Q: Who is the church of Christ?

 

A: We are Christians. We are not a denomination. The only creed we recognize and follow as authoritative is the Bible. We believe in the church Jesus promised to build. Jesus said:

 

…I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18 (KJV)

 

He succeeded. You can see this by reading through the book of Acts and the rest of the New Testament (NT). His church grew and has spread throughout the entire world.








Q: Who is the church of Christ in the Bible?

 

A: The Apostle Paul wrote the following:

 

Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you. (Romans 16:16 KJV)

 

“The churches of Christ” refers to other churches or congregations that existed when Paul wrote this letter. Who is the church of Christ in the Bible? It is a Biblical name for a group of Christians.








Q: Who is the founder church of Christ? Who is the head of church of Christ?

 

A: The answer to both of these questions is Jesus Christ. In the church of Christ, we are not interested in following traditions or churches started by uninspired men. We believe Jesus when He said, “I will build my church” found in Matthew 16:18.

 

In the church of Christ, we do not regard any single person on earth, or committee of men, or conference, or legislative body as an authority (or head) which makes decisions for the church at large.

 

For example, the headquarters of the United Methodist Church is located in Nashville, TN. Also, they have a council of bishops, and one of them serves as the president of the bishops, which essentially is the head of their religious organization.

 

In the church of Christ we regard no kind of earthly head or headquarters. Rather, we believe Jesus is the head of the church, and thus the church’s headquarters is in heaven, 1 Peter 3:21-22.








Q: What does the church of Christ teach about the Holy Spirit?

 

A: Members of the church of Christ believe in in the Holy Spirit, and we believe He is part of the Godhead (or what is commonly called the Trinity). Jesus said:

 

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (Matthew 28:19 KJV)

 

Here, the word “name” means authority. Jesus instructed the apostles to teach and baptize people of all nations “in the name” of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Therefore, the Spirit has the same name/authority as the Father and Son.








Q: What does the church of Christ believe?

 

A: Let me answer this question with a question. What should any Christian believe? Why are there so many different groups which call themselves Christians, and yet they have different beliefs, even conflicting beliefs?

 

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. (1 Corinthians 1:10 KJV)

 

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17 KJV) 

 

What does the church of Christ believe? We believe that faith which is pleasing to God comes from hearing & believing the Bible.








Q: What does the church of Christ believe about baptism?

 

A: In the church of Christ, we want to know what did Jesus say about baptism? What did His apostles say about baptism? Consider two passages about baptism:

 

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. (Mark 16:15–16 KJV)

 

This is what the church of Christ believes. Belief and baptism are part of the gospel message. Belief and baptism are both necessary responses to the gospel for salvation. Not belief without baptism, or baptism without belief, but belief and baptism.

 

If a person rejects the gospel, then obviously he or she is not going to fulfill what it teaches. Therefore, Jesus simply says in verse 16, “…but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Jesus did not need to say: He that believeth not and is baptized not shall be damned. Such a statement would be redundant. People who lack belief in Jesus are not going to submit to His command to be baptized.

 

Some Bible translations will have a note connected to Mark 16:9ff. It will say something along these lines:

 

“The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9-20” (NIV).

 

I believe this note is quite unfortunate and misleading. This sentence alone would lead someone to think verses 9ff are illegitimate. Some people will use these footnotes to argue that Christians should not have any faith in the things mentioned in Mark 16:9ff.

 

How many of the Greek manuscripts are lacking Mark 16:9-20? A grand total of 3. There are over 1,200 manuscripts which testify to the reading of Mark’s account. One Biblical scholar has written the following about all this:

 

“Of the 1,200 plus documents, only 3 of them are completely lacking 16:9-20” (Wilbur Pickering ThM, PhD, The Identity of the New Testament Text IV.).

 

I suggest to you, there is no reason you should doubt the authenticity of Mark 16:9ff.

 

If you are interested in the topic of Baptism, read the following passages: Romans 6:1-7; Colossians 2:10-15; Acts 2:36-43, 8:26-40.

