The Reflecting Pool
- Does the Bible make explicit mention of membership rolls in a local church? Where is it implicit? Read 1Cor 12:14-26. How can church membership help us as Christians to live out these obligations we have to one another as Christ's body?
- Do most of the members of your church view membership as a loose affiliation useful only on occasion, or more as a regular responsibility involving them in each other's lives for the purposes of the gospel? What are the responsibilities of a church member? How can the fulfillment of those responsibilities contribute to the work of the gospel?
- Why might it be true that church membership is dangerous unless it is the reflection of a living commitment to Christ? What does a living commitment to Christ and His church look like?
- Church membership is a church's corporate testimony to an individual member's salvation. Read Hebrews 13:17. The Bible teaches that church leaders will be required to give an account for those under their care. Do you think this "account" will simply be a statement that a person once made a decision for Christ, or is it a knowledgeable testimony that a person is faithfully bearing fruit in the gospel? How does this affect our understanding of who should be on our membership rolls?
- How would a biblical understanding of church membership make our witness to non-Christians clearer? How would it make it more difficult for weaker Christians to stray while still considering themselves Christians? How would it help to give shape and focus to the discipleship of mature Christians?
