What Is Church Membership and Why It Matters
After Christian had scaled the Hill Difficulty, even after Timorous and Mistrust had tried to persuade him from going back down, he lifted his eyes to the hills and saw his help, a palace called, “Beautiful.” Outside the palace were two lions, and a man whose name was Watchful. Watchful was stationed outside of the palace as a guard. The lions were ferocious but were placed there as a trial of faith to expose those who were faithless at heart. Christian trembled as he walked past the lions, although the lions were roaring mightily, they posed no threat to him. When Christian finally made it past the lions, and demonstrated true faithfulness, Christian asked the stationed guard, “Sir, what residence is this? May I lodge here tonight?” The stationed guard replied, "This palace was built by the Lord of the hill, and He built it for the relief and security of Pilgrims." The stationed guard proceeded to question Christian about why he was late, and then the guard brought out one of the ladies of the house, whose name was Discretion. If she approves of Christian, he “will be brought into the rest of the family.” Christian was then questioned and interviewed about where he is from; his journey; where he is going; why he was arriving late; and how he got on the narrow way. Discretion approved of Christian because she then called her sisters, Prudence, Piety, and Charity (old English word for Love), and they questioned and approved of him as well. What I love about the phrase that Bunyan uses, is that he doesn’t say, “Christian will be brought in by the family,” rather, that he will be “brought into the family.” And this is precisely what happened after a discussion with Prudence, Piety, and Charity. The purpose of the place is then again stated, “This place was built by the Lord of the hill, to accommodate such Pilgrims as yourself.”
We all have incredible journeys, Christians in particular, in a world that is increasingly against us. We all have those mountains in which we have to climb that are very difficult. We all have people along the way that try to discourage us and persuade us to take an easier path. We all have fears and though it may not be ferocious lions that are roaring at us, yet we press on somehow, by faith. Each Sunday morning, when we arrive at church, we do that so we can rest in the presence and fellowship of God’s people. We do this by singing songs, sitting under the Word preached, and participating in the sacraments/ordinances of the church. Yet, this is only part of what Bunyan teaches us here. Bunyan teaches that we all may have difficult journeys, but we do not just get to casually enter a church family with no accountability. There must also be a demonstration of faith from us, and then a guard (a porter as Bunyan called him) named Watchful. Then there is also a person named “Discretion,” as well as a Piety, Prudence, and a Charity. All of these test him before he is brought into the house and called “family.” In a Biblical sense, since all Christians are Priests (1 Peter 2:9), and priests are to be gatekeepers (2 Chronicles 23:4, 7, 19), we should look at ourselves as gatekeepers to the house of the Lord. Church membership speaks about two things simultaneously.
The first is the blessing that the believers receive by belonging in membership to a local church. Take note of what Bunyan says about Christian in the place called “Beautiful,” it was “...for the relief and security of Pilgrims.” What a treasure this is for war-hardened and brutalized Christians who are in spiritual warfare every day. When Christian leaves the place called “Beautiful,” to go back out into the world, the group leads him down the treacherous hill. They don’t point the way or just describe the dangers, they actually lead him. Bunyan uses an allegory to show the idea of “binding and loosing.” The idea of “binding and loosing,” is something that we see picked up in Matthew 16:19. Jesus says that He is giving the keys to Peter, upon Peter’s confession of faith, to bind and loose. This also is referenced in Matthew 18:18, in how the congregation is involved as well. Throughout church history there have been several views on this subject, which I will not go through here, however, I would argue that both the view that sees the leaders (all the Apostles present in Matthew 16) and the congregation (as present in Matthew 18) have varying governmental/leadership roles in the church
Finally, when we compare Matthew 16 and 18 with 1 Corinthians 5:5 (a matter of purging a member), and 2 Corinthians 2:6-8 (a matter of re-welcoming a repentant sinner), it gives us a clearer idea of what Matthew 18:18-19 looks like. These passages give us the basic building blocks that Scripture teaches us that there are people that are considered bound together, and there are people that are considered unbound or loosed, that is, outside of this group, in a particular way. Certainly, we are bound together in Christ by faith alone, but this kind of binding is speaking about a particular binding, and Jesus Himself pairs this particular kind of binding and loosing to “the church” (see again, Matthew 16:18, and the passages in 1 and 2 Corinthians)
Ultimately, binding and loosing teaches about church membership. Even if an individual attends a local church, they are not considered bound together, nor “part of the family.” When we look through the whole of the New Testament, we also see church membership as the logical implication of the ordinances (see in Acts 2, people believed and then were baptized, and then counted among the church, and then they participated in the Lord’s supper afterward). We can conclude that there are, and should be blessings withheld from certain people if they are not baptized. If they are not baptized, they cannot become a church member, and if they are not a church member they cannot receive the Lord’s supper.
The second thing church membership speaks about is God’s desire for order. We see throughout the New Testament, especially in Paul’s writings, that there is a constant battle in keeping churches in order. We see this specifically in 1 Corinthians 14:33 and 40 (he says it specifically here, but note the whole context of oversees 26-40). Paul says that God is not a God of confusion but desires order. The very purpose for writing the letters of the New Testament is because some churches were out of order. These letters were written to bring order back into the house of the Lord. Further, we see two letters to Timothy and one letter to Titus, in which Paul is laying the foundation for church order. Paul says in 1 Tim 3:14-15, “I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of truth.” Paul calls the church the “household of God,” (this is where Bunyan picked up the idea), and that these things were written so that Timothy may know how the household of God may be ordered.
Many people go back and forth if they want to be a member of a church. In fact, some, even whole denominations, question if church membership is even biblical! However, my encouragement would be for you to become a member of a church. This should not be taken lightly as many do. Rather, we should take what Scripture says about church membership, recognize that it should be a little difficult to get into the church, there should be a demonstration of faith, there should be men on guard and being Watchful, and there should be other members of the household that should use Discretion when examining new people, so as to prevent men creeping into the church (Jude 1:3-4) and bringing destructive heresies (2 Peter 2:1).
This doesn’t mean that congregations are perfect (see who was at fault for having false teachers 1 Tim 4:3), but for the most part, when Biblical roles of membership are taken seriously, we don’t normally see churches fall into this. However, once these new people are questioned and interviewed, they should not merely be brought into the house by the family, but they should be “brought into the family.” This is what church membership truly is, and why it matters to the whole church, and to the one seeking membership.
Book Recommendations
Life in the Body of Christ by Curtis Thomas
On Earth as It Is In Heaven by Wyman Lewis Richardson
Church Membership by Jonathan Leeman
The Church and the Surprising Offense of God’s Love by Jonathan Leeman