 

Jesus commanded baptism, therefore it is essential. Those who downplay its essentialness are in opposition to a command Jesus Himself gave.








Q: What does the church of Christ believe about salvation?

 

A: We believe sin is humanity’s greatest problem. We also believe Jesus is the only one who can save humanity from sin.

 

And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (John 2:2 (KJV)

 

In this verse, propitiation means atoning sacrifice. Jesus atones (a combination of the words at and one) for us so we can be reconciled to God. We go from being separated from God because of sin, to being at one with God because of Jesus’ sacrifice.

 

The NT teaches that for Christ’s sacrifice to be applied to you, you must:








Q: When did the church of Christ start?

 

A: Looking at the big picture, the church started before time as we know it.

 

According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, (Ephesians 1:4–5 KJV)

 

The phrase “churches of Christ” occurs in Romans 16:16. It is a Biblical description of Christians.

 

The church at Rome, the churches of Galatia, the church at Corinth, and the other groups of Christians we can read about in the NT were all churches of Christ. They were Christians.

 

According to Ephesians chapter one, when did God choose to adopt people “by Jesus Christ to himself”? The text says He made this choice “before the foundation of the world.”

 

Before God created the world, He had a plan to adopt men and women, and that plan would be carried out through Jesus Christ. Therefore, the Bible teaches that, in one sense, the church of Christ started before time as we know it. (It started in the mind of God).

 

There is a second, more definite answer to the question, “When did the church of Christ start”?

 

Jesus said He would build His church, Matthew 16:18. When did He accomplish this? After the four gospel accounts, the next book in the NT is The Acts of the Apostles.

 

In Acts, the first occurrence of the word “church” is in 2:47.

 

Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. (Acts 2:47 KJV)

 

You can also read about the church in Acts 5:11, 8:1, and many other verses in the book of Acts and other books of the NT.

 

In these verses the church is not promised to arrive one day, but that it was a present reality. In the first century, the church Jesus promised to build was established, and the Lord Himself added people to it.

 

Therefore, the church started in approximately A.D. 33. It started in Jerusalem. And it was started (built) by Jesus Christ.








Q: Didn’t Alexander Campbell start the church of Christ?

 

A: Some people mistakenly believe, or even falsely claim, that a man named Alexander Campbell started the church of Christ.

 

In the United States, in the 1800’s, a religious effort started called the restoration movement. It was a unique period in time in which people had newfound freedom. One of the freedoms was/is the freedom of religion. This was so important to Americans, it became part of our constitution. The first amendment states the following:


“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”


This amendment was adopted in 1791, shortly before the restoration movement took place in the U.S.


People desired to practice their faith without the government intervening. It was a time of great awakening, a time of revival in which many people were reading the Bible with open hearts.

 

During the period called the restoration movement, there were an increasing number of people who wanted to get back to what the Bible says, following it without adding to it or taking away from it. Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and others were giving up their denominational names and traditions. Instead. they started to simply call themselves Christian (without any denominational title). They made it their goal to follow the teachings and traditions revealed in the NT.

 

During this time, Alexander Campbell became one of the leading figures of the restoration movement. Because of this, some people incorrectly think he started the church of Christ, and that members of the church of Christ follow his teachings. However, this idea is contrary to the entire purpose of the restoration movement and what churches of Christ believe.

 

The church of Christ puts their confidence in Jesus. We desire to be a part of what Jesus built, not following the teachings of an uninspired man who lived in the 1800’s.

 

The apostle Paul wrote the following to Christians who were in Rome:

 

Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you. (Romans 16:16 KJV)

 

Paul spoke about “churches of Christ” long before Alexander Campbell lived, and long before the United States existed. This is the church we aspire to be, the church of Christ, meaning the church which belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ.








Q: Why doesn’t the church of Christ accept denominationalism?

 

A: How is a Christian supposed to view the practice of denominationalism? Where can you learn about denominations to form an opinion about them?

 

You cannot learn about any Christian denomination from the NT. The specific word “denomination” does not occur in the NT. When you look up the word in a dictionary, some will define it as sectarianism (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary & The American Heritage Dictionary).

