Membership Has Its Privileges, part 2
Membership Has Its Privileges, part 2
posted March 1, 2020
I have always had a high regard for local church membership, but more recently have become convinced that congregations should make membership both more serious and important. Today when considering the question, “Should I join the local church where I worship?” believers are tempted to trivialize the importance of the question and push it onto the “back burner.” Certainly, membership (the formal joining of one’s self to a local group of believers) flies in the face of much current practice and belief. Many churches do all they can to minimize the importance of church membership, seeing it as some out of date, needless practice.
However, Community Bible Church sees church membership as very important. One of the most fundamental reasons why we believe membership is significant is because every believer is already a member of the Church. When an individual joins a local church he is merely demonstrating what is already true spiritually. When a person believes in Christ for salvation he is joined spiritually to the Body of Christ, the Church. Local church membership serves as a vivid picture of this spiritual truth. To join a local body of believers doesn’t bring something into existence that was not there before, but simply makes visible and actual the truth of the spiritual.
Ben Patterson (“Why Join a Church?”) writes, “Can you imagine a man saying to his fiancée, ‘Dear, we are spiritually one. Please, let’s not spoil it by having a public ceremony and moving under the same roof and making love and opening a joint checking account and getting all organized to live together. Let’s keep this lovely thing between us spiritual.’ The fiancée might well doubt the future of their relationship.”
As a believer, you are a member of the Church. Do your attitudes and actions regarding the local church, Community Bible, reflect the seriousness of this spiritual truth?
Why should you join CBC? Because your local church membership reflects the spiritual truth of your membership in the body of Christ.
However, Community Bible Church sees church membership as very important. One of the most fundamental reasons why we believe membership is significant is because every believer is already a member of the Church. When an individual joins a local church he is merely demonstrating what is already true spiritually. When a person believes in Christ for salvation he is joined spiritually to the Body of Christ, the Church. Local church membership serves as a vivid picture of this spiritual truth. To join a local body of believers doesn’t bring something into existence that was not there before, but simply makes visible and actual the truth of the spiritual.
Ben Patterson (“Why Join a Church?”) writes, “Can you imagine a man saying to his fiancée, ‘Dear, we are spiritually one. Please, let’s not spoil it by having a public ceremony and moving under the same roof and making love and opening a joint checking account and getting all organized to live together. Let’s keep this lovely thing between us spiritual.’ The fiancée might well doubt the future of their relationship.”
As a believer, you are a member of the Church. Do your attitudes and actions regarding the local church, Community Bible, reflect the seriousness of this spiritual truth?
Why should you join CBC? Because your local church membership reflects the spiritual truth of your membership in the body of Christ.
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