I recently saw a large city in the middle of a barren plain. 

The city had a single, circular outer wall made of some type of metal. The outer wall was high enough so that it was not easy to get in or out without entering through one of the doors. Within the outer wall, there were other walls – equally tall and made of the same metal material – which partitioned up the circular wall, so that all portions of this city were mostly blocked off from one another. Every section of the city was partitioned up by these walls – like a pie chart, but exponentially more divided up.

Now, each section of the city was filled with varying amounts of people. There were men in charge of each of these sections of the city – men who ruled over and controlled what happened within their sections of the city. No one could easily travel between these portions of the city without going through one of these men. The sections of the city were, every so often, filled with people; but there was no permanence – the population was assumed to always be in flux.

Every so often, a thick, black fog would roll in across the plain into the city. Also, some of the men who ruled this city would intermittently pull particular levers which emitted that same black fog into their sections of the city. When the fog from the plain and the same fog emitted by the men would reach the city’s inhabitants, many would slowly begin to choke, suffer, and lose all vitality. Most eventually died early – with those who inhaled more fog dying more quickly. Some people were not phased as they had grown so accustomed to breathing the fog – they could not discern the fog from clean air. But every so often, the dead were removed and replaced with more people who found their way into this city. 

“Come out of her, My people, lest you share in her sins and partake of her plagues.”

Question: Have you ever considered where the doctrine of local church membership came from? 

Keep in mind there are two kinds of doctrines: Those which are from God and then those which are from men. There are two kinds of wisdom: That which is from God, and then that which is from below – from men, from the earth, and from demons (James 3). There is wisdom from above which yields life, peace, and joy, which always brings about freedom; and then there is wisdom from below, which brings oppression, slavery, and death. The Wisdom of God is always standing at the door, crying out to any who hear: 

“If you love Me, keep My commandments.” 

“And now I plead with you, lady, … that we love one another. This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.” 

Where does the teaching of local church membership come from? It either comes from God or from men. Please let me know in the comments – is it from God or from men?

If God, then it should be simple to understand and plain in the Word of God to the disciples who have the Holy Spirit. “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity which is in Christ.” Jesus – our Teacher – has given us His Spirit so that we might understand the things He has freely given us by His own grace. One does not need to go to Bible school to understand how we’re called to follow Jesus, both individually and corporately. One needs the Word of God illumined by the Spirit of God that he might believe, and in believing, do the Word of God. 

The doctrine of local church membership either comes from God or from men – and by following it, worship and loyalty are being given either to God or to men. 

Earlier in my life, I spent years looking for the doctrine in the Scriptures. Instead of spending time pulling apart those arguments – which is just a complete waste of everyone’s time – indeed I would rather watch grass grow during a hail storm, I’m instead going to talk about justification by faith, the New Covenant, and I’ll close by talking about another city. 

Justification by faith is about as important of a doctrine as it gets – it is the doctrine on which the faith rests. The good news handed down to the saints once for all is that God, through the life, death, and subsequent resurrection of His only begotten Son Jesus of Nazareth, has once and for all reconciled we who were His enemies to Himself apart from our works. “Salvation is of the Lord.” Through His blood, Jesus made propitiation for our sins (He took away the wrath of God which was rightly over us), He canceled the debt which we owed because of our sins, and He freely forgave us apart from our own works. Jesus – as mediator of the New Covenant – fulfilled the perfect requirements of the Law, having brought the Old Covenant at Sinai to its end – and by His blood, justified us – or declared us just – having given us His righteousness, and made us His own people through the New Covenant.

It is the New Covenant in Christ’s blood that made us members of the church. 

That Covenant is not according to our works, but according to grace – unearned favor. It is the free gift of God. And that gift necessitates a new identity having been received in Him: If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation – a king and a priest after the order of Melchizedek King of Salem (NOT after the order of Levi) – which is to say, after the order of the King of Righteousness and King of Peace, who is Christ (Ps. 72). But much of modern Christianity has willingly consented to a doctrine which requires further works in order to be a member of the church. 

The doctrine of local church membership says that unless you sign a covenant signaling loyalty to this church over that, and this church’s doctrines over that, and this church’s deeds over that, you cannot be a member of this church.

Again: “Unless you sign this covenant, unless you attend such and such events at such and such times, unless you financially give this much, you cannot be a member of the church.”

