The Visible Church - The Place of Salvation
The Blessings of an "Extended Family" Congregation
The Lord’s Church
Four Expository Sermons on Acts 2:36-47
With Particular Applications for Smaller Congregations
MESSAGE FOUR: The Visible Church as the Place of Salvation
47 … And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Introduction: What Troubles the Redeemed Heart?
The redeemed of the Lord ought to be troubled by some things. We are not to be consumed by worry or fear, but there are things that troubled Jesus that also should trouble us. The Bible tells us that Jesus looked on the crowds with compassion, and earnestly instructed us to pray concerning God’s provision of those who would proclaim His Word.
Matthew 9:35 - 10:1 35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
Especially His heart was moved for the Old Testament city of the worshipping people of God. He was moved to tears for the spiritual plight of those who lived there. The judgment of God would come upon them soon.
Matthew 23:37-39 37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! 38 See, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
Luke 19:41-44 41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, "Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation."
John Calvin writes that as the world faces God’s just anger and eternal punishment against us for our sin, there are two awful plagues among men that must be removed if we are to see the provision of mercy for us in Jesus Christ. The first of these plagues is “a sense of security when faced with his retribution.” The second is “false confidence in ourselves.” Somehow we think that we are safe in sin, and even if we turn out not to be safe, we foolishly believe that we can solve our problems without the Lord’s sovereign mercy.
Through the response to Peter’s preaching in Acts 2 we have seen a door of life opened up to a dark community of rebellion and guilt. We have seen the great plan of God through Christ and His church – a powerful word of hope from the Lord of glory for all who will repent and be baptized.
Fact: People were being “saved” every day.
Our text tells us that the Lord was adding to this group daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:41 speaks of three thousand souls. By the beginning of Acts 4 we read this:
Acts 4:4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand
I don’t know how long it was between the end of Acts 2 and the beginning of Acts 4, but I do not imagine that it was a very long time. The growth was marvelous, and we are told that people were being saved every day.
What does it mean to be saved?
What exactly is this salvation? What were people saved from, and what were they saved for? If we look at how the word “saved” is used in other biblical passages, we find that this was the word that Peter had used after he had preached to them.
Acts 2:40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation."
There was apparently great danger in simply being associated with the larger group called “this crooked generation.” In Peter’s preaching He had quoted from the Old Testament prophet Joel:
Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
In the book of Joel, the people of God were suffering from grave difficulties, and the prophet commanded them to call upon the name of the Lord. That meant that they should gather for what Joel called a “sacred assembly.” This cry to God for mercy as worshipers of the Lord is “calling upon the name of the Lord” by which people are “saved.” Peter has quoted this passage from Joel and instructed the people of His day to repent and be baptized in identification with Jesus who is both Lord and Christ. We are told in Acts 4:12, “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Paul tells us that it is the wrath of God that we need to be saved from, a wrath that stands against us because we are sinners:
Romans 5:6-10 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person- though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die- 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
We have two massive problems that must be solved if we are to have peace with God. First, the guilt of our sin must be taken care of. Secondly, we do not have the righteousness that God requires. Only through Christ are these fundamental needs addressed. By His life and death the foundation of our salvation is established. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:
2 Corinthians 5:20-21 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
But how can we come to be a part of the community of those who have been saved? Paul tells us more about the process of being saved from the wrath of God, for we must respond to the word of God with true faith. The message of the Lordship of Christ and His great work of salvation made known through His resurrection must be believed with the heart and confessed with the lips among the worshiping assembly of God’s people.
Romans 10:9-15 9 … if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." 14 But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"
This saving work of God is not only for this life. We are granted eternal life, and we live in the hope of that life now.
Titus 3:4-7 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Who saves us?
Peter had earlier told the assembled crowd on the day of Pentecost, “Save yourselves….” There is also a sense in which God uses the ministers of His Word to save people (1 Timothy 4:16). Yet it should be clear that in every way from beginning to end it is God who saves us, and not we ourselves. It is also only God who can bring about growth in the community of the redeemed.
1 Corinthians 3:5-7 5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
It should not surprise us then that it is the Lord who added to the number those who are being saved, as our text clearly says.
