{"id":90658,"date":"2021-03-10T23:21:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-11T04:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/church-membership-2\/"},"modified":"2023-10-30T01:07:29","modified_gmt":"2023-10-30T05:07:29","slug":"church-membership-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/church-membership-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Church Membership"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Hebrews\n10:24, 25: And let us consider one another to provoke\nunto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves\ntogether, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the\nmore, as ye see the day approaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Anyone may be excused for being a bit confused about the meaning\nof the word \u201cchurch\u201d; we use the word is so many ways.&nbsp; It has taken on the meaning a particular\nbuilding, a denomination or organized faith and even a Sunday or Wednesday\nservice.&nbsp; However, none of these is a\nbasic New Testament theme.&nbsp; So, what is\nthe \u201cchurch\u201d and who qualifies to participate\u2026why and how?&nbsp; For the answers, we turn to the Bible for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><li>Historical Context: Although some include the Book of Hebrews among the\nApostle Paul&#8217;s writings, the certain identity of the author remains an enigma.\nMissing is Paul&#8217;s customary salutation so common to his other works and, too,\nthe suggestion that the writer of this epistle relied upon knowledge and\ninformation provided by others who were actual eye-witnesses of Christ Jesus\n(2:3) makes Pauline authorship doubtful. Some attribute Luke as its writer;\nothers suggest Hebrews may have been written by Apollos, Barnabas, Silas,\nPhilip, or Aquila and Priscilla. Regardless of\nthe human hand that held the pen, the Holy Spirit of God is the divine author\nof all Scripture, therefore, Hebrews speaks with the same canonical authority\nas the other sixty-five books of the Bible.&nbsp;\nThe early church father Clement quoted from the Book of Hebrews in 95\nA.D., however, internal evidence such as the fact that Timothy was alive at the\ntime to the epistle was written and the absence of any evidence showing the end\nof the Old Testament sacrificial system that occurred with Jerusalem&#8217;s\ndestruction in 70 A.D. indicates the book was written around 65 A.D.&nbsp; The Book of Hebrews was written by a Hebrew\nto other Hebrews telling the Hebrews to stop acting like Hebrews. In truth,\nmany of the early Jewish believers were slipping back into the rites and\nrituals of Judaism in order to escape the mounting persecution. This letter,\nthen, is an exhortation for these persecuted believers to continue in the grace\nof Jesus Christ.&nbsp; <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><li>Grammatical Usage:&nbsp; 24: \u201cconsider\u201d\nis \u201ckatanoeo\u201d in the Greek and means, \u201cto perceive clearly and intensely;\nthoughtfully prompting\u201d; \u201cprovoke\u201d is \u201cparoxusmos\u201d in the Greek and means \u201cto\nstimulate\u201d; 25: \u201cassembling\u201d is \u201cepisunagoge\u201d in the Greek meaning, \u201cgathering\nin the present\u201d.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><li>Literal Application: \u201cAnd\nlet us intensely prompt one another in order to stimulate love and good works;\ndo not continue to be absent from the gathering as is the habit of some, but,\non the contrary always be encouraging with even greater effort as you see the\nday approaching.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><li>Contextual\nInterpretation: V. 24: It is common among modern Christians, especially western\nChristians, &nbsp;to believe that what others\ndo is none of our business.&nbsp; Thus\nattitudes which foster backsliding are politely ignored \u2013 to the detriment of the individual as well as the\ngathering.&nbsp; This verse specifically\nteaches that Christian love will not allow one to note the downfall of another\nwithout lending a helping a hand.&nbsp; Every\nmember of the gathering has a personal interest in the spiritual health of\nanother as it affects them, ourselves and the quality of witness outside the\ngathering.&nbsp; The Greek tense indicates an\nexhortation to constant attention of each believer to another to motivate,\nstimulate, provoke and arouse each to a right relationship with God, one\nanother and the world.&nbsp; Since we cannot\ndo this if we do not see each other often, the thought of the next verse, v. 25,\nfollows logically: within the gathering we comfort, exhort and come to the aid\nof each other.