Volume 44 Number 12 August 2002
The church of Christ is a divinely designed institution purposed by Cod (Ephesians 1:3-11, 3:10-11), purchased by the blood of Jesus (Acts 20:28), built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:20), with Christ as the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20), and head of the church (Ephesians 1:22, 5:23, Colossians 1:18).
The Lord set in the church those things that were pleasing to Him (Ephesians 4:11-16), and revealed His will to us through the Holy Scriptures (Ephesians 1:9, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:3). It is His will that none perish but that men be saved (2 Peter 3:9, John 3:16, Matthew 18:11, John 3:17).
The death of Christ made possible our salvation (1 Corinthians 15:3) but our salvation now depends on our obedience (Hebrews 5:9). We must believe in Him (John 3:16, 14:1, Hebrews 1l:6), repent of our sins (2 Peter 3:9, Acts 2:38, Luke 13:3, 5), confess our faith in Christ (Romans 10:9-10), be baptized (Acts 2:38), and be faithful (Revelation 2:10).
When people obey the gospel and are baptized into Christ the Lord adds them to the church (Acts 2:41, 47, Colossians 1:13), but the church is made up of many local congregations (Acts 9:31, Romans 16:16, Galatians 1:2, Revelation 2 and 3) with elders (Titus 1:5), also called bishops (Titus 1:7) and called pastors (Ephesians 4:11) overseeing the local congregations (Acts 14:23, 20:28,1 Peter 5:2).
The Scriptures do not give us detailed information about joining the membership of a specific congregation, but certainly the matter is inferred. The Scriptures teach by three methods, by command such as Acts 2:38, by example as Acts 20:7, and by inference also in Acts 20:7. The example teaches us to observe the Lord's Supper on the first day of the week. The fact that the disciples came together infers that a time and place were previously designated and known to the disciples. Likewise when the Scriptures teach that elders oversee the flock (Acts 20:28) it is inferred that a flock exists and the elders-know who are members of the flock.
If all things are to be done decently and in order (1 Corinthians 14:40) it is essential for elders to know who are members of the flock they are overseeing. Just as the Good Shepherd knows who are His and is known by His own (John 10:14), local shepherds must also know who are members of the flock they oversee, and must be known by the flock.
There are people who want to be members of the Lord's church but seemingly do not want to be members of a local flock, and there are some congregations that sanction this arrangement though it seems foreign to the Scriptures. I have lived and worked among farm and ranch people all my life, and I have never asked a farmer or rancher how many sheep he had and been told, "Oh, I don't know. They come and go around here. There is no fence between my land and the neighboring ranches. Part of the time the sheep are mine and part of the time they belong to the neighbors." Every farmer, every rancher knows his livestock. In areas where there is open range livestock is branded so it can be identified and men may know where it belongs. It is essential that elders know exactly the souls for which they must give account (Hebrews 13:17).
With New Testament congregations in various locations and with local overseers ruling each congregation, it seems rather obvious that there were identifiable members in those congregations. As an example, specific men were mentioned in the church at Antioch (Acts 13:1).
1 Peter 5:1-2 is significant in that the elders are said to be among the flock and the flock among the elders. If certain individuals were recognized to be the elders, it stands to reason that certain individuals were recognized to make up that local flock. And in this modern age with officers and leaders of denominations in some distant city, it is noticeable that in the church of the New Testament the elders were among the flock, and the flock among the elders. The elders were part of the congregation, men who had been chosen to be overseers. Likewise, the seven deacon who were chosen at Jerusalem were from among the brethren there (Acts 6:7).
It may be that when one is converted in a local assembly he lets it be known that he wants to function as a member of that congregation, or perhaps a believer moves to an area, seeks out the brethren there and by either oral or written statement expresses his desire to be a member of that flock. In the latter such case many times a letter of commendation (2 Corinthians 3:1-2) is in order, sent from the elders of the congregation where the brother previously was a member to the congregation in the area where the brother has now moved. This allows the receiving congregation to be assured of the faithfulness of the brother coming among them. Without such procedure they may be accepting into their fellowship a person who has been disorderly and even withdrawn from because of unrepented sins.
Elders are not over the brotherhood at large, but over local congregations. Without specific membership in a local congregation organization and discipline are both almost impossible. No government can function without subjects to be ruled. Without people being members of a congregation, how can officers be chosen from the congregation? How can elders have any jurisdiction to oversee and rule the congregation if there are no members of the congregation?
Mere attendance does not make one a member of a congregation. People who have never been baptized, and people who have been withdrawn from may attend church meetings with some degree of regularity but that does not make them members. People who are members of a congregation elsewhere may be in an area for a period of time and may attend church meetings regularly in that area, but that does not make them members of the congregation.
Different congregations may have different methods of accepting and identifying members, but it is important that membership is maintained in an orderly manner in harmony with Scriptural principles.