Living Outside the Walls.
Belonging is crucial to a man’s self-estimation.
I’m living proof of that. For years I bounced myself and my family around from one congregation to another with the expectation of finding a better one.
Joining a “church” was important.
And once I found what seemed like a “good” one, I did what I considered any responsible father should do acting in the best interest of his family’s spiritual welfare. I’d simply ask a pastor or teacher:
“Now what is it that we believe…?’’
I’d unwittingly surrender my ability to study and learn for myself what was actually written in the Bible over to doctrines steeped in centuries of tradition all because I was determined to belong to something.
I didn’t have the stomach to exist on the outside of institutional, mainstream “Christian” worship and fellowship. So, when I got bored or offended or if my wife or kids became discouraged because not enough of their friends “belonged” to their “church,” I’d find another congregation to join. There were plenty to choose from.
At some point though, I became more inclined to actually open a Bible and read what it said.
And, the more I read, the more I questioned the idea that membership in Christ’s assembly required a signed, binding commitment to a particular congregation. So I began to seriously consider what actually defined membership in the Body of Christ.
[ἐκκλησία: (ê-klāy-see’-ûh) congregation; assembly, gathering (of religious, political, or unofficial groups)]
Eventually, I was able to confidently conclude that membership in His assembly can never be satisfied with a signatory instrument or an oath. To become a member of Christ’s Body, one need only to believe, repent and be baptized on the basis of [or immersed into] His name for the forgiveness of sins. [see: Eph. 1:13; Ac. 2:38-39].
That’s it. The Lord does all the record keeping.
On the other hand, our expression of faith by joining together for worship locally is very much a construct of the early ἐκκλησία as well as a tradition. It’s crucial to their spiritual development. By teaching each other to grow in the knowledge of the Scriptures and encouraging one another to persevere as faithful disciples of Christ and to develop our gifts in the service of Him and others, we thrive.
But It’s never been about numbers or the preeminence of its members.
Christ’s assembly is clearly universal and inclusive of any individual God has chosen for Himself on the basis of his choice to believe what was spoken and eventually written in the Bible. Any member of a local congregation today is free to rescind his “membership” in that particular body of fellowship. He might even have it revoked.
He is, however, still a member of Christ’s Body.
One objective of any organization is to bring definition to its members, and the privilege of laying down my life for another would often seem to define the very essence of belonging. But being a member of anything would mean nothing to me unless the real substance of that membership is demonstrated through my actions.
So, joining a congregation with the sole intent of confirming my membership in Christ’s Body would seem irrelevant to the realization of that ambition.
However, Jesus Christ’s ἐκκλησία will never end, nor will it lose membership.
Any walls built around it originate in the human heart.
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Continuing my comment. … I do not believe in signing oaths or creeds required by many denominations. The Christian Church where we worship is merely a gathering of born again Christian who fellowship together. “Membership” entails merely affirmation of faith before worshippers and desire to be a part of the fellowship. We are all members of the body of Christ by being baptized into Christ. The Bible contains many references of Christians coming together in worship at Corinth, Thessolinika (sp) etc. which I believe to be faith affirming actions.