Is Membership In The Church Essential To Salvation?

“Is membership in the church essential to salvation”

1. In Matthew 16:13-19, Jesus promised to build His church.

-Verse 18, “ I will build my church.”

2. In Mark 9:1, Jesus said His church would come with power, and that some of

them would be alive when His “kingdom” or “church” came!

3. In Luke 24:45-49, right before His ascension into heaven, Jesus told His

disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received that power from on high.

4. In Acts 1:8, the Bible says the power would come when the Holy Spirit

of God came.

5. In Acts 2:1-4, the Holy Spirit of God came with power! Notice with me:

a. The apostles spoke in tongues they had never known

b. Those who heard were astonished, even accusing them

of being “full of new wine” in verse 13

c. Then Peter stood up and quoted the prophet Joel in verse 17

(if those people would have studied and known Joel’s

words, they would have known what was happening)

6. After Peter handled the confusion, he preached the death, burial,

and resurrection of Jesus Christ!

a. In verse 29 Peter started to quote King David, how that David had foretold of the resurrection of Jesus, Read with me:

-Verse 29-36

7. Then in verse 37 something happened! Until then these people did not believe.

They thought Jesus was a fake, a fraud, a deceiver!

8. In the course of this sermon, Peter supplied the evidence in order to convince

them that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah of prophecy! Notice:

a. In verse 36, they got it! They understood!

b. In verse 37, they were ready to change and asked what to do!

c. Peter answered them in verse 38, with the same response the church must teach in this day and age.

d. And in verse 47, God added them to the church that Jesus said he would build.

9. You see, the church of Christ, the church that Jesus said He would build, is

a result of the gospel preached and obeyed!

Now, if you approached most people in Montgomery, most people who believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and asked them if being a member of the church was essential to salvation, most of them would say “NO”.

Most of the good people who believe in Jesus - believe that one must accept Christ, but not the church. Just take Christ, leave the church!

10. However if you presented that question in any other way you would probably

receive a “YES!”

If you asked: “Must one obey the gospel to be saved?”

Almost everyone would say yes!

11. Romans 1:16

12. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 – This is the gospel, God’s remedy for our sin problem!

13. Matthew 7:21

a. That verse answers the question “who is going to heaven?”

b. Everyone who does the will of Christ.

c. So when we obey the gospel of Christ, we obey the will of Christ,

and we can live and die in the hope of heaven!

14. 1 Peter 4:17 – In regard to a suffering, not the final judgment.

But consider the great question!

What will be the end of those who don’t obey the gospel?

15. Paul answers this one in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9

a. He’s not coming to make exceptions, or to give second chances,

Jesus will return to take vengeance on all who…

16. Someone is going to suffer the vengeance of God.

17. So then what exactly happens when one obeys the gospel?

a. What happened when those obeyed the gospel on the day of Pentecost?

b. God added them to the church, Verse 47.

c. You see, one cannot obey the gospel of Christ without being added to

the church of Christ.

18. So when you ask must one obey the gospel to be saved, you have really

asked, must one be a member of the church to be saved! It’s the same thing,

if you’ve done one then you’ve done the other!

19. Because God takes the saved and adds them to the church! It’s not up to

us, it is God’s job to add to His church!

How about this one: “Must a person contact the blood of Christ to be saved?”

a. Anyone who believes the Bible would answer yes to contacting the blood!

b. You must contact the blood of Christ to live and die in the hope of heaven!

20. Matthew 26:28 – Jesus said…

21. Ephesians 1:7

22. Hebrews 9:12

23. 1 Peter 1:18-19

24. Revelation 1:5

All the power of God to remit our sins is found in the blood of Christ!

25. Remember John 19:34? “forthwith came blood and water”

a. It was in His death that His blood was shed

b. A person must get to the death of Christ to find the blood of Christ