Sullivan church of Christ – Sullivan, MO
Date: April 24, 2005
“The Lord Added To The Church”
Mike McDaniel
A common expression in religious circles is that of “joining the church” (whatever
church that might be). It is so common, it is assumed to be correct. Therefore,
when it is learned that one does not “join” the Lord’s church, but is added to it by
the Lord himself (Acts 2:47), many are surprised and confused. The phrase “joining
a church” places all religious groups on equal ground, making one as good as the
next. It suggests that one may simply take his choice, as he would a civic club.
Both the terminology and concept involved in “joining the church” are foreign to the
New Testament. The church in the New Testament is the one body of Christ (Eph.
4:5).
How does one enter the church of Christ mentioned in the New Testament?
Religious groups have their various ways of entering their churches, whether it is
relating a convincing “salvation experience,” or being voted on as a candidate for
membership, or being baptized to enter a denomination, or “getting saved” at the
mourner’s bench. In these groups, “getting saved” is one thing, and church
membership is something else. Many say church membership is not essential to
be saved, but they recommend it, and if you want to join their church, you must do
the things suggested.
In Acts 2, we see God’s way as opposed to man’s way. In this chapter, we find two
things: (1) people being saved in obedience to the gospel, and (2) these same people
being “added” by the Lord to his church. They were instructed to “Repent, and be
baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye
shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). When they obeyed, they were
added to the Lord’s church. “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized:
and the same day were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41).
“Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church
daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47). “And believers were the more added to the
Lord, multitudes of both men and women” (Acts 5:14). “For he was a good man, and full
of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord” (Acts 11:24).
All of these people were added by the Lord to his church. What did they do to be
added? They obeyed Christ by repenting of their sins, confessing their faith in
Christ, and being baptized into Christ for the remission of their sins, and the Lord
then added them to his church. But what about relating an experience, or being
voted on, or being baptized into a human denomination, or crying at the altar? All
of these things are missing from the inspired record of Acts. The Lord does the
adding when people do the obeying!
According to the New Testament, what a person does to be saved, he does to obtain
membership in the Lord’s church. They are synonymous. The saved are added by
the Lord to his church. “Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the
Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47). His church is
his body. “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the
firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence” (Col. 1:18).
Christians constitute the body or church of the Lord. “For as the body is one, and
hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so
also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body . . .” (I Cor. 12:12-13).
Becoming a member of the Lord’s church or body is not a matter of comparing
several religious groups, deciding which suits one best and then applying for
membership or “joining up.” Rather, it is a matter of obeying the Gospel of Christ,
at which time the Lord Himself adds you to his body, the church.
When we comply with the conditions of the gospel, we are then added to the body of
the saved. Eph 5:23 says that, “Christ is the head of the church: and he is the Savior of
the body.” He adds the saved to his church (Acts 2:47), which is his body (Eph. 1:
23). This is the only means of entering the church of Christ.
Of course, the word “church” is also used in a local sense and refers to Christians
of the body of Christ who assemble and work together in a local community. A
Christian is a member of every local congregation around the world. For example,
when Paul, who was then called Saul, assayed to join the disciples at Jerusalem
(Acts 9:26-28), he was imply seeking to become identified for the time being with
the Jerusalem church. He had already been added by the Lord to his church, but
he was seeking to work and worship with the local congregation in Jerusalem.
Likewise, when we obey the Gospel and are added by the Lord to his church
universal, we need to assemble and work with a local, faithful congregation of God’s
people and submit ourselves to that eldership (Heb. 13:17).
— via POWER, Feb., 2000
AN EXHAUSTIVE LIST OF MODERN
DENOMINATIONS FOUND IN THE NEW
TESTAMENT
By Samuel J. Dilbec