Is Church Membership Necessary for Salvation?
The first book of scripture tells us of a man who should inspire our walk with God. “So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him” (Genesis 5:23-24, NKJV). Our brother Enoch had no Bible, no songbook, no fellow members, no teacher, no indwelling Holy Spirit, no rent veil with access to the Holy of Holies, but he knew God!
“But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). How do we know that Enoch believed God was a rewarder? Because we know that is the only faith that pleases God, and we know that Enoch pleased him. God is a remunerator, one who pays well for faithfulness. How does the Lord reward his diligent ones?
There are three important rewards that come by believing God and walking with him in faith.
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God’s control of our lives. When we neglect the Lord, we soon spin out of control as the devil moves in and takes over. If only we would fall in love with Jesus! God would soon show us that Satan has no real dominion over us, and we would quickly allow Christ to control us.
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Having a “pure light.” When we walk with the Lord, we are rewarded with light, direction, discernment and revelation — a certain “knowing” that God gives us — that will guide us through life.
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Protection from all our enemies. Scripture promises, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper” (Isaiah 54:17). In the original Hebrew, this verse is translated as “No plan, no instrument of destruction, no satanic artillery shall push you or run over you, but it will be done away with.”
Enoch learned to walk pleasingly before God in the midst of a wicked society. He was an ordinary man with all the same problems and burdens we carry. Each day as he walked with the Lord, though, he became less attached to the things of the world. When we live this way, we obey Christ’s commands, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)
"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
(Matthew 6:33)
