Sermon Outline

Definition of Universal Church: The heavenly assembly of all the elect people of God, across time and space, who belong to Christ and his kingdom. The universal church is one, holy, catholic / universal, and apostolic.

Definition of Local Church: A congregation of baptized believers who are in a covenant relationship with one another to gather together regularly under the right preaching of God's Word, to affirm one another's faith through a right practice of the ordinances (or sacraments) and to live together as the Body of Christ.

Definition of “church membership”: A covenant commitment between believers to obey Christ’s commands together. 

I. 4 Unbiblical Concepts of Church Membership: 

1. Sentimental 

2. Political 

3. Metric-based

4. Pathway

II. 4 Biblical Arguments for Church Membership 

1. Biblical Metaphors for the church

a. Flock (1 Pet 5:2–3)

b. Family (Eph 2:19)

c. Building (1 Pet 2:4–5)

d. Body (1 Cor 12:12–27)

e. Kingdom (Matt 16:18-19; Matt 18:15-20)

2. The One-Another Commands 

a. To Love and to Serve one another (Gal 6:2; Rom 12:15–16)

b. To Gather and to Grow one another (Heb 10:24–25; Eph 4:11–16)

c. To Guard and to Goad one another (Heb 3:13–14; Heb 12:15–16)

3. The Practice of Church Discipline (Matt 18:15–18; 1 Cor 5:12–13)

4. The Responsibility of Elders (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet 5:2; Heb 13:17) 

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