Most of us don’t know much about other religious groups besides our own. For many we have only had experience with one or maybe a couple of groups. There is much ignorance and misunderstanding about what we teach in the Church of Christ. If I had the opportunity to share with everyone some information about the church, I would share these four things regarding our passion.
These are all focused around our passions. When I speak of having a passion for these four things, I am saying we have a deep loyalty and burning desire for these four things.
Also, please don’t think I am saying we are perfect or complete in these four areas. These are passions of ours, but they are also areas where we are striving to grow and mature in as well. Also, I do not claim to speak for the entire brotherhood, or every location that has “Church of Christ” on their sign. I am speaking regarding my passions, the passions of Seven Oaks Church of Christ, and most of the churches of Christ I know.
You may not agree with me after this post, but I believe you can understand and know more about the Church of Christ. (BY THE WAY — I preached this same message in a sermon and it is available in the sermon audios).
1. We have a passion for restoring New Testament Christianity.
We are a part of the restoration movement. We have a desire to practice Christianity in its doctrines, morals, fervor, and faith as found in the New Testament. We believe in the slogan based on 1 Peter 4:11, “Speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent.” This restoration plea is based on the belief that God gave a pattern to the Apostles for the church.¹
Thus we are non-denominational in nature. There is no authority above the local church other than Jesus Christ as the head of His church. We just want to be a part of the church we read about in the Bible that was established on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. We desire unity amongst believers and want people to come forth out of their denominational churches and just be Christians–nothing more and nothing less!
2. We have a passion for doing things God’s way.
Our passion is to follow and submit to the authority of God. In an age when people see God as a buddy, or a grandfatherly figure in which all roads lead to God, we still have a passion for obedience. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32). This respect for the authority of Scripture affects our choices regarding worship, the role of women, and the plan of salvation.
We are often known for not using instrumental music in our worship unto God. This decision is not made in order to be different, but rather because we want to give God what he has asked for in the New Testament. We know He will be pleased with our offerings of song.² This is why we use men in the leading of public worship.³ This is why we partake of the Lord’s Supper each first day of the week.¹¹
Our passion for doing things God’s way leads us to certain moral and doctrinal positions. This is why we teach adult baptism for the remission of sins to be saved.²² We want to take obedience to the Word seriously.
3. We have a passion for Loving People.
We are frail and don’t always love people as we should, but the church of Christ has a passion for loving people. Jesus taught us to “love one another.” We love people enough to tell them the truth. We love the lost and seek to share the gospel with those who have not heard it. We love the poor and hurting. We are known for benevolence, disaster relief, and mission efforts. We love the brethren and take care of one another. I have been in the church my whole life and I have been loved throughout. Everything we do is attempted to be rooted and grounded in love (1 John 4:19).
4. We have a passion for the Lord and His Church.
The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your strength, all your heart, and all your might (Mat. 22:37). We love the Lord. We have a passion for a personal relationship with Him and seek to put Him first in our lives. We love His church. We want to put the kingdom of God first in our lives (Mat. 6:33). We believe we are the body of Christ here on earth, so we have the responsibility of being his hands, feet, and mouth to this world. We do not believe you can be a faithful and pleasing Christian to God by being disconnected from His church. The church has a divine mission and calling. We want the church to grow and prosper.
Conclusion
I wish everyone knew and saw these four passions in us. I hope you will consider these passions and join us in holding these passions dear. If you are a member of the Church of Christ I hope you will be the kind of person that allows these passions to shine forth in your life. So that others know by words and deed that you have a passion for New Testament Christianity, obeying God, loving others, and the Lord and His Church.
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¹ – Paul tells Timothy to “hold fast the pattern of sound words.” 2 Tim. 1:13. The NT refers to a body of teaching or doctrines (Acts 2:42; Jude 3; John 8:32; Gal. 1:6-9). Our plea is to follow this pattern and not to add to or take away from the message of Scripture (Rev. 22:18-19).
² – The NT commands and gives the example of singing many times (Acts 16:25; Rom. 15:9; 1 Cor. 14:15; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; Heb. 2:12; James 5:13; Heb. 13:15). The NT never authorizes, commands, nor approves an example of the early church playing an instrument in worship to God. Early church history teaches us the instrument of music was not introduced into Christian worship until the year 670 AD.
³ – The NT teaches male spiritual leadership in the home and church. Women are not permitted to have authority over men or teach them in the public worship and work of the church (1 Tim. 2:12-14; 1 Cor. 14:34-35).
