All Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible 1995 Ed. (NASB95), published by The Lockman Foundation

One of the major errors of the popular style of western Christian practice is the whole notion of “church membership”. This is a major problem because it has unnecessarily hindered thousands of believers from becoming active participants in the body of Christ, as it’s manifested in localized assemblies. I have firsthand experience with this travesty, as I was prevented for years from being considered a “member” of my church because I was unable to agree with the tenets of their statement of faith. This is a problem that I’m sure many believers have dealt with, and it’s only a symptom of an unbiblical, organizational, and hierarchical view of Christ’s body, which seeks to fit the spiritual family of God into the form of a secular hierarchical organization.

Again, the root of the unbiblical practices of requiring prospective “church members” to comprehensively agree with a statement of faith, and/or take a “membership class” is a non-biblical perspective on the structure of Christ’s body. Whereas the New Testament Scriptures describe the “church” (literally “assembly”) as the gathering of believers in God’s family, who meet for encouragement, instruction, and prayer, the popular conception of “the church” is a hierarchical organization, which must follow rigid guidelines and procedures, in order to comply with the world’s notions of a legitimate institution. This false view of the Lord’s Assembly has long perpetuated the practice of an elaborate system for enabling believers to enjoy “full membership” in a given local fellowship, which is conditioned on their fulfillment of various non-biblical obligations, including membership classes, and agreement with long, and detailed statements of faith.

In this lesson, I want to show you from the New Testament that the assemblies under the apostles’ care never employed such membership policies, but instead accepted the simple confessions of faith of their prospective participants. Over and over again, the apostles describe the process of recognizing people as fellow members of Christ’s body as simply a matter of learning a person’s testimony, and baptizing him if he hasn’t already been baptized. Far from forcing people to accept an elaborate description of the minutia of a group’s beliefs and practices, the only demands of the apostles and the first assemblies were that a person confessed the identity and work of Jesus, and expressed the sincere desire to serve Him in obedience to His commands as their Lord and Savior.

The Apostolic Confession Required for New Members of the Body

I’d like to emphasize a second time that the entrance of a person into a particular fellowship of Christ’s body isn’t mainly an external matter of agreeing to a list of beliefs and policies, but is the work of God’s Spirit in uniting the believer to Jesus, and therefore to the members of His body. In other words, the One who accepts people into Christ’s body isn’t any earthly human being or group, but the Lord Jesus Himself through the Holy Spirit. Of course, as we’ll see, this act of the Lord in calling a sinner into His body inevitably results in them expressing their gifted faith in Him through confession, and the acceptance of the baptism ceremony.

Thus, we’ll look at several Scriptures that show us what exactly a person had to agree with to be accepted as a believer, and someone qualified to enjoy all the privileges and blessings of being an active part of a localized Christian community. First, it needs to be noted that the only confession required by the apostles to allow someone into fellowship was simply and supremely the basic gospel of Jesus.

Paul makes this preeminently clear in his classic declaration of the simple gospel of salvation found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4:

“Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures . . .”

The most important thing to take from this passage is that this message he recounts to the Corinthians was “of first importance”. That is, this was the only set of beliefs required for someone to believe, be saved, and then to immediately become a member of Christ’s body. It’s clear that the believers became parts of the Assembly once they believed this message, since Paul assures the Corinthians that they “stand” in the gospel.

But let’s go on to see what people had to confess in order to become recognized members of the Assembly. Paul gives us another simple articulation of a convert’s confession of faith in Romans 10:8-10, where he explains what the Law says about the gospel:

“But what does it say? ‘THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART’ – that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

So, what explanation of one’s faith did a new convert have to acknowledge to a New Testament congregation before they would be accepted into fellowship? Although this is a stripped down version of what a person needed to profess, it still tells us that the requirement for a profession was very basic. There are obviously two elements to this confession, which imply various other basic truths. They simply acknowledged the lordship or rulership of the man Jesus, and believed that He rose from the dead. This statement obviously implies at least two other essential truths. First, ascribing rulership to Jesus as “Lord” isn’t merely a human designation, but implies that He’s God Himself, since only God is supreme Lord. Second, believing that Jesus rose from the dead implies that one believes He died, and that He died “for our sins”. Hence, in these verses, we’re seeing a different expression of the same gospel that Paul defines in 1 Corinthians 15. And Paul says here that if a person orally confesses these truths, such a person can be considered saved and justified (or “righteous”).

