Churches of Christ:
Who Are They?
Written by Mack Lyon
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“Churches of Christ, Who Are We?”
Acts 2:42-47
In Search of the Lord’s Way is presented here every week at this time by churches of Christ in
the area of this station. Who are these people? Are they some kind of a “cult-like-sect”? Well, you may have heard that. What do they believe? That is our study today. Stay with us.
Welcome, my friend, to our Bible study program In Search of the Lord’s Way to become and to
be a Christian. If you were watching “CNN Headline News” on the evening of March the 27th, you may have witnessed a defamation of these churches of Christ that support this program. (Surely it was not an evil intent of the hostess of that segment of the program to smear churches of Christ. I have no way of knowing. God knows.) Whatever were her motives; if what she said was an attempt to learn who
we are and what we believe, why would she invite a Baptist preacher to define us? I wondered, as
perhaps you did, if she thought a Baptist preacher would know more about who we are and what we
believe than one of us would know.
Anyway, the sad result was the Baptist preacher defined churches of Christ as a “cult-like sect,”
or “a borderline cult” begun about 150 years ago by Alexander Campbell. So???? The church of our
Lord has been mistakenly and derogatorily dubbed a sect for almost 2000 years now. And if you doubt
what I am saying, get your Bible and read it in Acts chapter 28, verse 22. Some of the leaders of the
Jews said to the imprisoned apostle Paul “…We desire to hear from you what you think; for concerning
this sect, we know that it is spoken against everywhere.” So, that is nothing new. But, to be described
as a cult or a “borderline cult” is not only new, it is also absolutely false, my friend.
Because of this program and because it is the most widely received messenger churches of
Christ have in America at this time, many of you viewers, and others who don’t have the privilege of
seeing the program, have written me requesting that I speak to the matter of who we really are– and
what we really do believe. Though I have been delayed awhile with an attack of laryngitis, I am glad to
comply with those requests and suggestions. We plan, the Lord willing, to devote four messages to
that this month. Tell your friends and invite them to tune us in, too.
Our Bible reading today is in the book of Acts, chapter two. And this is one of the memorable
occasions in all of the Bible. This is when the Lord promised that the Holy Spirit would come upon the
apostles and He did come. The apostle Peter preached the first gospel sermon and the people who
heard believed and were baptized and we are going to begin reading in verse 42 of this second chapter
and see what happened. “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in
the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs
were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,
and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing
daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with
gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added
to the church daily those who were being saved.” We read through verse 47 and that is the first time
that we read about the church in existence in the Bible. That is a great message. Let us pray. Holy
Father, we are so thankful that Christianity is in itself a matter of relationships– our relationship with
Jesus, our reconciliation and our relationship with You, and our relationship with all the redeemed in
all the world in the church. And that is what the church is all about and we thank You for this
relationship we have with the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit and the saved. In the name of Jesus we
thank You. Amen.
My friend, I must begin by telling you that neither I nor any other one person or one
congregation or group of persons or a group of congregations or a university or a publication can speak
“officially” for all churches of Christ. We are a group of something near 9,000 independent
congregations in the United States consisting of about 1,400,000 to 1,500,000 adherents in the United
States and its territories. And world-wide, who can say? Well, there may be some that we know
nothing about. Several years ago, it was reported by some Americans traveling in India that they came
upon some people who taught, believed and worshiped just as we do in churches of Christ here in the
United States. Until then, none of us knew anything about them. But certainly the Lord did. Well, we
think we know of some 27,000 churches of Christ around the world. That would include those within
the United States of course. Those congregations we know about consist of more than two million
adherents– including those within the United States. And just as they were in the days of the New
Testament, these churches are completely autonomous. They are truly self-determining. I mean, they
are not bound together by acceptance of a common human creed or catechism, or confession of faith–
or by any kind of ecclesiastical hierarchy such as a convention or conference. Yet they share a common
faith. They worship alike; they preach the same gospel. Oh yes, there are some divisions among us, as
there were in some of the New Testament congregations. For that, we stand rebuked by the New
Testament teachings, just as those churches in the New Testament were. Well, we should be striving
much harder than we are for greater unity among ourselves. There is no doubt about that. Read
Ephesians 4:1 to 6. In spite of those divisions though, we are generally bound together as “churches of
Christ,” by three important factors: First, is a common love for God and His Son Jesus Christ. God is
the Father of us all and Jesus Christ who redeemed all of us is our only and everyone’s Savior– He is
also our elder brother. He is “elder brother” to all of us who are redeemed by His blood. Number two,
we are drawn together by our love for one another, and three, we have a strong commitment to being
Biblical in our faith and work and worship and teaching.
In view of the disbelief and disrespect for anything called “church,” that is so common
nowadays in our American society, I think it is necessary that I define the word “church” in the
beginning of our study. One of the definitions my dictionary has for “church” is “a building for public
and especially Christian worship.” It gives as a synonym for “church” the word “denomination.” Well,
we all know our dictionaries of English or American words define words according to their common
usage. And, the word translated “church” in most of the English versions of the Bible doesn’t mean
either a building or a denomination. “Denomination” means to name and to divide. That is to
denominate anything. For example, we name and divide our coins into “nickels,” and “dimes” and
“quarters.” The church of Christ in the Bible is not divided into denominations and named accordingly.
It doesn’t consist of denominations. Neither is it one of many denominations.
What do you think, my friend, that Jesus meant when he said in Matthew 16:18: “I will build
my church?” Was He saying, “I will build My denomination?” Do you think when the Bible says in Acts
chapter 20, verse 28, “…the church of God which He purchased with His own blood,” is it saying, “the
denomination which He purchased with His own blood?” N-o-o-o, no, friend, you don’t get that idea
from the Scripture. Even so, the church belonging to Christ is not a denomination or a blending of
man-made denominational churches, each fashioned to conform to some one person’s charm– or
opinion. Well, do you think it is possible for a church right here in town, who is dedicated to being
Christ’s church, just as it is described in the New Testament, can possibly do that? I don’t see why they
can’t. Would that make them a cult? Noooo. Or a sect? Noooo. Well, if these more than two million
people around the world are striving to be what they read in their Bibles, can they do it; I say, “Let’s you and me do it, too!” Whatta ya say? I can get excited about that! I want to be a part of that! And,
if that isn’t what the Bible is all about, I don’t know what good it is to anybody. That is who and what
we are trying hard to be, my friend.
