Joining and Being a Member of a Church

Here’s an excerpt from Joining and Being a Member of a Church, Nate Shurden’s contribution to the January issue of Tabletalk:

From the promises to Abraham (Gen. 12:1–3) to the ultimate fulfillment of those same promises pictured in the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven (Rev. 21), Scripture is clear—God is saving for Himself a people. Notice, I said people, not persons. In saying it that way, I don’t mean to suggest that salvation is not a personal matter or that God has no interest in individuals. He clearly does (Rom. 10:9–10). No, I chose people over persons to emphasize Scripture’s emphasis—that Christian identity is necessarily communal (1 Peter 2:9).

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