About the church of Christ
While many religionists believe and teach that "the church" was an afterthought, the Bibe teaches that the church was in the mind and eternal purpose of God before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 3:9-11).
The church, the kingdom, and the body of Christ are three terms for the same institution (Matthew 16:17-19; Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:18, 24).
The church of Christ was neither established in the days of John the baptizer nor was it established by John the baptizer (Matthew 3:1-2; Mark 9:1; Luke 7:28).
Only after the first Pentecost after the ressurection of Christ was the church spoken of as being in existence (Acts 2:47; Colossians 1:13).
The church of Christ was not started by any man, not even Alexander Campbell. History demonstrates the existence of the church of Christ prior to any of the restoration figures. Too, the seed of the kingdom (church) is the Word of God (Luke 8:11). If in any time or generation, there is a complete apostasy of the true church, that seed can be planted in the hearts of men and the resulting product will be the establishment of and growth of the church of Christ (Acts 6:7).
The church of Christ is not a denomination. In fact, we repudiate the very idea of denominationalism. The division that exists today is the result of a rejection of the Word of God. If religious people would take the Word of God as their only source of authority, religious unity would be attainable (John 17:17-21).
Unlike denominational doctrine, the church of Christ teaches a plan of salvation straight from the New Testament. Never was anyone told to simply ask Jesus to come into their hearts. None were ever told to accept Jesus as their personal savior. These ideas are nothing more than the teachings of men. A complete consideration of what the Bible teaches about salvation will demonstrate the necessity of:
- Hearing the Gospel in its purity (Romans 10:17)
- Faith in Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God and the savior of the world (Hebrews 11:6)
- Repentance from sin (Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30)
- Confession of the deity of Christ (Matthew 10:32-33)
- Baptism in water for the purpose of having one's sins washed away (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21)
We must contact the blood of Christ in order to have our sins washed away (Revelation 1:5; 7:14). Jesus shed his blood in his death (John 19:34). It is in baptism that we contact His death and blood (Romans 6:3-7).