Now, what do churches of Christ believe? Well, one way we can know a person– or a group of
persons, is by knowing what he– or they– believe. It is as I explained earlier, I can’t speak for all the
churches of Christ, but I get around among us all pretty well and the churches with whom I have been
associated–and am presently associated– believe the following things:
First: We believe in One God (I Corinthians 8 and 5), the God of the Bible, manifested in three
ways: God, the Father (Matthew 6 and 9); God the Son (John 1:1 to 14) and God the Holy Spirit, and
these three are one (I John 5:7). God knew the need and He planned the scheme for human
redemption. Christ procured it. And the Holy Spirit revealed it.
Next, we believe that the Bible is the inspired (meaning, the God-breathed) Word of God (2
Timothy 3:16-17). That it is absolutely authoritative, and that it completely supplies the child of God
with everything he needs for the direction of his life with God in this world, and to direct him in his
work for the Lord, in his worship also, and in his relationships as well– well, as the Scripture says, it
furnishes him to every good work. We believe that any human creed, if it contains more than the
Bible, contains too much. If it contains less than the Bible, it contains too little, and if it contains the
same as the Bible, it is superfluous, useless and it is dispensable. Not only that, but human creeds are
divisive, by whatever form they take, or by whatever name they are called or who wrote them, or
whatever good intent that was behind their writing. I don’t believe the Bible, and just the Bible, makes
a congregation a cult, do you? One of the earmarks of a cult is that it is founded by some charismatic
character, who is supposed to have had some special communication from God. He has written that
communication in a book which he (or she) claims to be inspired of God, and as authoritative, or even
more so than the Bible. Although occasionally one of us comes along and occasionally, and well and
acts like he thinks, or she thinks, that they are the one. Churches of Christ have no such person, my
friend.
Number 3: We believe that some behavior is sinful. That isn’t being judgmental; that is just
one of the facts of life. And, because God says it in His Bible (Romans 5:12), we believe that all people
who have grown to the state of mental accountability have sinned against God. We don’t believe that
we were born totally depraved, unable to think a good thought or do a good deed, and guilty of
Adam’s transgression. We are not held accountable for the sins of our foreparents. Read Ezekiel 18.
We went that way soon after we were born (Psalm 58 and 3). Our iniquities have separated us from
God and hidden His face from us (Isaiah 59 and 2). And, seeing that a person is unable to save himself
by any scheme or plan or work of his own, or any other human, he must appeal to the grace of our
God, our offended God for forgiveness of our sins (Ephesians 2:8 to10). We believe God was s-o-o-o
gracious that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, that through faith in Him, any sinner can be
forgiven and reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). Jesus once said, “I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
Number 4: We believe, because the Bible teaches it, that God requires of the sinner that he
believe in His Son in order to be forgiven (John 3:16) It isn’t a request or a helpful suggestion; it is an
absolutely necessity, a requirement, a command, if you please. So, while He has opened the door wide
enough to include, “whosoever will,” (Revelation 22:17), He does exclude many, many, many more
people who will not believe in Christ as His Son. Is that being cult-like?
Number 5: We also believe, because the Bible quotes Jesus as saying “to those Jews who believed Him” (mind you now, they were believers in Jesus), “if (if, if, if he says) you abide in My word,
you are My disciples indeed” (John 8:32). He once asked His apostles: “Why do you call Me Lord, and
do not do the things which I say” (Luke 6:46) — a good question for us today. Therefore, we believe the
faith that saves is not the “dead faith” that James describes in James 2:26, but a faith that does what
the Lord says. Surely, surely no one seriously thinks that a person, who just will not do what the Lord
says, is going to be saved. If so, he needs to read Matthew 16:24 again.
Jesus preached “repentance” more than any other Bible preacher or writer. To some He said,
“Unless you repent you will all…perish” (Luke 13:3 and 5). And after His resurrection, He charged His
apostles saying, “Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations.”
That is Luke 24, verses 46 and 47. And He commissioned them to begin that work in Jerusalem, which
they did. And when they did– the very first time one of them preached it– it was Peter and he said,
“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). We in churches of Christ tell people that same thing who want to be saved
today. Let us pray. Father, we thank You for your church, the revelation of your will in the Bible. Help
us to follow it diligently. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
When those people heard the apostle Peter preach on that day of Pentecost and he told them
to repent and be baptized everyone of them in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their
sins, those who gladly received the word were baptized. And that day about 3,000 souls were added
to them (Acts chapter 2 verse 41). And verse 47 says “they were praising God and having favor with all
the people and the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” Then just as we said
in the beginning the church is the people– the saved people, they are called people. They are called of
God himself out of the world to form the body of the redeemed. The Lord saved them so the Lord
knew who to add to the church. Therefore, the church and the saved are the same people. Hey, that
clears up this question we create when we say, “I am saved but I don’t want anything to do with the
church,” doesn’t it? It isn’t that they had a membership roster kept by one of the apostles or someone
chosen by them. But the Lord added their names to the book of life that we read about in the book of
Revelation, chapter 3, verse 5. Did that make them a “cult?” Oh, if so must be those people formed
the first cult. I don’t believe it, my friend, not for a moment and you don’t either, do you?
The word “church” appears 114 times in the King James New Testament; 77 times in the
singular number and 37 times in the plural. Even when it is plural it doesn’t mean “denominations.” In
the plural form it references congregations of the same faith in a general locality such as in Galatians
chapter 1, verse 2: “the churches of Galatia.” And in Acts 9:31 there is the reference to the “churches
throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria.” However, there are times it is used to denote the
membership of a church– “the churches of the Gentiles” (Romans 16:4). In that same chapter
(Romans 16:16), the Scripture says, “The churches of Christ greet you,” indicating the congregations
were the possessions of Christ. He “purchased the church with His own blood,” one soul at a time, and
as each one was saved; He added them to the church. Therefore, the church is His blood-purchased
possession. Why anybody would not want to be a part of it puzzles me. Well, it is obvious there are a
lot of misunderstanding about what the Lord’s church is all about, isn’t there? That is one reason I am
devoting all these programs this month to the subject of the church. It isn’t my purpose to be
contentious or offensive, but to be helpful and informative. And I hope you take me that way
“Who Began the Church of Christ, and When?”
