the7ones.comIs the church of Christ a denomination?
by Matt Clifton
It is the desire of the church of Christ to practice only what is found in scripture, and nothing that is absent. One idea that is conspicuously absent from scripture is denominationalism.
We read of one body (Eph. 4:4), the body of Christ, which is the church (Col. 1:18). We do not read of any groups with names like “baptist” or “methodist.” Instead, followers of Christ are only called Christians (Acts 11:26), and the church is called the church of Christ (Rom. 16:16) or the church of God (Acts 20:28).
Since Jesus Himself prayed that all followers would be one (John 17:20-21), all Christians should strive to be united.
Additionally, Paul taught that the following of different teachers to the extent that we wear their names is wrong (1 Cor. 1:10-13; 1 Cor. 3:1-4). Therefore, so is wearing of a denominational name, in that such names represent the differing teachings of the man who started the denomination.
For these reasons, the church of Christ is not a denomination.
For more information, please read Is There A Pattern For The Church?
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In the truest sense of dividing by name, the Church of Christ is a denomination because each local congregation decides that is what the name is on the building. There are many descriptive terms used in the Bible for God’s church. I wish the true churches of Christ would stop denominating themselves “The Church of Christ” because there is no proper name given Christ’s church. Christian is the only name refered to by Peter and in Acts. By naming ourselves, which is what we have done, we are denominating and it leads to denominational thinking and practices and to traditions being taught as doctrine. Many Christians feel this way who attend a Church of Christ. http://www.Bible.ca talks about this too, I am not the only one thinking like this.
Dennis,
Hello there! Thank you so much for dropping by and leaving a comment. I respect your thoughts on this subject, as it shows you are concerned about the plague of denominationalism in this world.
While Peter and the book of Acts may have only mentioned the term “Christians,” Paul refers to the church as the church of God or churches of Christ. Either of these terms are scripturally acceptable, since they originate from God and not from man.
By calling ourselves churches of Christ, we have not “named ourselves,” but rather we have simply accepted the terms God has used in His inspired word.
Thanks again for your good comments, and may God bless you as you seek to serve Him!
Matt
The true Church of Christ (that is the Body of Christ and not the denominational church of christ) is within the hearts of the believers and we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit who seals us unto salvation in Jesus Christ until the day of our redemption and it is not a building or a dwelling place that was built by the hands of man neither is it a denominational group of people gathered together because they differ from the rest in biblical opinion. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 “Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” and also 1 Corinthians 3:16 “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”
Gene,
Thanks for your comments. A question for you: do you believe someone who has an incorrect understanding of salvation as taught by the Bible is a member of the body of Christ?
Thanks!
Matt
Before I answer your question answer this one and then I will answer yours. Do you believe water baptism is essential for salvation? if one accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior and were bapized by the Holy Spirit (Acts 11:15-17″ And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?”) were to die before water baptism would they still be saved? If you cannot answer this queston according to scripture as taught by the Bible as a whole and not by partial Bible scripture like Acts 2:38 then neither will I answer your question. You said “It is the desire of the church of Christ to practice only what is found in scripture, and nothing that is absent.” This is true for the True Body of Christ but not for the denominational church of christ. So please do not leave anything out like Acts 10:43 “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” Romans 5:1 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Romans 10:9-10 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Jeremiah 17:14 “Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.” and 1 Corinthians 1:17 “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.” Paul would not have said these things without mention of water baptism and then actually say he was not sent to baptize if it is essential to salvation. So if you believe that it is essential then I would have to say that you are that “someone”.
Gene,
Of course.
Yes, this is what the scriptures teach.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit as found in Acts 2 and Acts 10 were miraculous outpourings, causing miraculous signs upon the recipient. These outpourings were not indicators of a point of salvation.
Were the disciples saved at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured upon them, or before when Christ was still alive? If you say they were already “saved” when Christ was alive, then you cannot assume that the outpouring of the Spirit upon them was a “point of salvation.” Likewise, the outpouring upon the Gentiles could not be proof of a “point of salvation,” since what happened to them was the same thing that happened to the apostles (Acts 11:17).
This outpouring was a miraculous sign that salvation was available to the Gentiles, not that salvation was already in hand for Cornelius and his family. If they were already saved, why would Peter go through the unnecessary action of baptizing them into Christ?
The reason Peter commanded them to be baptized was to meet the requirements of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20, Acts 2:38) for becoming a disciple and having sins remitted. It was also a requirement for being added to the church (Acts 2:41, Acts 2:47).
