Why is Meaningless Membership Dangerous?

  • Meaningless membership causes ambiguity regarding the duties of membership.
    • When we fail to tie church membership to specific duties, new members don't have any concrete understanding of that to which they are committing. 
    • When members do not understand exactly what their responsibilities are, they are left without a practical yardstick by which to faithfully examine their own behavior or to which they can hold their Christian brother or sister accountable.
  • Meaningless membership leads to the self-deception of irresponsible members.
    • Church membership is a local church's affirmation that an individual is bearing fruit that evidences repentance.  Failing to tie church membership to duty and obligation communicates to the lazy and unconverted that the diligent killing of indwelling sin is unnecessary, and that observable growth in practical holiness is for the few, not for all.
    • Such failure communicates the church's tacit approval of the idea that a person can be a genuine Christian and anticipate entrance into the Kingdom of God while simultaneously indulging complacence with spiritual inactivity and disobedience.