Are only members of the church of Christ going to HEAVEN?
Not all who call themselves members of the church of Christ will be saved. Our salvation is not determined by what we call ourselves, but what Jesus calls us: “blessed of the Father” or “cursed” (Matthew 25:33,41).
The term “church” can be used in a narrow sense to indicate a local group of believers, like the church here in Bryant for example. One does not have to be a member of THIS LOCAL CHURCH to be saved, however, in the broad sense the word, church can also be used to reference all those who are in Christ, the saved.
Ephesians 1 clearly teaches that those who are going to be saved are in Christ (Ephesians 1:3,7,10) and that those in Him are His church (Ephesians 1:22-23). So if the question is asked in the broad sense, “must I be in Christ’s church to be saved?” The answer would be yes.
Is the church of Christ JUST ANOTHER DENOMINATION?
The term denomination means to divide. It is our goal to enjoy unity, not division. The unity we seek is with God. It is not our goal or aim to be part of any man made organization. We recognize that God desires to have unity among His followers (John 17:21), but we also see that such unity will only truly be present when we all seek Him first and allow Him to be our guide (2 Timothy 1:13).
Was the church of Christ FOUNDED BY ALEXANDER CAMPBELL?
One cannot be the founder of something that existed before they did. Campbell believed in returning to the original standard and practice of Christianity the same way it was practiced in the New Testament without addition, subtraction, or modification.
When one restores something which has existed earlier, he does not create or originate; he attempts to reproduce an earlier work. Campbell and others were seeking to restore the first century church, the one established in Acts 2, which was the one Jesus promised to build in Matthew 16. Therefore, the church of Christ did not originate with Alexander Campbell.
Is there a church of Christ doctrine?
No, we do not have a man made creed. While there is no standard formalized “Church of Christ Doctrine” as denominations adhere to, we do follow what we find in the New Testament.
We do our best to follow the pattern of the New Testament church and the writings of the Apostles. We acknowledge that we are human and prone to make mistakes and if we find we are not in harmony with that pattern we will gladly make whatever changes are needed.
Do you believe in the old testament?
Paul said, “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable…” To say that one does not believe in the Old Testament is to say one does not believe in God.
Having said that, we do believe that we have been given a new law different from that given in the Old Testament (Hebrews 8:7-13). We do not practice the sacrifice of animals, observe the Sabbath, or enforce circumcision. We do, however, feel that the Old Testament is a great resource to learn of the nature of God and to see great examples of faith and obedience from amazing men and women.
Do you believe that you can earn your salvation?
No, absolutely not. No man can obligate God to anything. God alone has the power to save us.
We do teach that a person must obey God’s commandments in order to be pleasing to him. Obeying God does not nullify grace. He is still the one who authors salvation and has the right to place obligations on how we receive the salvation He provides us.
Do you believe in water salvation?
The Bible emphasizes that we are forgiven of our sins and saved by the blood of Jesus (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14). To deny salvation by the blood of Christ would be to deny the Bible. While it is true that we believe one must be baptized to be saved (Mark 16:16), it is not true that we think we are saved by water and not by the blood of Jesus. The power is in the blood, not in the water.
Do you believe you can fall in and out of grace?
The Bible does teach that one who has been saved can fall from grace so as to be lost (Hebrews 6:4-6; 10:26-30). As for the lack of confidence that so many suggest this doctrine would lead to, any one can compare their life to the divine standard and know confidently what their position is before God (James 1:22-25). Therefore we can live in confidence if we will simply be obedient to Christ.
WHY DO YOU TAKE THE LORD’S SUPPER EVERY WEEK?
The Bible reveals that the early church met every first day of the week (1 Corinthians 16:2). One of the things they gathered to do was “to break bread,” that is to observe the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7). It according to this pattern we remember the Lord’s Supper each first day of the week until He returns (1 Corinthians 11:26).
WHY DO YOU NOT USE INSTRUMENTS IN YOUR WORSHIP?
It is true that the 65th Street church of Christ does not believe in the use of mechanical instrumental music in worship. However, this does not mean there is no music. The musical worship of the New Testament church was vocal. “Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). Do we have music? Yes. The music of our voices and the melody in our hearts.