What does added to “the number” mean?
If you are reading from a KJV or NKJV translation of the Bible, you may notice that those translations say that the Lord “added to the church” daily those who are being saved. The best and earliest copies of this verse that we have in existence today do not contain the word “church” here. Apparently an early scribe added the Greek word for church in place of the original words used. Those original words from Luke, the author of Acts, are very intriguing. He used an idiomatic expression (evpi. to. auvto, epi to auto) which literally means “on the itself.” In order to see how this strange expression should be translated – three words that made sense in that language and culture, but makes no sense immediately to us now, we need to look at other biblical uses of this little phrase.
When we do this we see a consistent pattern of a group gathering together away from a larger crowd. This “epi to auto” is not always a positive thing.
Matthew 22:34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together
Acts 4:26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed
But it was frequently used to describe the church, as in these passages:
Acts 1:15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120)…
Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.
Acts 2:44 And all who believed were “epi to auto” and had all things in common.
Acts 2:47 … And the Lord added to “epi to auto” day by day those who were being saved.
1 Corinthians 11:20 When you come “epi to auto” (speaking of a worship gathering of the church where the Lord’s Supper was celebrated).
1 Corinthians 14:23 If, therefore, the whole church comes “epi to auto” (again, a worship assembly of the church).
The last use I just quoted is quite interesting, since Paul uses both the word church and the phrase “epi to auto.” What then does this expression “on the itself” mean as a description of the church? It is speaking of the gathering together of the church as an assembly separate from the larger mass of humanity – the world that does not yet have this new life in Christ.
I find it helpful to think of it in terms of these two brief phrases: 1) apart from the world, and 2) together with God and His worshiping people.
The scribe who used the word “church” had the right idea, and I suppose he was just trying to state clearly what everyone on the “inside” knew. But I am so glad that the original words have been preserved for us from the earliest manuscripts in existence today.
We all think we know what a “church” is, but “epi to auto” forces us to stop and think. These brothers and sisters were living life together in the presence of God Himself, and their life together was powerful. Their possessions were in some sense not entirely their own. They had allowed their daily schedules to be altered so that worship together would be their priority. They had a new extended family – a new faith, a new hope, a new love. In a word these people were obviously SAVED, and more people were being saved every day, because God was adding many people to the “epi to auto” reality.
POINT: We all need to be saved, and those who are being saved by the Lord are added to the visible church.
There is no such thing as an independent Christian with no connection to the visible church. Christians live “epi to auto.” Christians live together as the church. People who are being saved are added to the number. Does that sound like a strange opinion to your ears? It is an important part of the historic understanding of the church that must be recaptured in our individualistic age of personal, all-by-myself religion.
Listen to these carefully considered words of the church from prior generations:
Westminster Confession of Faith 25-2
The visible Church, which is also catholic or universal under the Gospel (not confined to one nation, as before under the law), consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion; and of their children: and is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house and family of God, out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation.
The Belgic Confession – Article 28: The Obligations of Church Members
We believe that since this holy assembly and congregation is the gathering of those who are saved and there is no salvation apart from it, no one ought to withdraw from it, content to be by himself, regardless of his status or condition.
Don’t get confused here. You are not saved by being a church member. You are saved by grace, through faith, as our forefathers have well known:
Heidelberg Catechism 60. Q. How are you righteous before God?
A. Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. Although my conscience accuses me that I have grievously sinned against all God's commandments, have never kept any of them, and am still inclined to all evil, yet God, without any merit of my own, out of mere grace, imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ. He grants these to me as if I had never had nor committed any sin, and as if I myself had accomplished all the obedience which Christ has rendered for me, if only I accept this gift with a believing heart.
Heidelberg Catechism 61. Q. Why do you say that you are righteous only by faith?
A. Not that I am acceptable to God on account of the worthiness of my faith, for only the satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ is my righteousness before God. I can receive this righteousness and make it mine my own by faith only.
What then is the relationship between salvation and the church? The visible church is the place for saved people, and the person who stands outside of the church, however admirable his life or outspoken his claim of connection to Christ, should not consider himself to be safe. No one has the right to keep his distance from the Lord’s church. No one has the right to consider himself saved while excusing himself from the “epi to auto” life.