Matthew 16:13-19
“Church.” Whose idea was it anyway? Was it a good idea, or a bad one? Well, the answers we
will get on that will be as many as the colors of the rainbow. Did you know that word “church”
appears 114 times in the New Testament? So, it is a biblical subject. Let us see what the Bible says
about it.
Thank you, my friend, for joining in our Bible study In Search of the Lord’s Way to become and
to be a Christian. We know all the choices of the programs you have at this time, and we are glad you
chose ours. If you are new to our program, you need to know we are closed captioned for the hearing
impaired people you may have in your household. And you also need to know that you will not be
harassed with appeals for money because we are presented here by churches of Christ right here in
your area.
Who are these people in churches of Christ? Do they form a “cult?” If you were watching the
Nancy Gray segment of the CNN nightly news program on the evening of March 27th, you may
remember that the hostess of that one segment of the newscast interviewed a Baptist preacher in
which she said was attempting to learn something about churches of Christ– who we are and what we
believe. I don’t know why she asked a Baptist preacher. Would he know more about us, who we are
and what we believe than one of us would? A-n-y-w-a-y, I asked one of my staff to download the
interview so I would know what the man actually said. And he identified churches of Christ as “a cultlike sect,” “a borderline cult,” one of the youngest, begun about 150 years ago by Alexander Campbell.
Well, some good, honest people have been so misinformed that they believe that.
Our Bible reading today is that familiar passage in the gospel of Matthew, the 16th chapter. We
will begin reading at verse 13. “When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His
disciples, saying, Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, Am?” So they said, some say John the
Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the Prophets. He said to them, but who do you say
that I am? Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus
answered and said to him, blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed it to
you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I
will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give to you the keys
of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you
loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” We read through verse 19. Now let us go to God in prayer.
Our heavenly Father, we are so thankful indeed for the wonderful relationship we sustain,
relationships that we sustain in the church, and we are thankful for our relationship with You as our
heavenly Father and with our savior, Jesus Christ, as our redeemer, and with one another as the
redeemed of God. And we pray, Father, that You will bless our study in this relationships today. In His
name we pray, Amen.
In the event you didn’t get to hear the message last week, I need to begin again by saying; no
one can speak officially for all churches of Christ. We are a closely knit fellowship of independent
congregations as those were in the days of the New Testament. We have no organization larger than
the congregation. We subscribe to no one’s creed by whatever name it might be called, no university
or publication, no one person (certainly, not I) can speak officially to what all of us believe and teach.
We are in perfect agreement on this one thing, though: acceptance of the Bible as our only rule of faith and practice. Just as it is about everything, everything nowadays– law and morals and– well,
most everything else you can think of– we have those who give a more strict (or some would say
“conservative”) and some who are more loose (some would say more “liberal”) in their interpretation
of the Scriptures. Then, there is the vast majority of congregations who are, for the most part, fitting
the word we will say they are “moderate.” They do as God told Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 5,
verse 32, to “turn neither to the right hand or to the left.” We try hard to avoid extremism. Of course
you know, in our present-day atmosphere, anyone who adheres strictly to the Bible as his sole rule of
faith and morals, is considered an “extremist.” And this one fellow went so far as to use the word
“cult-like.” Well, it isn’t for us to question the honesty of his intent, although, his information is
extremely limited and his choice of words was very poor.
Now let us move on to the message of the day, “Who Began the churches of Christ, and
When?” In the first part of the third chapter of his letter to the church at Ephesus, the apostle Paul
affirmed his apostleship. Because he became the apostle of Christ, as he, himself, says in 1 Corinthians
15:8, “as one born again out of due time,” he had to contend with that denial everywhere he went.
He began his affirmation in verse one of this chapter, but for time’s sake, I am going to pass over those
first seven verses today and we will call your attention to what he wrote in verses eight to eleven.
“To me, who am less than the least of all the saints,” he said, “this grace was given, that I
should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the
fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created
all things through Christ Jesus; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made
known by the church to the principalities and powers in heavenly places, according to the eternal
purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus…” You see, my friend, that a way, way back before
time was– before the events of Genesis chapter one– in eternity– God had the church in His mind and
in His “masterplan” for creation. Philosophers have long said the church was a good thing until Paul
organized it into a church, or Christianity was a good thing until Paul organized in into a church. Well, I
would not dare to disparage the church by calling it a mere human arrangement, Paul’s or anyone
else’s. The church you read about in your Bible is a vital part of God’s eternal plan– even before the
creation. Eight times in the Scriptures it is called “the church of God.” And three times the
congregations are called “churches of God.” It is no wonder the man of God wrote in verse 21 of
Ephesians chapter three: “to Him (that is, to God) be glory– in the church– by Christ Jesus to all
generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
And, as God always acts with purpose He did so with the church. He created it with a purpose.
It was His intention for the church to be the agency to tell the true story of salvation to all people
everywhere in every generation. So now you know the mission of the church of God. Yes, yes, yes,
members of the church are to “love one another, of course so. And they are to be good people in a
world of evil, and they are to live in families, and support good works. All that and more. And that is
who we are. We are the children of God! But the church’s business, the church’s mission, is to preach
and teach the gospel to every creature in the whole world!
So, God the Creator planned the church even before the events of Genesis 1:1. A-n-d, in the
passage we read for our text, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, announced to the apostles and
subsequently to the whole world, “I will build my church.” Please excuse my cough as you know for
several weeks now I have been suffering from this laryngitis problem, but I think it is improving and I
thank you for bearing with me. But, anyway Christ also assured the apostles that “the gates of Hades”
would not prevail against it.” By that, He was not saying the church would always thrive and prosper because Satan and all his devils would never have sufficient power to prevail against His church.
