Are Christians members of Christ's Church?

[ayani]

Some churches recognize non-members as Christians and some don't. Is it possible to be a Christian without being a member of Christ's Church? Can a person receive eternal life without ever becoming a member of His Church? I'd like to see how people answer this. What do the various Protestant and non-protestant groups teach?

well....

a Christian is a person who believes in, belongs to, and follows God's Son.

and quite honestly, "church" comes to us from a Greek word which simply means "of the Lord", and the word often translated as "church" in the NT means, in Greek, "those who have been called".

it doesn't innately denote an institutional body of leadership and structure, with specific doctrines, parameters, and lines of historical authority.

if a person has believed in, been saved by, and now belongs to and follows the Lord Jesus, God's Son, He is of the Lord, and has been called out of the world, into a relationship with God. he or she is also free and encouraged to gather with other believers in and followers of the Lord, whether in a building, a house, or on a street corner.

Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He is available for anyone who sincerely calls upon Him, and wants to get to know Him better. He is risen, He is alive, and He has no need for an organized church structure or body to exist, rule, or save people.

God's Holy Spirit can work in and through a church- be it Lutheran, Catholic, Baptist, Mar Thoma, etc. but it's God's Son who makes the difference in a person's life, not an ecclesiastic body, set of traditions, liturgy or denomination's founder or prophet.

if we are attached to Jesus, the true vine and Living Christ, we are His, He is ours, and we've got the most beautiful, humbling, and glorious treasure a human could hope to have- all because of God's grace, and love for us, in Christ.

i don't place much stock in churches. it seems like the idea today is to "invite people to church" and save them there, or hope that if they go week after week and enjoy the atmosphere and join in prayers, that they're saved. but it's telling others about God's Son that opens the doors for salvation, not bringing them to a building, or schooling them in the basics of your denomination's unique history, approaches, beliefs, or traditions.

 

[Jordan St. Francis]

and quite honestly, "church" comes to us from a Greek word which simply means "of the Lord", and the word often translated as "church" in the NT means, in Greek, "those who have been called".

I think it is worth pointing out, however, that one can not just look at the literal meaning of the word. Ekklesia had a long usage in Greek before New Testament times, and its usage in the NT is certainly more than a predication of individuals as "called persons".

 

[sojourner]

I think it is worth pointing out, however, that one can not just look at the literal meaning of the word. Ekklesia had a long usage in Greek before New Testament times, and its usage in the NT is certainly more than a predication of individuals as "called persons".

Plus, the word, as used by the NT writers, would have carried a different connotation than it would have for the proto-Church, and than it does for us.