Biblical Church Membership Joining The Church As A Member 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 Short Version 1, June 2022 R.L. Faber

Preface: This article is written with the believer in mind who does not "forsake the assembly" but for conscience sake does not wish to 'join' the 'church' assembly or become a 'member'. This is NOT written as a defense for those who make a habit of forsaking the assembly.

This article is the short version: A more in depth version is here: membership.html. A summary version is here: membership_summary.html.

We are sad about a "church membership" situation at our local church. We feel welcome by most of our Christian brothers, but uneasy with the words of the elders. We have attended this church for 16 years because we liked it and felt it was the best place for our family. But recently we feel unwelcome because of the sermons by the elders and the push for formal 501(c)(3) church membership.

We do not believe in formal 501(c)(3) church membership, but we certain do believe in biblical church membership. We want to be faithful to God's Word. We are also wondering if the elders want us to leave. We will leave in a moment if we are 100% sure we are being kicked out. But as we leave, we will be thinking of 2nd and 3rd John, which is not a good way to leave. So we are waiting. We remain in a state of limbo, waiting for more clear communication. We believe in talking and discussing differences and we think Christian unity is a beautiful thing. We also realize it is possible to misunderstand people. Knowing God, we are sure he doesn't put us with some of his people for 16 years and then want that abandoned with a flippant response and a careless exit. Aside from the membership issue, we think this is the best church in town. Why would we want to leave?

We knew there were many issues with formal church membership and we stopped right away when we saw oaths and vows applied to a long list of requirements. We reasoned that we could bear the consequences (not being able to vote, not being able to teach classes) because these were of lesser importance to us. We started getting the feeling that we are more "out of the church" than we had thought. We always considered the 501(c)(3) membership thing to be a human addition, something you have to do in these modern days to keep the government happy. But its not the real membership Paul is talking about in 1 Cor 12:12-30, Eph 4:3-6 and Romans 12:4-8.

There are four big issues,

• We as "attenders" are considered "outsiders" (outside the church) (an identity issue)
• Paul is being misunderstood on an important biblical text (an identity issue)
• We are encouraged to look for another church because of a submission issue (a unity and authority issue)
• Only one side of the argument is presented

We are preparing an article to guide our conversation in any possible discussion.

Introduction

The purpose of this article is a defense of our conscience perspective on "church membership". We thought we were "in the church". But now we realize we are considered "outsiders". We thought we were "members" in the biblical sense (1 Cor 12) and part of the true church of believers. What matters most to us is the true church that we read about in the Bible. We don't mind living outside of the 501(c)(3) membership structure. We intentionally avoid what feels like a human addition to us, but care deeply about the biblical meaning of local church. We must respect our conscience as the Bible says and as Martin Luther said many years ago.

For sure there is a very different theological position involved. It seems there is a more Old Testament based thinking than our understanding. Possibly related to this, there is a different loyalty priority involved. For example, we would never think of "the seat of Moses" as valid for the New Testament Christian under the Law of Christ. As Douglas Moo says on the topic of justification and "covenant membership", "righteousness" denotes God's vindication of people already in covenant relationship with him.

We understand biblical membership to be immediate, permanent and based on belief.

The modern kind of membership is completely different being temporary, secondary and usually formal. The modern kind of membership is temporary because it is only valid while you are attending a church and is lost when you leave. This kind of membership usually includes a formal process with instruction, oaths, evaluation and ceremony.

According to the Bible, entrance into the Christian life is through "belief in Jesus Christ" in which one becomes "part of the body of Christ". Believers are "in Christ", having "died with Christ" and are made "righteous in Christ" (2 Cor 5:21). A believer becomes part of the "one body of Christ". Being part of the "one body" means being part of the church, a permanent membership that can never be lost. As we see it, the New Testament shows Christians to be instantly "members" of the "one body in Christ" and instantly included in the church.

The only question is how long it takes for a local church to recognize a Christian. The early church could do this with incredible efficiency. In one case they added 3000 to the church in one day. But there is a secondary "membership" required by 501(c)(3) organizations and has become commonplace these days. Unfortunately, the local assembly sometimes uses the same word for its membership as the more fundamental idea of biblical membership (based on belief).