Neither the grammatical construction of the sentence nor the context demands that interpretation.
Besides being wrong, that teaching in churches of Christ has been extremely unfortunate– destructive,
and besides that, it is false. It has lulled many of us into a deep sleep, from which we have yet to
awaken!
Well, what was Jesus saying, then? He was saying “the gates of Hades” will not prevail against
it or my building it. My friend, death is the only entrance, or it is “the gates of Hades,” the only
entrance into the hadean world. Jesus knew the time was swiftly approaching when He was to suffer
death. And in substance, He was saying, “Evil men will soon crucify Me, but you apostles can be
comforted in this: I will be build my church. I will do it! Even death can not prevent it! I will build My
church.” And in spite of the crucifixion at the hands of wicked men, He did it, friend! Because only
about two months later, in Acts 2:47, He is found adding to the church daily those who were being
saved. That is the first time we read about the church in actual existence. But, it is mentioned some
109 times after that in the King James New Testament as a reality. Furthermore, it is referenced in
many different types and figures, such as His body (1 Corinthians 12:27); the kingdom of Christ
(Ephesians 5:5); the bride of Christ (Revelation 22 and 17), oh, in other ways, too.
“Church of Christ” is not the “name.” That terminology is possessive. The church of the Bible
belongs to Christ. First, because He built it. He said He would (Matthew 16:18). Two, it is His because
it is built upon the foundation of His proven Deity (Matthew 16:18). Number 3, because He
“purchased” it member by member, with His own blood (Acts 20:28). And number 4, because He is
the head of it (Ephesians 1:22 and 23). And number 5, because He is its Savior (Ephesians 5:23), its
Redeemer (I Peter 1:18). It is His church, my friend! And, God is glorified in it, when it is as He
designed it.
Of course, Bible students know the church began on the day of Pentecost (AD 30 or 33,
depending on the way you measure time). It was when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles as
Jesus had promised them in John 16:5 to 15; and Acts 1and 5, and Peter preached, and “about three
thousand souls were added to them,” (verses 38 to 42). Well, you need to read the whole second
chapter of Acts as a matter of fact. It began in Jerusalem, the church did. But it spread rapidly, just as
the Lord had planned it, in “Judea and Samaria, to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:7 and 8). And the
apostle Paul said only about thirty years later that it had spread to every creature under heaven
(Colossians 1:23). Reliable historians tell us that with a-half-billion people in the world, by the end of
the first century, only about seven decades at the most, there were, well, already more than one
million Christians! They also tell us that that church in the first century, without our modern means of
communication and transportation, was the fastest growing movement of any kind in the history of
the world to this present day! It is amazing, isn’t it! It is exciting! And that was during one of those
periods when the Lord’s church was persecuted most — and most severely than any time in it’s near
two-thousand-year history! Much of that time, Christians were forced to remain anonymous and to
assemble for worship in secret places.
The Jews had rejected Jesus as the Messiah of the Old Testament prophecies. They had
crucified Him. And, they were no less friendly toward His church. In fact Jesus warned the apostles,
“You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved…It is
enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the
master of the house Beelzebub (the prince of devils), how much more will they call those of his
household!” Well, that is Matthew 10:22, 24, and 25. So, it is as Peter said in 1 Peter 4 and 12, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as through some strange
thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings…” That is
applicable to the 21st century churches of Christ, too. Beloved, don’t think it strange that unlearned
and evil men speak evil of you. They called our Savior and Leader “the prince of the devils.” So, we
shouldn’t be all that surprised that they say things about us– His followers– that are not true. Just
don’t be persuaded and defeated by such things.
Why do you suppose the church of the New Testament grew so mightily? Why do you think
they were sometimes dubbed “those men who turned the world upside down” in Acts 17 and 6?
Could it have been because they believed and taught something extremely different from the cultures
into which they took the gospel? Or, might it have been because they were willing to compromise
their doctrine and conform to, conform their Christian lifestyle and become like the world around
them? Would they desert the Lord to get more “joiners” and maintain a popular stance in the
community of the lost? Only the spiritually blind can’t see that? They were– and they taught
something that was new and different and fresh! They certainly could have avoided a lot of that
persecution because, well Jesus said they would experience some of that, had they not been so
different, so unassuming, and so unyielding, and so demanding. It may be– perhaps– could it be that
is one reason they were dubbed a “sect.” I am saying, the Lord’s church today might be called a “cultlike-sect” because it is different, and it teaches a different doctrine than people can hear down the
street or up the street or across the street in other religious groups. I am simply running out of time
now, so please go to your Bible and read 1 Peter, the second chapter, verse nine and forward, and
Titus chapter 2, verse 14. Pray with me now. Father, we are thankful to You for your word and for the
distinctiveness of Christianity that is to be the light of the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
We have shown from the Bible that the church was planned by God, and begun in Jerusalem by
the risen Christ on the first Jewish Day of Pentecost following the death, the burial, and the
resurrection of Christ. Churches (not denominations, now, but congregations of that one church
begun by Christ in Jerusalem) sprang up in Antioch and Syria and Islands of Cyprus, then in Antioch of
Pisidia and later over in Asia, in Ephesus, and the regions of Galatia,– and on and on and on, as the
gospel was preached churches sprang up all over the known world– in Europe, in Corinth, and Athens
and Thessalonica and Smyrna and Permgamus and Thyatira and Rome and the British Isles and to
North and South America and on and on to the end of the world. You see the gospel of Christ
produces churches of Christ wherever it is preached, and believed and obeyed. Neither in the first
century or the twenty-first century, are the churches of Christ even trying to be just another
denomination. We are not even trying to be the only right denomination. We are not trying to be a
denomination at all, my friend. We are trying to be all the church you read about in the New
Testament in this twenty-first century. Doesn’t that excite you? It does me! None of us has ever
become a perfect Christian, but we keep trying. Just so, no church that I ever knew anything about
was a perfectly developed church of Christ, but, we are still working at it!
“Why So Many Denominations?”
I Timothy 4:1-5
Are churches of Christ a “borderline cult” like Jim Jones’ or David Koresh’s church in Waco, TX?
