Where in Scripture are we told to "place membership" with a church?

Sincerely,
Not A Member

Dear Not A Member,

Church membership is shown through the commands to not forsake assembling with the saints and the numerous examples that being members of a local church is what early Christians did.  Even the apostle Paul, with all of his traveling, was a member of the church in Antioch (Acts 11:25-26).  God tells us that part of the purpose of the church assembly is to stimulate and encourage one another to love and good works (Heb 10:24-25).  If the only purpose of church attendance is to hear the Word, then we wouldn’t need to have a home congregation that we worshipped with – just hop from sermon to sermon week after week.  Instead though, God intended for Christians to be a part of a local congregation with elders to help shepherd them (1 Pet 5:2)… you don’t get the blessings of elders without membership somewhere.  God knows what is best for us, and it is in our best interest to assemble with other Christians in a local church.  We are all different, and our differences help to strengthen us, protect us, and better serve Christ (Eph 4:14-16).  If all we do is “church hop”, then we don’t have the blessings of the local eldership, interwoven lives with other local saints, and participating fully in the growth of the church’s work.

Was the gospel preached before the day of pentecost?

Sincerely,
Gospel Guardian

Dear Gospel Guardian,

Jesus lived as a Jew, spoke to Jews, answered Jewish questions, and preached Christianity.  Jesus preached the good news of the kingdom which was to come.  Matt 4:23, Matt 9:35, Matt 11:5, Mk 8:35, Lk 4:18-19, and Lk 7:22 all say that Jesus came preaching the gospel to His kinsmen.  Jesus preached that there was a change coming and that all the world needed to be prepared for it.  Jesus preached the message of a kingdom that was soon to be, the kingdom of Christ that He would buy with His own blood (Acts 20:28).  That kingdom didn’t actually come into the day of Pentecost, but Jesus preached the good news (‘gospel’ means ‘good news’) before that day.

5 minutes a day
5 days a week
1 New Testament in a year

There are 261 weekdays in a year, and there are 260 chapters in the New Testament. By reading one chapter, Monday through Friday, you will read the whole New Testament by the end of the year. The Daily Cup series is to help with that goal.

Happy Studying!

"The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup." -- Psalm 16:5

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According to 1 Corinthians 5:9, we are not to associate ourselves with sinful people; how are we supposed to try and help them if we shouldn't be hanging around them?

Sincerely,
Love From A Distance

Dear Love From A Distance,

In order to understand 1 Cor 5:9, we have to read the rest of the chapter.  Chapter five of first Corinthians is dealing with a christian who had decided to return to a wicked lifestyle (1 Cor 5:1).  Instead of rebuking this sinning brother, the Corinthian church was accepting his immoral lifestyle (1 Cor 5:2).  Paul was rebuking the congregation for not disciplining this wayward christian.  The church has the responsibility to discipline willfully sinning brethren – we do this by not associating with them until they repent (1 Cor 5:11).  This responsibility is only in regards to those who are within the church – not those outside of it (1 Cor 5:12-13).  God wants us to spend time with the lost, so we might win them to Christ (Mk 2:16-17).  We are to live in the world (1 Cor 5:10) as shining lights (Matt 5:14) to those who don’t know Christ.

Is there a place in the Bible that says a pastor or priest should guard himself lest he seek the riches of kings or something like that?

Sincerely,
On Guard

Dear On Guard,

Every christian is a priest (1 Pet 2:9), and the Bible warns us to flee from the love of money (Heb 13:5).  When we begin to seek wealth and make it our king, we dethrone the Lord and place money above spiritual things (Lk 16:13).

Pastors (also known as elders – Tit 1:5) are specifically warned to avoid “greedy gain” (Tit 1:7).  Money is not inherently wicked, but the love of money can be devastating upon our spiritual lives (Lk 12:16-21).