¹¹ – The early church partook of communion or the Lord’s Supper each first day of the week. We want to do likewise as this was approved and taught by the Apostles (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:17-34; 16:1-2)
²² – The New Testament teaches that one becomes a Christian at the point of belief, repentance, and immersion (baptism) into Christ. Baptism has the purpose of adding one to the body of Christ, washing away their sins in the blood of Christ, and contacting the death burial and resurrection of Jesus. John 3:5; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38, 22:16; Romans 6:3-6; Gal. 3:26-27; 1 Peter 3:21
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I have a great respect for your passions and for your humility in declaring how short you fall of realizing them as flawed human beings. It is commendable of you to be aware of this. I do not agree 100% with some of y’all ‘ s interpretation of the Holy Scripture, but I do admire the passion with which you stand by your understanding of it. Having said that, I have a completely different understanding of 1 Peter 4:11. In the KJV, it says, “if a man speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God…”. I take that to mean with direct revelation from God but you substitute the word “bible” for that phrase. Could you explain that, please. I am aware that Y’all don’t hold with modern and continuing revelation, but how did you get “bible” from “oracle of God”? I am genuinely curious in this matter and wish no contention with you but a brotherly conversation about the Word. Thank you in advance, Jason
Jason, Thanks for your kind remarks and for the question. You ask a good question. 1 Peter 4:11 is likely referring to the first century miraculous gift of prophecy or direct revelation and the early church’s use of them. In context it seems to be talking about the speaking in the church of a revelation from God. The restoration movement early leaders used the “slogan” that takes the principle of 1 Peter 4:11 but also is a broader Biblical principle to respect the authority of God. To speak where the Bible speaks, but to respect the silence of God. Where God has been specific, then it necessarily rules out other additions. I do not mean to imply in the article that 1 Peter 4:11 should contextually be interpreted as the “Bible”, though in principle and application today it does. Thus the lesson that we should speak the Word of God and not teach and speak the opinions and precepts of men. Does that make sense? Thanks for the question. Can I help you more?
Thank you Josh for replying to my question. You have cleared up what I hopefully would have figured out if I had read your article again and with a closer eye.
I find it very interesting that the author never mentioned the Holy Spirit and the importance of His role is salvation in the everyday Christian life. also find it interesting that faith and grace are not mentioned. For it is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ that you’ve been saved and not of yourselves.
The problem is the mindset that God set up a fully established church and set of practices to be followed. It is obvious from even a cursory reading of the NT that the body was in transition. Deacons were added after the fact to serve a need. Giving was added to address the problem of the Jerusalem church. Paul disagreed with the Jerusalem leadership and brought his own area specific advice to “his” congregations. The body has been in transition since its inception and attempting to hold it to first century practices is a fools errand.
Instrumental music was a personal preference of the Campbell’s and is ambiguous in the text and praised in OT writings (did God change his mind?) Females denied leadership positions is an 18th century norm that was specifically NOT in effect in the NT (deaconess, anyone). If the CoC really wanted to imitate NT practices, where is the fasting? The “holy “kiss”. The laying on of hands. Communal living. Etc.
Consider this. The use of the CENI practice is not specified in th NT, thus CENI is invalid under CENI.
The CoC, despite all claims to the contrary, is just another denomination with practices based in the century of its formation with an embarrassingly myopic self image. By calling itself out of the body it follows the ugly tradition of the first century’s “I am of Paul…” divisiveness and does harm to the body as a whole.
That’s what I wish the COC knew about itself.
Author
Bill, Thanks for reading. I don’t see where your comment is showing up now. But in response to the idea of continuing revelation and the lack of an established church doctrine in the first century: I would agree that God was revealing the church doctrine and teachings to the church during the days of the Apostles thru their work and revelation. It does seem to take place over years, but it was completed by the Apostles and the completed NT revelation. To accept a continuing revelation doctrine allows one to do whatever is right in their own eyes, it allows for churches or councils to choose their own doctrine, it undermines the authority of the NT and the headship of Christ.
Regarding the church of Christ just being a product of the 18th century, we certainly have a heritage and roots that come from the 18th century, but my goal is to be practical and relevant in the current time as a disciple of Christ. In regard to doctrine I believe that truth spans culture and time contexts and calls us to obedient to the Word of God. That is one of the goals of the restoration ideal to practice 1st century Christianity in the current context, which is a valid and admirable goal.
