New Testament Church
We turn to the Bible for the authority of our doctrine

The apostle Peter wrote, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is within you with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15). Any person with religious convictions should be willing to explain why he holds those convictions. Neither should one be ashamed of his convictions. The apostle Paul wrote, "Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day" (2 Timothy 1:11,12). Most religious groups have been misunderstood at one time or another. This fact is no less true with the church of Christ.

The church of Christ is a body of people who have publicly confessed their faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God (John 3:16; Matthew 10:32,33), repented of their sins (Luke 13:3,5; Acts 2:38), and been immersed in water for the remission of those sins (Mark 16:15,16; Romans 6:1-4). As a result of this process of obedience to Christ, these people have been born again (John 3:1-3), become disciples of Christ (John 2:11; 8:31,32), been saved (Mark 16:15,16; Acts 2:38), and added to the church which Jesus purchased with his blood (Matthew 16:18; Acts 20:28; 2:47). This is according to the New Testament and can be read in the Scripture references given. The New Testament teaches that being saved, the new birth, becoming a Christian, becoming a disciple of Christ, and church membership, are all one and the same thing. All result from the obedience of the individual to the gospel of Christ.

The church of Christ has no earthly headquarters. Her only head is Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:22,23; Colossians 1:18). Each local congregation of believers is self-governing. In each local church there are men possessing the qualifications given in 1 Timothy chapter three and Titus chapter one who serve as elders or spiritual overseers of the local church. But their authority is only the realm of expediency and does not extend outside the local church.

Christ is the only creed of the church of Christ. She has no manual, disciple, article of faith or any other written document by which she is governed. The New Testament is the only authority to which the church of Christ is subject. This again is the teaching of the New Testament. The word of God is sufficient (2 Timothy 3:15-18; Romans 1:16; John 6:63; 12:48).

The expression 'church of Christ' is one of many designations in the New Testament used to describe the church built, bought and subjected to Christ. The expression simply shows to whom the church belongs. The term is used in the plural to designate the local churches in a particular geographical area (Romans 16:16; Galatians 1:2; Revelation 1:4). The church of the New Testament is also referred to as the body of Christ (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 1:22,23). This is keeping with the analogy of the church as the body and Christ as the head of the body. The church is also called the kingdom (Matthew 16:18,19). In this analogy Christ is seen as king over his kingdom. The church itself is simply the people who have obeyed the gospel of Christ and thus been saved (Acts 2:47). In this connection it is profitable to note the church is not a denominational system, an ecclesiastical hierarchy nor a synod as men often conceive of it as being. It is simply God's assembly of believers universally or locally. The church of Christ then is the effect or result of the gospel of Christ being preached and people obeying it. One canot obey the gospel of Christ without being added to the church by the Lord (Acts 2:47). The two are the same thing. One cannot be saved and then join the church of his choice. That is contradictory to the teaching of the New Testament. Perhaps it would help all of us to understand just what the church is as we find it in the New Testament and forget about organizations started by men.

The mission of the church of Christ is to support and spread the truth of God which is the word of God (1 Timothy 3:15). Before Christ ascended back into heaven he told his apostles to go into all the world an preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:16). The message of Christ is a universal message. God makes no distinction between peoples of different race, social level or skin color (Acts 10:34-35). Thus, Christianity is evangelistic. Evangelism is the heart of the growth of the church. Let a local church cease to evangelize and she becomes nothing more than a building in which to be married and buried.

The moving force behind the church of Christ is a solid faith in the Bible as the inspired, complete, inerrant and final revelation from God to man and the conviction that men become Christians today just as they did almost 2,000 years ago--that the church of any generation is like the church of the New Testament.

The plea of the church of Christ is that men turn to the Bible for their authority and thus cast off the shackles of man-made creeds, doctrines and churches--men rid themselves of names of men and speak as the oracles of God (1 Peter 4:11). This is the solution to religious division in Christianity. In addition to that the only way we can be well-pleasing to God and be at peace with ourselves is knowing we are practicing religion God's way.