We have 4 articles in response.

1. Our first article is by Jamon S.R. Sorrells.   Biblical Church Membership (Sorrells)

2. Our second article is a video by Michael Pearl   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM5GTb_-4fw

3. Our third article is by Matt Slick   Carm.org - "what does the bible say about church membership"

4. Our fourth article is the remainder of this article or the more in depth, membership.html.

1. The Meaning of The Word "Member"

The meaning of the word "member" can easily be confused. The biblical meaning is connected with belief and is immediate. The modern kind of membership is usually a formal process and tied to a 501(c)(3) organization.

Elisabeth Elliot describes having been identified with a church that thought about "membership" like this,

There are big differences between modern-formal and biblical church membership.

The topic of "membership" is importance because it defines Christian identity in the visible local church.

2. Causing Divisions in The Body

When a church has a "formal church membership" program, it doesn't always realize it, but it splits the "body of Christ" into two distinct groups. Causing division is unloving and completely against the teaching of the Bible.

Thiselton who writes a commentary on 1 Corinthians has concerns and says,

When Anyabwile says attenders need to,

he is essentially saying the attenders are not yet in the "local assembly of believers"! He is essentially "putting these Christian attenders out" of the "local assembly of believers" by his wording. He is not just saying "outside" the "formal church members".

3. Insiders and Outsiders

We believe calling Christian "regular attenders" by the term "outsider" shows a serious misunderstanding of the text in 1 Cor 5. Paul says,

If Elisabeth Elliot was attending your church, you would have to call her an "outsider" to be consistent with her membership views. In actual truth, the idea that Christian regular attenders are "outsiders" is not the intended meaning of Paul.

4. Oaths and Vows

Some Christians have a conscience issue with taking oaths and vows. Jesus said,

Suppose someone's conscience is concerned about taking oaths and vows. Suppose this is especially the case in the context of Christians with their voluntary behaviors and choices. Suppose they are less concerned about being forced to take oaths under pressure from unbelievers, but very sensitive to taking oaths in a Christian setting, because in the "family", they expect greater sensitivity to what Jesus says (if this is your conscience view).

It is biblically wrong to ignore your conscience (Romans 14).

5. The Boundary of Elder Responsibility

The Bible says elders must

So according to the Bible, elders are to shepherd the flock,

These can be interpreted in various ways, but we understand the "flock of God" to be the true Christians not those who have gone through a formal process. The flock at the local level is also defined by being "among you". This means the Christians who show up and who are in your gathering. We also assume this flock is thought of locally at the city level because this is how the early church consistently thought about the local visible church. (We don't want to debate this, but this is our conscience perspective)  

6. The Formal Process

Some Christians may have concerns over how the Apostles did church with simplicity compared with the formality and process of our modern church. The formal requirements of the modern church membership process are very different from the near instant membership and baptisms in the early church. Think of the "3000 added in one day" (Acts 2:41) or the Philippian Jailer "baptized at once" (Acts 16:33), or the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-40) who "commanded the chariot to stop" to get baptized. Some Christians may have conscience concerns about joining when they don't see the modern formal joining process in the Bible.

Here is one example of a church's membership requirements.

The process is an active participation and partnership...

    1. Attend Membership Classes  
    2. Complete the Membership Application 
    3. Interview with one of the Ministry Staff 
    4. Recommendation by the Ministry Staff 
    5. Approval by the Ministry Staff 
    6. Public Reception of New Members 

    Requirements for Membership
      A Valid Testimony of Salvation
      Agreement with our Statement of Faith 
      Agreement with our Core Values
      Believers Baptism by Immersion
      Fellowship Connection with the Church family 
      Ministry Participation 

When we compare this with the early church, we see a very different way.

    1. They believed 
    2. They were baptized and added to the church ("instant membership") 
       (This all usually happened in the same day, even with 3000!)