&nbsp; Obviously this work of\nencouragement can not be accomplished if adherents (members) continue to be\nabsent.&nbsp; Physical presence is a\nrequirement; admittance, however, is another issue (see Scriptural\nComparison).&nbsp; The point of these verses\nis the deduction that a specific gathering exits, attendance is mandatory and\nthe purpose is clear.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><li>Scriptural Comparison: A\ndefinition of \u201cchurch\u201d or \u201cekklesia\u201d and its historical use is essential in the\nconsideration of the Biblical legitimacy of \u201cmembership.\u201d&nbsp; Critical\netymological observations include:<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><li>Linguistically, the Greek word \u201cekklesia\u201d was originally\na political assembly.&nbsp; By the 5<sup>th<\/sup>\nCentury B.C. it had come to mean an official gathering of the full citizens of\na Greek city-state (polis) called out to make political or judicial\ndecisions.&nbsp; It was used with an idea of a\nlocal body making appointments or decisions.&nbsp;\nIt was never used by the Greeks in reference to religious fellowships;<ul><li>In Jesus\u2019 time, the Hebrew word \u201csynagoge\u201d was used for a\nspecific place of Sabbath meeting and was a marker of identification of and affiliation\nwith the Hebrew faith;<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>While early\nChristians continued to worship in the synagogue, they soon broke with Jews\nover fulfillment of the law as well as the person, nature and work of Jesus\nChrist.&nbsp; It also broke with the Greek usage\nin adopting \u201cekklesia\u201d as \u201ca called out religious assembly.\u201d<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Ellkesia appears\nonly three times in the Gospels (Mt. 16:18; 17:18 [twice]).&nbsp; It is the usage of ekklesia in Acts and the\nEpistles that suggests how the early Christians understood the word \u201cchurch\u201d:<ul><li>\u201cEkklesia\u201d is a corporate\nidentity \u2013 God\u2019s people viewed as whole and new community (in fact, persecution\nbegan when believers broke from Judaism);<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>\u201cEkklesia\u201d encompasses\nany number of believers \u2013 small groups meeting in homes (Rom. 16:5), all believers in a large city (Acts\n11:22; 13:1; 1 Cor. 1:2); a large geographical district, such as Asia or\nGalatia, would include more than one church (1 Cor. 16:1, 19) but it was marked\nby a specific affiliation;<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Geographical limitations\n(e.g., \u201cthe church at Jerusalem\u201d)\nserves to identify a group functioning as a community. Groups varied in size\nand meeting location.&nbsp; Acts 20 suggests\nPaul recognized the Ephesus\nchurch as large with multiple elders, charged with specific oversight;<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Geographical extension\n(e.g., \u201cthe churches in the province of Asia\u201d)\nis a broad statement about believers in a major district. Paul cited Macedonian\nchurches for generous giving to fellow believers despite their own poverty (2\nCor. 8:1, 2);<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Unrestricted reference of\n\u201cEkklesia\u201d is a corporate designation: Christianity understood by the corporate\nidentity of Christ\u2019s people as a mystical unity in functioning\ncommunities.&nbsp; It is specifically <strong>not<\/strong> a reference to identity of the\nindividual as one of God\u2019s newborn and therefore cannot be referenced in an\napologetic promoting non-affiliation with a community;<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Therefore both the\ncommunity as well as the individual must recognize Jesus as Lord and\ncorporately submit to Him who is \u201cHead of the Church\u201d.&nbsp; This proves a corrective theme to Western\nculture\u2019s individualism.&nbsp; Christians must\nlearn to live as a people called out of the world AND called to be together,\ncalled to function in and as a community.&nbsp;\nWhenever the word \u201cchurch\u201d is used in the New Testament, we are to\ndiscern our corporate identity and see how we function as a community, not how\nan individual functions apart from the community.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Three images found primarily in Ephesians explain the\ncorporate entity that is \u201cekklesia\u201d:<ul><li>The church is a body (Ep.\n4; Rom. 12; 1 Cor. 12).