Many people do not see membership or participation in the church as very important.

* Some say, "The church cannot save you. Christ saves you. We need Christianity, not churchianity." That is true, but what is usually meant by folks who say this is that one can please God and be saved without being a member of the church. The question is: Will Christ save people outside the church?

* Others say, "I'm a good moral person. I believe in God and treat my family and neighbors right. Why do I need church membership?"

* Many young people especially have rejected "organized religion." They may claim to accept Jesus, but want nothing to do with the church.

* Even some church members say, "We should preach Christ, not the church." They think we should teach unsaved people about forgiveness and salvation, but should not teach about the church till after they are saved. It might drive people away, etc.

* Other members show by their lack of attendance and involvement that they don't consider church participation to be essential.

Such ideas are primarily caused by denominationalism.

* People see denominational division or hypocrisy in the church or churches not following the Bible, and they want no part of it. So they reject the whole idea of the church.

* Denominations deliberately belittle church membership in order to justify their division. They say, "It doesn't matter which church you attend, as long as you believe in Jesus." So people conclude you don't need to be a member of any church at all, as long as you believe in Jesus.

* The premillennial concept says Jesus came to set up His kingdom but failed because people rejected Him. So He changed His plan and set up the church. This makes the church an unplanned stop-gap substitute, which God never really wanted to set up. That does not make it very important.

The purpose of this study is to consider the importance of the church membership and participation according to the Bible.

We do not claim that any denomination is important. Denominations are not found in the New Testament and were never part of God's plan. They were added by men hundreds of years after Jesus' church began. We can and should be saved without joining a modern denomination.

Nor are we saying that the people in the church make the church important. We will see that the church is essential because of its relationship to God and its role in the plan of God.

The gospel clearly shows that the church is part of God's eternal purpose and Old Testament prophecy. Jesus planned and built His church, and all saved people in the New Testament were members of that church. The New Testament church was a vital part of worship to God and evangelism. What about that church? How essential is it to our salvation?

Consider: