Why is a Biblical Understanding of Conversion Important for Local Church Health?

Conversion Clarity

Clarity on conversion promotes the health of the local church because it protects the purity of the church's membership.

The purity of a church's membership simply refers to whether or not all the people accepted as members give convincing evidence that they are truly converted.
The pastoral practice of accepting people into church membership on the basis of a prayer prayed or an aisle walked is dangerous because the most reliable evidence of true conversion - the observable fruit of consistent obedience - is neglected.
When this happens, we endanger the purity of the church's membership by accepting into covenant fellowship those who have not been born of the Spirit.
When we are clear on what conversion is and how to recognize it in the lives of potential members, we protect the purity of our church's membership from being stained by formal inclusion of those who merely profess but do not practice Christianity.
Pure membership in turn protects the church from having false teachers rise up from within her own ranks (Acts 20:30).