And in this second book, or second chapter of the book of Acts, we'll begin reading in verse 42, and go down to verse 47. Acts chapter two, beginning at verse 42. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. Fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed worked together and had all things common, and sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God and having favor with the people and the Lord added to the church daily Such as should be saved These this is a text that I've preached from before And and You know on Wednesday nights. I am going through the book of Acts. So we were here a number of weeks ago and However, I want us to kind of take a look this evening, or this morning, I should say, from the last few words here in verse 47. And the Lord added to the church daily, such as should be saved. These last few words are words that are of great debate. Some folks would even say that they're hard to be understood. Did the Lord add to the church those who were saved or such as should be saved? If it is such as should be saved, then perhaps the Catholics and the Protestants have it right and the Baptists are wrong. But if, however, they were saved first, then the Baptists are right and the Catholics and the Protestants are wrong. You understand that when we read a text like this, our understanding of it can mean a world of difference. I want us to consider some things this morning regarding church membership, and in particular, since we are Baptists, that's why you're here this morning, that's why you are members, most of us who are here, members of the Baptist Church, the Sovereign Grace Baptist Church, we want to consider particularly Baptist church membership. This is the beginning of a series that I plan on preaching on what it means to be a member of the Lord's Church. I believe this is an important subject, an important series to consider. What the Lord expects from us, what the Lord has for us in his word, what all of this means, and indeed, what separates us from other societies and other denominations. I'll probably not preach this every week. However, it is something that I do want to begin this year and indeed finish this year. Today's Subject is important. It may be something that you've considered, it may be something you've never considered, but it is a topic that comes up every now and again when you talk to other people, and that is the subject of a Regenerate Church membership. Regenerate Church membership. There are people who may have asked you, or perhaps they will ask you, Why can't I or how can I join the church where you're at? And so you need to be ready to give an answer about these things. It is a particular Baptist doctrine and practice to keep a person out of the church until he's saved. and of course until he's baptized. This is particular to the Baptists. The Catholics and the Protestants in large part will allow just about anybody to join. Even infants and other unsaved individuals will be allowed into their congregations and into their groups and into their churches. And this has always been something that has separated us from others. And so when we get to a text like this, we read it. And if you're like me, you also like to consult commentaries and you like to read what other people have written about it. It is important to understand the background of the men who have written those commentaries. It's important to understand the background of the preachers who have written about these things, because where they're coming from is important. And indeed, to understand the meaning behind 2 Timothy 2, In verse 15, where Paul wrote to Timothy and he said, "...study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase unto more ungodliness." It is important Very important that we study the Word of God. It's very important that as we study, we rightly divide the Word of Truth. That means understanding the context and also comparing Scripture with Scripture. Oh beloved, whether you are ever up here in the pulpit handling the Word of God or not, the fact is that the Scripture is the best commentary of the Scripture. And all commentaries, creeds, confessions, writings of men, and traditions must always submit to the authority of the Word of God. And when we get into this and we study things like this, and we look at all the various writings of men, and we compare them, and look at them, we understand that it all comes down to this, and that is the authority of God's Word. And when we look at a town or a city, And we look at a bookshelf even, and we find all these differences. We understand that though the men who wrote those things down in the books, the preachers who stand behind the various pulpits even this day, though we understand that they may be saved, all of them, we understand that they have that we have and they have differences in their opinions and in their interpretations of passages like our text. And though we all come to different conclusions, we all can't be right. We can all be wrong, but we can't all be right. And so we must understand that there The only way that we can come to a right conclusion is by looking into the Word of God. I believe, and all that being said, I believe that as we look into God's Word, and I believe you believe the same thing or else you wouldn't be here, but I know there are some who are on the internet who have come to other conclusions. And so I hope that you'll stick with me in this series and in this sermon. But I believe, by comparing Scripture with Scripture, that the context, as we go through this, you'll see the context of this in our text, in the book of Acts, chapter 2, in verse 47. the latter part there, and the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved, that in the context of it, it could be read or understood, and the Lord added daily those who were being saved, or perhaps, and the Lord added to the church daily those who were saved. This is not just a Baptist versus others kind of an issue. The reason I think it's important for me to stand up here and to preach this here, and I'm not just saying pat yourselves on the back because we're Baptists and we've got this right, but sometimes it's good for us to remind ourselves of this because sometimes we forget about this sort of thing. We look around and we see the size of our churches. And I know because I look around and I see them too. I see that there's not many young people and I see that we're small and all of that. And so we're hopeful that others will come in. And it's good to remind ourselves of these truths. God does not measure success or faithfulness by size, by numbers, and all of that sort of thing. Notice here of the text, the Lord added to the church. The Lord added. We've got responsibilities, yes, and we do, and we'll get to some of that in this series. But the Lord added, we