Pastor Jerry Rockwell / SAVED CHURCH MEMBERSHIP

Pastor Jerry Rockwell

SAVED CHURCH MEMBERSHIP

 

Acts 2:47 (KJV), “Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”

Introduction: History has some interesting events that show the lack of commitment to Bible doctrine. One event in the early history of the United States (before 1776) demonstrates this problem. It is called the “Halfway Covenant” of the Puritans in1662. It is described in the following:
         “Because so many Puritan children in Massachusetts

     were reaching adulthood unconverted and therefore

     ineligible for church membership, the Massachusetts

Synod of 1662 adopted the Half-way covenant. It allowed for baptized adults who professed faith and lived uprightly, but who had had no conversion experience, to be accepted as church members. Their children were recognized as “half-way” members and could not take Communion or participate in church elections. In practice, the Half-way covenant opened the doors of church membership to the whole community and was the catalyst for the spiritual decline of New England Congregationalism.”[1]

Even the casual observer would ask, “How did they come up with this decision?” The leaders seemed more interested in their children’s “church membership” than their conversion to Christ. The result of such action would guarantee that eventually the church would be occupied and led by people who were not converted to Christ and had no commitment to biblical doctrine. This brief illustration gives good reason to deal with a doctrine presently under consideration, “Saved Church Membership.”

  1. WHAT IS THE CHURCH? There is an important Dispensational matter that connects with the church. There is a curious passage in Romans 16:25-26 (KJV), “25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, 26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.” Please note the word “mystery” in 25. This passage is saying that the church was not in prophecy and never mentioned in the Old Testament. The church was revealed to the Apostle Paul when he was in Arabia (Gal. 1:11-13) and given the application of the “gospel” that he preached (see 1 Cor. 15:1-4). The church’s revelation came with the “gospel” of the Lord Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. When the Jews rejected Jesus for the “umpteenth” time, God brought into action His plan for the Gentiles to hear the gospel.[2] Isaiah has an interesting statement in Isaiah 11:10 (KJV, “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.” This is simply a prophecy that the Gentiles will seek the “root of Jesse” (a designation of the Messiah). The Jews missed this completely, and when they rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, God initiated His plan to reach the Gentiles by the church, which is made up of Gentiles and Jews. Have you ever wondered about the statement by the Apostle Paul in Romans 1:16 (KJV), “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” This commitment by Paul results from God’s revelation of the church.
  2. THE BIBLE TEACHING OF “SAVED CHURCH MEMBERSHIP.” We can begin this section with a quote from James Alter about a “saved church membership. He says:

“Local church membership is restricted to individuals who give a credible testimony of personal salvation in Christ and have publicly identified themselves with Him in believer’s baptism by immersion, following salvation. When the members of a local church are believers; there is purity, there is unity, there is power, there is purpose, and there is peace. There is never even a hint in Scripture of unbelievers being members of the local church. It is a spiritual house.”[3]

This statement is enhanced by 1 Peter 2:5 (KJV), “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” The Bible has some things to say about the membership of a “local” New Testament church.

  • THE EARLY ACTIVITY OF THE CHURCH, Acts 2:47 (KJV), “Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” As the church began to take place, it was significant that there were people “added to the church.” This took place after Peter had preached a lengthy sermon, and the people were “pricked in their heart” and asked Peter, “. . .what shall we do?” Peter’s reply was in Acts 2:38 (KJV) “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” The result is found in Acts 2:41 (KJV), “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” Note the word “added” in the above verses. There are two things to note about these verses. One, those “added” to the church were “saved.” Two, these same people were baptized. When these people “gladly received the word” (they were saved), these same people were “baptized.” The result is that they were “added” to the church. If God established the standard of a “saved membership,” the church, including Eastland Baptist Church, should have the same standard. A saved person should be baptized and join the church.
  1. BENEFITS OF CHURCH MEMBERSHIP.
  2. When all church members are believers (Christians, Acts 11:26), this unifies the church. A passage addresses this issue in 2 Corinthians 6:14-16 (KJV), “14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. When a “non-believer” comes into the church’s fellowship (without examination), there is a risk of controversy or trouble. On the other hand, it is significant that when all the people who are members of the church are saved, harmony is much easier to achieve. The sense of “family” should be the order of the day. After all, every believer is a child of God (John 1:12), which brings unity to the family.
  3. When all church members are believers, the “Great Commission” will be a focus of the church. It says in Matthew 28:18-20 (KJV), “18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. We often overlook the importance of this passage. This is in the form of a command given by Jesus Christ, first to the apostles, then to the church. We often over look the word “Go” at the beginning of verse 19. That is the main verb, indicating action. The words “teach all nations” and “baptizing them” are both participles and get their action from the main verb, which also makes them commands. This passage can be analyzed in this way:
  4. Go. Every believer has the responsibility to “Go.” We are to be witnesses wherever we go, and sometimes, as Pastor Green admonishes us often, we make plans to go for the purpose of evangelizing. The “going” involves two things.
  5. Teach. The meaning behind this word is to “make disciples” or followers. When Jesus called his “disciples” (the twelve apostles), He called them to “follow” He said to Peer and Andrew (Peter’s brother) to “follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:18). Almost immediately, Jesus saw “two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John is brother, in a ship, with Zebedee their father. . . and he called them” (Matt. 4:21). The next verse should be an example for us, Matthew 4:22 (KJV), “And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.” Are we as enthusiastic about following Jesus as they were?
  6. Baptize. This is also a command. I know of churches that do not emphasize the significance of baptism. There are churches that will baptize people who have been Christians for over 15 years, and suddenly, they get a challenge or understand the importance of a believer being baptized and realize they need to be obedient and be baptized. There is an aspect of baptism that many overlook. If it is a command, then it should be observed. The time I have been a pastor people will come to me and indicate they were saved some time back (often over a year or two) and ask to be baptized. They follow through with this and later they come to me and tell me that they suddenly have more desire to read the Bible, participate in Sunday school and church, and be a witness for the Lord. What made the difference? OBEDIENCE. There is an aspect that God gives the believer the responsibility to obey His commands. Baptism is the first opportunity to demonstrate one’s desire to obey God. When they refuse, they believe that the Bible, church, witnessing, and other responsibilities are not vital to them. Once they take the first step of obedience, things change, and God will give them awareness of other things in the Bible they need to begin to obey and follow.
  7. BIBLICAL STATEMENTS TO CONTEMPLATE AND STUDY.
  8. Romans 1:1, 7-8 (KJV), “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God. . .7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. 8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.”
  9. 1 Corinthians 1:1-2 (KJV), “1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.”
  10. Ephesians 2:1-6 (KJV), “1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
  11. 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 (KJV), “1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; 3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; 4 Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. 5 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. 6 And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost: 7 So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing. 9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; 10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”

[1] Sharon Rusten with E. Michael, The Complete Book of When & Where in the Bible and throughout History (Wheaton, IL: Michael E Rusten, 2005), 280.

[2] Israel was given the responsibility of making God known to the “stranger” according to the prayer of King Solomon in 1 Kings 8:41-43. This could also apply to the Gentile which is a designation of a “non-Jew.”

[3] James A. Alter and Dolton W. Robertson II, Why Baptist? The Significance Of Baptist Principles In An Ecumenical Age (Sidney, OH, Ancient Baptist Press, 2008), page 83.