Basic Biblical Principles 3

   Jesus, as God’s son, came to earth to live a sinless life, gave Himself as the perfect sacrifice on the cross, was buried, and was resurrected on the third day to reign forever as our spiritual king. This is the underlying message of the New Testament.

   He lived on earth as an example for us. He sacrificed His life on the cross to pay the price for our sin that we could not pay. He arose on the third day to show that He had overcome death and to establish His kingdom. He ascended into heaven to prepare a place for us. A significant result of all of this was the establishment of Christ’s church. God made Christ the head of the church (Eph. 1:22). Christ is also the foundation of the church (Matt. 16:15-19).

   But what exactly is the church? Do we say we meet at the church on the corner of Telegraph and Bryn Mawr? Many people think of churches in this way, but the church is NOT a building. Look up “church” in your concordance and replace the word “church” with “building” in those verses and see how funny it sounds.

   The church is a collection of people. It is made up of the “called out”, the sanctified people who call upon Jesus Christ as Lord (1 Cor. 1:2), in other words, those who are saved. The church is Christ’s body (Eph. 1:23).

   How many churches did God create? Or asked another way, how many bodies does Christ have? Of course the answer to both questions is one. The critical question we have to ask ourselves is, “Am I a member of that church?” Acts 2:38 and many other scriptures tell us how to become a member of the one and only church. We are to repent of our sins and be immersed in water for the remission of our sins. We then have to live our lives according to the principles set forth in the bible.

   So far I have only talked about the worldwide church, but the bible also uses the word church to refer to a local congregation of believers. This raises a very sensitive issue. There are many organizations that call themselves churches. To which of these should I belong? I should belong to the one that matches the biblical pattern set forth in the New Testament. Do the organizations that refer to themselves as the “Churches of Christ” match that biblical pattern? The “Churches of Christ” were founded on the principle of restoring the New Testament church. Based on my study of the New Testament, I strongly believe that we have come very close to the biblical pattern in many important areas: membership requirements; organization; funding; worship; and others. Have we perfectly restored the New Testament church? Probably not, we need to study with an open mind to learn what the bible is telling us and put into practice what we learn.

   Now comes the really sticky part. If I am a member of a “Church of Christ” does that automatically make me a member of the one true church? I would like to say yes, but unfortunately I can’t. For example, one could be a member of the “Church of Christ” and be secretly and knowingly living a sinful life. Also, one could be a “member” if one claimed to be immersed for remission of sins, when they in fact had not. On the other side of the coin, if I am not a member of a “Church of Christ” does that mean that I am not saved? This is a question that I cannot answer. I live an imperfect life and worship in a congregation that is not absolutely perfect, yet I fully believe that through God’s grace I am saved. Does God’s grace extend to someone who was scripturally immersed, lives according to God’s principles, except that he worships in a “church” that is not properly organized? I do not know. Just how far does God’s grace extend? That is up to God, not me. What I do know is that the safest path is the one that is described in the bible. Why take a chance by cutting corners or doing things according to man’s wisdom? Let us study to find the perfect path to salvation, so that we can then show others the way.

Steve Truman