New Members Class - Session 1 - What is a Church and What is a Church Member?

Introduction

Below are the handout notes for the first session of our new members class that has been adapted for our Church blog. Hopefully this will be helpful for you to reference if you are wanting to look back at the notes, following along online, or if you just want to know more about MBC or Church Membership.

What is the Church?

We are going to start at the most important and fundamental question when it comes to talking about Church membership and that question is, “What is the Church?”

Speaking at the most broad and theological level there are two distinct ways we can answer that question. And that distinction is between the universal Church and the local Church. The Universal Church, sometimes called the lowercase “c” catholic Church, is made up of all truly born-again Christians across time and space.

The Church Universal

The Bible teaches that if you are a Christian, you are a part of the body of Christ, the Church. All Christians through all time and across the world are a part of the Church Universal.

That means if you are a born-again Christian, you are part of the universal Church, just like believers in Asia, Africa, and South America are and just like those believers who line the hallways of Church history are as well. People like John Calvin, Charles Spurgeon, and Saint Augustine.

The universal Church is a spiritual or heavenly assembly of all believers through all time and space who are by faith part of Christ’s Kingdom and recipients of the benefits of the New Covenant.

Portraits of the Universal Church: Body, Temple, and Nation

Now, the New Testament describes the universal of Church primarily with three portraits: the body of Christ, the temple of the Holy Spirit, and a nation of priests.

Body

This is perhaps the most well-known description of the Church. It describes the Church like a body (Ephesians 4:15-16, 1 Corinthians 12). It is a living organism with Christ as its head which signifies His leadership, authority, and primacy over the Church. The Church is the body of Christ and this body spans history and the globe.

Temple

A second major way the Church is described in Scripture is as a temple for the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:11-22, 1 Corinthians 6). Believers are in dwelt by the Holy Spirit and together the Church makes up the dwelling place of the Spirit of God. Each believer as a stone, Apostolic teaching as the foundation, and Christ as the unifying cornerstone.

Nation of Priests

Last, the Apostle Peter calls the Church a chosen race, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation

(1 Peter 2:9-10). We are part of a nation, race, priesthood that is not of this world. We are exiles, we belong to a heavenly country. This is the final major portrait in Scripture of the Church, a holy nation of priests.

These portraits of the Church describe a group of believers larger than that of a local congregation. They describe all believers who have been united to Christ by faith–the Church.

Conversion: Regeneration and Faith

The next important truth to know about the Church is that only genuine Christians are part of the universal Church. You are only part of the Church if you are in Christ Jesus by grace through faith.

We could say it in a few different ways, but maybe most simply we could say it like this: Only those Who have genuinely been converted are members of the Church universal.

And that raises the important question what is conversion anyways? Or what does it mean to be saved?

Regeneration

Conversion starts with what Jesus calls regeneration or the second birth. Where the Holy Spirit enables you to see your sin and your need of Christ by regenerating your heart.

Jesus tells us in John 3:1-8 that before you can see or enter the Kingdom, you must be born again of the Spirit. You cannot enter or even see the Kingdom until the Spirit regenerates you.

Jesus says it like this in John 6:44

[44] No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. (ESV)

Before you can come to Father or enter the Kingdom there must be a work of the Spirit to regenerate and draw you to Him, that is where conversion begins with the work of the Holy Spirit.

Faith

Once the Spirit enables you to see your sin and your need of Christ, He also gives you faith (Romans 10:17) to trust in Christ and be saved.

Paul puts it this way in Ephesians 2:8–9

[8] For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is           the gift of God, [9] not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (ESV)

Well, what is the gift of God? It is the grace and the faith. The credit for every bit of your salvation belongs to God. He gives us the faith to believe by the Spirit and has shown us grace in Christ Jesus by sending Him to die on the cross in our place.

We cannot work for it, we cannot be good enough to earn God’s grace, it is not merited, it is received by grace through faith so that no one can boast.

So, to be converted means we have been born again and placed our faith in Jesus and His finished work on the cross. And when that happens, you are united to Christ or made a new creation in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:10) and are therefore part of His body the Church. So, conversion (followed by Baptism) is the entry point into the body of Christ, the Church universal or Church catholic.

So that is the first part of our answer to the question “What is the Church?”
The universal Church is the body of Christ, a temple of the Holy Spirit, and a holy nation of priests made up of born-again believers throughout all time and space.

