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The following are several frequently
asked questions along with answers regarding the Church of Christ. This
list is not meant to be exhaustive but represents many of the common questions that
are asked. Like everything else, we invite you to study your Bible to
learn all that you can about the Lord's Church.
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1.
Question: Is the name important? I go to
a church that has a different name. What difference does a name make anyway?
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answer: As with everything else concerning
religion, we believe that Christians should try to emulate the first century church. This is because
that it was during this time that the Apostles and other divinely inspired men taught, wrote, and led the
Church along with the fact that major error had not yet entered into the church's teachings.
The idea is that if we can copy the first century church then we are sure that we will be emulating the church
in its "purest form". This is actually the intention of the restoration movement. The
Christians that met together during the first century referred to the church by a collection of different names.
Among those found in the scriptures is Church of God, the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ, Household of
God, and Church of Christ. The word church, as it is used in scripture, can refer to the overall
people of God or to a local group meeting at a particular place. All of these names can refer to the
entire people of God but to recognize a local congregation we again look to the scriptures. In I
Corinthians 1:2 Paul writes to "The church of God at Corinth". In Romans 16:16 we read that "the Churches
of Christ
salute you". Either name is scriptural but to keep down confusion, and to honor Christ, who is the
head of the church, we use the name Church of Christ. We believe that a name is
important. Corporations pay enormous sums of money to protect their logo. Why? Because they know
that a name is important. Why is it any less true for the Lord's Church. Since all authority was given by
God to His Son, then man should be accountable to that authority. This should include the
name
given to a local congregation of Christians. The name should be scriptural.
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2. Question: Why do members of the Church of
Christ partake of the Lord's Supper every Sunday? Doesn't this cause something as important as the Lord's Supper to
become "common" and lessen its seriousness?
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answer: When we look at the scriptures, we find that there are
three methods by which we can know Christ's intentions for us: direct commandment,
example of the Apostles, and necessary inference. One particular direct commandment was given by Christ to "Go
ye into all the world and preach the Gospel...", Mark 16:16. We can find many examples
of how we should conduct our lives from the lives of the apostles. We can understand that in order to
sing then songbooks are a
necessity. This is necessary inference. If we are presented with a
question regarding the church, look at the scriptures and find out if there is a commandment, example, or
inference that covers the situation. If there is, then we are under the authority of God and Christ to act
accordingly. In this case, there is actually both a commandment and example that tells us
about the observance of the
Lord's Supper, sometimes called communion and referred to by later church fathers as the
"Eucharist", which means celebration. In Acts 20:7, we find "And upon the first day of the
week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them...". Jesus himself instituted
the Lord's Supper by commandment in Matthew 26: 26-29. In I Corinthians 11:26 Paul commands
"For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come." So we can see quite plainly
that we are to partake of the Lord's Supper each first day of the week (Sunday), as
we do this we are to remember Christ's death, and we are to do this until Christ comes again.
As with many other issues, this is not a matter of how man feels but rather a matter of what Christ and His
Apostles have set down for us to do.
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3. Question:
Why doesn't the Church of Christ have fellowship with other
denominations? After all, we are all Christians
and all trying to get to Heaven. Doesn't this lack of fellowship make the Church of
Christ judgmental and narrow minded?
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answer: The heart of a question like
this deals with the real meaning of the Church of Christ. Like we have seen in a question
above, according to scripture, the phrase "Church of Christ, can name a local
congregation or it can refer to the entire population of Christians worldwide. In
either case, Christ is the head of the church. In Matthew chapter 28, Jesus said that
"All authority has been given to me...". God, the Father, gave all
authority to Christ to be head over the Church. It was in God's plan from the creation of the world that
this be so and that the Church function as Christ's body when he returned to be
with the Father. In John 5:37 Jesus said "And the
Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me". In John 14:9 Jesus told
Philip "Have I been so long time with
you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that
hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?".
Again, in John 14:10 Jesus said "Believest thou not that I
am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but
the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works."
The question of authority is important because it is
Christ who is head of the church so it is He who has laid down the steps
necessary for entrance into the church. This plan for salvation was in God's mind
from the beginning of the world. In 2 Thessalonians 2:13 The apostle Paul
writes "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of
the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth". Look at
this passage closely. Who did Paul say were chosen for salvation? The answer is the
brethren to which he wrote. How were these brethren saved? The answer is through
sanctification of the Spirit and the belief in the truth. Sanctification in the
Spirit refers to the change in a persons
life that is experienced when he or she becomes
submissive to the teaching of the Gospel and follows the steps to being cleansed of
their sins. These steps are 1. Hear the Gospel 2.
Believe what is heard
3. Repent of past sins 4. Confess that Jesus is the Son of God
and
5. be Baptized in the name of Christ. Through these steps is a person
sanctified through the Spirit and it is by these same steps that a person becomes a Christian.
