Today's article is from Joe Price, a gospel preacher from the Mt. Baker church of Christ in Washington. He discusses the subject of the Name of the church   To contact Joe, check out his website: Bible Answers

    Introduction In 1 Corinthians 1:10 the apostle Paul writes, Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. The main challenge of the church in Corinth was the variety of divisions that they had. It’s a similar challenge that congregations have today. We only have the one gospel (Eph. 4:5) and, therefore, should only follow it as God’s command. The ideas of men sometime get in the way, causing great strife.   Who do You Follow? Paul continues, in his letter, in verse 12, Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” The factions, here, show that members of the congregation were gravitating towards the men who, either taught them the gospel or, perhaps, baptized them. Those who declared, “I am of Christ...

  Introduction A statement I once made holds the truth to Christians and the Church; All Christians assemble as the church of Christ, but not all churches of Christ are Christians. It seems confusing at first but once you dissect it, you’ll understand better. In our previous article, we discussed how the church of Christ is not a denomination; that it goes to the original source, the bible, for guidance. Here, we see where some churches of Christ lean away from scripture and chase after denominational trappings.   Why have you done this? In the book of Judges, the children of Israel began to go in their own direction of what God told them to do. Here’s the key passage: Judges 2:1-2, Then the Angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: “I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, 'I will never break My covenant with you. 'And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tea...

    Introduction Continuing from our previous article, The Name of the Church , we come into a subject that brings about a bit of confusion for those looking for a congregation to assemble with. Since we have identified ourselves as the church of Christ, we have thus been labelled a denomination. The question is are we a denomination?   Dictionary Definitions Let’s begin by looking at the definitions of the words; denomination and sect. Denomination: [ Webster’s Dictionary (1913) ] 3. A class, or society of individuals, called by the same name; a sect; as, a denomination of Christians. Sect: [ Webster’s Dictionary (1913) ] 2. …in religion, the believers in a particular creed, or upholders of a particular practice; especially, in modern time, a party dissenting from an established church; a denomination. [ Int’l. Standard Bible Encycl .]   The word is applied to schools of philosophy; to the Pharisees and Sadducees among the Jews who adhered to a com...

    Introduction Have you ever looked up at the moon at night and wondered why it doesn’t have a name? Moons of the other planets have names but ours doesn’t. It’s just known simply as The Moon. The reason for this is that when you have one of something, you don’t need to name it because you’re not separating it from others. Just like the church that Jesus built (Mt. 16:18). The questions to ask are, if Jesus only built one church, which one is it and what is it called?   One of Something When you only have one of something, you don’t need to give it more of a name that when the item is. As stated, we only have one moon so it doesn’t need a proper name. It’s the same with the church. Let’s look at Matthew 16:18, in which Jesus says, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Jesus say that he would build, “my church” which indicates he only built one. Since he built...

  Introduction As we have stated in a previous article , the church is the collection of members; The Called Out, and not the building. In this article we will look at how to become a member of the church; both universally and locally.   Am I member or not? Several years ago, a friend of mine was baptized and added to the church (Acts 2:38, 47). I was preaching a lesson later that evening and commented that he was added to the church but was not a member of the local congregation. The next day, as I was studying with the local preacher, he brought up what I said and the confusion it brought on my friend when I made that statement. His question was, Am I a member or not? From there members explained to him the difference between two “types” of churches.   The Universal Church To become a member of the universal church, which is also known as The Kingdom, you have to show obedience to the gospel. To that you must do all of these listed below…   Hear t...

"Why I Am A Member Of The church Of Christ" A.C. Grider (1912-1990) I didn’t join the church of Christ. I didn’t select the church of Christ as “my choice” from among many churches. It never occurred to me that I had a choice nor that I desired to make a choice of churches. I started thinking about my spiritual condition down in Tennessee some years ago—several years ago and made up my mind that I should do something about it. I began to consider what the Lord wanted me to do. I started to study my Bible. I found that I was a sinner and that Christ was THE savior. I found that if I were ever saved it would only be by Christ. I considered His word relative to what to do to be saved. He said I should repent , Luke 13:3, I did. He said I should confess Him, Matthew 10:32. I did. He said I should be baptized , Mark 16:16. I did. He said if I would do these things I would BE SAVED. I was. But the BIBLE taught...

To kick the New Year off, I thought I'd take us back to basics. First are links to a 2-part article about the church; both written by Kyle Campbell and can be found in the Spirit's Sword newsletter of Mt. Baker church of Christ of Bellingham, WA What is the church of Christ? Part 1   Part 2