need to be faithful. That's where success is at. The Lord added daily. Some churches will be small, some churches will be large, but that's God's business. We're to be faithful. Let us not get into our head That if we can just get people into the door and get them added to the role, that it might do them some good regardless of where they're at spiritually. Folks, they've got to be saved. They've got to be saved before they can ever be baptized. And they've got to be saved and they've got to be baptized before they can ever be a member of the church. These aren't my rules. These are the Lord's. But I know some Baptists that have let these things slip. And so they've got some unregenerate, some unsaved people on their church rolls because they're more interested in numbers than they are about the truth. And we can't let that happen. We can't compromise on this. Evangelism these days, in large part, has become more about telling people about church rather than telling people about the Lord. We need to tell people about Jesus. The people out there that are lost, they need to know about the Lord more so than they need to know about what time church is. Let's not forget that. Yeah, they need to know, and there'll be time for that, of what time church is, but they need to know about Jesus Christ and him crucified, buried, and risen again. That's what they need more than anything. Because most people that we ever invite to church, they're never gonna show up here. But we've got opportunity, precious little time. to tell people about Christ, and we ought to tell them when we can. The Lord will add to the church those who are saved. What makes me so confident that these folks were saved before they were added to the church? Well, first of all, We observe in Acts chapter 2 that conversion was required to join New Testament churches. If you back up in our text, in verse 41, it says, then they that gladly received his word were baptized, and the same day there were added unto them about 3,000 souls. So we see here in Acts 2 and 41, the order that is given, they that received the word gladly were baptized and they were added to the church. This is the pattern that had been there from the beginning. In fact, if you go back to Matthew chapter three, in Matthew chapter three, we remember from John's baptism, In Matthew chapter 3, John had been baptizing, verse 6, and were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, old generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance. You see, John refused certain individuals because they had not yet been saved. These Pharisees came and they wanted to be baptized and he said, wait a minute, you don't show fruits that you've ever even been saved. This was the example of John. This, of course, was carried over into the New Testament church because That's what John was doing. He was gathering the material for the Lord's Church. Jesus started it during his earthly ministry. Those who were the charter members of the Lord's Church, they'd all received John's baptism. Jesus himself had been baptized of John. And then over in Acts chapter 8, we see Philip and the eunuch in Acts chapter 8. verses 35 through 38. Then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water, and Eunuch said, See, here is water. What doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, now mayest He answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still. And they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. The eunuch said, here's water, what hinders me to be baptized? And Philip said, if you believe, you can be baptized. and he made the confession, and then he was baptized. This is quite different than the way that the Catholics and the Protestants do it when they put the cart before the horse, so to speak, and they go and baptize infants. You see, We pick on the Campbellites often because of what they believe on baptismal regeneration, but all of the Protestants, to some degree or another, practice some form of baptismal regeneration, to some degree or another, and have and have some unregenerate church membership. But the Baptists don't. And the reason for it is the pattern of Scriptures. So we have the example. It's always the blood before the water. You've got to be washed by the blood of the Lamb. You've got to be saved before you ever come to the Baptistry. join the church. That's the pattern. But secondly, second example of why I believe our interpretation of Acts 2 47 is correct and why we must have a regenerate saved church membership is because of the way members of New Testament churches are addressed throughout Scripture. Many of the books of the New Testament are letters written to New Testament churches. And so how are they addressed? Let's look at some of these. Romans 1. In verse seven, to all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints, grace be to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. You see, as he wrote to the church at Rome, he tells them, that they're saints, that their faith is spoken of throughout the whole world in 1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 2, unto the church of God, which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus called to be saints. with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours." Again, they're called saints at Corinth, sanctified in Christ Jesus. The church at Ephesus in Ephesians chapter one, Ephesians chapter one and verse one, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, to the saints, which are at Ephesus, to the faithful in Christ Jesus. The saints, the faithful in Christ Jesus. This was a regenerated church. A church made up of saved individuals. The church at Philippi in Philippians chapter one, Philippians chapter 1 and verse 1, Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus, which are at Philippi with the bishops and deacons. The saints, Christ Jesus, which are at Philippi. The church at Colossae in Colossians 1 and verse 2, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ, which are at Colossae. The Church at Thessalonica, 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 and verse 1. Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. These are all terms that indicate a group, an assembly of people in a specific place of saved individuals. Nowhere in any of these epistles does he mention any kind of seekers or unsaved individuals who were part of those assemblies. It was assumed that they were groups of saved individuals. But we have a third evidence from the Scriptures that there should be a regenerated church membership. And that is, the purposes for which a church exists assumes a regenerate church membership. Now oftentimes when we think of the reasons for churches existing, oftentimes we go straight to the Great Commission. But you understand that there are many reasons throughout the Scriptures as to why we exist. This morning, I'd like for us to consider these reasons. And by all means, this will not be exhaustive, but it will be an encouragement to us as we think about these things, and also help us in our defense of this great doctrine of a regenerated church. In 1 Thessalonians 5, In verse 11, he says here, wherefore, comfort yourselves together and edify one another, even as also ye do. So one of the purposes that the church exists, any church exists, one of the purposes that this church exists is to edify one another. That's why the Church of Thessalonica existed, and that's why Sovereign Grace Baptist Church exists, is to edify one another. In Hebrews chapter 10, Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 24, by no means will I spend a lot of time on each one of these. Certainly they could be developed into a full sermon. but for time's sake, we won't. He says in Hebrews 10 in verse 24, and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. A lot of times when we talk about provoking somebody, we think of it in the negative, but here Paul, and I do believe Paul wrote this, in fact, some say that maybe Hebrews might have been a sermon that was preached. And certainly if you read Hebrews from start to finish, it takes about 45 minutes. It could have been a sermon. But nonetheless, Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 24, he says here that we're to provoke one another to love and good works. Isn't that a great reason why a church exists? And we do that, to provoke one another to love and to good works. In Romans chapter 15. And as we go through these, we understand these to be characteristics of saints, characteristics of God's people, not characteristics of the unsaved. Romans chapter 15 and verse 14, Paul writing here, he says, and I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. And so we're to admonish one another. We exist as a church to admonish one another. Over in Galatians chapter six and verse two. Galatians chapter six and verse two. I love this one. Well, I love them all, but I really love this one. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Bear ye one another's burdens. I've told it before, but I'll tell it again. If you've got a problem, take it to the Lord, but take it also to the Lord's people. And who should you take, which group of the Lord's people should you take it to first? Well, you should take it to the church of which you're a member of. That should be your closest. friends and allies to bear one another's burdens. Ephesians chapter four, Ephesians chapter four, Verse two, he says, with all loneliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love. Forbearing one another in love. Verse 32, he says, be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another. Even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. Isn't that beautiful? He wouldn't have been alright that if the church was full of saved and unsaved. So let me tell you something. We know the Lord has forgiven the elect, but those who are lost, we don't know whether they're elect or reprobate. We have no way to tell for sure, but one thing we know Once a person's saved, we know that they're elect, and we know that they've been forgiven by God for Christ's sake. And he wrote this to the church at Ephesus, and he said, be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. There's other things we could say, but these are characteristic, these are things that are characteristics of a saved individual. Characteristics of a group, an assembly of those who've been born again. If it was an assembly of unregenerate people, Imagine. Imagine what it would be like. Well, we don't have to imagine, do we? Just look out in the world. Consider. Consider the streets of Atlanta the last couple of nights. Or look at some of the other assemblies that are out there. and how they've drifted from the Word of God. Why do you reckon that is? Why do you reckon that they've gone so far away from God's Word? I'll tell you why. Because in a lot of cases, the church buildings, the membership roles, have more unregenerate people in them than they do safe people. And the minority are the ones who want to stick to God's Word, but they can't control the majority. And that's why they got women pastors. That's why they're ordaining same-sex people, having same-sex marriages, sodomite marriages, flying the rainbow flag, and all that sort of thing. They can't control it. They can't control it. They've drifted far, far away from the Scriptures. Now there are some who will look at the Baptists and they'll say, well, there's no way to control it. After all, wasn't Judas Iscariot an unregenerate man? And aren't there times when there have been unregenerate, lost men in Baptist churches? And the answer to that is yes, there have been. And yes indeed, Judas was a lost man, a reprobate even. The difference is, The difference is between Baptists and those other societies, the Catholics and the Protestants, is that they intentionally allow it to happen. Sometimes people do slip in unintentional. A man comes in, he says the right words. A woman comes in, she says the right words. Maybe even walks the right walk, talks the right talk. Baptized, joins the church. Best case scenario, no trouble is caused, and later she discovers that she's lost, and comes forward and wishes to be saved. That's the best case scenario. Worst case scenario is that they cause trouble within the church. Those sorts of things can't be helped. It's unintentional. But there is a remedy, and that's what church discipline is for. As we go on with the series, we'll consider some of that. Church discipline is not only exclusion. Church discipline is the teaching and preaching of God's word and all that sort of thing. But the fact is that on the main, on the main, The Lord's churches are regenerated. They're full of people who have been saved by the grace of God. And this is the way it's supposed to be. This is the way it was from the beginning. And if anybody does come in, it's a minority, and it's unintentional. God loves His churches, and we can Lord willing, next week we'll be observing the Lord's Supper. We'll have one loaf, one pitcher, and we'll observe it together as a church, picturing how that the Lord died for his church. Not universal. but we're talking about how the Lord died for Sovereign Grace Baptist Church. Did he die for other churches? Absolutely. But we know he died for this church. Why? Because it's made up of individuals who have been born again. What a blessed thought that is, to know that we have brothers and sisters who are in this church, members, in particular. When we go out and we witness to others, pray that the Lord will add more to this church as well. May God add a blessing to his word. Brother Barry, would you please pray for us?