Or, are we just another denomination? Just who are we? Let me introduce us to you today, will you?
Thank you, thank you, my friend, for joining our Bible study In Search of the Lord’s Way for
becoming a Christian and living the Christian life. The first four books of the New Testament,
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, reveal to us God’s perfect pattern for Christian living in the person of
Jesus Christ. Acts, the fifth book, tells us how to become one of His disciples. It gives example after
example of true conversion to Christ and His way of life. The letters or the epistles, beginning with
Paul’s to the Romans, reveals to us the perfect pattern for the church that Jesus established. Although
no one has ever measured up to the perfect pattern for the Christian’s personal life, as it is revealed in
Jesus, all true disciples keep striving for it. And the same is true with the perfect pattern for church
life. No church I have ever known has ever measured up perfectly to the pattern for the Lord’s church,
but many of us keep striving for it. And it is far better to aim for the perfect and miss it, than to aim at
an imperfect one of human origin and attain it. Don’t you agree?
We are reading from the apostle Paul’s first letter to Timothy, in chapter 4 beginning at verse
one. “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to
deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience
seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God
created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creature
of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the
word of God and prayer.” Now we read through verse 5. Let us go to God in prayer. Holy Father, we
come to You in prayer now in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior, to thank You for the radio and
television and network possibilities by which we can come together into people’s homes and at their
invitation, and search the scripture with them for truth and especially the truth about Your way to be
born again, to be born into Your family which is the church and to live the Christian life. We pray You
now to open our hearts to what we find there and may we obey it all. Amen.
In Acts 20, verses 17 through 38, I believe, is the apostle Paul’s farewell to the elders of the
church at Ephesus. And in that passage he says, “…take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among
which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased
with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you,
not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw
away the disciples after themselves.”
In the passage we read just awhile ago, in his first letter to Timothy Paul wrote, “Now the Spirit
expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith” (I Timothy 4:1). When he
wrote his farewell to Timothy He wrote it again. It was a warning worth repeating! This time he said,
“I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at
His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince,
rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure
sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up
for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to
fables” (2 Timothy 4, verses 1 to 4).
The apostle Peter also warned: “…there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift
destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be
blasphemed” (2 Peter 2, verses 1 and 2).
Those and other such prophecies began to be fulfilled before the end of the very first century.
The church at Ephesus is an excellent example of that. It had been a great church. But, by about 96
AD, while the apostle John was exiled on Patmos for preaching the truth of the gospel, he received the
revelation which constitutes the last book of the New Testament. And the church at Ephesus had
ceased to be all it had been. The reason I know that is that in Revelation 1:9 to 20 John described the
vision he had of the Son of Man standing in the midst of seven golden lampstands. And he didn’t
understand what those lampstands meant. We probably wouldn’t either if the Lord hadn’t explained
them as He did to John in verse 20. He said, “…the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven
churches.” He commissioned John to send letters to each of those seven churches in Asia. One was
the church at Ephesus. The Lord’s message to that once great church was this: “I know your works…
Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from
where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove
your lampstand from its place– unless you repent.” That is Revelation chapter 2, verses 1 to 7. That
once-great-church would cease to be the Lord’s church, if it didn’t repent. It isn’t that other churches
would “mark” or “disfellowship” the one at Ephesus. No, no, nothing like that; that isn’t what He said.
The Lord said He would remove its candlestick, Himself. So, churches would depart from the faith. an-d the Son of God would remove their candlesticks, their identity.
Well, it didn’t happen in one giant step. Historians tell us that the apostasy developed so
slowly, that very likely most members didn’t– and still don’t know– it even happened. Some people
living now– more than twenty centuries later– still proudly maintain their membership in an apostate
church. They take pride in the fact that they can trace their lineage through the centuries all the way
back to Acts, chapter two. But, what they don’t realize is that they have fallen so far away that that
church bears no slight resemblance to the one in the New Testament. The first departures were
in organization. Jesus Christ, the risen Lord, is the head of the church that you read about in your
Bible (Ephesians 1:22 and chapter 5, verse 23). He has never yielded that position or delegated that
authority to any human being, my friend– no, not even to the apostle Peter. He chose twelve men
and taught and trained them to be His apostles (ones sent on His authority) as official “ambassadors”
of His kingdom (2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 20). One of them betrayed Him and was replaced by
Matthias (Acts chapter 1, verse 26). The Bible nowhere names successors to any of the other apostles.
Later Paul was especially chosen, “as one born out of due time” (1 Corinthians 15, verse 8) to be an
apostle– not a successor to an apostle now, but an apostle. And those apostles live on in the church
today through their work and their ministry in the churches. There never were, and there never will
be any more apostles in the Lord’s church.
According to Ephesians chapter 4, verse 11, Christ also gave some to be prophets. This gift was
given to the early church for “the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of
the body of Christ; till, we come to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a
perfect man, to the measure of the fullness of Christ;” that is Ephesians chapter 4, verses 11 through
16; or until the will of God was perfectly or completely revealed as it is written in 1 Corinthians
chapter 13, verse 10. The apostles and prophets live on in the foundation of the church by their
teachings in the Scriptures (Ephesians 2:19-22).
There is biblical authority for evangelists and pastors and teachers in the churches today (Philippians 1:1 for example; and 1 Timothy 3:1 to 14; and Titus chapter 1, verses 1 to 16, and other
passages). They continue in each church the work of equipping and edifying the local body of
believers.
The New Testament uses six words, elders and presbyters, bishops or overseers, pastors or
shepherds, without distinction of office or rank. These were men (always men) chosen from within
the congregation by the members of the congregation for the work described in Acts chapter 20,
verses 17 through 38 as we read them awhile ago. Titus chapter 1, verse16 also includes that. And in
the New Testament you never read of Synods, Councils, Conventions, Associations or Conferences
composed of delegates from all the churches in different localities to constitute an Ecclesiastical
Legislative Body. There were deacons in every church though (Philippians 1:1). An example of their
work and service is seen in Acts chapter 6, verses 1 to 7 right on into the 8th chapter. The evangelist’s
work is described in the name given him in Ephesians 4:11– that of evangelizing or preaching the good
news of Christ. Yes, at least two men, Stephen and Philip, chosen by the church to serve tables in the
Jerusalem church also preached or they evangelized.
