“New In Town”

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Are you considered a member of a church just because you got baptized there?  And if so, are you always considered a member even though you do not attend that particular church any longer?  If not, could you become a member of a different church?

Sincerely,
On The Move

Dear On The Move,

Baptism makes you a member of the universal church (Acts 2:41), but you must decide what local church of believers to which you will attach yourself.  There is a difference between the universal church (which encompasses all faithful christians regardless of locale – Acts 9:31) and the local church which is compromised of all the christians in a specific community (i.e. the churches in Corinth, Thessalonica, Rome, etc.).  The word ‘church’ is used to describe local congregations (1 Cor 4:17) and the universal church (Col 1:18)… context is the only way to differentiate.  All christians are a part of the universal church (also know as Christ’s body – Rom 12:5), but we are only members of one local church at a time.  When someone moves to another part of the globe, they change congregations and join a new local church (just like Phoebe did – Rom 16:1-2).

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