The False Brethren from Judea taught something similar: “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” (read the full fiasco in Acts 15).

Contrary to the above: To be saved is to be a member of the church.

Having been saved means having been made a member of the household of God forever. This is all apart from our own works – it is a gift received from God. It is all by God’s grace and election and work in Christ received through belief. “The just shall live by faith,” or belief. 

But these men would teach that in order to be a member of the church, you need to do a few things they decide. Consider: Is this not normalized, instituted, works-based righteousness? Are those who do not sign and join not (often times, not always) cast out and implied as (supposedly) less-than, or sometimes even unrighteous? And this doctrine is paraded and applauded monthly in almost every assembly in America. And it perpetuates institutional division and applauds deception and subverts the faith of thousands if not millions.

Where did the doctrine come from – God? Or men?

“Why do you transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? … you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:

These people draw near to Me with their mouth,

And honor Me with their lips,

But their heart is far from me,

Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”

If a man wants to teach that disciples need to sign a covenant and do X, Y, and Z other things in order to be a member of the church so that they can mandate really whatever they want to receive whatever they want, then he will receive his reward at that Day on which everything will be brought to light before Him who cannot be deceived and will not be mocked. Forgiveness is offered through Christ – not according to works, but according to grace. 

Before Jesus went to His death, He asked for one thing three times. Whenever we see someone ask for something three times in Scripture, we would do well to pay attention. He asked that His people would be made “perfectly one,” just as He is one with the Father. Paul repeated this when he commanded – by the Spirit of God – that there should be “no schisms” or “no divisions among you.” But most of the modern professing church is perfectly content with 40 different segregated churches in their town – all with unique belief preferences which nullify the teachings they don’t like, all with contracts requiring allegiance to their doctrines, to their way of doing things, while nullifying the commandments of God and desire of Jesus Christ. 

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;

Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;

Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

Why do the people just not care anymore?

The Kingdom of God is not divided because Christ is not divided, and we are hidden in Him. God has made us a Kingdom of Priests through the finished work of Christ. It is all by grace through belief in Him. One either believes and enters that rest, or one works and becomes estranged from Christ. 

“But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, …”

There is another city built on the apostles and prophets – Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. One will note that those entrusted with the most responsibility find themselves on the bottom – not the top – therefore supporting those above them. Those who lead in the Kingdom of God are those who serve – who lay their lives down and give themselves for the saints.

In that city, there are shepherds who don’t rule over others with controlling coercion and domineering actions, but they are gentle, persuasive, and examples to the flock. They are worthy of double honor as they work themselves unto exhaustion through the ministry of the Word. There are evangelists who testify to the good news of the grace of God and there are teachers who are filled with the Spirit of the One who is our Teacher. 

There is a city in which there is no resource crisis. There is a city where the rich are called to give out of their abundance to fill the needs of the poor, and there is a city where the poor are called to minister their spiritual wealth to those who are rich. In that city, every mountain is brought low and every valley is lifted up – “that there should be equality.” 

There is a city which is comprised of permanent citizens who are entrusted with a measure of grace and portion of the Holy Spirit that they might minister their gifts as faithful priests – just as the Levites offered up the physical gifts of the people in the temple made with men’s hands. But God does not dwell in temples made with men’s hands – He now dwells in our hearts through faith. And now in the church – the spiritual temple, we do offer up those spiritual sacrifices well-pleasing to God through Christ as we build each other up and edify one another and love one another from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith. We labor by God’s grace working in us to deliver on the mission of Jesus – to see the captives go free, to see the sick healed, to see the naked clothed, the hungry fed, the cast out brought in. We are entrusted with the power of God unto salvation, and – if the Lord wills – you can expect to hear from us when either false brethren intentionally deceive or when well-intentioned men err and become deceived. 

There is a city where the despised receive double honor. There is a city where the lame and broken are healed. There is a city indeed where the oppressed are set free. In that city, there is one flock, one Shepherd, one faith, one baptism, one Spirit, one God and Father above all. Our High Priest is kind and merciful and slow to anger and full of grace and truth. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords – Jesus Christ, the Word of God.  Where His reign is, there is freedom – freedom from oppression, freedom from lawlessness. And of His reign, there will be no end.

He is coming back to establish His Kingdom forever – and the Ancient of Days will walk among us in the cool of the day. Will you be found divided when He returns, or will you be found ready? 

If you are in Christ, you have a place to belong forever in His house.