{"id":47229,"date":"2018-12-17T10:00:41","date_gmt":"2018-12-17T10:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/\/uk\/?p=47229"},"modified":"2018-12-14T16:24:20","modified_gmt":"2018-12-14T16:24:20","slug":"should-i-join-a-church-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.banneroftruth.org\/uk\/resources\/articles\/2018\/should-i-join-a-church-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Should I Join a Church?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bible teaches that the church is the company of those who are committed to Jesus Christ as Saviour and\u00a0Lord. The Master said \u2018Upon this rock I will build my church\u2019 and the foundation to which he referred was\u00a0expressed in the glorious testimony of Peter \u2018Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God\u2019 (Matt. 16:16).\u00a0This passage indicated that the church is made up of those who make confession of faith that Christ is the\u00a0Son of God and pledge themselves to him.<\/p>\n

It follows that those who belong to the church will seek to obey Christ\u2019s teaching and live to his glory.\u00a0The New Testament teaches that we cannot do this alone, it is a corporate responsibility. On the day of\u00a0Pentecost the church was formed and the early chapters of the Acts reveal clearly that it was essentially \u2018a\u00a0fellowship\u2019. Those converted from sin unto God should seek to serve the Lord in daily living individually\u00a0and together.<\/p>\n

The Importance of the Local Church<\/h3>\n

As the gospel was carried into regions afar, worshipping groups were formed into local churches according\u00a0to a biblical pattern. Thus we discover a church in Antioch, a church in Ephesus, a church in Corinth and so\u00a0on. These churches differed in their needs and in their problems. Some were strong spiritually, others weak,\u00a0but the one outstanding feature of them all was that they were made up of those who were committed to\u00a0Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. All were conscious of their relationship with Christians everywhere but\u00a0recognised a local assembly to which each was responsible.<\/p>\n

Churches are glad to welcome within their influence those who are seeking to discover the truth of the\u00a0Gospel and one of the chief aims of a local church is to bring together those who will search the Scriptures\u00a0in order to be made wise unto salvation. (2 Tim. 3:15). Communicant membership of the church, however,\u00a0is possible only for those who do confess Christ as Lord.<\/p>\n

What Local Church?<\/h3>\n

Looking around a modern town we find a multiplicity of religious bodies. How is the man in the street to\u00a0know which church to attend? It is outside the scope of these paragraphs to pass any kind of judgement\u00a0except to say that the church joined ought to be an evangelical one. This does not necessarily mean that it\u00a0must be detached from a denominational body, though where a congregation is connected to a denomination\u00a0the testimony of that body as a whole will need to be considered. Whether denominational or independent, it is of first importance that the particular church should uphold the trustworthiness of the Scriptures and\u00a0the doctrines that through the ages have marked men as truly biblical. For example: The full Deity of our\u00a0Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the sacred relationship of the Trinity, the sufficiency of the Saviour\u2019s\u00a0substitutionary death for our redemption, the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the personal and visible\u00a0Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. These doctrines are not a comprehensive statement of belief but\u00a0indicate some of the matters which should be examined before joining a place of worship. Set the assembly\u00a0alongside the Scriptures and discern accordingly. Remember that once you are a member your testimony will be judged not only by your own word but by the position of the church to which you belong.<\/p>\n

In seeking a church it is wise to discover what services are held. The ordinances of the Lord\u2019s Supper\u00a0and Baptism should be observed and, as I see it, proper morning and evening services maintained. Sunday\u00a0School facilities are important. If the individual is going to be nourished spiritually there should be a\u00a0sufficient and balanced diet. A church with only an evening service cannot give this adequately, neither can\u00a0one which is content to be without a systematic expository ministry. It is wise to enquire how the finances\u00a0of the church are organised. Be sure that your gifts will support missionary societies that stand for biblical\u00a0truth. Will you be involved in unworthy money raising efforts which reduce the church of Jesus Christ to\u00a0the level of the world?<\/p>\n

On Sundays you will want to worship as a united family but during the week you may wish to attend\u00a0meetings designed for different age groups, so the journey to church is a consideration. If at all possible\u00a0find a church of biblical conviction close to your home. If you are buying a house or have some choice of\u00a0district, select a home within easy reach of a helpful place of worship. There is an old saying \u2018Pitch your\u00a0tent near your tabernacle\u2019. In these days of easy travel, it is often said \u2018I have a car and a few miles are\u00a0neither here nor there\u2019, but it is not so easy when children want to go to church on their own, if there is a\u00a0mechanical breakdown, the cost of petrol rises, or the weather is treacherous!<\/p>\n

Generally it is right to support the nearest church to your home where the gospel is faithfully preached\u00a0and your convictions on the church and the ordinances upheld. In some cities there are popular preaching\u00a0centres and the \u2018keenest\u2019 people go to them. Sometimes there is even a suggestion that unless you do support\u00a0these central churches you are not very sound. This is a fallacy, if you are giving support to a smaller cause\u00a0that is equally faithful to the Scriptures. Some attend large fashionable churches with particularly gifted\u00a0orators where the work is overstaffed and have little scope for service. God\u2019s place for you may be a small\u00a0work with a less well known pastor who is equally faithful, and where there is a need for workers, givers, and folk to pray. How unworthy it is to choose a church because of its architecture, its social standing, its\u00a0popularity or its music and to neglect a smaller cause loyal to the truth which needs help. Attendance at a\u00a0large church can sometimes mean a lack of willingness to be involved in the hard work characteristic of\u00a0most lesser known causes.<\/p>\n

