Honestly, anyone who is born-again is already a spiritual member of the body of Christ. Joining a local church is simply ALIGNING ones self with the vision, mission, values and purpose of that church...and then entering into what I believe is a COVENANT RELATIONSHIP.
For some, joining a local church seems to be something you do out of tradition...for example..."my grandparents have always attended here." Some even seem to join a church for the assumed "BENEFITS"...i.e., weddings, funerals and even financial assistance.
To me, joining a local church should ultimately boil down to the SPIRITUAL SUBSTANCE of believing in the vision, mission, values and purpose of that church and then willingly entering into COVENANT with that local body to achieve it's goals.
Joining a church should be something you feel deeply passionate about. It should be more than just a "membership" to another group, club or agency. In fact, if you're merely joining a church just so you can have a card in your pocket, bragging rights or even the churches name listed in your obituary...then that's the wrong reason to join a church.
Back to my question..."what does it mean to join a church?"
Perhaps we can best describe what COVENANT MEMBERSHIP looks like in the language used in wedding vows. Jesus (our heavenly bridegroom) is asking us to enter into His marriage covenant per His terms.
Marriage is not a CONTRACT...it's a COVENANT. Basically, a contract is a LIMITED commitment. A covenant on the other hand is an UNLIMITED commitment. God intended for marriage to be a permanent relationships between one man and one woman, freely and totally committed to each other as companions for life.
Marriage is merely a model of God's covenant relationship with His people. However, due to our western culture and our lack of understanding the meaning of the word COVENANT - we treat it like a contract that is self-serving and comes with limited liability.
When's the last time you heard the word COVENANT? Not too often in America. This word carries great significance to believers. Christians recognize it to reflect our commitment to Christ and to one another. This relationship is supposed to be sacred, serious, final and irrevocable...which is deeper and more demanding than most of us understand or may be WILLING to make.
It boils down to COMMITMENT. All you have to do is look at marriage statistics today and you'll see that broken marriages even within the church are a reflection of our half-hearted commitment to Jesus Christ.
When we enter into COVENANT RELATIONSHIP with Jesus, we do so willingly...through repentance. The blood of Jesus establishes our new relationship and secures our EVERLASTING COVENANT in His Body...THE CHURCH.
Inside of us we enjoy an INTERNAL RELATIONSHIP with Jesus that is expressed through our EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS within His Body...THE CHURCH.
Our public treatment of one another is visible evidence of our private life with Christ.
More to come...
