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About LinkBacksWhere does it say that we must be members of the church. i understand that we make up the body of Christ but is it say that membership is required????
Thanks
Where does it say that we must be members of the church. i understand that we make up the body of Christ but is it say that membership is required????
Thanks
Hello Robert,
That is a good question. I am about to leave to worship God with my brethren. I will share my thoughts with you when I return.
-Lee
1 Peter 5:6-7: Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. -ESV
Robert,
I have reread your question and I need to ask for clarification. By "...we must be members of the church," do you mean members of a local congregation? In other words, "where does the bible state that we have to be members of a local congregation? Is it required that we must be a part of a local congregation?" I believe that is what you are asking but I want to make sure.
-Lee
1 Peter 5:6-7: Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. -ESV
I think Robert that you may be misunderstanding how we use member...we use it like the bible does. Member comes from member of the Body, not member of a club. Hope this helps. Please let us know if this answers your question.
Romans 12:3-5
3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into[a] one Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:12-1312 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into[a] one Spirit.
I think many times people in general, non-members of the church and especially those in denominations, misunderstand what it means to be a member of the church. I hear it often, "You guys think that if I am not a member of the church of Christ that I am not going to heaven." What they think we believe is that if someone is not a member of the XYZ Church of Christ located at 123 Anywhere St., in Anytown, USA, then that someone isn't going to heaven. That is certainly not what we believe, although it would not surprise me to hear this thought coming from a member of a local church of Christ congregation.
As brother Steven shows in the passages above, to be a member of the church of Christ is to be a member of the body of Christ, not a particular local church of Christ building. As we see... "as the body is one and has many members", which includes everyone who as obeyed the gospel of Christ and has been baptized into the body of Christ... "for by one Spirit we were baptized into the one body".
And we know there is only one body, not many...
Eph 4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
Eph 4:5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
Eph 4:6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Salvation is in Christ... in the body. In order to be saved, we must be "in Christ"... "in the body"... "a member of the body".
How do we get "in Christ"... how do we become a "member of the body"?
Gal 3:27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Rom 6:3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
Rom 6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,
Would anyone deny that salvation is a spiritual blessing?
Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
Clearly... "every"... not some or a few, but "every" spiritual blessing is "in Christ".
Can we be saved outside of Christ? Not according to all of the above Scripture.
2Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Can we be "a new creation"... will "old things have passed away"... and will "all things have become new"... if we are NOT "in Christ"?
We must be a "member" of "the body", which is "the church".
The body is the church!
Eph 1:15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,
Eph 1:16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:
Eph 1:17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
Eph 1:18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power
Eph 1:20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
Eph 1:21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
Eph 1:22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,
Eph 1:23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
(Emphasis by me.)
In Christ,
broSonnie
Jeremiah 6:16 Thus says the LORD: "Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'
Thanks guys,
Here in eastern KY the church of Christ gets a bad name...one reason why is were so secluded from everyone...anyway to put it if uncle Jim farts then they know about it within the next 10 minutes....i was raised in the church, all of my moms family was raised in the church....now that ive been baptized and everything i wanna know more about this church...see my wife goes to Freewill Baptist....and i go with her, not by choice, but until i read the NT all the way through i'm going to make my decision. Now, do i believe that the church of Christ is the only living church that forfills what the Bible says to do...YES....now do i think because my Grandmother was a baptist, did she go to hell. NO....do i think its as simple as a confession of the mouth to be saved? NO.... I believe a lot of these denominations use a lot of things and pick at it....they say well Paul tells us to confess with thy mouth and believe in thy heart and you will be saved, yea but Pauls also says in Acts 22:16 that he had to be baptized to wash away thy sins.
I would ask you guys to pray for me and my family, because of the way that she was raised she believes this way....but what 5 letter words do most Americans hate??? TRUTH....
I also sit and think what if Stone - Campbell would have not reformed Jesus' church where would we be today??? Scarry isn't it...
Thanks guys
We will definitely be praying for you Robert. As I mentioned to you in my email... my family, my wife's family and most all of our long time friends are in denominations. It has been difficult, but I stand behind the Word of God and work through the trials that I may face from time to time.
You may find that the church of Chirst gets a bad name by denominations no matter where you are at. Then there are congregations that have labeled themselves as a church of Christ that are nothing more than a denomination.
Just to clarify, Stone and Campbell did not "reform" the churh... they led a restoration movement to "restore" the church.
In Christ,
broSonnie
Jeremiah 6:16 Thus says the LORD: "Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'
Here is a very good lesson on identifying the one church and why the "one church" is different from denominations.
http://phillipsstreetcoc.com/audio/t...of-the-church/
In Christ,
broSonnie
Jeremiah 6:16 Thus says the LORD: "Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'
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