Must I Join?<\/h3>\n

Belonging to a particular church is vital to the Christian. In the New Testament there is no such person as a\u00a0Christian who is not a church member. Conversion was described as \u2018the Lord adding to the church\u2019 (Acts\u00a02:47). There was no spiritual drifting. Those who came to know Christ were committed at once to the local\u00a0church where they were instructed and shepherded and where they submitted to the teaching and direction\u00a0of those God appointed for their good (Eph. 4:11-12).<\/p>\n

It is not enough for folk to profess to be saved and then to \u2018pop in\u2019 where they please Sunday by Sunday,\u00a0or worse, only when the fancy takes them. Spurgeon<\/a> used to call people like this \u2018birds of passage which\u00a0nest nowhere\u2019! This drifting arises from a misunderstanding of the Christian life. Men are saved out of the\u00a0world and into the church to serve Christ not singly but as part of the body over which he is head. Many of\u00a0the duties of the church can only be honoured when the people of God work together and the discipline of\u00a0the church is impossible when individuals decline to join.<\/p>\n

The Family Discipline<\/h3>\n

Pastors and officers are not appointed to domineer but they are called by God to lead and can only do this\u00a0effectively if the folk respect that calling. Hebrews 13:17 says \u2018Obey them that have the rule over you and\u00a0submit yourselves; for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy\u00a0and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you\u2019. It is useless to complain that the work is not progressing\u00a0if you are absent half the time or if your giving is less than reasonable. To refuse to follow the lead of those\u00a0whom God has appointed to guide the work is to nurture anarchy and speedy decline. Church officers\u00a0have a difficult task; they make prayerful decisions with care to arrange things to conform to Scriptural\u00a0principles and for the edification of the majority; their supreme motive will be the glory of the Lord Jesus\u00a0Christ. Respect their decisions even if you have certain preferences that are not theirs. Accept the local\u00a0arrangements, giving credit for spiritual integrity and remember that every church is far from perfect.\u00a0Scripture teaches very clearly that there are offices of pastor, elders and deacons in the church and\u00a0that these have the responsibility of rule over the membership. The minister has probably spent years in specialised training; this does not make him faultless but it does give him an added claim to be heeded,
\nparticularly by those who profess to believe that Christ has called him into the pastoral office. The deacons\u00a0are appointed by the church meeting, not as a board of management but as those who have leadership in the\u00a0work of God bearing the Holy Spirit\u2019s commission, and this authority must be recognised.<\/p>\n

There is a sad stress on \u2018democracy\u2019 these days. In the New Testament times folk recognised that Christ\u00a0is the head of the church. Today we acknowledge this with our lips but so often behave as though men are\u00a0in charge. The Lord Jesus Christ has shown us in his Word what the church should be and that in matters\u00a0of conduct there are biblical principles to be observed. He has commissioned leaders to shepherd the flock\u00a0and these are to be heeded for the office they hold. Pastors and deacons have been appointed by God and\u00a0endued with ability for office, therefore their lead should be followed unless there is a clear infringement of\u00a0a biblical principle. Obedience to the Word of God, not a majority vote, is the required standard.<\/p>\n

What Are the Responsibilities?<\/h3>\n

Membership in the church carries responsibility. Perhaps this is why some people are content with the\u00a0unscriptural position of attending services week by week without joining. In some churches the only thing\u00a0to be gained by membership is responsibility! But this is surely a privilege to be embraced.<\/p>\n

There is the duty of attendance. The church meets on Sunday and ought to be a complete family gathering.\u00a0If you are there the church is enriched, if you are absent the church is the poorer; every absentee is missed\u00a0every time! Scripture refers to the church universal as the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12). The metaphor holds\u00a0equally well for the local expression of the church. Without each member the church cannot function\u00a0fully, the ministry of the whole is weakened. This lays upon each of us the responsibility to be in our place\u00a0consistently each Sunday. The midweek prayer meeting and Bible study also deserve our loyalty. There are\u00a0areas of the world where Christians would highly prize these opportunities for growth and fellowship which\u00a0we often treat so lightly.<\/p>\n

We live in an age when the church is not seen for what God intended it should be. Too often we have the idea of a preaching centre with a man giving a sermon and the congregation coming in to listen and going\u00a0out again with perhaps a word of praise or criticism of the message. This is not the New Testament church.\u00a0The church as Scripture indicates it is an assembly where each plays a unique part and the element of cooperation\u00a0together is vital. There are ministries divided amongst the members that can only be exercised by\u00a0them and are for the benefit of all. The Christians coined a word for this; that word is \u2018fellowship\u2019. It is the\u00a0expression of the love of Christ that links us together and we are to love others as he loved us \u2013 in spite of\u00a0individual faults (Rom. 5:8; John 15:12). We are to contribute the one to the other in terms of understanding\u00a0and warmth overcoming personal likes and prejudices; this takes grace to practice. We tend to uphold the\u00a0idea that the love of the Church can be expressed by the man paid to show it. The pastor is there to visit\u00a0the sick! The minister must knock on the doors in the district that folk may come. If they don\u2019t come there\u00a0is the implication that he is not doing his job. The congregation expects just to sit and listen on Sunday \u2013 a\u00a0few enthusiasts helping with the Sunday School. This is a travesty of the biblical teachings on the church.<\/p>\n

