Why
is the
church
of
Christ
different?
(by
Hugh Fulford; "From THE SPIRITUAL SWORD,
October 2007, used by permission.")
(Additional
Note: All Scripture abbreviations were expanded for your convenience – DED)
For people who are not members of the
church
of
Christ
or who otherwise may not be very familiar with it, or for people who visit the
services of a
church
of
Christ
for the first time, a rather amazing surprise is in store – they discover
that the
church
of
Christ
is different! To just the casual observer, one of the most obvious differences
between the church of Christ and other churches is the fact that instrumental
music is not used in the worship. There is no choir or other special musical
groups. Other differences are soon noted: The Lord’s Supper is observed every
Sunday, the preacher is not addressed as “Reverend” or “Father”, he is
not referred to as “the pastor” of the church, and no monetary collection is
taken except on the Lord’s Day. A visitor to a
church
of
Christ
also will see that in most instances there is little show
or ceremony in its services, that the worship is conducted in a simple
yet orderly and dignified manner, and that a strong appeal is made to the
authority of the Scriptures. Non-members and visitors soon discover that the
church
of
Christ
has no creed book, church manual, or catechism, and that there are no earthly
headquarters for the church – either state, national, or international – but
that each congregation is independent and self-governing. After observing these
characteristics and usually making such statements as “how strange”, or
“how unusual”, the person will likely say, “Well, the
church
of
Christ
is different.” Yes, the
church
of
Christ
is different! Why is the
church
of
Christ
different? To understand the answer to this question, some Biblical background
is necessary.
The
origin of the
church
of
Christ
The
church
of
Christ
had been in the mind of God “from the beginning of the ages” (Ephesians
3:9), and its presence in the world was the evidence of “the manifold
[many-faceted] wisdom of God” (Ephesians 3:10). The church was established by
Christ Himself (Matthew 16:18) and was purchased by the blood of Christ (Acts
20:28). It began on the first day of Pentecost following the death, burial, and
resurrection of Christ when for the first time “repentance and remission of
sins” was preached in the name of Christ “beginning in
Jerusalem
” (Luke 24:46-47; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4). As a result of the preaching of the gospel
on that memorable occasion, the church came into existence when “those who
gladly received the word were baptized; and the same day about three thousand
souls were added to them” (Acts 2:41). Thereafter, whenever the gospel was
preached, believed and obeyed, “the Lord added to the church daily those who
were being saved” (Acts 2:47). Thus, the church was established.
A
fact: the
church
of
Christ
is different
The
church as established by Christ was different from any other entity in the
world. It was different from the paganism so rampant in the first century world
in that it believed in and worshipped only the one true God (Ephesians 4:6). It
was different from the Jewish religion in that its members believed that Jesus
Christ was the Son of God and the only savior of man (Acts 4:11-12).
Sadly,
with the passing of time, the church began to compromise with the surrounding
culture, and many accretions were made from both paganism and Judaism, resulting
in a large part of the church becoming spiritually corrupted. Numerous were
sounded of this very thing happening (Acts 20:29-31; II Thessalonians 2:7-12; I
Timothy 4:1-3; II Timothy 4:3-5).
In
spite of these dire warnings, an apostasy from the true faith occurred, and in
time the Catholic Church developed, but the church of Christ is different from
Catholicism in that it recognizes Christ as the only head of the church
(Colossians 1:18), with no authority being vested in the pope of Rome. Further,
the
church
of
Christ
recognizes only the authority of Scripture (II Timothy 3:16-17) and does not
accept the catechism or the edicts of the pope and the Catholic Church (or any
other ecclesiastical body) as binding upon its members.
In
time, the Protestant Reformation was launched in an effort to reform the
Catholic Church, but the effort only led to the establishment of various
denominations. Every denomination on earth today can trace its origin to a
particular person(s), time, and place in history this side of the New Testament.
The
church
of
Christ
is different from every Protestant denomination from the standpoints of founder
and time and place of beginning. The
church
of
Christ
is different from denominational bodies in that it is seeking to be the very
church that Christ Himself established – with its members being neither
Catholic, Protestant, nor Jew! Yes indeed, the
church
of
Christ
is different!
A
reason: why the
church
of
Christ
is different
The
church
of
Christ
is different for two basic yet interconnected reasons: (1) Its members believe
in the complete verbal inspiration of the Bible (II Timothy 3:16-17; I
Corinthians 2:6-13); believing such, (2) they believe the Bible is the blueprint
or pattern for the church in every age (I Peter 4:11; I Corinthians 4:6; II
Timothy 1:13). We do not operate on the theory that “we need a new gospel for
a new age” or that we are free to change the gospel to make it more palatable
to modern man (Galatians 1:6-9). We have complete trust in the gospel –
without the adornments and frills of contemporary culture – as the power of
God unto salvation (Romans 1:16).
Consider these truths. In the Old Testament God instructed righteous Noah
to build an ark so that he and his family could be saved from the impending
flood God was going to bring over corrupt humanity. God gave specific details (a
blueprint) for the construction of the ark (Genesis 6:14-21). Noah devoutly
believed that the ark must be built according to the pattern God gave him.