The Bible clearly teaches baptism is connected with salvation and the remission of sins. The NT teaches this in Matt. 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, John 3:5, Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, Romans 6:3-8, Galatians 3:26-29, Col. 2:12, Titus 3:5, and 1 Peter 3:21. Also note that every single conversion that took place in the book of Acts included water baptism.
For more on the difference between Holy Spirit baptism and water baptism commanded by the Great Commission, see Baptism: Water or Spirit?.
All these passages must be added to the totality of scriptures. If you take these passages and say that is all that is needed for salvation, you neglect the rest of the NT, namely the passages I listed above. We must take the whole counsel of God, not just the parts that agree with our theology.
See Paul and Baptism for an expansive treatment of this very subject, where you will find Paul was not teaching against baptism at all, nor was he denying its necessity.
Please, just weigh the scriptures on this matter. It does not matter what you and I think, but only what God says.
May He bless you greatly as you seek His will.
In Christ,
Matt
I agree what truly matters is what God has told us through his word in The Bible not leaving out any scriptures. But you still didn’t give me a strait answer to my question “if one accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior and were bapized by the Holy Spirit (Acts 11:15-17) were to die before water baptism would they still be saved?” I do not believe the diciples were saved before Jesus was crucified. This would not be possible before His death for He had not yet paid the price for their salvation which explains why Peter denied Him. They were saved at Pentecost other wise they would have began preaching before Pentecost. When Jesus sent them to preach before His death they were only to preach to the Jews and not the gentiles and He gave them the power to do so as the Bible clearly states.
I will answer your question even tho you didn’t fully answer mine.
To answer your question and it is a serious one. If baptism is essential for salvation, then to reject that gospel is to be damned. But if salvation is through faith in Christ alone, then to add baptism as a condition for salvation is to reject the true gospel and thus continue to be lost. So the answer obviously is yes one can be lead astray and remain lost by a misinterpretation of the Holy Scriptures just as the Jewish people did when they misinterpreted the prophesy scriptures concerning the coming of the Messiah. They understood the scriptures as being the setting up of the Davidic kingdom with the Messiah as King. Yet God had planned the rejection and crucifixion of the Messiah, (Ps chapter 22; Isa chapter 53) and so the end result of a misinterpretation of the Holy Scriptures can delay ones salvation and thus they would not be a member of the body of Christ.
Gene,
That’s great that we can at least agree on that much!
Gene, if you will review the post I made to you, I did indeed give you a straight answer. I said the Bible teaches that baptism is necessary or salvation. The answer therefore is no, not according to scriptures.
Do you therefore believe that everyone who died before Christ was crucified is eternally lost?
All men who are saved are saved by the blood of Christ. Men before Christ’s death were saved by obedient faith, looking forward to that “fullness of time,” as Abraham did.
The disciples were given what to speak “by the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you,” according to Jesus (Matt. 10:19-20). This is the same Holy Spirit that caused them to speak in tongues in Acts 2, and the same Holy Spirit that caused Cornelius and his family to speak in tongues in Acts 10. This miraculous power came upon them not as a proof of salvation, but rather as a sign. Cornelius and his family had to be baptized in water just like those in Acts 2 to receive the gift (indwelling) of the Holy Spirit.
Are you implying that a saved person could not deny Him?
To have faith in Christ alone is to have faith in His word. He said if you love me, keep My commandments (John 14:15). He said, “By My words you will be judged” (John 12:48). He said, “But why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do the things I say (Luke 6:46)?” Among the things He said is Mark 16:16:
Mar 16:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
God bless you,
Matt
Acts 15:6-11 (New King James Version)
The Jerusalem Council
Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”
The above verses and many more Bible scriptures both in the new and old testaments of which this page cannot contain teach the same thing and make the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus and the price He paid at calvary in our place the center and main focal point of the scriptures and makes no mention of water baptism for salvation and even the verses you refer to also support salvation by grace through faith in Christ who baptizes us with spiritual baptism (rebirth) unless of course you don’t believe in a spiritual rebirth either as Jesus described in John 3:5 of which your church takes completely out of context by refering to partial scripture because Jesus Himself interprets the scripture with the next verse. “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” To say He was meaning anything different is clearly wrong. I would take Jesus interpretation long before I would any other interpretation. He is not talking about water baptism here but spiritual rebirth if you read the whole chapter in context. This is exactly why your church is a denomination as it clearly misinterprets the Holy Scriptures and I can point out many with in your own comments here but I do not desire to debate this with you.
