1. Acts 2:47 (NKJV)
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

2. Membership Of The Church
Acts 2:47

3. Membership Of The Church
Last week we began a series of lessons designed to help us see the distinctiveness of the Lord’s church
There are many who do not see the difference between the church spoken of in the New Testament, and the many denominations in society today

4. Membership Of The Church
Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 that “I will build My church”
If the church is His, then everything we learn and know about it should come from Him
We looked at some basic truths last week concerning what the church is

5. Membership Of The Church
We noticed that the church is…
the called out
the saved
the body of Christ
the bride of Christ
the house of God
the pillar and ground of the truth

6. Membership Of The Church
One of the most basic aspects of the church would be the membership requirements
How does one become a member of the church of the New Testament?
If we find that answer, then we will know the admission standards for the church today as well

7. The Who
To find the answers to our questions, we simply go to God’s word
“And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47)
The first “who” we look at here is “Who is doing the adding?”

8. The Who The Lord was the one adding to the church
It’s His church, His body, and He is the savior of the body (Eph. 5:23)
There is no committee meeting or “pastors” or “ministers” that add to the body

9. The Who The other “who” here is “Who is being added to the church?”
The Bible says that it is “those who were being saved”
So the saved are the only ones being added to the church, being done by the Lord Himself

10. The Who
The conclusion we draw then is that one cannot be a member of the Lord’s church unless they are saved
This salvation must be God’s way, not ours
The next question is, “What is Biblical salvation?”

11. The How Understanding the “who” in Acts 2:47 is certainly important
We also need to understand how one becomes saved, so that we know exactly who the saved are added to the church
Understanding a verse can mean looking at it in context

12. The How
So if we look at Acts 2:47 in it’s context, we can see how those on the day of Pentecost were saved
Peter preached a very direct sermon to those Jews who wanted to see Jesus crucified
He proclaimed Him “Lord and Christ”

13. The How
After being convicted of their sin, they asked what they could do
“Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…” (v. 38)
Belief was inherent in this command; their asking what to do showed that

14. The How
Remember that the Bible teaches us that the church is also the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18)
Romans 6:3-6 tells us that we are baptized into Christ
Galatians 3:27 teaches us the same thing

15. The How The Bible explains to us how salvation is in Christ
“To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Rev. 1:5)
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Eph. 1:7)

16. The How
“And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16)
Belief in Christ leads to obedience (baptism) which then puts us into Christ (church) where His blood cleanses us from our sins

17. The How Remember we are the “called out”
We are called by the gospel (II Thess. 2:14)
The gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (I Cor. 15:1-4)
We must obey the gospel (II Thess. 1:8)

18. The How How do we obey the gospel? Romans 6:3-6
Our obedience to the gospel culminates with our being buried with Him in baptism and raised to walk in newness of life
II Corinthians 5:17