When a person becomes a Christian, Christ, by the authority of God, adds that
person to the membership of the church. So there is only one church because
there is only one way to added to it. In John 14:6 Jesus said
"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man
cometh unto the Father, but by me". Jesus
gave us only one way to be a member of His body, the church. Paul wrote in Ephesians
2:16 "And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross,
having slain the enmity thereby:". Paul also wrote in Ephesians
4:4 "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;".
So there is only one church-made up of people that have done what He has said to
do. There is no other way to be added to His body, the church. There are
many groups of people that call themselves denominations but unless they have done what
Jesus has said to do
in order to be part of His body, then they are not part
of His church. In fact, the notion of a denomination is foreign to the teaching of
the New Testament. This is not judgmental, narrow mindedness, or elitism. It
is just what the Scriptures say and what Jesus and His apostles have instituted.
We, as man, have no authority to change what Christ has ordained. We, as
members of the Church of Christ, do not hate or condemn anyone. This is not our
function. It is Christ that condemns
by the teachings of His word. We simply point out
what Christ, through the scriptures, has said. We gladly offer Christian
fellowship to anyone that has become a member of His church by obeying His teachings.
We hope that all men everywhere will learn of Christ and want to be a member
of His church since it is through this body that we have fellowship with each
other and with Christ.
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4. Question:
Why do you not call the preacher, at a local congregation of the Church of Christ, "Pastor"?
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Answer: There are many roles and
responsibilities within the Lord's Church. From the scriptures, we find that some men are
evangelists, some teachers, some elders or pastors [Ephesians 4:11], and some deacons
[Philippians 1:1]. During the first century, some men were also prophets,
apostles, and speakers of tongues (which just meant foreign languages) but these
were miraculous gifts that eventually ceased when the New Testament scriptures
were completed. The New Testament was written in Greek because that was the
common language of the day, much as English is a common language of today.
In the Greek language
of the first century, the word that was used for a
leader of a local congregation was "presbuteros" which, when transliterated into
English, becomes "presbyter". This same word is translated in the English New
Testament as elder [ I Peter 5: 1 and others] and bishop [I Timothy 3:1 and others].
In Titus 1: 5-9 the titles Elders and Bishop are both used but it is clear that they are
used interchangeably. The image of this office is that of a shepherd or pastor.
Just as a literal shepherd watches over the sheep, a pastor is to watch over the
souls of those in his keeping. The office of an elder or bishop is a
grave responsibility and not to be taken lightly. It is evident from the New
Testament scriptures that elders are to be the spiritual leaders of the local congregation.
Notice that this is different from an evangelist or preacher of the word of God. Notice
also that NOWHERE in the New Testament can you find a reference to a local
congregation having just one elder or bishop. Everywhere the
oversight of a local congregation is mentioned, a plurality or elders or bishops is indicated. In
keeping with our aim to try to call Bible things by Bible names and to do Bible things in
Bible ways, local congregations do not call the preacher a pastor but
rather call him what he is; a preacher or evangelist. We call the leadership
elders or bishops or pastors and
always make sure that there is more than one of these
men performing the duties of these office at the same time.
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5. Question:
Where are the headquarters of the Church of Christ?
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Answer: To respond to this question as it is
worded, the answer is "in Heaven". Ephesians 5:23 tells us that
"...Christ is head over the church...". Since He has returned to Heaven to be on the right-hand side of God
the Father, then we would have to say that the headquarters is wherever Christ
is: in Heaven. However, a person that asks this question usually means where is
the place on Earth that is the head congregation or "corporate headquarters" of
the Church of Christ. If this is the case, then the answer is there isn't one.
This is because there is not a pattern indicating a network of this type in the New
Testament. What you do find in the New Testament are local congregations bound by
their faith in Jesus Christ and in His teachings but completely autonomous, under
the oversight of local elders. Many denominations elect a "president"
and spend lavish amounts of money on a headquarters complex. This simply
cannot be found in the New Testament. God never intended for anyone but His
Son to be the head of the church.
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6. Question:
Why do Churches of Christ not believe in music during worship services?
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Answer: Members of the Church of Christ not only believe in
music being
incorporated into worship services, we look forward to
praising God in song. We also host many congregational and area-wide singing
events. If the intention of the question is to ask why we do not use instrumental
music during worship services, then please see the page titled Music, within
this web sight. Click the link at the top of this page titled "Music" or simply
click here
to take you there.
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If there are other questions
that you might have regarding the Church of Christ, feel free to write us
or to
e-mail us and we will be glad to respond. Just go to our page within this
site titled "Contact Us" or click
here to take you there. |
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New Antioch Church of Christ