Thanks, Josh
I strongly disagree with the idea that continuing revelation would undermine any authority that Christ has or allow a church to make it up as they went along. Not as long as the revelations were coming from God. How would we, the body of the church, know the revelation was from God? We would have to pray and ask him like I’m sure every believer has had to do before becoming a believer. In Matthew 16:15-18 Christ asks who do the apostles think he is. When Simon Barjona speaks up and declares that he knows him to be The Christ, He re – names him and declare how blessed (now) Peter is because God had revealed this knowledge to him and not some human being. Then He declares that on “this rock” (I would say both literally and grammatically He is referring to revelation), I will establish My kingdom and He’ll shall not prevail against it.
I hope that didn’t come off as adversarial, it wasn’t meant to be. I hold the idea of continuing revelation very dear and have trouble understanding how the rest of the world doesn’t see things like I do. Ha! Imagine that! I welcome the thoughtful response of a brother in Christ, even if we have a difference of opinion on a point or two.
Author
Jason, Thanks for your kind spirit in the dialogue. Help me understand your view. What makes continuing revelation not just everyone doing what they want to do in that they believe God has lead them this way. Many fanatical religious cult leaders have claimed inspiration, but their message was obviously not from God. What is the standard? My belief is that the Lord does give us wisdom (James 1), the spirit intercedes on our behalf (Rom. 8:26), but we are not given additional information about the will of God regarding Christian faith, salvation, and how to live and worship. God revealed this in the Word through his Apostles and holy writers and we are not to add to this or take from them. Our job is to try and live in them. Please explain your belief more on the topic. Thanks, Josh
Sorry for the delay in responding, it was a rough week last week! Josh, I believe that continuing revelation is not just everyone doing their own thing only when it is handled within the organization that God set in place and Christ implemented and prophets and Apostles wrote down. Yes, that does require some faith but doesn’t everything in Christianity? Never has, or should in my opinion, a soul been won to Christ by a dry reading of The Holy Bible. The words within The Word can be confusing and seemingly contradictory. God does not contradict Himself, but the words of men sometimes do. I believe that man should not add anything to the Word of God, but if God is not through talking then we had better be listening. He will testify to us by the Holy Spirit if a thing is true or not. How else could we ever know? I do not agree that the end of Revelations is meant to apply to the entirety of scripture, but to John’s Book of Revelation specifically. Deuteronomy 4 gives the same warning and I would feel cheated if we did not include any scripture that was revealed or recorded after that! My stance must seem very foreign to you and I would explain it like this – While my earthly father remains here where I can talk to him he will continue to give me new and pertinent advice, counsel, and encouragement. My earthly father will not stop doing that until he is dead and gone on. To imagine that our Heavenly Father would do any less is to sell Him short as a parent. And to say that He speaks no more, to me, would be the same as saying that He has passed on. I certainly don’t believe that!
Rambled a bit there, sorry. Looking forward to hearing from you again.
Jason
Dale, The post focused on the church and was not focused on salvation nor the role of the Holy Spirit. I have preached and written much on faith and grace. I am sorry if you didn’t hear many sermons on faith growing up in the church. That has not been my experience.
Here is one post on grace and truth. http://www.joshketchum.com/spiritually-handcuffed-by-god-grace-and-truth/
I just wrote a post a few days before on “Risky Faith and Dr. Kent Brantly”
http://www.joshketchum.com/dr-kent-brantly-and-risky-faith/
In the audio sermons you will find numerous sermons on grace, faith, and salvation. I would be glad to share some of them with you if you would like to listen.
Thanks, Josh
As a Christian I have a passion for the restoration of more than New Testament Christianity! New Testament Christians, at least at the first were responsible to be obedient to first principles only (scripture from Gen – Acts). Mark 16:15-18 and Acts 2:38 are good summaries for that duty or commission. As a Christian living on this earth after the great and notable day of the Lord, when scripture was fulfilled, and God’s word written down in whole I have a passion for obeying every word of the bible (cf. Acts 2:21; Rev. 10:9-11; 22:17ff good summaries of the commission or duty of man under the whole bible;). New Testament Christians knew “in part” but the church today well the Holy Spirit said it well : Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; (these men had the gift or the tongue of the Holy Spirit and literally spoke for God as the bible was yet to be written down R.M. )
Eph 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints , for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith (but when the bible was completed, that which is perfect, or the perfect man – the Church under the whole will of God R.M.), and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
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I absolutely love this article. I love the way it explains why we do what we do. As a young person who is still learning everyday about the Church of Christ church, I truly appreciate this. Thank you so much!
