I visited a church last week and they had all the new members get up and proclaim a “covenant” that they would be faithful member, that they wouldn’t gossip about other members, that they would invite others to their church, that they would give to the church, etc..”. Honestly I had a bunch of mixed fillings.
First of all a covenant is no small deal. This is not a promise, a commitment or a treaty. Biblical covenant is binding.
Biblical covenant always involved blood and death. Because it was that serious. It’s why whenever there was a covenant made in the OT it was with an animal sacrifice. It is why for Jesus to have the new covenant he had to bleed and die.
Second, the Scriptures say to take our oaths with great care. They are not small things. If we are saying of people that they have to make a covenant to join the church, then that’s a problem. We are asking people to enter into something quickly. Without thought. And we with even something stronger than an oath–a covenant.
Third, where is Jesus in this church “covenant”? It isn’t there. It’s just rules. Not bad rules, but rules nonetheless. Jesus isn’t even mentioned here.
I think we need to approach these things with wisdom and understanding in accordance with the Scripture. It’s not that all church commitments for new members are bad. They aren’t. But they need to be done in the right spirit (not laws), in the right spirit (focusing on Jesus and loving one another), and in the right way (not oaths or covenants).