Who Is The Church of Christ?
Introduction
The word “church” simply means “called
out.” It refers to people. When we speak of the “church of Christ,”
we are referring to people who have been “called out” of the world of
darkness and into the light of the kingdom of Jesus Christ -
Colossians 1:13. The Church of Christ
meeting at 2820 Willow Creek Road, Prescott, AZ, is simply a group of
Christians in this community that belong to Jesus Christ. And what we do
here is what we will be discussing further.
What Has Brought Us Together?
As Christians, we share a common faith and
salvation. Jude 3; Titus 1:4. This faith and salvation are based purely upon the
Bible, God’s Inspired Word. As individuals who endeavor to believe and teach
the same things, we have agreed to work together in order to accomplish
God’s Will in our community, and also to carry out the commands that God
directed Christians to do when they come together as a congregation.
Are
We A Denomination?
NO,
ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!
We believe that
denominationalism is sinful. Why? Because denominationalism is based
upon division – something clearly condemned in the Bible.
1 Corinthians 1:10-13; Ephesians 4:1-6; John 17:20-21. God’s Word teaches against following after
men and their man-made doctrines.
Matthew 15:7-9; Colossians 2:20-23.
Here at the
Church of Christ, we are determined to follow the Bible and do only those
things that are authorized in the Bible. We have
NO denominational creed book,
NO
denominational or inter-denominational alliances, and
NO
connection with any national ecclesiastical organization. We have
NO
presidents, CEO’s, paid treasurers,
NO pope’s,
NO cardinals,
NO councils or earthly headquarters to make
rules and regulations for us. We do not support out of the treasury any
outside institutions to do our work for us. The church is totally sufficient
to do the work the Lord has commanded it to do.
We believe that
Jesus Christ is the head of the church –
Colossians 1:18 – and that anything we believe, teach or do,
must be found in the Scriptures –
1 Peter
4:11. Each local church
has the freedom to govern itself and control its own affairs in doing the
Will of God. We will always give Book, Chapter and Verse(s) for everything
we do from living our lives to worship service.
What About Our Worship?
As a Church of Christ, we only do the things the New Testament scriptures
say. Why?? Because the New Testament is the Law we follow –
Colossians 2:14; Hebrews 1:1-2.
When Jesus was fulfilling the prophecy, He nailed the Old Law to the cross
at His crucifixion. The disciples in
Acts 2:42,
“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in
the breaking of bread and in prayers.”
The breaking of bread refers to the Lord’s Supper, and the early disciples
came together on the first day of the week to partake of it -
Acts 20:7.
And you will find us doing the same thing on every first day of the week –
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
- partaking of the Lord’s Supper in remembrance on His sacrifice for our
sins.
You will notice we have no mechanical instruments of music in our worship.
This is not because we cannot afford one or don’t know how to play one, but
simply there is no Scriptural authority to use one. In
Ephesians 5:19
and
Colossians 3:16
we read that
SINGING
hymns and spiritual songs and
MAKING MELODY
in your HEART
and SINGING
with GRACE
in your HEART
TO THE LORD.
Romans 10:17
has been preached repeatedly and for a good reason.
“So, then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”
If we do something without faith, IT IS SIN –
Romans 14:23.
Therefore, one cannot by faith offer instrumental music as worship to God.
In
1 Corinthians 16:1-2
we read Christians gave of their means on the first day of the week in order
to support the Lord’s work. We always engage in prayers and the teaching and
studying of God’s Word. We will be doing all these things in our worship
because the Scriptures say we can in full faith.
What Do We Teach About Salvation?
We are obligated to teach what the Bible says about salvation, nothing more
nothing less. Man over time has come up with many ways to be saved. Some
say, at the time of Jesus here on earth, being saved then is not the same
today, but the Gospel is still the same. No amount of time passing can alter
the God-given truth and its conditions of salvation. The Gospel made
Christians in the first century the same way it makes Christians today.
1.
We believe that we are
saved by grace through faith –
Ephesians 2:8-10.
God sent His Son to die on the cross in order that we might be saved from
our sins and have the hope of eternal life –
1 John 2:1-2; Romans 16:26.
The sacrifice of His Son is the grace that God offers us today.
2.
Yet God’s
grace is not unconditional.
We must do the will of God –
Matthew 7:21-23; Hebrews 5:9.
In
Luke 17:10,
when we have done all that is
commanded, we can only say what Christ said.
3.
The Bible teaches
“without
faith it is impossible to please Him (God)”
–
Hebrews 11:6.
Thus, faith is a condition of salvation –
John 3:16.
4.
Faith alone is not sufficient
–
James 2:14-26.
We must express our faith by doing what God has told us to do. Unless we do
this, we cannot be saved.
5.
God has commanded all men
everywhere to repent of sin
–
Acts 17:30-31.
Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change in one’s life. Without
repentance, we cannot be saved.
6.
Confession
is also a condition of salvation –
Romans 10:8-10.
Unless we confess our faith in Christ, He will not confess us before God,
the Father –
Matthew 10:32-33.
7.
Baptism
is also a condition of salvation. Without it we cannot have remission
(forgiveness) of our sins –
Acts 2:37-39; 22:16.
When we are baptized (immersed or buried –
Romans 6:3-4)
in water for the remission of our sins, we are born again and raised to walk
in newness of life –
Galatians 3:26-27;
1 Peter 3:21; Colossians 2:11-12; Mark 16:16.
Unless our faith is expressed in baptism, we displease God and fail to meet
His conditions for salvation.
8.
Faithful living
is also necessary in order to go to Heaven –
Revelation 2:10.
If we do not continue on in faith, but fallback into the world of earthly
pleasures, we will lose our souls –
Hebrews 6:4-6; 2 Peter 2:20-22.
WHAT IS OUR PLEA?
Our plea is for pure Christianity. We urge all people to forsake
denominationalism, renounce all man-made creeds and doctrines and follow the
pure teachings of Jesus Christ. In
John 8:31-32,
“Jesus said to those Jews who believed him, “If you abide in My word, you
are My disciples indeed.” “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall
make you free.””
The Apostle John wrote in
2 John 9,
“Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not
have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and
the Son.”
It
DOES
matter what you believe and it
DOES
matter what worship you choose.
Our plea is also for
UNITY.
However, we will not compromise the truth in order to have it. True unity is
a
“unity of the Spirit,”
which means it must be based upon the things revealed by the Holy Spirit in
the Word of God –
Ephesians 4:1-6.
Therefore, we plead with all to go to the New Testament Bible and follow it
fully. This is the only way to have true unity and be pleasing to God.
ELDERS, PASTORS, BISHOPS, OVERSEERS, are all terms used to describe the SHEPHERDS of the Lord's church. They are to exist in plurality, and shepherd the Lord's church according to God's word only (Acts 20:32; Titus 1:9 - not making rules, but simply demanding that no other doctrine be taught - 2 John 9). They are to rule by example (1 Peter 5:3), and then to exhort and convict those who contradict (Titus 1:9). They are appointed through the Spirit given qualifications found in - 1Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9.
Acts 14:23 "So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed."
Philippians 1:1 "Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons"
Titus 1:5 "For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you"
1
Peter 5:1-4
"The elders who are among you
I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ,
and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed:
2
Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by
compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;
3
nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the
flock;
4
and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory
that does not fade away."