But not only could the New Testament leaders and believers consider a person to be saved from God’s wrath simply because they professed this simple faith in Jesus’s lordship and resurrection – they could also know that such a person was indwelt by the Spirit. Paul again says this in his beautiful reminder to the Galatians of their conversion, and their reception of the Spirit, writing,

“You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?” – Gal. 3:1-2

In these wonderful verses, we see that the Galatian believers became indwelt by the Spirit, and therefore members of Christ’s body, simply by faithfully hearing the message of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. That is, all they did to become temples of the Spirit was to believe that Jesus the Messiah died for their sins and rose from the dead. And how could a person who has the Spirit be refused a part in God’s household of the local assembly? This truth is echoed by Paul in Ephesians 1:13, where he says that the Ephesians were “sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit” when they just believed “the gospel of your salvation”.

To sum up this facet of a new convert’s required confession to be accepted into a local fellowship, please take note of this summary description of the Thessalonians’ conversion:

“For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.”

Notice again the simplicity of Paul’s basis for his assurance that these brethren are believers. He was eager to welcome them into his fellowship because they demonstrated that they had given up their pagan idolatry, so that they could worship and serve the true God of the Lord Jesus. And certainly, the main way they did this was by confessing that God sent His Son to die for our sins and rise from the dead, until He comes again to judge.

At this point, I can anticipate at least some objections. You may say that all I’m doing is showing what New Testament conversion looks like, but that’s a separate matter from being recognized as a “church member”. But I would again respond that church membership isn’t primarily a matter of some “duly constituted” body of believers, with ordained leadership, meticulously testing a person to see if they’re the right fit to participate in all the activities of the assembly. Instead, it is a matter of the Spirit regenerating a person, so they confess faith in the gospel, and a desire to serve other believers in a local family of God.

To further illustrate my point that this is all the New Testament assemblies required for people wanting to join their fellowship, I would also point toward Paul’s proofs for the legitimacy of the confession of faith given by two of the assemblies he wrote to. First, in the opening section of his letter to the Ephesians, he says,

“For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers . . .” – Eph. 1:15-16

In this passage, Paul isn’t specifically saying that he gives thanks and prays for them because they were an assembly planted by him. Rather, he’s generally expressing his joy and concern for them because of their “faith in the Lord Jesus” and their “love for all the saints”. These two characteristics are the only grounds he needs to recognize them as true believers. Thus, it follows that when someone seeks to join our fellowship, the only two evidences we need from them to accept them are their confession of faith, and their expression of devotion to their fellow believers.

Likewise, Paul simply describes the initial faith of the Colossian believers in the introduction of his letter to them:

“[the gospel] which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth . . .” – Col. 1:6

So, how did Paul know that the Colossians had true faith in the Lord Jesus? Because they demonstrated that they “understood the grace of God in truth”. And because they understood it, they bore the fruit of repentance, love, joy, peace, patience, and so on. But fundamentally, the basis on which the apostles accepted them into Christ’s fellowship was their understanding of the grace of God, not their understanding of a drawn-out statement of faith about various non-essential teachings.

In spite of this clear principle that the only requirement for converts to join themselves to the fellowship of saints was their simple confession of faith in the gospel, including their desire to participate in that fellowship, yet there is still a mostly implicit requirement in the New Testament for entrance into the local body that remains. Besides descriptive passages found in Acts, there is one clear passage that explains that the New Testament assemblies demanded that new converts express their public faith through a public ritual in the sight of other believers in their vicinity. That ritual is the ordinance of baptism, which we’ll next briefly look at from 1 Peter 3:21.

The New Testament Confession of Faith – Baptism

According to multiple passages, mostly found in Acts, willingly undergoing the ceremony of baptism was the main public expression of a new Christian’s faith in the sight of his newfound brethren. If you look at all the passages in Acts describing baptism, this becomes abundantly clear. Still more evidence is found in our Lord’s instruction for how to initiate new Christians into the life of discipleship found in Matthew 28. There, He commands the apostles to “make disciples . . . [by] baptizing them”. But arguably clearer is a passage written by the apostle Peter in his first letter, which shockingly declares,

“Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you – not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience – through the resurrection of Jesus Christ . . .” – 1 Peter 3:21

Despite what many believers in baptismal regeneration and justification say about this passage, Peter himself removes any reason to believe that the physical act of being baptized, or “immersed,” is the thing that saves a person. He does this by spelling out that baptism doesn’t save a person as “the removal of dirt from the flesh,” or by running over a person’s body. Instead, baptism saves people as “an appeal to God for a good conscience”. In other words, the person letting someone baptize him is appealing to God to confirm the goodness of his conscience by publicly declaring that he has received God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ. The reason that baptism is this appeal is that the first Christians always immediately received baptism as their public confession of faith in Jesus. Thus, baptism saved them because by submitting to its administration to them, they were declaring that they accepted God’s gift of salvation.