Up to this point, we have had the Bible for our guide. And we are perfectly comfortable with
what we read there, aren’t we? But now we must rely on reliable historians. So now, if you doubt me
on any of the following material, I suggest before you write me, that you go to your public library, to
the religious history section, and study these things for yourself. I don’t know what books there are in
your particular library, but I am fully confident with what is there you will find will support what I am
saying.
Reliable historians enable us to know that soon after the apostolic age the standing office of
the President of the Presbytery must have been formed, and as having pre-eminent oversight, the
person was designed, or was designated “Bishop”. So began the apostasy. There was the creation of a
new class of officers in the churches known as “country bishops”. These began occasional
conventions, composed of delegates from different congregations, for the purpose of settling disputes
among them, which conventions assumed legislative authority. There soon followed General Synods
and Councils with permanent presiding officers called “Metropolitans”. Bishops claimed supreme
power. They no longer counseled with the presbyters.
The first General Council was called by the Roman Emperor Constantine in 325 A.D. It was
supposed to have represented the universal church. John the Faster, Bishop of Constantinople,
assumed the title of “Universal Bishop of the church” in A.D. 588. But Boniface II, Patriarch of Rome
had the title transferred to Himself to become the first Pope in 606 A.D.
With the exaltation of mere men to positions of legislative power, came significant, there also
came significant changes in fundamental doctrines and in worship of the church. For example: First
and most obvious is that Christ is no longer head of the apostate church. Second, the Scriptures are
no longer the final word, as we are taught in Colossians 3:16-17. Now, it is “church tradition,”
approved by the council. The First Vatican Council, convened by Pope Pius IX, declared the doctrine of
Papal Infallibility; that is when he speaks ex-cathedra (meaning from the chair) on matters of faith and
morals he then speaks the law of the Lord.
Third: In the beginning of the church, baptism was for repentant believers only (Acts 2:38).
But by the middle of the second century, there appear references by notable “scholars” to baptism of
infants, some for it, some opposed it. Baptism had been “for the remission of sins,” as taught in Acts
2:38, and it came to be thought that babies were born sinful, it was felt their baptism on their second
day of life was essential, lest they should die with inherited sins upon them. Fourth: In the New Testament, baptism was always administered by immersion (Romans 6:3 and 4). That is the meaning
of the word. Baptism is not “by immersion.” It is immersion. The first case of sprinkling for baptism
was called “clinic baptism,” because the subject was very ill. When he had recovered and was about
to become a Bishop, he was rejected because it was contended he had not been baptized. Sprinkling
for baptism was not fully approved until the Council of Ravena in 1311 A.D. It has never had the
approval of Christ.
Fifth: Instrumental music was not accepted in public worship until in the eighth century A.D.
Other matters of worship will have to be taken up later. And we have mentioned these only as
illustrations of the apostle Paul’s statement in our text that, “…in latter times some will depart from
the faith…” They have. And let us pray about it. Father, we are thankful to You for your preservation
of your church through the centuries based on the truth that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead as
revealed in the Bible. We pray, Father, that we can persuade people everywhere to follow your
teachings as they are revealed in your word in the Bible. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
You may be wondering about the title that we have given the message today– and we haven’t
touched on it yet, have we? Well, the question so many, “Why So Many Denominations?” Let us use
the rest of our time there, whatta ya say?
As the centuries rolled on, the departures from the faith became more, and the apostate
church, led by men obsessed with their great power, became corrupt morally as well as doctrinally.
But, not every one acquiesced or yielded to them. Men of unusual courage–members of the apostate
church they were now, who had opportunity to know the Bible and the kind of church they saw in it,
sought a “reformation” of the church so as to it fit the one they read about in the New Testament.
John Wycliff was one such person. He was born sometime around 1320. He has been called “The
Morning Star of the Reformation.” He is best known for his translation of the Bible into English,
making it possible for the English-speaking world to read it for themselves. He made fifty charges
against the apostate church. He died in 1384. Martin Luther who lived from 1483 to 1546, has often
been called “the father of the reformation.” He had 95 objections to the church. He is remembered
for having nailed them to the church door in Wittenburg, Germany. John Calvin, 1506 to 1564, was
another great reformer. His influence may be stronger among protestants these five centuries later
than any of the others that we have mentioned or even could mention.
While these reformers– and many others we don’t have time to mention– were great men and
they came forth with great ideas and a dogged determination to reform the apostate church as it was
then, they were just men. And we should accept what they taught only when it is in agreement with
the plain teachings of the New Testament. They were united in noble idea of reformation, but they
differed sharply on some critical matters of faith and doctrine. And because of those differences, “the
old-line” denominations were born. With the idea that denominational Christianity has the approval
of God, the door then was opened to the birth of any new denomination a person wants to start on
whatever grounds he wants to found it. We can’t help but ask the questions Paul asked: “Now I say
this, that each of you says, I am of Paul, or I am of Apollos, or I am of Cephas, or I am of Christ. Is
Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”
“Is It Necessary to be a Member of the Church of Christ?”
Acts 2:41-47
In Search of the Lord’s Way is presented by members of churches of Christ in the area of this
station. No person or group or publication or university or anyone else can speak authoritatively for
all churches of Christ. We are a closely-knit group of independent churches seeking to be like
churches that you read about in your New Testament. But who are we today. Stay tuned and we will
see.
Say, my friend! It is good to have you with us for Bible study In Search of the Lord’s Way. And
that is where we will find the Lord’s way always– in the Bible– nowhere else. We pray we will all be
blessed by studying the Bible together today. In case you are new to the program, and some member
of your family’s hearing impaired, you need to know we are closed captioned, too.
