(Found some of the family camp notes from last year, so wanted to jot these down and link to the messages online, as the teaching was excellent).
Theological distinctions are important and need to be defended, in charity. These do make a difference on the church. Congregations need to know why they believe what they believe. Heb. 10 speaks of the principles of local church membership, as mandatory for two reasons:
1) You must be a member because of what you've been given. Membership is a response of thankfulness to what we've been given. We have free, confident access to God (and we often take it for granted.) The walls of separation to God the Father have been removed.
2) We have a Great Priest - Christ rose and His ministry is ongoing. To fail to join with a congregation is to neglect what God has given to us as Christians. The church is a local manifestation of Christ's body.
Heb. 10:22-23 - We are called to live out our faith in the context of a community. How do you obey "us" without an "us"? We are called to gather with genuineness, in faith, and not to trust in our own righteousness. Membership is being part of a living community. Many churches today care very little about those it allows as members, particularly in terms of the gospel, the doctrine of Scripture, God's holiness, etc.
The church is not about me. Many people are simply critics who go to be served. We should provoke people to do good deeds. We should consider one another when we worship.
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