We live in a changing world that is full of questions, and the answers must come from the unchanging truth of God's word.

Today we look into Scripture with Scott Pauli to discover what the Bible says.

Ask the Lord to speak to you and to give you truth to share with others.

A very kind lady called me one day and she was a little perturbed, we might say,

by something that I had given in a Bible message regarding church membership. She said to me, I don't believe in belonging.

I don't believe in being a member of a local church. I don't believe that's found in the Bible.

And I said to her, well, the truth of the matter is, I believe in a local New Testament church, which means I believe that the local church has autonomy.

They have the right to do it any way they choose to do it.

But the principle of belonging to a local assembly is certainly found in the Word of God.

Now, how they keep up with those members and how they track them and all that kind of thing,

that's not laid out in Scripture.

But belonging certainly is.

As a matter of fact, at the very beginning of the early stages of the New Testament Church,

you find it repeatedly emphasized.

Let me show you what I mean. Acts chapter 4,

verse 23, referring to the apostles after they had been beaten and persecuted, the Bible says in

Acts 4 verse 23, and being let go, they went to their own company and reported all that the chief

priest and elders had said unto them. Look, they belonged

somewhere. They had a company. There was a group that they were connected to. And watch this,

they were not only connected, they were accountable. You know, I think right in this example,

in Acts chapter 4 verse 23, perhaps is one of the reasons why people

don't like the idea of membership. People don't want to belong because they don't want to be

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