Is church membership biblical?

«The bride of Christ cannot be an adulteress; she is blameless and pure. She knows only one house; she preserves the sanctity of one bed with great modesty. She guards us for God. She appoints the sons she has borne for the Kingdom. He who separates himself from the Church and joins himself to an adulteress separates himself from the promises of the Church; and he who leaves the Church of Christ cannot receive the reward of Christ. He is a stranger; he is unclean; he is an enemy. He who does not have the Church for his mother can no longer have God for his Father.» — Cyprian, Treatise on the Unity of the Church, 6

I was 28 years old when I became pastor of Highland Village First Baptist Church (now known as The Village Church). My experience in church was difficult at first, and at that point I was still in the «disillusionment with local church» phase.

To be honest, I wasn't sure church membership was biblical at the time. Yet, the Holy Spirit gave me a very clear understanding that I would be the pastor of this small church in the suburbs of Dallas. It was one of the many ironic moments of my life at that time.

This church was a «non-believer-oriented church,» in the style of «Willow Creek,» and did not have a formal membership process, although it was actively working on one and wanted the new pastor to be involved in the process. I had a clear understanding of the universal church, but I was not well-informed—and, as I have already noted, somewhat skeptical—of the local church. We began to grow rapidly with young people, mostly in their twenties, who usually had no or poor experience of membership in a local church. They liked our church because we were «different,» they said. This always seemed strange to me, since we did nothing special except preach and sing.

As I talked to these men and women, I began to hear things like, «The church is corrupt; it’s all about money and the pastor’s ego,» or «I love Jesus, that’s my problem with the church.» My favorite was, «When you organize a church, it loses its power.» While these words sometimes resonated with me (I, like most of my peers, had issues with authority and commitment), they seemed incomprehensible to me because they were being said by people who attended the church where I pastored.

Two questions from Hebrews 13:17

As the church was already arguing over other doctrines that I considered far more important, I wondered if it would be a good idea to postpone the issue of church membership until later. At the time, I was preparing to preach on Hebrews and was «just» in chapter 13 when verse 17 came to the fore:

«"Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are watching over your souls as those who must give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with sighing, for that would be unprofitable for you.".

Two questions came to mind:

First, if there is no biblical mandate to be a member of a local church, then to what leaders should the individual Christian submit? Second, and this is more personal, to whom will I as a pastor be accountable?

These two questions were the beginning of my search for a biblical understanding of the local church, and they arose around the ideas of authority and submission.

Regarding the first question, Scripture clearly commands Christians to obey and honor elders (Heb. 13:17, 1 Tim. 5:17). If there is no understanding of local church membership, then who are we to obey and listen to? Is it everyone who has the title of «elder» in any church? Should you as a Christian obey those in Westboro Baptist Church? Or, in order to obey Scripture, would you have to organize picketing of soldiers« graves, which is what the pastor of that church seems to have encouraged?

Regarding the second question, Scripture clearly states that elders are to care for specific individuals (1 Pet. 5:1-5; also Acts 20:29-30). As a pastor, will I be accountable for all Christians in the Dallas area? There are many churches in Dallas with whom I have serious theological and philosophical differences. Will I be accountable for what they teach in their small groups, how they spend their money, and how they act in matters of international missions?

What about church discipline?

After I had examined the issue of authority and submission, the next issue that arose in my study of the local church was the biblical teaching on church discipline.

This issue is raised in several places, but most clearly in 1 Corinthians 5:1-12. In this passage, Paul addresses the church at Corinth, condemning their approval of a man who is living in blatant, unrepentant sexual immorality. The Corinthians celebrate this as God’s grace, but Paul warns them that such sin should not be praised but rather mourned. He calls them arrogant and orders the man to be expelled from the church in order to deal a crushing blow to his sinful nature in the hope of saving his soul. In verses 11-12, he says sternly and directly:

«But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. Why then should I judge those outside? Do you not judge those inside?»

It is a sad experience, but unfortunately, very few churches practice church discipline. However, that is a topic for another article. My question from this text is simple: How can you kick someone «out» of a church if there is no «entry»? If there is no local membership in the community of believers, how can you kick someone out of that community? Church discipline will not work if there is no membership in the local church.

Plenty of other evidence to support membership in a local church

There is other evidence to support membership in the local church in Scripture. We see in Acts 2:37–47 that there is a numerical record of those who confessed Christ and were filled with the Holy Spirit (v. 41), and it also mentions that the church monitors its growth (v. 47).

In Acts 6:1–6 we see an election being held to resolve a specific issue and bring charges. In Romans 16:1–16 there is probably an awareness of who is a member of the local church.

In 1 Timothy 5:3–16 we find clear teaching on how to treat widows in the church, and in verses 9–13 we read:

«Let a widow be considered a widow who is not less than sixty years old, the wife of one husband, and is known for her good deeds: if she has raised children, if she has welcomed strangers, if she has washed the feet of the saints, if she has comforted the oppressed, if she has devoted herself to every good work. But younger widows, avoid them, for when they have become displeased with Christ, they want to marry. This brings condemnation upon themselves, because they have denied their first faith. Moreover, they are idlers, accustomed to going from house to house, and not only doing nothing, but also gossiping and talking nonsense, saying things which they should not.».

In this text we see the criteria for who is or is not suitable for the widow care program in Ephesus. The local church in Ephesus is organized and they are developing a plan.

One could go on to ask, how can we be obedient to God’s commands in 1 Corinthians 12 or Romans 12 if we are not connected to a local covenant community of believers? However, to consider all the possible texts would take more time than I have for this article.

God's plan is for us to belong to a local church.

When you begin to consider these texts, it becomes clear that God's plan for His children is for us to belong to a local church. It is for our own good, for our protection and growth, and for the good of others.

If you view church as a «church cafeteria,» you are seriously limiting your opportunity for spiritual growth. Growing in godliness can be painful. For example, as I interact with others in my local church, I see my own laziness, intolerance, prayerlessness, and reluctance to fellowship with my brothers and sisters (Rom. 12:11–16). However, this interaction also gives me the opportunity to be kindly corrected by brothers and sisters who are struggling with the same things as me, and it provides a safe place for confession and repentance.

But if church for you is just a place you visit without truly joining in, like at an ecclesiological buffet, it is worth asking yourself: don't you leave it every time the Spirit begins to open your heart and the real work on it begins?

The bottom line is: Membership in a local church is not a matter of personal preference, but of biblical obedience.