It is time for us to be clear in our thinking and our words. The Bible teaches that the world is headed toward hell. A man who is not in the visible church is in the world. Jesus did not leave us in a fog of confusion on these matters. It is His church. The man who stands outside the church is, well…, outside the church.
Have you been saved?
I want to press this point further lest we miss the obvious moment of urgency that God would have for us this morning. I have a friend in our town who has been an exemplary citizen. She has shown great kindness to many people and has organized others to work together for many charitable endeavors for many years. She lives her life according to standards of integrity that are exemplary. She has shown great respect to our church and to me personally as a minister. She has told me on many occasions that she has thought about coming here, and intended to do so, but it has not yet happened. She is a fine person, but is she saved? If she is saved, then it is something extraordinary only known in the secret counsels of God. In terms of what can be known on earth, she is not living “epi to auto.” She is not in the church. Sadly, she can have no reasonable biblical expectation of heaven.
I think of another pillar family in our town. Again, they are very respectful and kind in their attitude toward this church. They came here once some years ago. At the time they were practicing Roman Catholics, but since then, apparently discouraged by the scandals that have been in the news in recent years, they entered the ranks of the non-practicing Roman Catholics, the largest religious group in our region. They are a fine family in so many ways. They worship at home now. I invited them to come visit us again, but they have not yet come. How I wish they were here with us this morning living the “epi to auto” life! But they are not here today. Their eternal situation is not at all good.
Brothers and sisters, this is not just about other people. You need to be “in the number.” If you are not, then you need to be saved. You need to spend some priority time clarifying your commitment to Christ and your life within his church. Do not be satisfied with a life on the fringes of blessing. We need biblical clarity here. There is a lost world and there is the Lord’s church. Give yourself to Christ without reserve. Then show your faith by your life with this extended family and together we will have a door open to the world all around us.
Do you care about others being saved?
When we came to Exeter some years ago, one of our sons made a friend in school. Within months the boy’s father died of cancer. It was a tragic loss. The other day we read in the paper that his mom died in a motorcycle accident. Ecclesiastes 9:12 says, “Man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.”
On the way to church this morning I passed a granite memorial bench that I had not noticed before in front of the Baptist Church. Carved into the stone were these simple words “Margaret Pearson Tate – 1904-2001.” Margaret seemed to have such a strong faith in Jesus Christ. She was very encouraging to me in the first years of this ministry. She was there in Swasey Park when I preached to six souls one morning in the same town where Whitefield once addressed 6000 hearers. She was a great woman who lived a long and fruitful life.
Who can say how long the people all around us will live? One is taken away in an ugly moment of unexpected loss. A second one lives out 96 years. Who can say? We can not be content that so many live as sheep without a shepherd. We must live the “epi to auto” lifestyle – in part for them, for as the people of Jerusalem saw so long ago, it is a way of living that is hard to ignore. Of course God commands it. Of course it is the only reasonable way for saved people to live. But it is also a massive open door to the wandering and lost. It says, “There is another destiny. Come and see. There is a reason for the hope that lies within us. You can know this hope. There is a Way to heaven. He is Jesus the Christ. It is not safe to say no to Him.”
Conclusion: Will the door always be open?
It was so many years ago. The preacher had warned people all around Him. They thought his words were foolishness. He built an enormous ark according to God’s command. There was a time when the door was open. But one day God shut the door. Then the flood came.
Genesis 7:15-24 15 They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. 16 And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the LORD shut him in. 17 The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. 23 He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark. 24 And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.
Friends, today the gospel door is open. But the day is coming for each of us when that door will be forever closed. For many, that day comes when they breathe their last. For some future generation it will come with the return of the Lord of the Church. Do not presume upon His patience. Embrace the Lord.
Therefore kings, be wise, give ear,
Hearken judges of the earth.
Serve the Lord with godly fear.
Mingle trembling with your mirth.
Kiss the Son His wrath to turn,
Lest you perish in the way,
For His anger soon will burn.
Blessed are those that on Him stay.