The Local Church

The second way we can answer the question, “What is the Church?” is by talking about the local Church. So again, answering the question in two ways because the Bible talks about the Church in two ways or categories. We have the universal Church, all Christians everywhere through all-time who have been united to Christ by grace through faith, and we have the local Church.  

Definitions

A local Church is an assembly of like-minded believers who are marked by regularly gathering in Jesus’s name, the right administration of the sacraments, Church Discipline, and the preaching of the Gospel.

“Wherever we see God’s word purely preached and heard, and the sacraments

administered according to Christ’s institution, there beyond any doubt is the Church.”[1]  - John Calvin (Later he would add that Church discipline is also a defining mark of a true   Church)

“A local church is a group of Christians who regularly gather in Christ’s name to officially affirm and oversee one another’s membership in Jesus Christ and his kingdom through Gospel preaching and gospel ordinances.”[2] – Johnathan Leeman (9Marks)

A local Church is an assembly of believers who are marked by proclaiming Jesus, preaching the Gospel, Church discipline, and the right administration of the sacraments: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. That is what makes or constitutes a local Church.

The Bible Distinguishes Between Universal and Local

Jesus Distinguishes Between Universal and Local

The Bible also distinguishes between the universal and local Church.

In Matthew 16:15–18 Jesus says this,

[15] He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” [16] Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” [17] And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven. [18] And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (ESV)

Jesus is speaking of the Universal Church here. He is going to build His Church, not a congregation in the place they are standing but the Church, and it will not be defeated.

Then listen to what He says two chapters later in Matthew 18:17 while talking about Church discipline;

[17] If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

He is not speaking of the universal Church here but the local Church.

The Apostles Distinguish Between Universal and Local

The Apostles also talk about the Church broadly as the body of Christ, the temple of the Spirit, a nation of priests, and as local congregations. Think about Acts. Where Paul goes and starts Churches in places like Philippi. And think about the letters where Paul is writing to specific Churches with unique issues like the letter of Ephesians for example.

Verse one of Philippians 1 proves this to us, listen to this,

[1] Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at         Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: (ESV)

That is a local Church in Philippi with deacons and elders that Paul is writing to.

In the New Testament we have the universal Church and the local Church.

The universal Church is the body of Christ, a temple of the Holy Spirit, and a holy nation of priests made up of born-again believers throughout all time and space. While a local Church is an assembly of like-minded believers who are marked by regularly gathering in Jesus’s name, the right administration of the sacraments, Church Discipline, and the preaching of the Gospel.

Church Membership, Is it Biblical?

Is Church Membership in the Bible?

At this point you might be wondering what this has to do with Church membership. And really the answer to that is that we cannot define what a Church member is if we do not first know what the Church is.  So now that we know what the Church is we need to ask an answer the question, “is Church membership taught in the Bible?”

There is no single verse that commands Church membership in the New Testament. Instead, membership is something that is taught in the New Testament by implication. Meaning membership is so obvious in the New Testament it is implied all over it. Let’s cover three categories that teach Church membership implicitly in the New Testament.

Church Discipline Necessitates It

First, Church Discipline Necessitates Church Membership. Consider again Matthew 18:17.

[17] If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. (ESV)

First there is a defined Church body for Him to go to and tell if brother will not repent.

How would telling the Church help in this situation if there were no structure and defined boundaries of who make up a given local Church?

Second, you’ll notice that if the brother will not repent, he is to be treated as a Gentile and tax collector. This is called Excommunication. Removing a member who is living in unrepentant sin from a Church’s number.

Listen to how Paul puts in when he talks about Church discipline in 1 Corinthians 5:2

[2] And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. (ESV)

You cannot remove someone from something they are not a member of. Church discipline makes no sense unless Church membership exists.

The Letters Assume It

Next, way the New Testament implicitly teaches membership is that the letters of the New Testament assume it.

The Apostles and James repeatedly write to and refer to Churches as set bodies of believers with specific members and leaders.

            Philippians 1:1

[1] Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: (ESV)

There are specific elders, deacons, and saints he is writing to. He is not writing to whoever happens to be at that Church on a given Sunday, there is a known and defined body of believers who meet in Philippi.

Listen to this from Paul to Titus in Titus 1:5

[5] This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you — (ESV)

Paul is saying, “hey there are Churches in these towns in Crete, I need you to go to these defined and recognizable bodies and appoint elders to lead these groups.”

The Apostles Assume membership in the local Churches they write to.