Author
I am glad it was a blessing. Josh
Thanks for this informative “executive summary” of what the Bible has to say about our basic beliefs. In response to any comments about a misconception of the absence of God’s grace in His plans for our salvation, my response would have to be, “Isn’t His grace in sending His only begotten Son to die for our sins enough grace?” Why would we think we deserve His grace to allow us to pick and choose our own cafeteria plan of salvation? His Word says we are to be baptized (immersed) into water and be raised out of it to “wash away our sins”. Should His grace allow us to just believe, or say the “sinner’s prayer” (which is not found in the Bible, be sprinkled or poured water on as babies or adults, whatever we choose? I don’t think so. “His grace (the grace He already showed) is sufficient”.
I read it, and I agree that the desire to be obedient to God really is lacking today. People want to believe they can live how they please in this life and then go to heaven. I’ve been going to a Church of Christ bible study lately, and I respect their willingness to change their lives to reflect their faith. However I have run into a few logical missteps in their approach, and those missteps are present in this article as well. For example:
This statement:
“We have a desire to practice Christianity in its doctrines, morals, fervor, and faith as found in the New Testament. We believe in the slogan based on 1 Peter 4:11, “Speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent.””
…and this statement:
“There is no authority above the local church other than Jesus Christ as the head of His church. We just want to be a part of the church we read about in the Bible that was established on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2.”
…are incompatible, because in the books of the New Testament, The Church has a distinct hierarchy. Sts. Peter and Paul write with authority to the Church in different cities, obliging them to doctrinal unity and obedience: “Stand fast; and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word, or by our epistle (2 Thess 2:14).”
Furthermore bishops, priests, and deacons are all present in the Church, and those men held a council at Jerusalem to settle a doctrinal dispute:
“For a bishop must be without crime, as the steward of God: not proud, not subject to anger, not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre (Titus 1:7)”
“A faithful saying: if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. It behoveth therefore a bishop to be blameless (1 Timothy 3:1-2)”
“And some coming down from Judea, taught the brethren: That except you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved. And when Paul and Barnabas had no small contest with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain others of the other side, should go up to the apostles and priests to Jerusalem about this question (Acts 15:1-2)”
“Deacons in like manner chaste, not double tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre (1 Timothy 3:8)”
…If anyone wants their church to look like the Church of the New Testament, then, that church should have a hierarchy of bishops, priests, and deacons.
There are other issues like this one in the article, but this is already a really long post that I doubt anyone will read all the way through. Sorry for being annoying.
Author
Ryan,
Thanks for reading and I can tell you are seeking in your relationship with God and this is a great thing. You are right the church in the NT does have a district hierarchy. It is lead by Jesus as head then the Apostles as the giver of doctrine and faith. It was the “apostle’s teachings” that the early Christians dedicated themselves too (Acts 2:42). The “Household of God is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone.” The Apostles had authority over the universal church. They established as you mentioned in your comment “elders” (also called – pastors, bishops, overseers, shepherds) in local congregations and deacons in local congregations to serve the needs of the church (Phil. 1:1, Acts 14:23; 1 Timothy 3; Titus 1; 1 Peter 5). The texts you referenced in 1 Timothy gives the qualifications for establishing these offices of elders and deacons in the local church. We in the church of Christ seek to replicate this same pattern for the leadership in churches today. For example the church with which I work has 4 elders/shepherds/bishops and 7 deacons. I am one of 2 evangelists or ministers that work with the church.
So you are correct in the point about leadership in the early church being under the Apostles and also the existence of elders and Bishops and we try to follow that pattern. This is what I meant by the statement, we have no authority above the local church except Jesus Christ. We are not a denomination that has a council, creed book, convention, or Bishops in far off places that have authority above the local church, besides the Apostles this is not present in the NT. Each church was under the authority of Christ and the local elders and deacons. Since there are no more Apostles and they have long since passed, we follow the Word of God and look to Jesus as the head. The local elders only have authority in leading the church in areas of opinion and shepherding, they cannot violate what God has written in His word.
I hope this makes sense. I would be glad to continue to this discussion and send you some detailed information on the topic of God’s word and church leadership. Just let me know.
Thanks, Josh
I READ YOUR MESSAGE….THIS IS A WONDERFUL WAY TO SPREAD THE GOSPEL TO THE WORLD….TOO MANY CHRISTIANS ARE AFRAID TO SPEAK OUT AS THE APOSTLES DID….FACE TO FACE….MOST WANT TO MAKE THEIR OWN LAW OF FAITH , WHEN IT COMES TO GOD AND SAY HE ACCEPTS IT…IF THEY MEAN IT FROM THE HEART……BUT IN EVERYDAY LIFE , WE KNOW TO KEEP THE LAW OF THE LAND ,NO MATTER HOW SINCERE WE MIGHT BE…..THE WORD OF GOD IS GODS LAW , WE EITHER KEEP IT AND INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE ….HEAVEN……..OR NOT KEEP IT AND INHERIT ETERNAL PUNISHMENT ……HELL,,.YOUR DISCISION …
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I have a few questions from your article. What is the dividing line for those who will recieve eternal life in heaven versus those who will go to hell? There are many small divisions within individual congregations and these divisions often last for years. For example, if one woman wears a covering on her head during worship and another woman does not, is the woman wearing the covering going to heaven and the other woman going to hell? If a woman chooses to not wear a covering, is she not interpreting the scripture in the way she chooses? Based on your statements there would only be one correct answer to any issue put forth to the church.
