What the Bible Says …..

About Who Adds To The Church?

“And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved,” Acts 2:47.

Before Jesus ascended into the heavens, the apostles asked if now was the time for the restoration of the kingdom, Acts 1:6. And Jesus responded, “It is not for you to know,” Acts 1:7. As Christ was returning to heaven, He commanded the apostles to stay in Jerusalem (Acts 1:4). And in Acts 2, the apostles were gathered together on the Day of Pentecost, and the Holy Spirit fell upon them (2:1-4). Which led them to preach the gospel to the crowds that gathered around them. During this great event, 3,000 souls were baptized into Christ (2:41) for the remission of their sins (2:38), and the Lord added them to His church (2:47).

Notice, in the historical account, that when Peter and the other apostles were preaching God’s words, those who obediently accepted the message repented and they were baptized for the remission of their sins. And at that time, Jesus added them to His church. Please notice in Acts 2, there was no special council who decided a person’s fate. No one took a vote. There were no special classes or schools one had to attend to enter the Church. There was no special futuristic day they waited on to schedule and perform their baptisms. There was no waiting for some special man to visit to immerse them or place them in the church. When they obeyed the gospel message, Christ, added them to the church.

Now, just as then, human beings have no right to stand in your way or prevent you from following the pattern left behind in the book of Acts. You can be in Christ’s church today simply by performing the same series of actions as described in Acts. And nowhere described in Acts or anywhere else in the New Testament, did the church vote you in or not. Here at Brown Trail, we understand our role and Christ’s role in adding a person to the Church.  The Church belongs to Him. Only He has the right to add to those who are His.