The Bunker Mentality...
Church Membership
By Michael Bunker
mbunker@michaelbunker.com
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"Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” 1 Corinthians 6:15-17
May 17, 2002 – Joining ourselves to something is very serious business. God has declared it so. To make ourselves “members” of something is to partake in the rewards or punishments of that thing. Consider that Jesus prophesied to the Pharisees that since they were “gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ” (Acts 4:26), that they would CORPORATELY be held responsible for every murder of all of God’s prophets and wise men!
“Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.” – Matthew 23:34-3
Notice that Jesus said that because they had joined together in league against Him, ALL the righteous blood ever shed upon the earth (from Abel to Zacharias – A to Z) would come upon them. They would specifically be punished, as co-workers and co-rebels, along with ALL of those who had ever come against God or His true servants.
This concept really aggravates anyone with an Arminian mindset. They chafe at the fact that God would hold people responsible for acts in which they had not actively participated. Note that these Pharisees were very Religious men, joined together with the Scribes and other religious sects as the “members” of institutional Judaism of the day. They were the CHURCH on the earth at the time of Christ. They insisted (verse 30) that had they been alive in the days of their fathers, they “would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets”. But in doing so, they were confessing that they were their father’s sons.
Religious men HATE God’s justice. They hate Righteous judgment. So they, through their teachings and actions, accuse God of unrighteousness through the denial of His sovereignty. They idolize and worship their supposed “free will”, while denying that they are the creations of an all-powerful Sovereign God, and as such are banned from bringing a railing accusation against that Creator, by squealing “why have you made me such”. And in doing so, they prove to us they are the children of their fathers. They say that a God who would hold men guilty of crimes committed before they were born must be a sadistic and capricious God - denying, in fact, that the sins of Adam have come upon every child of Adam. Once again, they join themselves in religious league as members of the institutional CHURCH on the earth.
Paul told the Corinthians plainly that they were either:
a) The members of Jesus Christ, or
b) The members of a Harlot.
Before you go screaming that Paul was teaching against sexual immorality, let us find out what the Bible labels as Harlotry.
In the Book of Revelation, John tells us that that there has appeared on this earth a woman named MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT. This woman sits on seven mountains (verse 9), and also sits upon many waters (verse 1). She has committed fornication with the Kings of the earth (verse 2), and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication (verse 2).
Note that it was the universal opinion of the Reformers, and of anyone else who honestly examines these scriptures, that the city that sits on seven hills is ROME, and the woman who sits there is the CATHOLIC CHURCH. Also note that the Bible calls this woman the MOTHER OF HARLOTS (verse 5), indicating that her offspring are HARLOTS.
Many will pause here and begin to argue that their particular denomination was never a part of the Catholic Church, and so technically can not be termed her offspring. I know that the Baptists and the Seventh Day Adventists make this claim. But notice what Jesus said to the Pharisees, your denial of your parent does not necessarily mean that you are not her offspring. We know them by their fruit. Since almost 100% of organized Christianity has derived its structure and organization from the Catholic Church, we may safely say that a Harlot can be discerned by comparison with her mother. The Protestant churches today have organized themselves along a hierarchical structure that begins at the top with Pastors (popes, cardinals, etc.) and flows downwards towards the laity. The doctrine of the Nicolaitanes can be clearly seen in the structure of organized Protestantism today.
NICO = conqueror of, or tyranny over
LAITANE = the laity
You might also note that Jesus declares that he HATES Nicolaitanism. Nicolaitanism is treated by Christ in the same manner as Phariseeism.
So let us get our bearings.
The Bible uses the term Harlot almost universally to mean spiritual harlotry. Note that in the early proverbs (1-8), there is a constant contrasting of two different types of woman. Seeking one woman (wisdom and understanding) is encouraged, while seeking the other woman (a harlot) is discouraged. Specifically in Proverbs chapter 7, a parable is unfolded to describe EXACTLY who is a harlot.
In Mark 13:34 Jesus declares that HE is a man taking a far journey. He tells us that He left His house, and that He will return on a day appointed.
In Proverbs chapter 7, a young man, devoid of understanding is going his way to visit a harlot. Note that this is happening “in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night”. The Hebrew that is translated “in the evening”, along with the other words means: IN THE EVENING OF DAYS. This is a prophecy of the end times.
Also note that a woman comes to meet him. She has been lying in wait. She has prepared a speech that will attract him to her. And PLEASE notice that there is a Harlot ON EVERY STREET CORNER! (verse 12)
She tells the ignorant young man to come into her. She says, “let us take our fill of loves until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves. For the Goodman is not at home, he is gone on a long journey: He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed. ”
Oh please, dear reader, listen to me. It is Jesus that has gone on a long journey! It is Jesus that will return on the day appointed! Please take care to understand that in the evening of days, right before He returns, there will be a Harlot on every street corner enticing those who have no understanding to come in. She only desires that the ignorant man will stay until morning. She is a Harlot.
