Articles
What It Takes To Be Saved – Man’s Part - Becoming a Member of the Lord’s Church
What It Takes To Be Saved – Man’s Part - Becoming a Member of the Lord’s Church
Mike Willis
Being a member of the Lord’s church is necessary for receiving salvation. Jesus is the Savior of His church (Eph. 5:23). The Lord “loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:25-27). Jesus “nourishes and cherishes it (his church, Eph. 5:29). As individual Christians, we are “members of his body” (Eph. 5:30).
Much of the confusion about the church is caused by men judging what constitutes the church from the denominations he sees around him. To understand what is the church, one must go back to the teachings of Scripture. The church came into existence because the Lord Jesus built it (not a physical building, but a spiritual body):
“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and ON THIS ROCK I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH, AND THE GATES OF HELL SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven’ ” (Matt. 16:13-19).
When the gospel was preached on the day of Pentecost, the crowd asked that they should do to be saved from their sin. Peter responded, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38). Speaking about the church, v. 47 says, “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” What it takes to be saved from sin is what it takes to be a member of the Lord’s body, the church for which He died.
The word “church” is used in two senses: (1) the universal sense and (2) the local sense. When used in the universal sense, the word “church” describes all of those who have been saved by the blood of Jesus when they believed in the Son, repented of their sins, confessed their faith in Jesus, and then were baptized into Christ (Rom. 6:3-4). One becomes a member of a local group of Christians by asking to be a part of that local group of Christians who have obeyed the gospel. We see an example of this when Saul, who had previously been saved, went to Jerusalem and attempted to join the disciples. “And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord” (Acts 9:26-28). Every saved person is obligated to join himself to a local group of Christians where he may attend worship and work with others in proclaiming the saving gospel to the lost world.
Are you a member of the Lord’s church? Do you assemble with other Christian to offer your worship to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ? If you expect to worship with the saints in heaven, you must worship with His saints on earth.
