeal. But they aren't saved because the have not trusted Christ. They trust in their own good works. Acts 16:31 says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." It doesn't say trust in your good works.

Ephesians 2:8-9 teach,

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

If they are trusting in their good works to get them to heaven, they aren't saved. And if they do not turn to Christ in faith, they will one day hear those words of Jesus, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who proactive lawlessness."

Obviously, not everyone who claims to be part of the universal church really is. We want to make sure before we allow them to become members and engage in ministry in our local church. that is why we require that we hear their testimony.

Church Membership - Part Four

After all that we've said concerning wheat and tares and false teachers, how does this apply to church membership? Why do we and most churches require a person to actually go through the process of joining the church in order to minister within the local church? The answer should be obvious. The answer is quality control.

Oh, but that doesn't sound good, does it? It makes it sound like the church is some kind of elite club where the less than desirable need not apply. But that's not it at all. There is, and should be, no prejudice within the church. You can see this in Galatians 3:26-29:

"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

When this says we are all sons of God, that doesn't mean every person, but every person who has come to Jesus Christ in faith for salvation. That's what makes us a child of God and an heir to the promise. Being Christ's is the only requirement. That puts us all on equal footing within the kingdom of God.

Indeed, the church is an equal opportunity employer. People aren't called by God because of their riches or power, or their good looks, or talent. Most of the time, it is in spite of a lack of any of these things. It tells us this in 1st Corinthians 1:26-29,

"For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the the weak things of the world to put to shame the things that are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things that are not to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence."

God doesn't often choose those with lots of natural talent. The rich and famous, the talented and powerful; anything they accomplish for God they would take credit for. "After all, I am so talented," they would say. Or, "That was my money that paid for that program, you know." But someone who isn't all that much in themselves - the common and despised person of this world - if he accomplishes something for God, he knows that God did it through him. God gets all the credit.

So, no! When I say quality control, I am not talking about excluding the less than rich and beautiful. I'm talking about the difference between saved and unsaved. Only the saved are part of the kingdom of god. Only the saved are children of God. Only the saved are part of the universal church. Therefore, only the saved should be allowed to be members of the local church.

Church Membership - Part Three

We've been talking about the tension that exists in every local church between the genuine believers and the make-believers. Now throw in the question we have asked: why are there so many different denominations and so many different local churches, even in small, local communities; and you can understand how this tension plays out.

It plays out like this: The true believer wants to see the pastor preaching and teaching the Word of God in all its grandeur, straight and unvarnished. They live for the pure milk and meat of the Word. The true doctrines of the faith excite them. The make-believers prefer false doctrine that tickles their ears. "The Bible is outdated, after all, and not relevant for today," They say. "We have come so much farther than those parochial Jews who were prejudiced against women and gays. We're enlightened." And they think they can sit in judgment over the Bible deciding what is or isn't relevant for today.

Now, it they are better at infighting and can come up with enough votes at a congregational meeting, they can change the doctrines of the church. They can assure that the preachers who are called are the less offensive ones who won't step on the good church member's toes by preaching the Word, or make unbelievers feel uncomfortable.

This is precisely why the elders of the church are commanded to guard and preserve the pure doctrines of the church. We can see this as Paul called the elders of the church in Ephesus to him as he was on his way to Jerusalem to be arrested and taken to Rome. In Acts 20:25-31, he says:

"And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears."

That's the problem. False teachers will arise to draw the church away from the truth of God's Word into error. Paul claimed that he had taught them the whole counsel of God's Word, holding nothing back, no matter how much public opinion swayed against Him. False teachers will lead the congregation away from the truth. But it is Christ's church. He purchased it with His own blood. He gets to say what our doctrines should be, and He has through His Word. It is up to His preachers to teach it straight. It is through the false teachers that arise within the church, the savage wolves as Paul calls them, that false doctrines enter the church. The elders must guard against that. Requiring an examination for church membership helps to guard against this.

Even Jesus warned that the wolves would come, and He warned that they would not be easily recognized. But He gave us the key to pick them out. In Matthew 7:15-16, Jesus said: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits." The false teachers will come disguised as genuine believers, just like tares. They will present themselves as sheep, the name Jesus used of His true followers. But like the tares, they will bear a different fruit. Being careful with church membership, requiring an examination of the perspective member as to salvation, will help keep out the savage wolves.

Church Membrship - Part Two

Last time, I painted a picture that was pretty black and white as I contrasted the different objectives within the church of the true, born-again believer and the make-believer. But I'm sure you know that in the real world, nothing is ever that black and white. Especially with people, they come in shades of gray.

Sometimes new believers don't seem much different from the world they were just saved out of. they still carry the smell of the fires of hell on them, and they still have lots of that old baggage from the world they carry around. They desperately need to be discipled by an older, dedicated believer. On the other hand, some unbelievers are the sweetest, most generous and moral people you would ever want to meet. You would never know they have never trusted Christ for salvation - that they are still as lost as a billy goat. You'd swear by their actions that they are good Christians. So sometimes, it is really hard to tell them apart. Is this person a carnal Christian? Or is this person a moral pagan interested in the church? And how can you tell them apart?

Remember, the basic problem in the Parable of the Wheat and Tares is that you can't tell them apart - not until the harvest - when the tares show themselves by not producing any fruit. That's the problem we face in every church. How do we tell them apart? Christians don't come with a big "C" tattooed across their foreheads, and unbelievers don't come with that "666" tattooed across theirs. Not yet, anyway. So how do we know who is on our side and who is on the devil's side?

And quite frankly. sometimes the tares don't know either. Quite often, they are deceived into thinking they are just as good a Christian as the next person. And lots of times they are, to our shame. Except that they really aren't. But that's one of Satan's most effective tactics - the tactic of deceit. Revelation 12:7-9 says,

"And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So that great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."

Do you see? Satan is now down here on earth stirring up lots of mischief, and his most effective tactic is deceit. Satan deceives the whole world. And Satan loves nothing more than to have the tares think of themselves as wheat. He loves to deceive the make-believers into thinking of themselves as genuine (They aren't likely to get saved that way).

But that is precisely why Paul urged personal introspection. 3nd Corinthians 13:5 teaches, "Examine yourself as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless indeed you are disqualified." Self examination is so vital. Just because you are a member of a church doesn't mean you have been saved. Make sure you are. Examine your life. And that is why perspective members need to be examined for the genuineness of their faith. Are they really, truly a part of the true church?