You also discuss the love Christians should have for all men (we can refer to this as “love the sinner, hate the sin” as I see in so many self-righteous, hypocritical posts). Who are you (or anyone of us for that matter) to determine who is or is not who is living in a way that is consistent with Christianity? When I was 14 I was forced to be baptized, not given a choice in the matter. What kind of Christianity is that? The adults before me treated the event as wonderful and joyous. I was told I was old enough to know right from wrong and that I needed to stop waiting because otherwise I was going to end up in hell. And please don’t act as those my circumstances are rare. I read posts and know others who “preach” the same fear and cast derision on the beliefs of others because they believe that others are not following the word of God. And these individuals are all members of the Church of Christ. You can discuss the love for fellow men, and the desire to live simply by the word of God alone, but the truth is these actions all require an interpretation of what you believe the word says. The Bible has been translated from many different languages and in the course of time do you not think there have been changes? I don’t understand how you can defend a denomination that is so blatantly hypocritical and self-righteous and damaging to so many individuals?
Author
John, Thanks for reading. I will try and answer your questions. Regarding the dividing line in those who receive eternal life and those who do not — I am not the judge. Jesus is the judge (John 5:25-30). It is not the time for judgement, he will return and judge at the end of time. He will judge based upon the standard of the Word of God (John 12:48). My aim is just to follow, preach, and try to live the precepts of the Bible. Second, to say that because we all fall short in living the Bible, then we should not try is to miss the message of Jesus and the Apostles. WE all fall short of living the Sermon of the Mount (Mat ch 5-7) but Jesus expects us to make a serious effort at doing them each day as the sermon concludes. Just b/c none are perfect, does not mean we should not strive to be holy and mature. Third, I am sorry that you have had a bad experience with brethren and that you have bitter feelings toward them. I believe that there are hypocrites and some people act self-righteous, but I also know there are many devout, humble brethren who are trying to do right before God and their fellow man which far outnumber the former. Finally, The scriptures expect us to interpret them. God gave us a book that he intended for us to understand (John 8:32, Eph. 5:17; 2 Tim. 2:15). I trust the Scriptures that we have as they have incredible attestation and have only minor textual issues throughout that do not affect salvation issues. I hope this help and I pray you can overcome bitterness toward past Christians. Josh
Josh,
This was a good blog. Let me start by saying that I agree with 99% of CoC doctrine. From baptism to leadership structure, to gender roles. One of my disagreements is the lack, or rather condemnation, of musical instruments. I think that at best you are speaking where God is silent, at worst you are blatently ignoring some historical and cultural facts.
The early christians, i.e. the church, would still attend Jewish temple regularly. At temple they employed musicians, with harps, lyres etc. The church gathering was, in context more of a small group gathering like your church likely encourages. My small group will meet weekly, often share food, and dive into the Word, but we never sing during that time. Maybe we should.
Secondly, if it is your desire that God’s Will be “done on earth as it is in Heaven” I recommend you read what it will be like in Heaven. Rev. 5:8 describes a scene from Heaven, at the very Throne of God. (The thing to remember about Rev. is that it is a highly symbolic book. However, where it is symbolic, the symbolism is explained.)
Rev 5:8 “And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.”
In this passage, the Elders are worshiping God holding golden bowls of incense, “which are the prayers of the saints” Symbolism = explained.
They are also holding Harps. But the harps are not explained to be symbolic. Therefore, to speak where the Bible speaks, and be silent where the Bible is silent, one must conclude that Heavenly worship is done with instruments, and Heavenly worship is perfect, something we should strive to imitate.
Keep spreading Gods word Josh!
Wow! This was so cool. I appreciate everybody’s responses “with gentleness & respect” (1 Peter 3: 15). Josh, thank you for your service & dedication to handle or teach the Word of God carefully. May we all continue to seek God’s guidance, wisdom & discernment to keep growing in our love for one another, unity & maturity as a Church of Christ (Ephesians 4).
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