Psalm 2:10-12
The Lord’s Church
Four Expository Sermons on Acts 2:36-47
With Particular Applications for Smaller Congregations
MESSAGE FOUR: The Visible Church as the Place of Salvation
47 … And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Introduction: What Troubles the Redeemed Heart?
The redeemed of the Lord ought to be troubled by some things. We are not to be consumed by worry or fear, but there are things that troubled Jesus that also should trouble us. The Bible tells us that Jesus looked on the crowds with compassion, and earnestly instructed us to pray concerning God’s provision of those who would proclaim His Word.
Matthew 9:35 - 10:1 35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
Especially His heart was moved for the Old Testament city of the worshipping people of God. He was moved to tears for the spiritual plight of those who lived there. The judgment of God would come upon them soon.
Matthew 23:37-39 37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! 38 See, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
Luke 19:41-44 41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, "Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation."
John Calvin writes that as the world faces God’s just anger and eternal punishment against us for our sin, there are two awful plagues among men that must be removed if we are to see the provision of mercy for us in Jesus Christ. The first of these plagues is “a sense of security when faced with his retribution.” The second is “false confidence in ourselves.” Somehow we think that we are safe in sin, and even if we turn out not to be safe, we foolishly believe that we can solve our problems without the Lord’s sovereign mercy.
Through the response to Peter’s preaching in Acts 2 we have seen a door of life opened up to a dark community of rebellion and guilt. We have seen the great plan of God through Christ and His church – a powerful word of hope from the Lord of glory for all who will repent and be baptized.
Fact: People were being “saved” every day.
Our text tells us that the Lord was adding to this group daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:41 speaks of three thousand souls. By the beginning of Acts 4 we read this:
Acts 4:4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand
I don’t know how long it was between the end of Acts 2 and the beginning of Acts 4, but I do not imagine that it was a very long time. The growth was marvelous, and we are told that people were being saved every day.
What does it mean to be saved?
What exactly is this salvation? What were people saved from, and what were they saved for? If we look at how the word “saved” is used in other biblical passages, we find that this was the word that Peter had used after he had preached to them.
Acts 2:40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation."
There was apparently great danger in simply being associated with the larger group called “this crooked generation.” In Peter’s preaching He had quoted from the Old Testament prophet Joel:
Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
In the book of Joel, the people of God were suffering from grave difficulties, and the prophet commanded them to call upon the name of the Lord. That meant that they should gather for what Joel called a “sacred assembly.” This cry to God for mercy as worshipers of the Lord is “calling upon the name of the Lord” by which people are “saved.” Peter has quoted this passage from Joel and instructed the people of His day to repent and be baptized in identification with Jesus who is both Lord and Christ. We are told in Acts 4:12, “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Paul tells us that it is the wrath of God that we need to be saved from, a wrath that stands against us because we are sinners:
Romans 5:6-10 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person- though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die- 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
We have two massive problems that must be solved if we are to have peace with God. First, the guilt of our sin must be taken care of. Secondly, we do not have the righteousness that God requires. Only through Christ are these fundamental needs addressed. By His life and death the foundation of our salvation is established. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:
2 Corinthians 5:20-21 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
But how can we come to be a part of the community of those who have been saved? Paul tells us more about the process of being saved from the wrath of God, for we must respond to the word of God with true faith. The message of the Lordship of Christ and His great work of salvation made known through His resurrection must be believed with the heart and confessed with the lips among the worshiping assembly of God’s people.
Romans 10:9-15 9 … if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." 14 But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"
This saving work of God is not only for this life. We are granted eternal life, and we live in the hope of that life now.
Titus 3:4-7 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Who saves us?
Peter had earlier told the assembled crowd on the day of Pentecost, “Save yourselves….” There is also a sense in which God uses the ministers of His Word to save people (1 Timothy 4:16). Yet it should be clear that in every way from beginning to end it is God who saves us, and not we ourselves. It is also only God who can bring about growth in the community of the redeemed.
1 Corinthians 3:5-7 5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
It should not surprise us then that it is the Lord who added to the number those who are being saved, as our text clearly says.
What does added to “the number” mean?
