Tag Archives: Church of Christ

BIBLE QUESTIONS, CHURCH

SINCE THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD, WHY ISN’T THERE JUST ONE CHURCH? — BOB PRICHARD

Paul tells us explicitly that there is “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:6). Most people have little trouble with this concept, understanding that our Heavenly Father created our world and loved us enough to send Christ to save us from our sins. Paul does not speak only of  “One God,” however, but mentions seven “unities.” “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;  One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:4-6). The first of the seven unities Paul mentions is “one body.”    

At the end of the first chapter of the letter to the Ephesians, Paul explained that because Christ obeyed the Father and conquered death, that God “hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all” (Ephesians 1:22-23). The church is defined as His body, the “one body” that Paul mentioned in Ephesians 4:4. This is just what we would expect, one head connected with one body. Our religious world today, however, presents a monstrosity to God, with many churches or bodies claiming to be attached to the one head, Jesus Christ.

The Lord’s desire from the beginning was that all of His followers would be united in His church. As He prepared for the cross, Jesus prayed for His disciples, and then said, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me” (John 17:20-23). Jesus understood that the unity (or disunity) of His followers would be a powerful witness to the world. Surely the disunity of the current denominational system hinders the spread of the gospel of Christ.

Paul warned the Corinthians against disunity, as they began to follow various preachers, forgetting Christ. “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:10-13). Jesus promised Peter and the disciples, “I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18). He did not promise to build the many denominational bodies we see today, but His church. The way to be a member of His church today is to reject the creeds, manuals, and catechisms of the denominations, and just be Christians, wearing the name of Christ. This is the plea of the churches of Christ.

SALVATION

GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS — BOB PRICHARD

The story is told of two softball-loving brothers who made a pact that if one made it to heaven before the other, he would call back to report if there was softball in heaven. According to the story, one brother died, and true to their pact, he called his brother, and said, “I have good news and bad news. The good news is that they have softball in heaven, but the bad news is that you are pitching next Tuesday.” Of course this is just a story, and going to heaven would certainly not be bad news, but life is filled with good and bad news.

SOME BAD NEWS

The worst news of all time is that Adam and Eve sinned against God by eating the forbidden fruit. “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Genesis 3:4-6).

Disobeying God didn’t make them wise. It cost them dearly. “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Romans 8:22). The tragedy is that we follow in their footsteps. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

SOME GOOD NEWS

Despite our problem of sin, the situation is not hopeless. Paul, as an ambassador for Christ said, “We pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:20-21). Peter announced to the multitude on Pentecost, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:36-38). The response was great. “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41). “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47). That is good news!

MORE BAD NEWS

Despite God’s intricate plans for His church, man has disrupted and divided the church of the New Testament. God has given direction of what the church should be in the Bible. Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17). Later in His prayer, Jesus prayed for modern man: “Neither pray I for these alone [the Apostles], but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:20-21).

Sadly, in a nation that has experienced religious freedom, men have used that freedom to deviate from God’s plans and make man-made rules for the church. Paul warned Timothy, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth” (1 Timothy 4:1-3). Even in our life-time, we have experiences religious bodies doing these very things.

SOME MORE GOOD NEWS

But our religious world does not have to continue being divided and in defiance of the wishes of the Savior. The Bible is our guidebook, and as long as we stay with the Bible, we can have unity. When we adhere to creeds, handbooks, catechisms and books of discipline, we will necessarily have division. We look back to the example of King Josiah who came to the throne of Judah at 8 years old, and then at 16 began to restore what had been lost. When a copy of the law, which had been lost in the neglected temple was found, Josiah “made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book” (2 Chronicles 34:31).

We can do the same thing. In the parable of the sower, Jesus said, “The seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11). If we will plant the pure seed of the gospel, we can expect to reap the pure harvest of the gospel, the one church of the New Testament. If we will do what they did in New Testament days, we will be members of the same church. Peter commanded those whose hearts were pricked by the gospel, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38).

The great news is that you can do the same today. If we can assist you in obeying the gospel of Christ, please contact us.

BIBLE QUESTIONS, CHURCH, SALVATION

HOW DO YOU JOIN THE CHURCH OF CHRIST? — BOB PRICHARD

People join many organizations, from civic clubs like Rotary and Lions, to personal development clubs like Toastmasters, to special interest organizations like the P. T. A. It is natural then that most people think about “joining” the church. As strange as it may seem, however, that one cannot “join the church of Christ.” The idea of joining the church carries with it the thought that the church is just like other organizations that you may join at will. The church is unlike any other organization on earth, however, because of its divine origin.

If you cannot join the church, then how do you become a member of the church? The second chapter of Acts describes the beginning of the Lord’s church, on the day of Pentecost, almost two thousand years ago. The last verse of the chapter says, “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).  Notice that we do not join the church, but the Lord adds those who are saved to the church. Some discount the value of the Lord’s church, and say that it really is unimportant, but the church is the body of Christ. “He [Christ] is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the prominence” (Colossians 1:18). The church is so valuable that Christ sacrificed Himself for it. Paul commanded, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it” (Ephesians 5:25).

Since “the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47), and the church is the body of Christ, and He “gave himself for it,” salvation and the church are intimately tied together. The Lord gives salvation and adds to His church at the same time. The key then, is “What must I do to be saved?” After hearing the sermon on the day of Pentecost, realizing that they had crucified the very Son of God, the multitude gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost cried out, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). Their cry showed that they wanted to turn from sin and obey Christ. Peter’s reply was, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38).

Those on Pentecost expressed faith in Jesus Christ by the very nature of their question, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said, “repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission [forgiveness] of sins.” The response was such that “they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41). Three thousand obeyed Christ in baptism, and the Lord added them to His church. None “joined the church,” but all were added by the Lord. The other conversion accounts in Acts show that each person found salvation by obeying the Lord in baptism, following repentance and faith in Christ. We do not join the church, but when we obey the Lord, He adds us to His church.

BIBLE QUESTIONS, CHURCH, JOHN

ARE THE DENOMINATIONS BRANCHES OF THE TRUE VINE? — BOB PRICHARD

As Jesus prepared His apostles for His departure, He told them the parable of the vine and the branches. He had just instituted the Lord’s Supper, with the elements of the bread and the fruit of the vine, so the picture of the vine and the branches would have been very clear to the disciples. Jesus immediately identified Himself as the vine: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman” (John 15:1). Having identified Himself as the vine, He identified the work of the branches as that of bearing fruit, warning that the husbandman takes away unfruitful branches. “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit” (John 15:2).

Some suggest that this parable is a picture of the contemporary church, with all the various denominations and sects coming together to form the Lord’s church. It is sometimes shown in the form of a tree, with various branches depicting the way in which different religious groups have grown out of one another. The text reveals, however, that the branches are not the different religious sects of “Christendom,” but instead are individual Christians.

Jesus was speaking in John 15 to the apostles, individuals, not religious groups. Notice the emphasis on what the individual disciple must do. “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples” (John 15:5-8). Jesus told the disciples, “ye are the branches,” and “if a man abide not in me.” The branches are people, not churches!

The branches must bear fruit for the husbandman. The fruitfulness that the Lord wants, which is the product of a Christian life, comes only from abiding in Christ. The branch cannot bear fruit of itself, “for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:4-5). What we can do in Christ, however, is unlimited. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). The key is to be in Christ, abiding in Him. Paul said, “as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27).

Christ did not want His followers to be divided among the various religious groups and denominations. As He prepared for the cross, He prayed, “Neither pray I for these alone [the apostles], but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:20-21). He wanted all who believe the testimony of the apostles to be united.