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Articles
Saul and Local Church Membership
We can learn several things about local church membership by examining the situation where Saul returned to Jerusalem in Acts 9:26-29.
He immediately sought the church. “And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples;…” He did not take a few weeks or months to get settled in a new house and get a few other things under control before he sought out the brethren. He saw a need to immediately become affiliated with the local church. Also, Saul did not wait for the church to contact him and encourage him to come be with them.
Some people consider their membership with a local church to be of rather low priority. They wait until all the boxes are unpacked before even seeking out a faithful local church. We need to realize the importance of worshipping with other brethren to fulfill our obligations, such as teaching and exhorting one another in song (Col. 3:16).
The church considered him with caution. “…but they were all afraid of him and did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles…” The brethren had a right to be cautious in their acceptance of Saul, especially considering his background (Acts 9:21). Too much was at stake to simply welcome him without question.
Consider the case of Apollos when he left the church in Ephesus: “And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him” (Acts 18:27). The brethren in Ephesus knew the need for the brethren in Achaia to be cautious in accepting Apollos, so they sent a note stating their confidence in his faithfulness.
Churches today must also be cautious in who is accepted as members. We have an obligation to maintain the purity of the church (1 Cor. 5:6)
He went to work with the church. “So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out. And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus…” Saul did not seek out the church in Jerusalem to merely be a bench warmer. He wanted to be actively involved in the Lord’s work there.
All churches need more members with the willingness to be involved in the work as Saul. He later said that it takes all members working together for the church to grow and be edified as it should (Eph. 4:16).
Do we take local church membership as seriously as Saul? Are we as cautious in our acceptance of new members as the churches in the New Testament? Are we working to make the church what the Lord would have it to be?
