In describing the growth of the first-century church of Christ in the city of Jerusalem, Luke writes, “And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women” (Acts 5:14).  This is not the first account of individuals being “added” to the Lord’s church in the book of Acts.  Acts 2:47 notes, “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”  To be “added to the Lord” (Acts 5:14) and to be “added to the church” (Acts 2:47) are the equivalent expressions.  After all, the church is the body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18).  When one is baptized, one is united with the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 6:3-8); one is baptized into the one body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13).  To be part of the church is to be part of the saved body of people (Acts 2:47) who have all spiritual blessings in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).  To be outside of the church is to be outside of that sphere of blessings, not forgiven of sins, not united with the Lord’s atoning death, not a child of God (Galatians 3:26-27).

When Acts 5:14 says that “believers” were “added to the Lord,” it indicates that one must believe first before being added to the Lord, i.e. to His church.  James 2:17 emphatically shows that faith without works is dead.  A living faith is needed for salvation (2 Timothy 3:15).  A living faith moves one to repent, confess, and be baptized.  John 1:11-12 says of Jesus, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”  Faith gives one the right to become a child of God, but the moment one accepts the truth of the Gospel, believing it, is not the moment one is added to the Lord, i.e. added to His church.

Several on Pentecost day following the resurrection of the Lord Jesus heard Peter’s sermon, and believed.  They were pricked in their hearts because they recognized Jesus was the Christ, whom they were guilty of crucifying (Acts 2:36-37).  It was not at this moment of believing these facts that they were saved, i.e. added to the Lord’s church.  They asked what they should do and Peter told them to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins (Acts 8:37-38).  Some three thousand gladly received the word and were baptized; at the point of baptism they were “added” (Acts 2:41).  It was not at the point of believing the facts, not even at the point of gladly receiving the word, but at the point of baptism, where all that culminated into a commitment of obedience, that they were saved, added to the Lord, added to His church.

Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16).  Faith makes one a proper candidate to be added to the Lord, but until it manifests itself in obedience to the Gospel, salvation has not been secured (2 Thessalonians 1:8). If one believes in Christ, but because of social pressures will not confess that faith before others, one is not saved (John 12:42).  If a man will not be baptized, then he rejects the counsel of God against himself as the Pharisees and lawyers did when they rejected John’s baptism (Luke 7:29-30).  The saved are a group of baptized believers (Acts 2:47; 5:14).  One must be a true believer in order to be baptized, but one is not added to the Lord until one is a baptized believer.

-Mark Day

The New Testament reveals to us the nature of Jesus Christ; the first four books in particular give details of His earthly life spanning a third of a century.  What one finds within these documents is a personality that has brought about the greatest change for good in the history of the world.  Even today, 2,000 years removed from when He lived among us, Jesus’ words and deeds impress people to believe in Him as the Son of God and inspire them to mold their lives after His example.

The adage, “actions speak louder than words,” is a truth that can often be seen in the deeds of Jesus of Nazareth.  Unlike the sanctimonious Pharisees, Jesus was “a friend of publicans and sinners” (Luke 7:34).  He was not a friend who participated with them in sinning, but was a true friend who loved them, formed relationships with them, and told them, “go, and sin no more” (John 8:11).  He spoke with a Samaritan woman at the well, asking her for a drink (John 4:7).  He had no container to hold his own water (John 4:11); He was willing to put his mouth to the bucket the Samaritan woman was carrying.  What first-century Jewish writer would have concocted such a story?  Certainly none.  The character of Jesus shines above the prejudices of His day.  Jesus healed the lepers by touching them (Matthew 8:3).  When the band of officers came with weapons to take Jesus by force, He even healed the ear of Malchus after Peter cut it off (Luke 22:51; John 18:10).  Throughout His short life, “he went about doing good” (Acts 10:38).

One can learn much about a man from what he says about himself, what his friends say, and even what his enemies say.  Jesus asked, “Which of you convinceth me of sin?” (John 8:46).  He called on others to repent, but was not in need of repentance Himself (Matthew 3:14-15; 4:17).  He said He always did the things that please the Father (John 8:29).  Which of us could truly say the same?  His teachings are without equal, as the officers admitted, “Never man spake like this man” (John 7:46).  Jesus’ friends said that He was “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16); the Father corroborated this truth by audibly declaring it from heaven (Matthew 3:17; 17:5).  The religious leaders, Jesus’ enemies, did not hesitate to cast reproaches on Him.  They implied that His birth was from fornication (John 8:41).  They said He was a Samaritan and had a devil (John 8:48).  Each confrontation Jesus had with His enemies did not elicit any evil from Him, but manifested His supreme virtues of love and truth; contrariwise, His enemies embarrassed themselves because they showed how manipulative and hypocritical they were (Matthew 22).

The only logical basis for this unparalleled character named Jesus evinced in the Gospel accounts is that He was God in the flesh who actually lived, doing these great deeds and saying these great statements.  No other conclusion squares with the facts.  Man could not create such a character. He surpasses the perfection of any figment of our imaginations, and yet was clearly rooted in the world dealing with real people in places which actually existed.  “What think ye of Christ?” (Matthew 22:42).  Will you examine the character of the Christ portrayed in the New Testament?  If you will honestly consider Him, you will come away with the same conclusion the centurion did when he said, “Truly this was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54).

–Mark Day