Evangelism can only be properly accomplished by all working in fellowship. The church can only live\u00a0according to the Divine design by expressing this depth of fellowship together. This lays a duty on each\u00a0individual to bring whatever abilities he possesses to the life of the whole church. All are needed if the work\u00a0is really to glorify the Lord.<\/p>\n

There is an obligation to give for the work of the local church. The pastor has to be paid, not only that he\u00a0might live but that he might live in such a way that he is worry free and able to do his task efficiently. Modern\u00a0standards and social conditions make increasing demands upon a pastor and his wife. Their home must be\u00a0a testimony, they must be \u2018given to hospitality\u2019 and such things as books are as necessary to a minister as\u00a0instruments are to a doctor. Further the good preservation of buildings must be seen to, decorating, heating,\u00a0lighting and other facilities provided; and there must be provision for the support of missionaries and aid\u00a0for evangelistic and teaching works which are over and above the usual Sunday Services. Money is also\u00a0needed for the expression of Christian love to the sick, the lonely and the needy (there are still many such).\u00a0God has given much clear teaching in Scripture concerning giving. It should be private between us and him, never a source of proud display. It should be proportionate to our income (may we recommend the\u00a0biblical minimum of a tithe?). It should be cheerful because it is an expression of the love we have for the\u00a0Saviour, and it should be responsible, facing up to the financial needs of the church and of the missionary\u00a0interests expressed in the life of the local fellowship. If every Christian gave in a realistic way the work of\u00a0God would be more than adequately financed without worry.<\/p>\n

Belonging to a local church demands loyalty. Some ministers are distressed because a large proportion\u00a0of their congregations drift in and out, careless of their influence upon the Church as a whole. We agree\u00a0that there is nothing sacred about 11 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. but there is a Scriptural basis for the keeping of the\u00a0Lord\u2019s Day and the use of the hours in it for worship and service in separation from the secular pursuits that\u00a0may be quite legitimate on a weekday. Your church will provide a suitable balance of teaching throughout\u00a0the day. There will be devotion and evangelism with opportunities of service. Together with this it is healthy\u00a0to use your home on Sunday for the gathering of friends together for Christian fellowship \u2013 not \u2018social\u2019\u00a0parties \u2013 and especially to introduce unconverted contacts to the work of God. After-church meetings for\u00a0young people can be very valuable.<\/p>\n

Be loyal to the arrangements at your local church in three ways. Attend the services week by week. Make\u00a0it a general rule never to be absent from the church to which you belong, for the local church depends upon\u00a0your presence at each service. This means that you will be loyal enough to resist tempting invitations to\u00a0forsake your own church to visit another where there is a \u2018special\u2019 weekend with an \u2018attractive\u2019 speaker. If\u00a0you are free from your own church activities on a weeknight to support a gathering in another church of\u00a0like mind that is a different matter, but on Sunday you are pledged to be where God has placed you. It is in\u00a0this church that you will be systematically taught and the pastor will seek to mount the pulpit steps with a\u00a0message prepared with all the needs of his members in mind. The value to you of any series of sermons is\u00a0depreciated each time you are absent from a part of it! As a free person you can visit any church or meeting that you choose but in membership with a local church you surrender yourself freely to the discipline of\u00a0that body. It is divisive and disturbing to find that members drift hither and thither drinking in doctrines\u00a0of every description. It may be valuable to gather with people from other churches from time to time for\u00a0conventions and special services but allow your church officers to guide your associations in these matters.\u00a0There is nothing that will do more damage in a local fellowship than the formation of small cliques pushing\u00a0a particular view and interpretation. Membership includes loyalty to the testimony of the church to which\u00a0you belong: many doctrinal deviations might be avoided if this were kept in mind.<\/p>\n

Lastly, remember that Christ through his church has the highest claim upon you. Scripture reminds us\u00a0that \u2018He that loveth father and mother more than me is not worthy of me\u2019. The outworking of this will affect many things. For instance, it is necessary that families should gather together but not at the expense\u00a0of the work of the church of God. Warmly welcome visitors for tea on Sunday but bring them to church\u00a0afterwards, provided they are not committed to another church. Visit your friends, on the understanding that\u00a0for the honour of the Lord\u2019s name you have an appointment in the House of God on Sunday evening. God\u00a0says \u2018Them that honour me, I will honour\u2019 (1 Sam. 2:30).<\/p>\n

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This article first appeared in the November 1968 edition of the Banner of Truth<\/em> magazine.<\/p>\n

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More on the Church<\/h3>\n