A Word About Churches of Christ...
Who are the churches of Christ?
"The churches of Christ salute you," is a statement made by the apostle Paul in Romans 16:16. In Paul's day, the churches of Christ were localized groups of Christians who assembled themselves together to perform specific duties. They were non-denominational, had no earthly headquarters, followed the New Testament as their only standard in religion and worshipped and worked together in ways revealed to them by the Word of God. Each congregation operated independently of each other, though they would assist each other at times of urgent need. Churches of Christ speak where the Bible speaks and remain silent where it is silent. They do Bible things in Bible ways and call Bible things by Bible names. They love peace, unity and righteousness. Today, churches of Christ seek to be the same as their early brothers and sisters. They love people. They do not want to simply be different, but they do want to be the same as the churches approved of by the apostles of Jesus Christ.
How do churches of Christ worship?
Using the pattern of the churches in the Bible, churches of Christ today worship God "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24), which means they have the proper attitude and do the proper things. They assemble regularly (Hebrew 10:25) on the first day of each week to eat the Lord's Supper (Act 20:7). This is God's law on the eating of the Lord's Supper. There is no authorization in the Bible to eat it once a month, once or twice a year, etc. If so, where? They sing spiritual songs of worship to God to encourage each other in their faith (Colosians 3:16). Christians do not use instruments of music to worship God since the early church did not use them. Instrumental music was a physical form of worship under the Old Testament that went out with burning incense, varied sacrifices, physical cleansings and a physical temple. The only instrument that New Testament Christians make melody with is their heart during a capella singing (Ephesians 5:19). With this agree the greatest voices of the Reformation (Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Knox, Wesley, etc.). Their followers did not follow their warnings since it is fun and entertaining. The attitude or spirit of Christians is to let God's will be done, not our own. Christians gave toward the work of the local church (1 Corinthians 16:1,2), not a tithe, but as they prospered (2 Corinthians 9:7). They prayed to God in worship and in need, asking for God's blessing on their lives and in the furtherance of the Gospel of Jesus to save a lost and dying world (Acts 12:12). They learned the doctrine of the apostles (Acts 2:42) and heard the Word of God preached to them (Acts 20:7).
What do the churches of Christ emphasize?
The churches of Christ emphasize the importance of the individual going to heaven. As simple as this may sound, the Bible teaches that few will find the way to heaven (Matthew 7:13,14) and that there will be many who think that they are saved but will find out that they were never saved (Matthew 7:21-23). This is of great concern to Christians, so great emphasis is placed upon making sure that we are doing "the will of the Father who is in heaven," and not the will of men, organized religion or human philosophies. Doctrinal purity, love for each other and those of the world and personal morality and ethics are very important to us. Those who have difficulty with the above are lovingly cared for and encouraged. All we want is to go to heaven and see you there too!
How do the churches of Christ view the Bible?
The Bible is the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12) with power to work within its hearers (2 Thessalonians 2:13) and create faith (Romans 10:17). It is as good as hearing God's own voice and contains all that a Christian needs to know to be a mature disciple (2 Timothy 3:15,16). Writers were guided by the Holy Spirit to preserve the writings from common human weaknesses in reasoning and judgment (2 Peter 1:20-21). It must be properly interpreted (2 Timothy 2:15). Those who do not know how to interpret it can cause great spiritual harm on both themselves and others who believe them (2 Peter 3:16-17). It is divided into two major sections. The Old Testament contains the records of the beginning of the earth, fall of man and early stages of God's redemptive plan. It contains the Law of Moses given to the Israel of old and many promises and prophecies of a coming Savior and kingdom. The New Testament contains the fulfillment of the promises of a Savior, His church or kingdom and signals the end of the Law of Moses and establishment of the New Covenant (Hebrews 9:15; 10:9). The New Testament is the guide for the church in matters of religious practice. The Old Testament provides examples that we need to study (1 Corinthians 10:11), but since Jesus took it out of the way and established His New Covenant, the Old Testament no longer can authorize any religious practice in the church of Christ (Galatians 5:1-4) whether that be a special priesthood, burning incense, offering sacrifices, being circumcised, using instrumental music in worship or worshipping on the sabbath day (Saturday) over Sunday, the first day of the week. Christians are strongly encouraged to interpret the Bible for themselves and study with each other to gain greater insight into the Truth.
Do members of churches of Christ speak in tongues and perform miracles?
Today, members of churches of Christ do not speak in tongues that they have not learned and perform miracles for one reason: no one does or can anymore! The Bible teaches that these special gifts from God would only be with the churches in the first century until "the perfect came," then the "parts" (miraculous gifts) would go away (1 Corinthians 13:8-10). "That which is perfect" is the perfect law of liberty mentioned in James 1:25, or the Bible. The church needed the special gifts of the Holy Spirit while the New Testament, the perfect law of liberty, was being written by the apostles and New Testament prophets. Once it was finished it would supply the church will all the guidance needed (2 Peter 1:2-4) including eyewitness accounts of Jesus' life, miracles and teaching (the 4 Gospels). Tongues are "languages in the world" (1 Corinthians 14:10). The gift allowed people to speak in human languages never learned (Acts 2:4-8). No one today claiming this gift can do this, that is, never learning French to speak it fluently. And modern day "faith" healers fail to heal people, though no one with the gift of healing in the Bible ever failed to heal anyone! They are "fake" healers today, not "faith" healers. Remember that those who found out that they were never saved in Matthew 7:21-23 claimed to be able to perform miracles. They were deceived.
How are churches of Christ governed?
In the first century, each church of Christ had elders that oversaw the local church (Acts 20:28). Their oversight was limited to the church at which they worshipped, and there was no office, organization, council, conference or assembly to which local church elders answered. The headquarters of the church is where the Head "quarters" or lives. Our Head is in Heaven and that is where the headquarters of the churches of Christ is.
How do you join the churches of Christ?
You do not "join" the churches of Christ like you join a human denomination. The Lord Himself adds you to his universal body when you are baptized in His name for the forgiveness of your sins (Acts 2:38-47). You then join in fellowship with Christians organized according to the Biblical pattern. You should never join a human denomination! The Bible strictly forbids this (1 Corinthians 1:10-13; 3:1-4; 4:6).
Who is welcome in the churches of Christ?
YOU ARE! And everyone who wants to learn the truth, please God and GO TO HEAVEN!