If you are reading from a KJV or NKJV translation of the Bible, you may notice that those translations say that the Lord “added to the church” daily those who are being saved. The best and earliest copies of this verse that we have in existence today do not contain the word “church” here. Apparently an early scribe added the Greek word for church in place of the original words used. Those original words from Luke, the author of Acts, are very intriguing. He used an idiomatic expression (evpi. to. auvto, epi to auto) which literally means “on the itself.” In order to see how this strange expression should be translated – three words that made sense in that language and culture, but makes no sense immediately to us now, we need to look at other biblical uses of this little phrase.
When we do this we see a consistent pattern of a group gathering together away from a larger crowd. This “epi to auto” is not always a positive thing.
Matthew 22:34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together
Acts 4:26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed
But it was frequently used to describe the church, as in these passages:
Acts 1:15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120)…
Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.
Acts 2:44 And all who believed were “epi to auto” and had all things in common.
Acts 2:47 … And the Lord added to “epi to auto” day by day those who were being saved.
1 Corinthians 11:20 When you come “epi to auto” (speaking of a worship gathering of the church where the Lord’s Supper was celebrated).
1 Corinthians 14:23 If, therefore, the whole church comes “epi to auto” (again, a worship assembly of the church).
The last use I just quoted is quite interesting, since Paul uses both the word church and the phrase “epi to auto.” What then does this expression “on the itself” mean as a description of the church? It is speaking of the gathering together of the church as an assembly separate from the larger mass of humanity – the world that does not yet have this new life in Christ.
I find it helpful to think of it in terms of these two brief phrases: 1) apart from the world, and 2) together with God and His worshiping people.
The scribe who used the word “church” had the right idea, and I suppose he was just trying to state clearly what everyone on the “inside” knew. But I am so glad that the original words have been preserved for us from the earliest manuscripts in existence today.
We all think we know what a “church” is, but “epi to auto” forces us to stop and think. These brothers and sisters were living life together in the presence of God Himself, and their life together was powerful. Their possessions were in some sense not entirely their own. They had allowed their daily schedules to be altered so that worship together would be their priority. They had a new extended family – a new faith, a new hope, a new love. In a word these people were obviously SAVED, and more people were being saved every day, because God was adding many people to the “epi to auto” reality.
POINT: We all need to be saved, and those who are being saved by the Lord are added to the visible church.
There is no such thing as an independent Christian with no connection to the visible church. Christians live “epi to auto.” Christians live together as the church. People who are being saved are added to the number. Does that sound like a strange opinion to your ears? It is an important part of the historic understanding of the church that must be recaptured in our individualistic age of personal, all-by-myself religion.
Listen to these carefully considered words of the church from prior generations:
Westminster Confession of Faith 25-2
The visible Church, which is also catholic or universal under the Gospel (not confined to one nation, as before under the law), consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion; and of their children: and is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house and family of God, out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation.
The Belgic Confession – Article 28: The Obligations of Church Members
We believe that since this holy assembly and congregation is the gathering of those who are saved and there is no salvation apart from it, no one ought to withdraw from it, content to be by himself, regardless of his status or condition.
Don’t get confused here. You are not saved by being a church member. You are saved by grace, through faith, as our forefathers have well known:
Heidelberg Catechism 60. Q. How are you righteous before God?
A. Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. Although my conscience accuses me that I have grievously sinned against all God's commandments, have never kept any of them, and am still inclined to all evil, yet God, without any merit of my own, out of mere grace, imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ. He grants these to me as if I had never had nor committed any sin, and as if I myself had accomplished all the obedience which Christ has rendered for me, if only I accept this gift with a believing heart.
Heidelberg Catechism 61. Q. Why do you say that you are righteous only by faith?
A. Not that I am acceptable to God on account of the worthiness of my faith, for only the satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ is my righteousness before God. I can receive this righteousness and make it mine my own by faith only.
What then is the relationship between salvation and the church? The visible church is the place for saved people, and the person who stands outside of the church, however admirable his life or outspoken his claim of connection to Christ, should not consider himself to be safe. No one has the right to keep his distance from the Lord’s church. No one has the right to consider himself saved while excusing himself from the “epi to auto” life.
