“Missing local church membership is like missing the fact that Christians are called to pursue good works, or love their neighbors, or care for the poor, or pray to God, or follow in the way of Christ. Submitting oneself to a local church is what a true believer does, just like a true believer pursues good works, loves his or her neighbor, and so forth. Someone who refuses to join–or better, to submit to–a local church is like someone who refuses to pursue a life of righteousness. It calls into question the authenticity of his or her faith.
“Insofar as the gospel presents the world with the most vivid picture of God’s love, and insofar as church membership and discipline are an implication of the gospel, local church membership and discipline in fact define God’s love for the world. … The very things that offend us about church membership root in the things we find offensive about God’s love itself.”
–Jonathan Leeman, The Church and the Surprising Offense of God’s Love: Reintroducing the Doctrines of Church Membership and Discipline (Crossway), pp. 16-17
Gospel Coalition
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