 

Now, the word “sect” does occur in the Bible. You can find it in a list described as the “works of the flesh” in Galatians 5. The works of the flesh are sinful practices. Paul warns that the person who persists in these works “shall not inherit the kingdom of God,” Galatians 5:21.

 

Found in this list is the word “heresies.” This is how the King James Version translates it. Other translations say: “parties” (ASV), “divisions” (ESV), “factions” (NASB), and “sects” (YLT). Not only is the justification of this practice lacking in the NT, but the Scriptures expressly denounce the practice of dividing Christians into various factions and parties.

 

Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance. (2 Peter 1:15 KJV)

 

Peter speaks about the perpetual validity of NT Doctrine. How are we supposed to think about 2 Peter and the rest of the NT books? Should we think Peter and the other apostles have died, the NT is old, and so we should invent our own kind of Christianity? This kind of thinking is inconsistent with Peter’s words. Peter knew he was going to die. And he desired that even after his death that believers in Christ would “always” keep his teachings in remembrance.

 

To recap: there is no justification for the practice of denominationalism. The Scriptures specifically reprove this practice in Galatians 5:20. And the teachings of the NT are the perpetual standard every believer should trust.








Q: Why does the church of Christ not use instruments? Why does the church of Christ sing acapella?

 

A: Let me answer this question with several relevant questions.

 

Why did the Presbyterian church at one point not use instruments?

 

Why did the early Catholic church not use instruments?

 

Why did the Lutheran church at one point not use instruments?

 

Why did Methodists at one point not use instruments?

 

John Calvin was the founder of the Presbyterian denomination, and he is one of the more well-known protestant reformers. He wrote the following in his commentary on Psalm 33: “But when they frequent their sacred assemblies, musical instruments in celebrating the praises of God would be no more suitable than the burning of incense, the lighting up of lamps, and the restoration of the other shadows of the law. The Papists, therefore, have foolishly borrowed this, as well as many other things, from the Jews”


(His commentary is in the public domain. I encourage all Calvinists who use musical instruments in their worship of God to search for his commentary online. Read all his comments on Psalm 33.)


Calvin did not believe the use of musical instruments were a godly practice. How many Calvinists today worship God with pianos, guitars, drums, etc.?

 

“The organ in the worship of God is an ensign of Baal. The Roman Catholic borrowed it from the Jews.” –Martin Luther

 

“I have no objection to the organs in our chapels, as long as they are neither seen nor heard.” –John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church

 

Adam Clarke:

 

“I farther believe that the use of such instruments of music, in the Christian Church, is without the sanction and against the will of God; that they are subversive of the spirit of true devotion, and that they are sinful.”

 

“Music, as a science, I esteem and admire: but instruments of music in the house of God I abominate and abhor. This is the abuse of music; and here I register my protest against all such corruptions in the worship of the Author of Christianity.”

 

Charles Spurgeon, probably the most famous Baptist preacher who ever lived, said:

 

“I would as soon pray to God with machinery as sing to God with machinery.” –Charles Spurgeon

 

Some people today in the denominational world are unaware of their own history. Not too long ago, Catholics, Methodists, Lutherans, and others believed the use of musical instruments was an error. They believed the use of instruments showed a flawed understanding of the Bible, and that such worship was sinful.

 

Regarding the use of musical instruments, the church of Christ stands out today because we did not change, even though everyone else has.

 

How are you supposed to worship God? Where in the NT can you read about Christians playing a harp, playing a drum, or playing a trumpet in worship to God? O yes! The ancient Jews did, there is no doubt about it. But they also had the Levitical priesthood, sacrificed animals, kept the Passover, and did everything else that is part-and-parcel with the Law of Moses. They did things Christians do not do.

 

Why does the church of Christ not use musical instruments when they worship? The NT repeatedly instructs believers to “sing.” There is not a single command, nor example, of a Christian worshipping God with an instrument in the NT.

 

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16 KJV)