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Why I Am A Member Of The Church Of Christ
"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to giue an answer to euery man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." (1 Peter 3:15). We should have scriptural reasons for what we are religiously. People ought not just accept blindly what somebody may teach them and tell them to believe. This Is not to cast reflection on preachers and teachers, parents or friends, but to focus attention on the ultimate authority for what we believe and practice. We all believe many things at first because we have confidence in the one who may have taught us. But the time comes when we must believe what we believe because we have a Bible reason for knowing it is the truth. Every faithful gospel preacher will urge his hearers to do as did the noble Bereans of old; that is, search the Scriptures to see what Is so. (Acts 17:11).
Why are you what you are religiously? Some are members of certain churches for no better reason than the fact that their ancestors were members. Some married a mate who was a member and they went along. Others are what they are for business, political and social benefits. There are those who tell you they belong to their church because it was the closest building to where they live. Such reasons fall short of the Scriptural demands.
The Church Is Not A Denomination
We must understand that there is a difference between the church of Christ of which you read in the Bible and a denomination. There is no kinship between them. No denomination has Biblical authority for its existence. They all exist by the authority of men whereas the church is of God. The church is not composed of the sum total of the denominational world because the Bible never presents the church in such fashion. We should be members of the church of which the Bible speaks.
Let usfirst insist that we are members of the church of Christ because we want to be governed by what the Bible does teach. We cannot conceive of belonging to something religiously of which we read not one word in God's revelation. Life, eternity, salvation, hope, forgiveness and all such things are too important to commit to something that is not from the Bible. All who know anything about the Bible readily admit that the church that belongs to Christ is revealed therein, and it is the one to which we ought to belong. Until those who have been taught concerning the church in denominational terms release from their minds this preconceived misinformation, it will be impossible for them to grasp what the Bible teaches ab,,)ut the church.
The Bible does not teach people just to join some church, or join the church of your choice. While this is what denominational clergymen preach, it is not what the Scriptures teach. No person can "join" the church of Christ. Rather, when one obeys the gospel, God adds him to the church. (Acts 2:47). What one does to be saved is the same thing he does for God to add him to the church. The church is the house or family of God, (First Timothy 3:15), and one is born into that family when he is born of water and the Spirit. (John 3:3-5). The new birth enables one to enter the kingdom, and the church is the kingdom.
The Church Is Of Christ
We are members of the church of Christ because it is of Christ. It is His. He built it. (Matthew 16:16-18). The fact that He is the Son of God is the foundation upon which the church is built. Christ promised to build His church, and He promised to build only one. "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 3-11). Christ is the head of the church. (Colossians 1:18). It is His by virtue of the fact that He purchased it with His own blood. (Acts 20:28). He is the tried and tes,ed foundation of which Isaiah wrote, "Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation." (Isaiah 28:16). Christ identified Himself as that stone.
People sometimes will ask, "Are you a Christian?" When you respond, "Yes," they likely will ask, "To what church do you belong?" There is no such thing as being a Christian without belonging to His church, not some denomination. Biblically speaking, the tiuestion reveals great misinformation as to be nature of the church. One had just as soon ask, "Which Christ do you follow?" as to ask, "To which church do you belong?" There is but one church just as there is but one Christ. You will never find anything about the hyphenated church member ; that is, a Methodist-Christian, a Baptist-Christian, or a Presbyterian- Christian. You just find that the disciples were called "Christians." (Acts 11:26). All the denominational appendages came from men.
In Jerusalem - On Pentecost
The Lord's church was established at the place and time that the prophets said. It was in the city of Jerusalem, on the first Pentecost day after the resurrection of Christ. (Acts 2). Isaiah, Micah, Daniel, Zechariah, all the prophets had foretold of those things. (Acts 3:24). If a church had Its beginning other than in Jerusalem, and on a day other than Pentecost around A.D. 30 or 33 (depending on the calendar count), then it is not the church that Christ built. Why should anyone want to be a member of a church that Christ did not build when he can belong to the one that He did build?