A few weeks ago on the Nancy Grace segment of the CNN evening news program, a very
unfortunate and inaccurate statement was made about churches of Christ. It was said that we are a
young “cult like sect,” having begun about 150 years ago by Alexander Campbell. Since this program is
the most widely received such ministry of churches of Christ in America today, it was suggested by
many that we explain who we really are and what we really do believe. And that is what we are doing
this month. I, personally, have no ill feelings toward the fellow who defined us as he did. It did occur
to me, though, that had I been in Nancy Grace’s position, I would have asked someone from churches
of Christ on my show to find out what we believe. And had I been asked to do the same thing for the
Baptist minister’s religious affiliation, I would have done some home work– some study, before I went
on the air with a statement like he made. Anyway all our lessons this month have been devoted to
that study.
They are being published in this little book. And they are available to you, free, if you would
like one. We have had requests for thousands of them already. Some churches of Christ have even
requested them by the hundreds for use in their literature rack and outreach ministries. If you would
like a free one, write us, In Search of the Lord’s Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083, or by e-mail, it
is searchtv@aol.com. Our toll free telephone number is 1-800-321-8633. Or you may access all the
messages on our website at www.searchtv.org. Now, Ken Helterbrand is going to lead the Edmond,
Oklahoma church of Christ in song; and then I will be back for Bible reading and prayer.
We are reading from the second chapter of the book of Acts of Apostles. And we are going to
begin reading at verse 41. “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day
about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’
doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul,
and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together,
and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as
anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, breaking bread from house to
house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all
the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” And I read through
verse 47, the end of the chapter. Let us go to God in prayer now. Almighty God, our heavenly Father,
it is with grateful hearts that we come to You as we begin our study today, the study of your church.
How grateful we are for it. Oh, that we may have a better understanding of what it is and our
relationship with You and with other saved people who are in it. Grant it Lord, we pray in the name of our loving Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
In earlier lessons in this series we have studied about churches of Christ and whose church the
saved really are. In the others then following, we considered the questions, who really did begin the
church of Christ and when? And then last week in our study we considered the Bible prophecies of a
departure from the faith of the gospel, and we studied very briefly how it actually developed. To give
it in detail would require a whole year of such programs as these. We talked about the apostate
church, the great reformation movement that swept Europe and the beginning of the denominations
and all of that. And today, we will be considering an urgent need for returning to the original concept
of the church as it is taught in the New Testament. What we read in the New Testament is true
Christianity, friend. In view of the departure described in First Timothy 4:1 and 2, not much of what is
being marketed as Christianity today really is Christianity. I find no pleasure in saying that, but if you
are a student of the Bible, you know it is true, too; don’t you? You see no resemblance; do you?
We hold in admiration those men who devoted their lives to an effort to “reform” the apostate
church with the intent of bringing it into conformity with the New Testament teaching about the
Lord’s church. Some of them were so dedicated to the idea that they died for it! Yes! I mean just
that! I mean some of them were literally killed, put to death, for teaching and preaching what they
believed. And that is hard for people today to understand– and to believe. You see, what supposes or
assumes itself to be “Christianity” in our current environment, is strongly influenced by the worldly
philosophy of “relativity of truth.” It is considered pure dogmatism in most churches nowadays to
speak of “absolute truth” about anything, even about what the Bible says. But, in spite of their good
intentions, they failed, these men, the reformists, failed in at least two respects. First, their
“reformation” fell short in that they accepted without protest some of the major departures from New
Testament teaching. Three quick examples will be sufficient here: first, there is infant baptism;
secondly, baptism by sprinkling, thirdly, mechanical instruments of music in the worship of God.
Secondly, in protesting major doctrines of the apostate church, they formed creeds of their own. For
example: Martin Luther opposed “salvation by meritorious works” as practiced by the apostate church
and established as doctrine, “salvation by faith alone.” That distinguished his followers from everyone
else who professed to be Christians. Does that make Luther and all Lutherans cult-like? No, no, not at
all; a denomination, yes, but not a cult.
John Calvin conceived a system of unconditional election, particular redemption, total
depravity, irresistible grace and the final perseverance of the saints. He believed all that and taught it
so strongly that those who followed him, were (well, still are) known as “Calvinists.” Did that make all
of them a “cult?” Be careful now how you answer that question, because if you reply in the
affirmative you are going to label that Baptist preacher who called churches of Christ “a borderline
cult.” one himself. Those things you see, and others like them, gave birth to divisions or
denominations, with their separate creeds, confessions of faith, and so on– and they fathered the “old
line denominations” or divisions in their efforts. By “old line denominations,” I am saying the old ones-
– in contrast to the new ones that are springing up daily. You see, when the idea of
denominationalism gained approval of the religious community, it became popular to be the founder
of a new one. It became the smart thing to say, “We may disagree on how to be saved. If you feel like
you are saved, we will accept you regardless of what God says in his word.”
In the latter part of the 18th and early 19th centuries there were groups of people who, well,
found among the reformers, among the founders and the reformers of Europe, recognized those
failures and they rejected the idea of “reformation.” They sought a “restoration” of the kind of Christianity they read about in their New Testaments. In other words, they were saying, “Back to the
Bible. Let’s get back to the Bible.” By that time the printing press had been invented, and ordinary
people had access to the Bible. Well, they sought not to be a denomination of their choice, but to be
“just Christians” with no separating labels– simply members of the church Jesus Christ said He would
build. Groups of them (congregations) were founded in Morrison’s Court, Glasgow, Scotland in 1778;
Leith Walk, Edinburgh, Scotland in 1798; in North Wales in 1779; Tubemore, Ireland in 1807;
Manchester, England in 1810, and other places.
