Posted by Bigfish69 on 2:07 pm | Categories: 4walls, church, church health, churchianity, dysfunction, membership
adapted from Churchianity Today by Chip Brogden
REMEMBER:
When you consider the spiritual benefits of joining a local church,
remember that you are already joined to the Body of Christ, the ecclesia. As
such you already have every spiritual benefit of being a member in
God's church. The only requirement for such membership is a new birth (glossary). There is no responsibility but to abide in Christ.
Joining
a church may be good, proper, beneficial, and moral, but it is not a
condition of salvation, thus it is not a condition for being a follower
of Jesus (christian).
Many
believe we are saved by grace because we are unable to achieve it
by anything we do. However, we quickly allow ourselves to be convinced
by that we must do things to keep, maintain, or improve, that which is
freely ours. For instance, we are instructed to pray, read the Bible,
join a church, give to the work of the Lord, witness to people, stop
doing so and so, start doing this and that, etc.
These
things are not wrong. However, when the message is to do “X” and don’t
do “Y”, the result is people who are trying to please God. We couldn't
please God as sinners, so why do we now believe, as christians, it is
our duty to please Him.
How easy it is to unwittingly return to a works-oriented faith.
