1. Biblical Church Membership

2. Lesson 4 – Qualification -meeting the standard of church membership-

3. Biblical Church Membership What are the biblical standards of church membership?

4. Faith in Christ

5. Do not be bound together with unbelievers… II Corinthians 6:14

6. …the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel … Ephesians 3:6

7. Adherence to the particular standards of this church

8. Baptism

9. Romans 6:3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?

10. Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit….

11. Some Misunderstandings Regarding Baptism….

12. Baptism as necessary for salvation (baptismal regeneration)

13. Baptism as merely a hoop to jump through or a chore to be accomplished

14. 1 Timothy 5:22 Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.

15. Observance of the Church Covenant

16. “The membership of this church [is] to be composed of persons who have publically professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, have been baptized by immersion, who promise to subscribe to the doctrines and standards as set forth in the church covenant and these by-laws as adopted by this church, and has [sic] been accepted by vote of the church.” – Article V, Section 1, Constitution and By-laws

17. Active Participation in the Life of the Church

18. Biblical Church Membership How are these standards applied practically?

19. How are they practiced? Maintaining one’s faith

20. How are they practiced? Being obedient in baptism and laboring to bring all other areas of life into conformity.

21. How are they practiced? Observing the accepted terms of the local church covenant.

22. How are they practiced? Actively participating in the life of the church.

23. How are they observed in practice? Observing the fruits of faith

24. How are they observed in practice? James 2:26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

25. Martin Luther “We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.”

26. How are they observed in practice? Helping one another grow

27. How are they observed in practice? Calling upon one another to keep the terms of the covenant

28. Biblical Church Membership