Is Church Membership Biblical?

Cultivating Biblical Godliness

by Ryan M. McGraw, Ryan Speck

Many churches have an official process to join their membership. Is this really a biblical practice? The authors show that the Bible assumes the necessity of formal church membership so that we can fulfill the commands and apply the promises given to the church. Clearly and carefully, and answering contemporary objections along the way, the authors make the biblical case that God desires the members of His heavenly kingdom to join with the earthly society that reflects it―Christ’s body, the church.


The Foundations of Church The Church as a Community
The Duty of Church We Must Join This Community
The Form and Means of Church Membership Rolls and Membership Vows
Objections to Church Membership

Series Description
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said that what the church needs to do most all is “to begin herself to live the Christian life. If she did that, men and women would be crowding into our buildings. They would say, ‘What is the secret of this?’” As Christians, one of our greatest needs is for the Spirit of God to cultivate biblical godliness in us in order to put the beauty of Christ on display through us, all to the glory of the triune God. With this goal in mind, this series of booklets treats matters vital to Christian experience at a basic level. Each booklet addresses a specific question in order to inform the mind, warm the affections, and transform the whole person by the Spirit’s grace, so that the church may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.

Genres: Theology, Ecclesiology

32 pages, Paperback

Published March 19, 2022

About the author

Ryan M. McGraw is the pastor of First Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Sunnyvale, CA (http://firstopc.org/). He ministered previously to Grace Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Conway, SC. Pastor McGraw is a graduate Cal State Fullerton (B.A.) and of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (MDiv and ThM). He obtained his PhD in historical theology from the University of the Free State (Jonathan Edwards Centre Africa). Ryan is Adjunct Professor of Systematic Theology at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and he is a Research Associate for the Jonathan Edwards Centre Africa. He regularly contributes articles and book reviews to numerous publications. He is married to Krista, and they have three sons. You can listen to his sermons at http://www.sermonaudio.com/source_det...

Reviews

[Eric Schick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this because I am tired of people not committing to a local church because they say church membership is not biblical. It did a good job explaining it briefly.

[Autumn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would be a great booklet to have freely available to people at church. Maybe given out at class where attenders learn more about the church.

[Shannon McGarvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource. If you are not committed to a single congregation whom you submit to, and call yourself a Christian, please read this short book.

[Bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

The quote at the end by William Perkins may make someone judge the book wrongly (as it sounds strange to say the least) but most of the book has good arguments for being part of a church in way such as membership.
In case some of you may wonder, the quote is as follows: "The church is the suburbs of the city of God and the gate of heaven and therefore, entrance must be made into heaven in and by the church...". I don't know the author's view on salvation so can't comment on that but his view on membership seems quite good.

[Zack · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great short read on ecclesiology and church membership. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a thoroughly biblical defense of church membership, or for an accessible intro to ecclesiology. Is not overly concerned with specific questions of polity. Stays focused on the basics of ecclesiology and church membership. An easy read for one sitting.

[Wilson]

Yes. Yes it is.

[Josh Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear Biblical & practical reasons why believers ought to belong (be members) of a local, New Testament church. This would be a good pamphlet to give to those who struggle whether they should be a member of a church.

Some snippets that stood out to me...

"In Scripture, there is no such thing as a solitary Christian."

"If you are a living member of Christ's body through faith, then the only way for you to demonstrate this relation is through the visible expression of this body."

"The Bible never commends or looks favorably upon an isolated, autonomous Christian. There is no such thing as a maverick Christian in the Scripture."

"A solitary Christian is a sad example of the poor estate of biblical religion in our time."

"Defective views of church membership often reflect defective views of the church itself."

"No one can live well alone. People made in the image of the triune God need fellowship."

"The Christian is created for Christian fellowship with God and with those who are in fellowship with God."

[Ben Cumerford · Rating 3 out of 5]

This brief book provides a good summary of the biblical arguments towards church membership, thankfully admitting that it's an argument you have to make as there are no clear proof texts for it.

I didn't really appreciate the tone of much of it though. I'm someone who is thoroughly convinced that church membership is a good thing and yet I couldn't feel good about giving this book to someone who wasn't convinced about applying for membership as I feel the tone is unnecessarily stern towards those who feel that way.

[Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Handy.

[Adam McKinney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice short book stressing the need for Church membership using Biblical arguments. Useful primer for someone interested in, struggling with, or otherwise contemplating the merits of membership!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

(I listened to this on audiobook.)

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much more could be said on the topic but this was a good start.

[Joshua Swieringa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful and practical truths addressing church membership.

[Gabie Peacock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly fire. There is so much packed into this little book! This would be a fantastic book to hand out at churches to the "regular visitors" that are not settled on church membership.