&nbsp; Each passage\nstresses interdependence, spiritual gifts, allegiance to one another and\nlove.&nbsp; The lack of exercising these\nelements is detrimental to both the individual and the body \u2013 the individual is\nunfulfilled and the body is denied ministry;<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>The church is a family as\nthe New Testament portrays the \u201cekklesia\u201d as a network of intimate, loving\nrelationships.&nbsp; Ep 3:14 tells us God is\nthe \u201cFather\u201d of our family.&nbsp; The New\nTestament has a number of family identifications among believers.&nbsp; Again and again believers are identified as\nbrothers and sisters and at times even as mothers and fathers (1 Tim. 5:1,\n2).&nbsp; As children of the same God (Gal.\n3:26), who is our Father, each believer is to love other believers as brothers\nand sisters (1 Th 4:9; 1 Pe 1:22; 1 Jn 3:11-15; 4:7-21).<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>The church is a temple\nwith Christ as the cornerstone, \u201ca dwelling in which Christ lives by His\nSpirit\u201d (Eph 2:21, 22).&nbsp; The believing\ncommunity is to be holy, in this way reflecting the very character of the Lord.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><ul><li>\u201cEkklesia\u201d mandates membership:<ul><li>The local church of today\nis the geographically limited church identified in the New Testament: a\ncongregation of believers who come together to function as God\u2019s called-out\ncommunity;<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Christians are not for\nforgo meeting together (Heb. 10:24, 25);<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>The Scripture has a great deal to say about being in\nsubmission to the &#8220;higher powers.&#8221; Hebrews 13:17 specifically states,\n\u201cObey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your\nsouls.\u201d&nbsp; In fact, Hebrews 13:7, 17\n&amp;24 sets up a chain of <strong>submission<\/strong>:\n\u201cRemember, obey and salute your pastors.\u201d Ephesians 4:14 specifically states,\n\u201c\u2026He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and\nteachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the\nbody of Christ.\u201d&nbsp; Submission has\nreference to the establishment principles that God has ordained in our\nworld\u2014governmental as well as church leaders, in whatever capacity that God has\nplaced in authority over us on this earth. Passages that teach this principle\nare <a href=\"http:\/\/bible.logos.com\/passage\/niv\/Romans%2013.1-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Romans 13:1-7<\/a>; <a href=\"http:\/\/bible.logos.com\/passage\/niv\/Hebrews%2013.17\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hebrews 13:17<\/a>; <a href=\"http:\/\/bible.logos.com\/passage\/niv\/1%20Peter%202.13-14\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1 Peter 2:13-14<\/a>; and <a href=\"http:\/\/bible.logos.com\/passage\/niv\/Titus%203.1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Titus 3:1<\/a>. The principle is that being in\nobedience to the authority over us, whatever that authority is, will bring a\ntemporal blessing in real time here and now and, for the believer, reward\nlater. The highest authority is God, and He delegates authority to others; so,\nin order submit to God, we submit to the authority He has placed over us. You\nwill notice that there are no caveats that distinguish between good or bad\nauthority or even just or unjust authority. We are just to humble ourselves and\nobey as &#8220;unto the Lord.&#8221;&nbsp;\nChurch membership is the only way to join a community and exercise\nsubmission.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n\nConclusion: If one confesses a saving knowledge\nof Jesus Christ, one is expected to join a local congregation and submit to\nthat spiritual authority as well as actively participate in the life of that\ncommunity exercising spiritual gifts and accepting the ministry of others.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hebrews 10:24, 25: And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. Anyone may be excused for being a bit confused about [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[530],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Church Membership - Grace Evangelical Free Church<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Church Membership - Grace Evangelical Free Church\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hebrews 10:24, 25: And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. 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