It is time for us to be clear in our thinking and our words. The Bible teaches that the world is headed toward hell. A man who is not in the visible church is in the world. Jesus did not leave us in a fog of confusion on these matters. It is His church. The man who stands outside the church is, well…, outside the church.
Have you been saved?
I want to press this point further lest we miss the obvious moment of urgency that God would have for us this morning. I have a friend in our town who has been an exemplary citizen. She has shown great kindness to many people and has organized others to work together for many charitable endeavors for many years. She lives her life according to standards of integrity that are exemplary. She has shown great respect to our church and to me personally as a minister. She has told me on many occasions that she has thought about coming here, and intended to do so, but it has not yet happened. She is a fine person, but is she saved? If she is saved, then it is something extraordinary only known in the secret counsels of God. In terms of what can be known on earth, she is not living “epi to auto.” She is not in the church. Sadly, she can have no reasonable biblical expectation of heaven.
I think of another pillar family in our town. Again, they are very respectful and kind in their attitude toward this church. They came here once some years ago. At the time they were practicing Roman Catholics, but since then, apparently discouraged by the scandals that have been in the news in recent years, they entered the ranks of the non-practicing Roman Catholics, the largest religious group in our region. They are a fine family in so many ways. They worship at home now. I invited them to come visit us again, but they have not yet come. How I wish they were here with us this morning living the “epi to auto” life! But they are not here today. Their eternal situation is not at all good.
Brothers and sisters, this is not just about other people. You need to be “in the number.” If you are not, then you need to be saved. You need to spend some priority time clarifying your commitment to Christ and your life within his church. Do not be satisfied with a life on the fringes of blessing. We need biblical clarity here. There is a lost world and there is the Lord’s church. Give yourself to Christ without reserve. Then show your faith by your life with this extended family and together we will have a door open to the world all around us.
Do you care about others being saved?
When we came to Exeter some years ago, one of our sons made a friend in school. Within months the boy’s father died of cancer. It was a tragic loss. The other day we read in the paper that his mom died in a motorcycle accident. Ecclesiastes 9:12 says, “Man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.”
On the way to church this morning I passed a granite memorial bench that I had not noticed before in front of the Baptist Church. Carved into the stone were these simple words “Margaret Pearson Tate – 1904-2001.” Margaret seemed to have such a strong faith in Jesus Christ. She was very encouraging to me in the first years of this ministry. She was there in Swasey Park when I preached to six souls one morning in the same town where Whitefield once addressed 6000 hearers. She was a great woman who lived a long and fruitful life.
Who can say how long the people all around us will live? One is taken away in an ugly moment of unexpected loss. A second one lives out 96 years. Who can say? We can not be content that so many live as sheep without a shepherd. We must live the “epi to auto” lifestyle – in part for them, for as the people of Jerusalem saw so long ago, it is a way of living that is hard to ignore. Of course God commands it. Of course it is the only reasonable way for saved people to live. But it is also a massive open door to the wandering and lost. It says, “There is another destiny. Come and see. There is a reason for the hope that lies within us. You can know this hope. There is a Way to heaven. He is Jesus the Christ. It is not safe to say no to Him.”
Conclusion: Will the door always be open?
It was so many years ago. The preacher had warned people all around Him. They thought his words were foolishness. He built an enormous ark according to God’s command. There was a time when the door was open. But one day God shut the door. Then the flood came.
Genesis 7:15-24 15 They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. 16 And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the LORD shut him in. 17 The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. 23 He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark. 24 And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.
Friends, today the gospel door is open. But the day is coming for each of us when that door will be forever closed. For many, that day comes when they breathe their last. For some future generation it will come with the return of the Lord of the Church. Do not presume upon His patience. Embrace the Lord.
Therefore kings, be wise, give ear,
Hearken judges of the earth.
Serve the Lord with godly fear.
Mingle trembling with your mirth.
Kiss the Son His wrath to turn,
Lest you perish in the way,
For His anger soon will burn.
Blessed are those that on Him stay.
Psalm 2:10-12
posted by Pastor Magee at 10:30 AM
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