Sun 28 May

Church membership – should we or shouldn’t we? If we love AFL or Rugby League, wouldn’t such a love be evident in our lives? After all, we wouldn’t go round ignoring our wife or husband if we say we love him or her. Such a love would be evident in our lives. 

Membership in any sort of club or organisation means some sort of involvement. Maybe it involves a fee payment. Maybe it involves your time. 

What of the church? What is involved in being a member of a local church? First, it involves being a Christian. Paul’s New Testament letters tells us as much. When Paul wrote he referred to the members as “saints.” Paul is writing to Christians who are members of the local church. 

Second, it involves meeting with one another to encourage one another as we seek to walk with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews instructs, “Do not stop assembling together as some are in the habit of doing.” Even in the early church members felt they did not need to meet to encourage one another. 

Third, membership involved helping others to become more Christ-like. There is the well known proverb, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” In assembling together we rub the rough edges off one another. What a privilege it is to be a member Christ’s church? We join His church because we love Him.