In less than two weeks I will be teaching our membership class for prospective and new church members. One of issues that we will be talking about is the importance of baptism and how it relates to church membership. There are varying opinions on the topic and it should come as no surprise that many people today are questioning whether baptism (specifically, believer's baptism) should be required for membership. I won't attempt to mount a full defense of the necessity of believer's baptism for membership in the church here. However, I thought it might help others to think through this issue if I pointed to a couple of the underlying reasons for our understanding.

First, we need to recover a higher view of church membership if we are going to concern ourselves with questions over requirements for church members. The New Testament presents of clear picture of those who are "out" and those who are "in" regarding membership in the local church (see 1 Corinthians 5). To be "in" is to be in a committed relationship with the rest of the church in which you expect to be held accountable by them and to be a part of holding others accountable. You might call this covenant membership. When we join ourselves to a local assembly we are making a solemn commitment to the truths that bind that assembly together and pledging to live up to the standards of that community. Only when we begin to value membership will we see the need for entrance requirements (or of disciplining members who fail to meet those requirements).

Second, we need to recover a biblical view of baptism as the visible demonstration of faith in Christ. In baptism we proclaim our allegiance to Christ. We testify to the fact that we have been buried with him and raised to new life. Baptism is the outward sign of faith. Now, our faith, or our being truly converted to Christ, is what unites us to the universal Church, to all believers in all times and places. Therefore, it makes sense that the visible sign of our faith, baptism, would unite us to the visible expression of the Church, otherwise known as the local church.