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Showing posts with the label local church membership

Importance of Church Membership

DISCOVERING MEMBERSHIP 1. Introduction 1.A Membership in a temporal local church as part of the visible body of Christ provides certain privileges and carries specific responsibilities. There are many similarities and some differences between membership in a temporal local church and inclusion in the spiritual body of Christ. Inclusion in the spiritual body of Christ is a simple reality, and is based on faith in Jesus Christ which restores a person to a right relationship with God. That kind of faith must give true evidence in a transformed life, characterized primarily by a devoted love for God and a pure love for mankind. Inclusion in the spiritual body of Christ gives a person complete access to God the Father through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit, and can only be truly known by God as the Judge of all mankind's thoughts and intents of the heart. 1.B Membership in a temporal local church is also primarily an extension of faith in Christ, which brings a person