BAPTISM & CHURCH MEMBERSHIP

In the New Testament, the normal sequence is simple: people believe, are baptized, and are added to a local church. Baptism isn’t a free-floating rite; it’s the public doorway into a community that teaches, communes, and practices accountability.

• Paul treats baptism as incorporation into Christ’s body. Practically, that means “baptized but permanently unjoined” doesn’t fit his framework. Baptism signals belonging that’s meant to be lived out in a real congregation.

• The famous edge case (the Ethiopian eunuch) shows the order still holds even when geography is awkward: faith → baptism → fellowship as soon as providence allows.

• “One baptism” holds two layers together: the Spirit’s inward work uniting a person to Christ, and water baptism as the outward sign of that union. The sign and the reality aren’t competitors; they’re paired.

• Historically, Baptists have overwhelmingly kept baptism and membership together. A few minority views (or frontier practicalities) separated the timing, but the target remained the same: baptized believers gathered in accountable local churches.

Bottom line: in Scripture and historic Baptist practice, credo-baptism is the visible entrance to church membership, and membership is where the Christian life is meant to be lived.