You asked “Are you implying that a saved person could not deny Him?” YES!
Hebrews 6:4-6 (King James Version) For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. (You are saying this what Peter did and that is absurd!)
You asked “Do you therefore believe that everyone who died before Christ was crucified is eternally lost? NO!
They were saved only after his death and resurrection. Romans 6:10 (King James Version) “For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.” (He died once for all, past, present and future generations.) Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the CAPTIVE’S, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,” and also Ephesians 4:8 “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led CAPTIVITY CAPTIVE, and gave gifts unto men.” and also 1 Peter 3:18-20 (King James Version) “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.”( I love this verse because it says they were saved by water and they were on top of the water while those being immersed in the water drowned and died.) It has nothing to do with water baptism.( By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah )
So Matt YOU basically deny that Jesus Christ and what He did at calvary can alone save you and that you have to be bapized by water and obey the Law of Moses to work your way to eternal life. You might as well revert back to animal sacrifices and circumcision since your faith is in John’s baptism that was only for the Jewish people and you apparently also depend on your own works of the flesh which is enmity towards God. Romans 8:7 (King James Version) “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
Water Baptism for the Body of Christ the Church is an outward sign of that inward washing, or sanctification of the Holy Spirit, which seals and evidences the believer’s justification. Let us examine ourselves, whether we really possess the inward and spiritual grace of a death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness, by which those who were the children of wrath become the children of God.
Its has been nice chatting with you Matt but I have to sign off. God bless and take care. May the Lord bless you and keep you and cause His face to shine upon you. May He open your eyes to the truth in the gospel of Christ Jesus by His Holy Spirit.
Gene
Gene,
I agree totally that the scriptures make the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ the center and main focal point of scripture. Knowing that He paid that price for us is awe-inspiring, and should lead us to obedience (John 14:15) as I mentioned in the last post. Because He commanded us to express our faith in Him by being baptized in His name for the remission of sins, to do so in no way diminished His work on the cross. In fact, it magnifies it by submitting to Him in obedience, as He did to the Father (Heb. 5:8-9).
Until the time of Calvin (1500’s), no one interpreted John 3:5 to refer to anything other than water baptism, which combined with the action of the Holy Spirit equaled conversion. Even Martin Luther, in his Sermons on the Gospel of St. John expressed the belief that water baptism is in view in this passage. Space does not permit a full exposition of the passage in this comments section, but if you’d like further study see Wayne Jackson on John 3:5, who has a great study posted.
Hold on, my friend. You make a false accusation here. The baptism of the New Covenant (Matt. 28:19, Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38) has nothing to do with the Law of Moses. To preach and teach the necessity of baptism is to preach and teach the same things the apostles did. The stance you are taking did not surface for about 1500 years after Christ!
If you could show scripture to that effect, we could talk about it better. However, the scripture do not say baptism is an “outward sign of that inward washing.” In fact, the scriptures do say that baptism is for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), making one a disciple (Matt. 28:19), putting one into the church (Acts 2:41,47) and putting one into Christ and making one an heir of the promise (Gal. 3:26-29).
And you also.
the robber who was crucified next to christ on the cross was assured he would be in heaven with jesus and that without baptism. now even jesus was baptisted not cos he needed to but as an example of what we shud do. now if if my belief is increased thru baptism then that is not a bad thing. remember that there are verses about arguing that most people dont like to bring up cos it doesn’t fit their cause.
when i was baptisted it was with a ‘sprinkle’ and being a new christian at the time i was alarmed when told oh it had to be full submersion and i hadn’t been truly baptised, this really didn’t help my walk at the time but later i read about st paul baptising from a pool of water and also from early christian writings about the preferance to full submersion but none the less use what was available. cleansing wasn’t new for the baptising that was done in acts was done in baths that were already there from which the jews cleansed themselves. and they believed it spiritually cleansed them. we are not told to do any different. so in conclusion it would appear that we should be baptisted when possible but if say it was impossible for whatever reason dont think that excludes you from salvation. god bless and stop arguing because we all love the same god.
Hi Ian,
Remember what the scriptures say in Hebrews about the institution of the New Covenant:
Since Jesus had not died yet, the New Covenant had not been instituted. Jesus had the power to forgive anyone of their sins in whatever way He chose (see Matt. 9:6). But when He sealed the covenant, man must come to forgiveness through that covenant.
Baptism for the remission of sins is a command of the New Covenant (Acts 2:38), and therefore is necessary.
Thanks for reading!