WHO
SHOULD BE RECEIVED INTO THE CHURCH?
Introduction
Jesus Christ is the Builder
(Matt.
The danger associated with ignoring the
Christ-given guidelines and qualifications for church membership is real. There
is the potential of filling the church rolls with unregenerate souls who seem to
be religious yet possess no power of godliness in their lives. The result is a
“church” that is really only a religious organization, void of love for
Jesus Christ and lacking the life of holiness that should exist (Rev. 2:5).
It is also possible to set up
extra-Biblical fences to guard the life and purity of the church. A church has
no right to establish man-made protections beyond what Christ has ordained Such
additions to Christ’s simple order demonstrate a lack of faith in what Christ
has given. His order is sufficient. It is possible that such well-meaning, but
misguided additions actually injure those for whom Christ died by keeping them
away from the church relationship and discipline they desperately need.
Thus, every church ought to receive those
whom Christ has received (Rom. 15:7) and who desire to enter into covenant
relationship. The goal of this tract is to address the issue of church
membership in this generation. There is such variety within the Christian
community that confusion often exists in relation to the matter of church
membership. This tract is intended to bring clarity to this matter for all that
may be considering membership.
Qualifications
for Being Received into the Church
A
Testimony of Faith in Christ
The church
on earth is to be moving toward conformity to a glorious church, without spot or
wrinkle. This is the kind of church that Christ Jesus will present to His Father
in glory (Ephesians
Every
potential member of this church must have a testimony of conversion to Christ.
There must be the expression of the sense of one’s guilt before a holy God and
freedom from that guilt through the death, burial and resurrection of our
Savior, Jesus Christ. Repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus
Christ must be experienced (Acts
A
Baptized Disciple of Christ
The next
necessity for church membership is baptism. You must have been baptized
according to the pattern seen in the New Testament (Acts
1.
Were you baptized
after you believed (Acts
2.
Did your baptism
express your own personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Were you expressing
your cleansing from sin and union with Jesus Christ in His death, burial and
resurrection? In other words, was it the public expression of spiritual
realities in your life received by faith, not the means of the cleansing of your
sins or the means of receiving the Holy Spirit or His gifts (I Peter 3:21; Col.
2:12; Rom. 6:3-6)?
3.
Was your baptism by
immersion? Immersion is the placing of the convert completely under the water,
out of which he comes to walk in newness of life (Matt.
4.
Was your baptism
administered by the authority of Christ given to His church and in the name of
the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19; Jn.
There are
“baptisms” that are not valid. All that appears to be a baptism may not be,
just as all that appears to be a church may not be. There are many claims that
require examination before the claim is accepted as valid. For example, if you
go to the social security administration office and tell them that you need a
new card to replace your old one you will need to give some credible validation
of who you are. You know who you are, but they must see valid proof. It is no
less significant for a church to examine the genuineness of a profession and a
baptism.
Invalid baptisms would include:
The elders must examine the baptism of
any prospective member to be assured that the NT guidelines have been followed.
Diversity in Christendom since the NT has led to difficulty in determining valid
baptisms. Even in the NT there was concern as to the validity of baptism. This
is seen in Acts 19:2-5. Many religious groups baptize in many different ways,
for different reasons and in relation to different doctrinal understandings
(note the question in Acts 19:3, “Unto what then were ye baptized?” This
indicates the need of a proper association to some measure of truth in baptism).
A church must receive and acknowledge only those baptisms that fit the NT
pattern.
There must not be a greater
emphasis upon the administrator of baptism than is Biblically warranted. It
seems that this was, at least in large part, the issue addressed by Paul in I
Corinthians 1:13-17. It is clear that the message declared in baptism is far
more significant than who administers the baptism. Yet, the authority to baptize
must come from God in order for the ordinance to be accepted as valid.
Respect for the significance of this
ordinance must lead to this careful examination. Nothing should be forced upon
true believers which is not clearly taught in Scripture. At the same time our
Head must not be dishonored by receiving that which does not fit the pattern He
has given us. The elders and the church must prayerfully evaluate each person
desiring membership.
A
Disciple of Christ Who Desires to Function in This Body
When it is known that a person is a
baptized disciple of Christ, it is then necessary to witness a desire to enter
into fellowship and participation with this body of believers (Acts 2:42,44,46).
Membership is not merely a label. It is a relationship involving:
When a person senses that a this church
is one in which he might worship and function as a believer, the sense will be
mutual. A covenant will be gladly entered into by the new member with the rest
of the body to serve the Lord together and hold one another accountable to
maintain a faithful Christian walk. An addition of this nature will simply
strengthen the body to carry out the work Christ has left for His church to do
till He comes again. Only those baptized disciples who are willing to publicly
commit themselves to this kind of relationship should be brought into the
protection, oversight and care of this church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Methods
of Receiving New Members
The
following procedures are consistent with what is demonstrated or implied in the
NT church. Sound churches may differ in the details of their method of receiving
members. The following standards are given to clarify how this church will go
about receiving members.
The new disciple should request a meeting
with the pastor. If fruits of repentance have been demonstrated and faith in
Jesus Christ is obvious, there will be instruction and encouragement to announce
his relationship with Christ in baptism. This is the order of the great
commission. Once baptized, he will be instructed more thoroughly in the things
of Christ.
Baptism is the prelude and preparation
for entrance into the church on earth and participation in the Lord’s Supper
(Acts
A meeting with the pastor is requested in
order to discuss the matter of membership. The petitioner will be asked for a
statement of his conversion to Christ, details concerning his baptism and the
circumstances that are leading him to leave his present church to join this one.
Following elder approval, the petitioning
disciple will be asked to give a public statement (which may be in writing) in a
regularly scheduled service that includes: a testimony of conversion to Christ,
statement of valid baptism, and expression of desire to be received as a member
of this assembly. His former church will be asked to send a letter of
recommendation. The church will then be given a minimum of one week to
prayerfully consider the request.
After a letter of recommendation is
received and there are no Biblical objections from this church, the applicant
will come before the assembly to be officially recognized by the “right hand
of fellowship” as a communing part of this body.
A meeting with the pastor is requested to
discuss the matter of membership. The petitioner’s testimony of conversion and
details of his baptism will be heard. Reasons for not being a part of a church
will be heard. With no church to recommend him to us, he must attend for a
minimum of three months (including the time prior to meeting with the pastor) in
order for his character and relationship within this body of believers to be
observed.
Following elder approval, he will be
asked to give a public statement (which may be in writing) in a regularly
scheduled service that includes: a testimony of conversion to Christ, statement
of valid baptism, and announcement of desire to be received as a member of this
assembly. The church will be given a minimum of one week to prayerfully consider
the request. If there are no Biblical objections, or if all objections are
adequately answered, the church will publicly acknowledge its positive
recognition by giving the “right hand of fellowship” at the close of a
regularly scheduled service.
A meeting with the pastor is requested to
discuss the matter of membership. The elders will hear the explanation of the
details surrounding the discipline of the petitioner. The church in which the
discipline occurred will be contacted for details. The elder(s) of this church
will work with the elder(s) of the disciplining church to seek to resolve the
matter in a Biblical fashion. No person will be received into this church that
has not dealt Biblically with conflicts in another church. Only after the
conflict is resolved can progress be made toward examination for membership.
If the petitioner gives a consistent
testimony of conversion to Christ and has been properly baptized, the elder(s)
will patiently work with him to determine if this is the church he should join.
The petitioner may be encouraged to attend for an undetermined time frame in
order to remove any lingering concerns on the part of the elder(s).
At the discretion of the elder(s), the
petitioner will publicly give: a testimony of conversion, a statement of valid
baptism, and expression of desire to join with us. The pastor will give to the
church those details deemed appropriate regarding the resolving of the church
discipline. The church will be asked to prayerfully consider the matter over a
minimum of one week. If there are no objections or if all objections are
satisfactorily answered, this person will be given the “right hand of
fellowship” in recognition of his addition to this church.
Special
note applying to all prospective members:
Understanding that sin has complicated
lives and added to the multitude of scenarios existing in the lives of people,
the elder(s) will be responsible to carefully examine every prospective member.
The list above may be incomplete. The elder(s) will use the Bible as the final
source of authority in each case.
It is our desire to recognize and receive
every single child of God that Christ would give to us. We are not seeking to
exclude anyone sent from God. We believe that God has given to us clear helps in
determining who He is placing in this assembly. We understand that judgments are
being made both by the ones received and the ones receiving. Our desire is that
the Sprit of the living God will guide us both in order that we might have all
the parts to this body that God intends (I Cor. 12:18), and that every part may
be certain that this is the body in which they should function.
October 2004 (revised for generic use,
10-12-04)
Kyle White, Pastor -- Contact Me
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