“Thus Noah did, according to all that God commanded him, so he did” (Genesis
6:22, NKJV).
Later, God instructed Moses to “make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell
among them [the children of
Israel
]. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and
the pattern of its furnishings, just so shall you make it” (Exodus 25:8-9).
When the tabernacle had been completed and set up, the Bible affirms, “Thus
Moses did; according to all that the Lord commanded him, so he did” (Exodus
40:16).
Still later, God gave to David the plans for the temple, which plans
David passed on to his son Solomon, who constructed the temple. These plans were
made known to David “by the Spirit” (I Chronicles 28:12), for “ ‘All
this,’ said David, ‘the Lord made me understand in writing, by His hand upon
me, all the works of these plans’” (I Chronicles 28:20). Solomon, in turn,
built the temple “according to all its plans” (I Kings 6:38).
In the Christian age – “these last days” in which God “has spoken
to us by His Son” (Hebrews 1:1-2) – God “does not dwell in temples made
with hands” (Acts 17:24). Rather, He dwells in His people, the church (II
Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:19-22). But, just as God had a blueprint/pattern
for the earthly tabernacle and temple, so He has a blueprint/pattern for His
spiritual house, the church (I Timothy 3:15). In the great epistle to the
Hebrews, the Inspired author proves the superiority of Christianity over Judaism
by showing that from every standpoint of comparison Christianity is “better”
(a key word found throughout the letter) than Judaism. The writer argues “from
the lesser to the greater”. In so doing, he refers to God’s admonition to
Moses regarding the construction of the Old Testament tabernacle to “make all
things according to the pattern shown you on the holy mountain” (Hebrews 8:5).
The force of the writer’s argument is simply this: just as God expected Moses
to follow the divine blueprint for the tabernacle, a physical structure, so He
expects His people to adhere to the pattern He has set forth for His spiritual
house, the church!
Because the
church
of
Christ
adheres to this sacred principle it is different. The
church
of
Christ
adheres to the New Testament pattern for being saved and becoming a Christian.
This pattern requires faith in Christ (John 8:24), repentance of sin (Acts
3:19), and baptism “for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). The
church
of
Christ
administers baptism by immersing a person in water because that is what the
pattern calls for (Acts 8:36-39; Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:12). The
church
of
Christ
does not use instrumental music in its worship because the pattern requires
“singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19;
Colossians 3:16). (It was not until at least 600 years after the close of the
New Testament, perhaps nearer 1000 years, that instrumental music was first
introduced into worship, thus not a part of the original pattern for worship). [see “INSTUMENTAL MUSIC IN CHRISTIAN WORSHIP IS A DIRECT VIOLATION OF THE WORD
AND WILL OF GOD” on this website]
The
church
of
Christ
eats the Lord’s Supper every first day of the week because that is what the
early church did (Acts 20:7).
The
church
of
Christ
does not make a distinction between “clergy” and “laity” because no
such distinction is made in the New Testament. All Christians are priests before
God (I Peter 2:9). Each local
church
of
Christ
is autonomous (self-governing), being shepherded by a plurality of scripturally
qualified men known as elders, bishops, or pastors. This is what the
“blueprint” calls for (Acts 14:23; I Timothy 3:1-7). The minister of the
congregation is not referred to as a “pastor” unless he has been appointed
to serve with other qualified men as one of the elders of the congregation, in
which case he would be “a pastor”
but not “the pastor.” Each congregation will also have qualified men to
serve as deacons (I Timothy 3:8-13). Faithful churches of Christ will not have
women elders, deacons, or preachers, since the pattern does “not permit a
woman to teach or to have authority over a man” (I Timothy 2:12). A woman, of
course, may teach privately (Acts 18:26); she may teach children and other
women. But when it comes to teaching publicly in the assembly, or exercising
“authority over a man,” women are to “keep silent in the churches, for
they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also
says” (I Corinthians 14:34), and Paul reminds us that these restrictions
“are the commandments of the Lord” (vs. 37)! Hence, true churches of Christ
honor them.
The above examples serve to show both how and why the
church
of
Christ
is different . It is different not for the mere sake of being different but
because it recognizes the authority of Scripture, believes God has revealed his
“perfect law of liberty” (James 1:25), and believes that God expects us to
be guided by His divine will and wisdom, not by our own wisdom and not by the
ever-changing whimsical fancies and philosophies of men! We are
straightforwardly warned: “Beware, lest anyone take you captive through
philosophy and empty deceit , according to the traditions of men, according to
the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ” (Colossians
2:8)…
“Hold
fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love
which are in Christ Jesus” (II Timothy 1:13)
_________________________________________________________________________
The
above article is just one example of the magnificent work produced and published
by the Getwell
church
of
Christ
in
Memphis
,
Tennessee
, in their fantastic and long-running publication known as the Spiritual Sword.
See their link from this website, and see what glory they regularly and
continually bring to God through their articles and examples of steadfast faith
and Scriptural obedience!