The Creed Of The Church
We are members of the church of Christ because of its creed. The word creed simply refers to what is believed. Nearly every denomination has a human creed that has been compiled for that denomination and makes that denomination distinctive from all the others. The church of Christ also has a creed that makes it distinctive. That creed is simply the Bible, no more and no less. Nothing has authority behind it that is not of the Bible. One could take a copy of the Bible and have stamped in gold on the cover, "The Creed of the Church of Christ." The Bible is the discipline, the manual, the catechism, the rule book. It is the inspired Word of God, all-sufficient and authoritative; there being no need or allowance for anything more or less. (2 Timothy 3:16,17). This is what members of the church of Christ who are faithful to God believe. There is no other authority that one must accept but God's Word. The will of Jesus Christ is what the Bible is. If people would set aside their human creeds and unite on the Bible as the authority, this would be a major step toward unity for which Jesus prayed. It would remove from the religious scene everything not taught in the Bible, and this would remove from existence any and all churches except His.
The Support Of The Truth
We are members of the church of Christ because it is the pillar and ground (the support, defender, proclaimer) of the truth. (1 Timothy 3:15). Therefore, it teaches what the Bible teaches as to how to be saved, what God has done, and what man must do. It teaches the grace, love, and mercy of God in sending His Son; how people must hear the Word, believe it, repent, confess, and be baptized into Christ for the remission of sins. Churches generally will not teach this, Rather they teach what their manual, discipline, Or Creed book instructs. They teach one must "pray through," salvation by faith only, direct operation of the Holy Spirit, just be honest and sincere, and on and on with many ways of salvation of which nothing is stated in Scripture.
Government
The church of Christ is organized and governmentally structured the way the Bible reveals with Christ as the head, the universal church organized into local congregations, and there being no ecclesiastical heirarchy or organization larger than the local church. The local church is overseen by men of certain Qualifications called elders, or bishops, or pastors, who are shepherds of the flock. There are deacons who serve. The Test of the church is composed of the rest of the members, including preachers and teachers. Each congregation is self-governing or autonomous, being tied together by a common salvation and conviction.
The Work Of The Church
We are members of the church of Christ because it does the work the church is supposed to do; namely, preach the gospel to save souls, edify the saved that they may grow and not fall away, and render benevolent assistance to those in need as opportunity presents itself.
The church of Christ worships as Scripture authorizes with singing, praying, giving, the Lord's Supper, and proclamation of the Word. This is that of which we read in the New Testament. When churches begin to "branch out" into the fields of secular education, recreation, entertainment, and such things, going beyond what is written and leaving the need for authority for what is done, that church has turned away from the pattern the Lord established and has embarked on the paths of digression and apostasy.
Names
We are members of the church of Christ because we subscribe to the Biblical identifications for the church and its members. The church is called the church of God, the church of Christ, and more often than not. simply the church. After all, it belongs to God and Christ, and there is only one. No names that honor men, or doctrines. or governmental systems, or any such thing have any Biblical support. The disciples are called saints, disciples, Christians, members of the body of Christ. Why should anybody want to wear names that God has not authorized? Why would one want to promote and encourage religious division by wearing names that divide and separate? Why does one dismiss the importance of the worthy name by which we are called when everyone knows names are very important. God thinks names are important and gave names as He saw fit. He gave the name "Christian" to the followers of Christ. (Isaiah 62:1,2). The name He gave is the name the apostles approved. It is the name "Christian." Members of the church of Christ wear that name that honors the Savior.
Christ Saves The Church
We are members of the church of Christ because that church is what Christ promised to save, (Ephesians 5:23), and which He shall deliver to the Father when He comes again. (First Corinthians 15:24). He offers to save everyone, but only those in His body, the church, will be saved. Why should anyone want
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