The Encourager
“Added to the Church - Jeff Curtis”
Added to the Church
By Jeff Curtis
When Peter made his confession about Jesus in Matthew 16:16, Jesus promised him “the keys of the kingdom” (Mattew 16:19). That is, Jesus promised that Peter would be the first to open the door of the kingdom / the church and allow people to enter. That is what happened on the Day of Pentecost. Peter gave the terms of entrance into the church, and three thousand took advantage of the offer of a gracious God. When they were baptized, they were saved; when they were saved, God added them to the church.
Many important truths can be drawn from verses 41 and 47. First, we have a simple, but profound, definition of the church. The church is the body of the saved – those who have been saved by the blood of Christ. People often speak of church membership and salvation as two different things. Those who do so generally have in mind denominations. One can be saved and not be a part of any denomination, but cannot be saved and not be a part of the Lord’s church. According to the two verses under consideration, church membership and salvation are one and the same.
Next, these verses teach that we don’t “join” the church; rather, the Lord “adds” us to the church. Is this merely a question of semantics? No, a vital biblical principle is at stake. Whenever and individual “joins” an organization, he does it. By fulfilling certain requirements, he earns the right to be part of that organization. But an individual cannot earn the right to be part of the Lord’s church. The church is the body of the saved. Since an individual cannot save himself, he cannot make himself a member of that body. The One who saves us through His grace makes us a part of the body. A distinction must be made here between the universal church and the local congregations. After the Lord adds us to the church universal, we then need to “join ourselves to” a faithful congregation of God’s people. God adds and we welcome.
Other truths could be deduced from verse 41 and 47, but it should be emphasized that when we are scripturally baptized, we become part of a spiritual fellowship called “the church/”
God didn’t intend that we should be spiritual loners. Sooner or later, all of us need others to help and strengthen us. in establishing the church, God provided a built-in support group, a spiritual network.
Regarding salvation, all of us must deal with the past, the present and the future. We have sins of the past with their oppressive guilt; we wonder whether or not we will have strength for the future. We have present challenges that threaten to overwhelm us. God has foreseen every need. When we are baptized as penitent believers, God helps to take care of the past by forgiving is of every sin (Acts 2:38); God helps to take care of the future by giving us His Spirit to strengthen us and help us (Acts 2:38); and He helps take care of the present by making us part of a loving family called the church (Acts 2:41,47). These are not the only ways He has foreseen and provided for our spiritual needs, but these are three important ways God provides for us, all are found in Acts 2.
