11 Duties of Church Membership
Jeffrey D. Johnson is the teaching pastor of Grace Bible Church and president of Grace Bible Theological Seminary in Conway, Arkansas, where he resides with his wife, Letha, and their four children. He is the author of several books, including The Pursuit of Glory and The Absurdity of Unbelief.
The following article is excerpted from The Church: Her Nature, Authority, Purpose, & Worship.
Every Christian has both the responsibility and privilege of partaking and sharing with the spiritual giftedness that God has given the church. Every Christian has been engrafted into the body of Christ and personally gifted by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 12:6) for the purpose of assisting the spiritual growth of the greater body of Christ (Eph. 4:16). Because the church, as the communion of the saints, is God’s official truth bearer consisting of those who have been sanctified and united together in Christ Jesus, who regularly assemble to worship God through observing the ordinances and listening to the preached Word, the principal duties and privileges of every church member are to maintain unity through maturing in personal and corporate holiness by growing in the knowledge of the truth.
Members Are to Be Active and Faithful in Attendance.
Maintaining the unity that God has established begins with active and faithful church membership, for Christ did not design the Christian life to be lived out in isolation and in separation from the other members of His spiritual body.
Christians are commanded to maintain fellowship with the saints (1 John 1:7) and not to forsake the local assembling of themselves together (Heb. 10:25). Therefore, when Christians leave a church to worship at home, they are failing to maintain the unity of the Spirit.Members Are to Serve Each Other
When God makes body parts, whether for physical bodies or spiritual bodies, He makes them for a specific function in a specific body. Regardless of your educational level, IQ, experience, or talents, if you are a Christian you have a Christ-intended function in the church. You are there for a reason. You aren’t there just for yourself and what you can get out of the church. God’s plan for the church involves every member ministering to the rest of the church.Members Are to Love and Honor Each Other
Strife and discord are easy to sow in the church. But woe to those who plant such wicked seeds in God’s vineyard. God hates sin, and it is a sin—a great sin—to sow “discord among [the] brethren” (Prov. 6:19 KJV). That which divides God’s people and tears the unity of the church is a great sin indeed. If we are commanded to maintain unity, we must realize that we sin against God when we initiate dissension among the saints.Members Are to Live Holy Lives
Church membership is exclusively for believers whose lives are in agreement with their testimony. As the book of James plainly teaches, the only way for the church to see this inward faith is by observing a changed life—a life that is characterized by obedience to God and a love for the brethren.Members Are to Promote Holiness in Others
If we are called to promote holiness in others, it starts with living a holy life. This duty also includes our words. We are called to encourage, rebuke, and pray for others in our common pursuit of holiness. For the Lord has called us to “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works” (Heb. 10:24).Members Are to Partake of the Church Ordinances
One reason why believers should be baptized is that it demonstrates to the church their willingness to be submissive to God (Acts 2:38). And the Lord’s Supper is reserved for only believers who are in good standings with the body of Christ (1 Cor. 11:24).Members Are to Carry Out Church Discipline
The Scriptures also teach that church members are required to carry out discipline for fellow members who fall into habitual or unrepentant sin (2 Thess. 3:14–15). If a church member is living in sin and refuses to heed the admonishment of the church, the church is required (by the authority of Christ) to discipline the unrepentant member in hopes of restoration (Gal. 6:1).Members Are to Confess the Truth
Every member is required to believe and confess the truth of the gospel. This is nonnegotiable. The gospel of Jesus Christ consists of the essential truths that must be believed for one to be counted and treated as a Christian.Members Are to Be Students of the Truth
Every church member is called to be a lover and a student of the truth. Doctrine is for every believer. This is because every believer lives by faith (Rom. 1:17), and “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17).Members Are to Be Transmitters of the Truth
In addition to studying God’s Word, we are called to transmit His Word. This not only includes evangelizing the lost but also fellowshipping with the saints. Spiritual conversation among the saints is vital for the spiritual health of the church.Members Are to Financially Support the Truth
The pulpit ministry is every member’s responsibility. We are either called to preach to others or called to financially support those who preach to us. This is because God has appointed pastors, who give themselves to preaching, to be financially supported by the church. Though some pastors, out of necessity, are bi-vocational, ideally they should be fully supported by the church so they can commit themselves to prayer and administering the Word (Acts 6:4).