No — not every church member is a genuinely born-again Christian.
Les Feldick plainly teaches that every local church includes members who are baptized and on the rolls but who have never experienced salvation. He even estimates that roughly 50% of every church roll may be unsaved. Local churches cannot screen hearts, so believers and unbelievers sit side by side. What matters eternally is whether the Holy Spirit has placed a person into the body of Christ, and no unsaved person is ever placed there.
1 Corinthians 12:13 — Paul says all believers are baptized by one Spirit into one body, which is the spiritual basis for Les's teaching that church roll membership and body-of-Christ membership are not the same.
Ephesians 4:12 — Paul calls the body of Christ the object of ministry and edification, showing that this body is spiritual and distinct from any local congregation.
Scripture nowhere equates a local church membership roll with the body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12:13 Paul says, "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." This baptism is the Holy Spirit's work, not a water ceremony, and it applies to believers. In Ephesians 4:12 Paul calls for "the edifying of the body of Christ," describing a spiritual body that is built up through the maturing of the saints and the work of the ministry. The Bible distinguishes the visible gathering of professing believers from the true spiritual body of Christ, which only God Himself builds.
Les Feldick is emphatic: not every church member is a truly born-again believer. He observes that almost every Christian group requires water baptism for membership, yet every congregation still includes people who are totally unsaved but "baptized and memberized." He even says that perhaps 50 percent of every church roll is unsaved — some churches more, some less — and that members of his own local church "are as lost as lost can be." Local churches cannot screen these people because no one can look on the heart; only God can.
Only God can see a person's heart. Les says every church takes in people for membership who are not saved, and there is no way to screen them because pastors and members cannot determine who is truly saved and who is lost. Water baptism and a membership record do not prove a new birth.
The local church is a God-given entity, but not everyone in it is in the body of Christ. Into the body of Christ there are no unbelievers. When a person becomes a child of God, the Holy Spirit immediately places them into the body. That is why every true believer — weak or strong, spiritual or carnal, Jew or Gentile, bond or free — is a member of the body of Christ, even though not every church member is.
No. Les points out that almost every Christian group requires water baptism for membership, yet every group still has unsaved people who were baptized and added to the rolls. Water baptism does not save a person and does not place anyone into the body. Only the Holy Spirit's baptism — placing a true believer into the body of Christ at salvation — has eternal significance.
All Believers Baptized Into One Body
Every believer — weak or strong, Jewish or Gentile, bond or free — has been baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ. Entrance into the body is spiritual, not a matter of church membership.
Water Baptism Does Not Guarantee a New Birth
Even though almost every Christian group requires water baptism for membership, every group still has unsaved baptized members. Therefore water baptism and church membership do not equal being born again.
Unbelievers on Every Church Roll
Les estimates that about 50% of every church roll may be unsaved, since churches cannot screen hearts. But no unsaved person is ever baptized into the body of Christ.
Local Church vs. Body of Christ
A local church can contain believers and unbelievers, but the body of Christ contains none but true believers. Only salvation and the Holy Spirit's placement bring someone into it.
Holy Spirit Places Believers Into the Body
At the moment a person becomes a child of God, the Holy Spirit places them into the body of Christ. Every member, whether visible or unseen, has a function in that body.
Membership Does Not Equal Membership in Christ
Not every church member anywhere is in the body of Christ; even in Les's own church there are people as lost as they can be. Local membership does not make a person a body member.
Every Believer Included From Least to Greatest
All believers — not just the spiritual elite — have been placed into the body by the Holy Spirit. Even believers who are unspiritual remain members of the body.
Unbelieving Church Members Like the Mixed Multitude
Les compares unsaved church members to the mixed multitude that followed Israel out of Egypt — people who hang around for social reasons but have never experienced salvation.
1 Corinthians 12:13: For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
This is the passage Les references when he says all believers are baptized by the Holy Spirit into one body.
Ephesians 4:12: For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Paul describes the body of Christ as a spiritual entity that is matured and edified through ministry, not merely a local church membership.
No. Les Feldick teaches that every church has unsaved people who are baptized and on the membership rolls. He even guesses that about half of every church roll may be unsaved.
When a person believes the Gospel and becomes a child of God, the Holy Spirit immediately places them into the body of Christ. No unsaved person is ever placed into that body.
Yes. Almost every Christian group requires water baptism for membership, yet these groups still contain unsaved people who have been baptized. Water baptism does not save anyone.
Watch the Teaching: Water Baptism vs. Spirit Baptism: What Places You in the Body of Christ?