And such should be the case today. Hence, although a person’s verbal confession of the basic message of salvation is all that’s fundamentally required to recognize him as a fellow believer, the apostles teach that the public reception of baptism is the initial act that expresses that believer’s faith. Therefore, when a person first becomes a believer, they should not only explain their understanding of the gospel, but also accept the offer of being baptized to radically and publicly demonstrate their faith.

Because a verbal and visual confession of faith is all that’s required to accept a person into fellowship biblically, this leads to a problematic implication. What about the many believers who initially confess biblical faith with their mouths, and with their baptism, but later show themselves lacking in true, obedient, faith, either through a sinful lifestyle, or through a renunciation of what they previously acknowledged? In other words, shouldn’t acceptance into a fellowship come with more hoops to jump through, so we do all we can to make sure that a person is committed to walking with us in love and unity? Shouldn’t we then impose a membership class and/or a probationary period, before we really accept someone as part of us, and worthy to receive all the privileges of our fellowship?

Several Scriptures could be cited to show that Paul experienced many cases of formerly faithful believers later denying their faith either through sinfulness, or verbal renunciation of the gospel. But for me, one of the most instructive ones that shows the virtue of giving people the benefit of the doubt when we hear their confession, and allow them to be baptized, and join us in the ministry, is the passage about Simon Magus. This is what Luke says about his story in Acts:

“12 But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike. 13 Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed.

14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.””

This passage clearly shows us the case of man who was recognized as a believer, and baptized, but then later demonstrated that the faith he professed was fake. Notice that Simon “himself believed” (v. 13). That is, he verbally expressed his acceptance of the truths of the gospel, and asked to be baptized, since he was “baptized”. Not only this, but he also continued on with Philip. This means that he was following Philip, as if he was following his leader. In spite of this initial promise, the confrontation of Peter proves that his faith was false. Peter bluntly states that his “heart is not right before God,” since he’s asked to buy the power to impart the Holy Spirit to people. Also, Peter promises that he’ll “perish” along with his silver, and then concludes by warning that Simon is in bondage to iniquity, or sin. By saying these things, he’s evidently describing an unbelieving man, who is enslaved to sin, and still needs to “repent”.

So, was Philip wrong to baptize Simon? Nothing in the passage gives any hint that he made mistake in doing so. On the contrary, Luke himself describes Simon as believing the gospel. Obviously, he’s saying this from the perspective of Philip, and based on Simon’s verbal confession. It isn’t meant to be a meticulous description of the inner workings of Simon’s heart, but of the appearance of Simon’s behavior. Therefore, we can see from this passage that it’s good and proper to baptize and accept new professors of faith, even if we’re only doing this based on an initial response to the gospel, and not the extended time period of their interactions with professing believers.

Accept All who Call on the Name of the Lord

Given all this evidence, which is only a portion of the New Testament teaching, I hope you’ve seen that the apostles and early Assembly leaders had no conception of requiring more of people than necessary to embrace them into full fellowship with Christ’s body. According to the apostles and their followers, all that’s necessary for a person to have an active part with us is their confession of biblical faith in Jesus, and their willingness to demonstrate that faith through the reception of baptism and participation in the life of the body. It’s up to God’s work in due time to show us whether such people are true believers, so until then they should be given the benefit of the doubt, and taught to obey the Lord. Granted, when we interview a person to determine their attitude toward the Lord Jesus and the gospel, they must be able to give a clear articulation of agreement with the good news. However, there’s no need for such people to explain their understanding of non-essential teachings of the Bible, and no need for them to understand every single facet of church life. Instead, we should just rejoice that one person has been moved to proclaim that Jesus is the Lord of all, and the crucified and risen Savior of sinners from hell. And for unbaptized believers, they must be impressed with the great privilege and duty to receive the wonderful ceremony of baptism to display their new identity in the death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah.