Church Membership

"The Christian life must be lived through the local Church because that's what Christ has made us--members of His body. To claim that I belong to the church without belonging to a church is equivalent to claiming that I have been granted Christ's righteousness without seeking to put on that righteousness in ethical living. The imperative necessarily follows the indicative. We're called to the authority and discipline of a local church because we have submitted to the authority and discipline of Christ (e.g., Matt. 18:15-20; 1 Cor. 5; Heb. 13:17). Indeed, to say that Christians should belong to a local church merely because it's advantageous to living the Christian life misses the point that the church body is now part and parcel of a Christian's very identity. An adopted son attends the family dinner table with his new brothers and sisters not just because it's good for him, but because that's what he is--a member of the family."

Jonathan Leeman-9 Marks Ministry