The one church that Christ purchased with His own blood
belongs to Him and the name it wears must honor Him. We read in
Romans 16:16, "The
churches of Christ greet you." This name glorifies and honors
Christ, the one who built it. Other names honor and glorify John the
Baptist, Martin Luther, the day of Penticost, the apostles, Rome, Antioch,
Nazareth, the Greeks, the Russians, the methodical way of doing things,
Christians, the free will, being primitive, southern, missionary, general,
the seventh day, science, catholic, the advent, and the list goes on and
on. Even by their names they do not claim to be Christ's one church. Why
canít we give the glory and honor to God and Christ where the honor
belongs?
Today we hear the sincere but mistaken plea to "attend the
church of your choice." Why not attend the church of God's choice, the
church of Christ, the only one that Jesus
"purchased with His own blood" (Acts 20:28). Christ did not shed His blood to
purchase any denomination nor did He purchase a group of
denominations. The word denomination means a fraction or part of a
whole. The Lord's church is not a fraction or a part of
anything. It is complete within itself.
Any church
claiming to be the only church Jesus bought with His own blood should be
able to prove from the Bible they are that church of the Bible. Can the
church which you are a member prove that it is the one and only church the
Lord built, which is the church of Christ? If it canít then you will be
laboring in vain if you stay in it. This may sound harsh. I say this with
sincerity and sadness, but it will really be harsh if you are lost in
eternity. We must wake up because this concerns the welfare of our souls
and where we will spend eternity. People too long have ignored what the
Lord has said in the Bible and have blindly followed men.
In order
to be in the one church the Lord established, those added to it by the
Lord must be saved according to His requirements. In
Acts 2:47 we read,
"And the Lord added to the church daily those who
were being saved." The Lord only adds the saved to His church.
There are no unsaved people in His church. We are not saved just because
we think or feel in our hearts we are. We are saved only when we have done
what God has said we must do. Jesus says in
Matthew 7:21, "Not
everyone who says to Me Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven,
but he who does the will of My Father which is in heaven." We must
do God's will, not manís will, to go to heaven.
According to the
Bible, who are the saved? Jesus is quite clear as to who the saved are.
Jesus says in Mark l6:16,
"He that believes and is baptized shall be
saved." A person has to have help to misunderstand what the Lord
says here. Here we see the Bible says we must believe and be baptized in
order to be saved. This is what Jesus says. But men have tried to change
what the Lord has said. Men say that one does not have to be baptized, to
be saved. Who are you going to follow men or Christ? Jesus says in
John 12:48, "The
word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day." We
are not going to be judged by what our preacher says.
And also
Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3:21,
"The like figure baptism does now save us."
Only when we have obeyed the Lordís command to be baptized will we be
saved. The Bible will be the only standard of judgment on Judgment Day,
and not what we think or what men say. Are you putting your trust and
confidence in what men say or what God has said in the Bible? You are
making this choice everyday as to who you are following.
Also in
order to be the church which Jesus built, the church must worship God and
Christ according to the way They have specified. We are told in
Ephesians 5:17,
"Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the
will of the Lord is." It is very unwise not to find out and
understand what the will of the Lord is from the Bible. Many people
are not finding out for themselves but are relying on someone else to tell
them. All you have to do is look around and see all of the differing
doctrines that are being taught in all the different churches. Are they
understanding and following the will of God? Absolutely not. If they were
there would only be the one church, which Christ established, the church
of Christ. What a pitiful condition the religious world is in, one of
which people should be ashamed, but they are not.
If you are not
worshipping God and Christ the way They have specified in the Bible then
your worship is vain. Our Lord says in Mark
7:7, "And in vain they worship Me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." Have you been
following the commandments of men and only some of what God says in the
Bible? If you have then your worship is vain. Jesus says in
Matthew 28:20,
"Teaching them to observe all things that I have
commanded you." We must observe all things and only the
things the Lord has commanded us. Is your worship vain? If it is
then it will do you no good and you will be lost eternally. Please
follow God and not men.
Questions Lesson 23 The
Lord's Church (Part B) (click on the button
of the answer of your choice)
1) (Romans 16:16) Which church do you read about
in the Bible? Baptist Church. Lutheran Church. Church of
Christ.
2)
The Methodist Church is mentioned in the Bible. 3)
(Acts 2:47) How do you get into the Lord's church? You join His church. The Lord adds the saved to the church. You are voted into His
church.
4)
Only the saved are added to the Lord's church. 5) (Acts 20:28) Christ purchased His church with Money. Nothing since it didn't cost Him anything. His own
blood.
6)
Any church claiming to be the one church the Lord purchased with His
own
blood should be able to prove from the Bible they are that
church. 7) (Mark 7:7) If we try to worship God according to the doctrines of
men It will be alright if we are sincere. It is vain. God will overlook
it.
8)
If our worship is vain it will cause us to be lost.