Paul clearly says that we are NOT to join ourselves to a Harlot. We become a partaker in the deeds of anything we join ourselves to. Church membership is not mentioned ONE TIME in all of scripture. We are not authorized to “join” a church, a denomination, or a cult. We are not to lend ourselves to be “members” of a Harlot!
Let’s examine what the Bible says about “membership”.
First, we see that we (all those who are truly born-again, redeemed) are to be “members” of Christ. In Romans, Paul says that we are servants to whomever we yield our “members”. Paul consistently compares us to the BODY, by calling us the Body of Christ. As a Body, we are not to yield our members to sin and unrighteousness, just as the Body of Christ should not yield its “members” to harlotry. We are either “members” of the Body of Christ, or we are “members” of another entity (the Church) which is foreign to Christ and separated from Him. We are told that “we, being many, are one body, and all members one of another. (Chapter 12, verse 5)”
I specifically adjure you to read what Paul says to us in 1 Corinthians the 12th chapter. He says that we (those who are truly in Christ), like a Body, are one. We are not all the same body parts, but we are all one body. God Himself has set every one of us in the Body as it has pleased Him (verse 18), while specifically ordering us not to join our “members” to anything other than Him. Now, there are many members (verse 20), but ONE true Body. And we should ALWAYS realize that there should never be a SCHISM (separation, split, delineation or gap) in the Body (verse 25).
Just so we don’t miss it, Paul lays it down clearly in verse 27, “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.”
So don’t tell me that when this same writer (PAUL) says in this same book (1st Corinthians) that we are not to join our MEMBERS to a Harlot, that he is not specifically banning membership in anything but the Body of Christ. Note that he says in 1 Cor 6:15-17 that you are EITHER a member of Christ, or you are the member of a Harlot.
So we are left with the feeble argument that official Church membership denotes membership in the Body of Christ. That is an argument that is almost too stupid to answer, but we will address it.
Just as membership in a particular sect at the time of Christ did not signify relationship with God, but on the contrary it emphasized the separation FROM God – we can say that membership in the Pharisaical denominations and churches of today is not a sign of Body membership, but rather denotes the opposite. I say this not to condemn those true believers who have yet to come out of institutional religion, but to exhort them to do so immediately. Christ did not choose to save sect members IN their particular sects; rather he called them OUT from them. Paul is not notable to us because he remained a Pharisee, rather we read and heed him because he was brave enough to come OUT from that most heinous of sects.
Since “church” membership is not only NOT authorized in scripture, but it is specifically banned – we can see that the membership “letter” does not tend towards the spiritual freedom preached by Christ and the apostles, but tends towards bondage to sectarian interests and Nicolaitanism in all its forms. Paul asks us then to separate ourselves from that unrighteousness, “putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members ONE of ANOTHER.(Ephesians 4:25)” We cannot continue to abide sectarian religion masquerading as Christianity, because in doing so we hate our own flesh, and we deny that “we are members of His body, of his flesh, and of his bones. (Ephesians 5:30).”
Ignorant men will demand church membership, particularly so that church discipline can be administered. But in declaring that discipline can only be administered to members who have joined themselves to a Harlot – the ignorant leader has declared that he is the master of a Harlot, a pimp in spiritual terms.
If a formal letter of “membership” is required in order for the Body to correct itself, where is the spiritual parallel in our own bodies? The apostles used the Body as a shadow of the Body of Christ specifically so that we would draw conclusions in relation to our own bodies. Does my foot need a letter in order to be joined to my leg? Does my head require a signed letter from my hand in order to be fed?
Any group who requires Church membership in order that they might “legally” engage in Church discipline is clearly too ignorant and immature to be disciplining anyone. The membership letter in this way has become a tool of bondage and abuse and NOT a tool of fellowship in the election mystery.
When we become “members” of the True Body of Jesus Christ, we break all allegiances with the traditions and organizations of men. Our membership is a spiritual mystery in which the unredeemed and unregenerate cannot partake. Note that even the most strident supporters of “Church membership” will admit that they have “members” who are not truly Christians. In this admission, they must also admit that they are co-members with unrighteousness, and partakers of all that is unholy. They have joined themselves in league with the children of darkness, and as Christ prophesied, they will be held responsible for all the works of darkness.
Repentance is a work of God, and it is a gift provided by a Sovereign God to His elect. I pray that those who have participated in this evil will understand that it is the goodness of God that leads us to real repentance. Thank Him for His goodness, and seek His face for future guidance.
For those who harden their hearts against the Truth and who seek to rationalize unholy behavior, I leave you with the direct exhortation of Jesus Christ regarding Nicolaitanism: “Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”
“Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”
I am your servant in Christ Jesus,
Michael Bunker
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