7. Repeated Formal Membership Process

The modern idea of "formal church membership" is completely different from the biblical idea and must have been invented at some time in church history. The modern temporary kind of "membership" must be repeated for each new church one attends. For each new church there is a new formal process with instruction, oaths, evaluation and ceremony. If you move to a church next door, in the same town, it is the same. The modern church expects you to begin the formal church membership process all over again.

In the modern church "membership" model, each church has some Christians who are "in" and some Christians who are "out". In the biblical "membership" model, all Christians are "in" and all are "members" (based on belief). In 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, the "membership" is simply being part of the "body of Christ".

8. 501(c)(3) Government Regulations

One of the more troubling things that is required by the government regulated "501(c)(3) church" is the specifying of many details that would make the early house churches in Jerusalem no longer valid. If you care about this, then there is a problem. If you don't care about massive differences from the early church being regulated then there is no problem for you. If you want to support a "church ministry" regulated by 501(c)(3) rules, then you are required to have a "membership" that makes sense to the IRS. The 14 (or 15) part test is used to define if a church is a valid church. But a Christian may not be comfortable with the IRS defining so many details about the church. Why should the government define the "church membership" in how it relates to other assemblies? The IRS 14 part test #6 requires "A membership not associated with any other church or denomination".

If we apply this to one of the many house churches in the early Jerusalem city wide church, almost all of the 14 tests will fail. Some Christians are concerned about joining in "membership" with an organization that is directly connected to the government and must follow certain government guidelines.

9. Christian Love and The True Church

We see an increasingly unloving and unkind pushing of modern second "membership" on Christians who are refraining for biblical reasons. In the process of testing all things (1 Thess 5:21), we look for how we are instructed by the preachers and test things by the Bible. If there is truth in what is being said, there should be lots and lots of time for discussion with all the details being allowed to be shared. If there is truth in what is being said, it will not be a one way presentation but will have a bit of the character of 1 Cor 14 in the discussion. There are a lot of "one another's" in the Bible and they are most important when there are differences of opinion and differences of conscience (Rom 14).

If Christians are being told they are "unspiritual", "uncommitted", "lone rangers", without a really good opportunity to respond, then there is no love in it. One test of your view of membership is to apply it to someone who disagrees with your view, like Elisabeth Elliot, who wrote about avoiding the modern kind of church membership and ask if she is committed or not. ^elliot Sometimes it is committment to scripture that keeps people from joining modern church membership.

We think love will not control the conversation (the discussion will be fair). Love will not prevent the other side from explaining their understanding of scripture (in a fair open way). If the modern "membership" idea is true, it should not be afraid of some examination. Truth should have no fear the other side presenting its case. (Prov 18:17)  

We find Christian charity and clarity in this definition of the church by Matt Slick of CARM.org.

The early church showed love when they gladly accepted 3000 into membership in one day. They were all called "insiders". That is love. Yes, they had their troubles. But at least they had the basics, their Christian identity.

Conclusion

We are defending our conscience perspective on "church membership" because we know God's Word presents Christians as "members" (part of the body of Christ) without a divided "membership" model.

We want to live at peace with other Christians while maintaining our conscience perspective (Romans 14:5, Psalm 133:1, John 17:23). Scripture (2 Tim 3:16-17) teaches us to "test all things" (1 Thess 5:21) and to "hold fast to what is good."

We will stand before God someday and we do not think it wise to compromise our conscience perspective with oaths and vows and other ideas that we don't see in the Bible. We are called to be faithful to His Word (Jeremiah 23:28).

Thankfully, we know our identity is in Christ. Thankfully this topic has been "put on the table" (and is now free to discuss). Thankfully, we have had an amazing opportunity to study a little deeper into ideas related to "church membership" and to think about the church. We have found abundant support for our conscience views, some of which are in the footnotes and some just in our reading. We hope and pray for a new reformation in John 17:23 unity in the church. We hope for unity so strong that the unbelievers can easily take notice. Jesus is the king of kings. We are his unworthy servants and he grants us the awesome privilege of serving in his kingdom! (Luke 17:10).