It shouldn’t be surprising to any of us, then, that with the discovery and the development of
the “New World,” America, some of these people came to these shores and established churches
here. James O’kelley, a Methodist minister who favored congregational government and the Bible as
the only rule of faith and practice, established a church of Christ in Mankintown, North Carolina in
1793. Dr. Abner Jones, a physician from Hartland, Vermont, a Baptist who became dissatisfied with
human names and creeds, established a church of 25 members at Lyndon, Vermont; one at Bradford
and another at Piermont, New Hampshire in 1803. Barton W. Stone, a Presbyterian preacher, but
with reservations as far as the Westminster Confession of faith was concerned, worked largely in
Kentucky. Thomas Campbell and his son Alexander Campbell were former ministers in the Seceder
Presbyterian church; they came to America (well, I am not saying both of them came in 1807, but
along about that time). Thomas came first and Alexander followed later and they settled in
Washington County Pennsylvania. Later they became Baptists. Through more Bible study, they became
conscious of the necessity of baptism “for the remission of sins,” as they were reading it in Acts
chapter 2, verse 38, and in November 1843, they were forced to leave the Baptist church to preach
New Testament Christianity. Walter Scott, a Presbyterian, came to America in 1818; they realized the
error of human standards in religion and infant baptism, and they renounced them in order to be “just
a Christian.” Now, this is but a brief mention of only a few of the people and their work in churches of
Christ– many of them before the work of Thomas Campbell or Alexander Campbell. But, it is enough
for any thinking person, and any student, to see that Alexander Campbell did not begin the church of
Christ. How– or how much he was influenced by those who went before him, we may never know.
The point is: there were churches of Christ in existence in Europe and America, and only God knows
where else before the days and the work of Alexander Campbell. Multitudes– thousands of people
were taught and inspired to be non-denominational Christians. This “Restoration” idea of the 19th
century has been acclaimed even by secular historians of America in history as “The Second Great
Revival Period in American history.” The idea of being Christians and churches just like the ones we
read about in the New Testament spread like some of the wild fires that we have experienced in
Oklahoma and Texas this year.
Alexander Campbell’s work is appreciated by people who understand what it was and what he
did. But he did not originate or found the church of Christ. Jesus Christ said, “I will build My church,
and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). In substance He was saying,
“Men may slay me, but they will not prevent me from building my church.” Yes, they did kill Him, but
they didn’t prevent His building His church. He built it upon the solid rock foundation expressed by
the apostle Peter, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:17). The Bible says in I
Corinthians 3:11, “No other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” I
hear preachers saying, “I preach Christianity, not churchanity.” Shame on them! It is impossible to
teach the full story of Jesus Christ, and not teach about Him as the “tried Stone,” the foundation
stone, the builder of His church (Isaiah 28:16).
Soooo, for all the Nancy Grace’s wherever you may be or whoever you may be, who comes up
with the question, “Do members of churches of Christ believe you have to be a member of their
church to go to heaven?” Let me say this. Whoever you are, please hear me; hear me out now, will
you, please? Saved people– I am talking about people the Lord saved, He added to His church. I mean
people who really are going to heaven in the life to come, aren’t given the choice of being– or not
being– members of His church.” That is what the church is, friend– saved people! If you want to be
saved, but you don’t want any affiliation with other people the Lord has saved, well, there is
something wrong about your faith. Furthermore, you probably won’t be happy in heaven if you
should go there, because that is where all the faithful church will be. The Lord doesn’t say to you,
“Come follow me, and I’ll take you to heaven, but you won’t have to associate with those ugly old cultlike members of my church.” No, that isn’t the way it will be. The Lord adds to the church daily those
who are being saved. And we read it awhile ago from Acts 2:47. He– and He alone– does the saving
(Acts 4:12); therefore He knows who is saved. And no vote of a denomination, no conference or
convention, has anything to do with it.
So, does that make churches of Christ a “borderline cult?” “Oh,” but you say, “I’m a member of
the Lord’s church alright, but I am a member of such-and-such a denomination of His church.” Oh, I
see. Which one? Is it the one of Cephas? Or of Paul? Or of Apollos? As Paul asked the members of
the church of God which is at Corinth in I Corinthians 1:1 to 13. Or is it the one of Luther? Or Calvin?
Or Stone? Or Campbell? And let me ask you as the apostle did the Corinthians. “Is Christ divided?”
Did that man whose denomination you joined die for you? Were you baptized in his name?
Occasionally I hear or read of people talking or writing about being members of “one of the StoneCampbell churches.” My friend, I am not. When Jesus saved me, I mean, that day– He inscribed my
name in His “book of life” in heaven (Philippians 4:3). It was Jesus Christ Himself who added me to His
church (Acts 2:47). And, you know what? It was at least a whole decade, ten years or more, later that
I first heard the name of Alexander Campbell. Yes, it was! And I believe Jesus has done for every
saved person since the day of Pentecost following the resurrection of Jesus Christ, just what He did for
me! And that is enough for me! Thank God, I don’t have to answer your question about who is going
to be saved in heaven and who is not, because I believe the Lord knows every person He has ever
saved– and He has added them all to His church. To put it another way, I am saved by His blood! I
am a member of His church! And I am not ashamed of either of them.
Thank God, He hasn’t given me the heavy responsibility of saying who is going to heaven and
who is not. But, He has told me in His word, how to be saved, and if I preach, I am bound by His word
and my conscience to tell you exactly what He says in His word about being saved. And, it is entirely
between you and Him whether you do it or not. Jesus is presented to us in both Old Testament
prophecy and New Testament reality as the Savior of the world (Acts 4:42). Jesus Himself, after He
had proved Himself to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead, said “All authority is given
to me in heaven and on earth…..Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He
who believes and is baptized will be saved.” That is from Matthew’s and Mark’s recording of the same
incident in Matthew 28:18 and Mark 16:15-16. Luke’s account of that event is a bit different. He
quoted Jesus as saying, “…that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all
nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:46).
And when the apostle Peter preached the very first sermon under that commission, he told the
people who believed his message to “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized for the remission
of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit…Then those who gladly received his word were
In Search of the Lord’s Way
6/26/2006 Is It Necessary to be a Member of the Church of Christ? 5
baptized, and that day about three thousand souls were added to them…And the Lord added to the
church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:38, 41, 47). And that is what I am telling you, my
friend. I hope you will be among those who gladly receive the gospel message of salvation in Christ,
and permit Him to add you to His church. Will you? Oh, I hope you will. I must tell you, and the
decision– whether you do it, or not do it, is between you and the Lord. Many people who confess
Jesus as Lord have refused to do so, and believe they are going to heaven. But, just remember, it was
Jesus who said, “Why do you call Me Lord, Lord, and not do the things which I say” (Luke 6:46).