Congregations in the Bible
Biblical Study
A congregation is all the people who attend a local church. In one way, both saved and unsaved attenders are part of the congregation. In a more technical sense, only saved individuals are members of the congregation, as
the Scriptures say "He is our God and we the people of His pasture, the sheep of His hand" (Psalm 95:7, NASB). In another technical sense, only saved individuals who have formally presented themselves to the elders and congregation are members of the congregation.
Allow me to be entirely forthcoming... there is no Biblical
mandate for church membership. Membership is not a
measure of spiritual maturity, but it is a measure of
covenant commitment to a local church. So, if we want
to look at a congregation from a Biblical perspective, we
need to recognize these three uses of the word. A
congregation is those who come together in a worship
gathering. A congregation is all believers in a
particular place. A congregation is those believers
who have made a covenant promise with each other to work
together and worship together to the glory of God.
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