Leadership Implies It

Next, leadership implies it. The New Testament regularly instructs pastors on how to lead their flock, how to care for those who have been entrusted to them. But if there is no membership, how are they supposed to do that? Who are they responsible for? Which sheep are theirs? If there is no such thing as membership who is to say I cannot go down the road to another Baptist Church and tell the sheep that are there what to do?

Listen to the language used about pastors and their flocks.

            Hebrews 13:17

[17] Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls,             as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. (ESV)

            1 Peter 5:1–3

[1] So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: [2] shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; [3] not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. (ESV)

Clearly there are sheep that pastors are directly responsible for and there are sheep they are not. This presupposes that certain people belong to certain local Churches.

So, is Church membership biblical? Yes! It is taught indirectly all over the New Testament.

What is a Church Member?

Now, the next question we need to ask is “What is a Church Member?”

Johnathan Leeman defines it like this saying, “Church Membership is a formal relationship between a church and a Christian characterized by the Church’s affirmation and oversight of a Christians discipleship and the Christian’s submission to living out his or her discipleship in the care of the church.”[3]

In a way it is a Church claiming responsibility for a Christians profession of faith and discipleship and a Christian entrusting the oversight of their discipleship to that local body.

Leeman puts it like this, “The Church body says to the individual, ‘We recognize your profession of faith, baptism, and discipleship to Christ as valid. Therefore, we publicly affirm and acknowledge you as belonging to Christ and the oversight of our fellowship.’ Principally, the individual says to the church body, ‘Insofar as I recognize you as a faithful, gospel-declaring church, I submit my presence and my discipleship to your love and oversight.”[4]

Now here is what you need to notice in that quote. Everything he is saying is what we saw when we looked at membership in the New Testament. Responsibility from the Church and leaders to care for the body. Mutual responsibility to be involved in each other’s discipleship. And notice also, that it’s not just submission to Church leadership but to the whole body. We are all responsible for each other. For each other’s growth, edification, discipleship, all of it.

The Apostle Paul when talking about a Spirit filled Church talks about the members submitting to one another (Eph 5:21). Being a member means you are signing up to have people in your life and to be in the lives of those in your Church. That is what Church membership fundamentally is.

Additionally, Church membership also involves unifying around a common confession of faith (Eph 4:13) and working together to fulfill the great commission.

What is Required to Become a Member of a Church?

Another important question that we need to ask: What is required to become a Church member? There are three basic requirements according to our constitution and Scripture, which are conversion, agreement with the local Church’s statement of faith and practice, and Baptism by immersion.

This is how our constitution puts it: “The membership of this Church shall consist of persons who confess faith on the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior, who give evidence of regeneration by living consistent with their profession and with the views of faith, doctrine, and practice of this Church, including those delineated in this Church’s By-Laws, Relational Statements, and Policies, who have been baptized by immersion, and who have been received into its membership according to the By-Laws of this Church.”

Now that is a lot of words but in summary three requirements: Credible profession of faith, agreement in doctrine and practice, and a right Baptism.

·      Have you really been saved or converted?

·      Do you agree with our Church’s theology and practice?

·      Have you been Baptized by immersion after salvation?

Conversion

We have already discussed that conversion is a prerequisite to membership. Only Christians are members of the universal Church and should be members of the local Church.

Unity in Faith

The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:13 talks about how healthy Churches are unified in faith or doctrine. Elsewhere we see the importance of sound doctrine (1 Timothy, Jude). A Church that does not agree on theology will not make it far and so it is a natural requirement for joining a local Church.

Baptism

We routinely see in the book of Acts that membership follows after Baptism.

For instance, Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 he says this, in verse 38

[38] And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (ESV)

And then after the sermon ends we learn this,

            Acts 2:41

[41] So those who received his word were baptized,

and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (ESV)

Meaning those who heard the Gospel, and believed the Gospel, were Baptized, then they were numbered among the Church. Showing us that Baptism follows conversion and membership follows Baptism. So, Baptism is a prerequisite to membership because Baptism is the first step of obedience after conversion.

The Sacraments and Church Membership

Baptism

Now let’s talk about Baptism in more detail. As Protestants, as Reformed Baptists, as evangelicals we believe in two sacraments. The Catholic Church believes in seven, but we believe that the Scripture only gives us two that were established by the Lord Jesus Christ. And those two sacraments or ordinances are Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

What is Baptism? Theologian Stephen Wellum defines it like this, “Water Baptism is an ordinance or sacrament instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, to be practiced until the end of the age, which signifies a believer’s union with Christ in his life, death, burial, and resurrection, and one’s membership in the Church, God’s new covenant people.”[5]

Metropolitan Baptist Church believes...

·      Baptism is a symbol that proclaims the Gospel.

·      Baptism is not salvific (is not what saves you).

·      Baptism always takes place after conversion.

We see this for instance in the Great Commission

            Matthew 28:19

[19] Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of

the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (ESV)

You become a disciple and then you are Baptized. Baptism follows salvation. Baptism does not save but points back to the fact that you have been saved.

This order of events is clearly taught in Scripture and so we reject infant Baptisms as legitimate Baptisms because babies are not able to repent and believe the Gospel. The word Baptism also carries with it the idea of a Baptism by immersion (the word is used in first century literature to refer to sunken ships for instance). Going under the water as Christ went into the grave and rising out of the water as Christ raised from the dead. For becoming a member of MBC we require members to be Baptized by immersion after their conversion because that is what Scripture teaches.

If you have not been baptized, if you were baptized as a baby or before your conversion, or you were Baptized by sprinkling instead of immersion and you have believed in Jesus Christ and want to be Baptized in the way that Scripture outlines, we would be happy to Baptize you and for you to become a member of our Church through Baptism.

Stephen Wellum goes on to say this, “In Scripture the purpose of baptism is at least twofold: a sign of initiation and entrance into the church, which should precede one’s participation in the Lord’s Supper, and a declaration of faith and surrender to Christ’s lordship.”[6]

That is another important truth about Baptism. In Scripture you only find Baptized believers participating in the Lord’s Supper. Baptism precedes one’s participation in the Lord’s Supper, which is the second sacrament. Which we will talk about now.

The Lord’s Supper

We believe the Lord’s Supper or Communion is a memorial in which we remember Jesus’s death and look forward to His return.

Here is Mark’s account of the first Lord’s Supper.

            Mark 14:22–25

[22] And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” [23] And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. [24] And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. [25] Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” (ESV)

So, we see that it is a memorial of the Lord’s broken body and shed blood that anticipates the return of Christ. Taking of the table is an act of obedience, and God uses this sacrament to sanctify His Church.

Closed, Open, and Close

This of course raises the important question, “who can take of the table?” There are four broad answers to that question.

·      Christians

·      Rightly Baptized Christians

·      Christians who are not actively living in unrepentant sin

·      Christians Who are in right relationship with a local Church

First, Christians can take of the table. The Lord’s Supper is not for unbelievers as it is the way that believers participate in and remember Jesus’s death and resurrection.

Second, rightly Baptized Christians can take communion. In the Bible we only see Baptized believers taking communion. Because baptism and conversion as so closely intertwined the idea of an unbaptized Christian taking of the table is unheard of in Scripture and so we believe a right Baptism is prerequisite to taking communion.

Next Christians who are not living in unrepentant sin can take communion.

Paul says this to the Corinthians,

            1 Corinthians 11:27–32

[27] Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. [28] Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. [29] For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. [30] That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. [31] But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. [32] But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. (ESV)

To be living in sin, disunity, conflict or whatever unrepentant sin it might be and to then take communion without confessing and repenting is taking the table in an unworthy manner. Paul says some in this Church got sick and died as a judgement for wrongly taking communion.

Additionally, if you were under Church discipline, you would not be able to take of the table. For example, if you had been excommunicated and were not seeking to be restored that would be considered taking of the table in an unworthy manner. If someone is excommunicated and thus treated like an unbeliever that means they are not viewed by the Church as a Christian and so cannot receive the table.

This is why when we take communion at MBC, we have a time set apart for prayer, repentance, and confession, so that we can take of the table in a worthy manner.

Last, what about non-MBC  members taking communion at MBC? There are three views on this and they are easy to remember.

·      Closed Communion

·      Open Communion

·      Close Communion

Below is a summary of each view.

·      Closed Communion sees that only our members who are not living in sin or under Church discipline can take of the table.

·      Open sees that any believer not living in unrepentant sin can take of the table.

·      Close communion holds that any rightly Baptized believer from our Church or a like-minded Church who is not living in sin can take of the table with us.

Close communion is our Church’s view. Because it best reflects what the Bible teaches about who can take of the table.

Sources

            [1] John Clavin, The Institutes of the Christian Religion (Banner of Truth), 246.

            [2] Johnathan Leeman, Church Membership, (Crossway: 9Marks), 52.

            [3] Ibid, 64

             [4] Ibid, 65.

            [5] Stephen Wellum, Water Baptism, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/water-baptism/

            [6] Ibid.