From the Pen of Paul

The Church in God's Scheme of Redemption (2)

We concluded last week's article by showing that none of the denominational churches with their conflicting and contradictory doctrines are a part of God's divine scheme of redemption as revealed in the Bible. None of them are found in the New Testament. If they are, please produce one Scripture that authorizes them or mentions them in any way. If they had never been started by men, the church built on the rock by Jesus would have been better off; it would not have had to contend with competition from these churches of men and thus would have had a better opportunity to come into its own. All churches, with no exceptions, which differ from the New Testament church which Jesus built and which began on Pentecost Day as recorded in Acts 2, are in competition with His church.

The same process which makes one a Christian also makes him a member of the Lord's church. In Acts 2:47, the inspired penman writes, "And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." The only way to stay out of that church was to refuse or neglect to become "such as should be saved." The church is also referred to as the "house of God" (I Timothy 3:15) and included ALL who have obeyed the gospel. In I Peter 4:17, Peter asks, "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of Christ?" When Peter makes this statement and asks this question, he is by implication stating that all who have obeyed the gospel are a part of the house of God. Therefore, we repeat, ALL who have obeyed the gospel are included in the church or house of God.

The church is also pictured in the Scriptures as the bride of Christ; thus, the church is made up of Christians who are married to Christ (Romans 7:4; II Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:23-25; 31-32). John, in the Revelation, and speaking of the redeemed church, writes, "Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife." Notice that wife and bride are singular; Christ has only ONE bride, not a multiplicity of brides. This means that Christ is not married to denominationalism. No such religious bodies even existed in the days of the New Testament. To say that Christ is married to more than one religious body or bride is to accuse Him of spiritual fornication. God forbid!

You may be interested in becoming a member of that same church or body of Christ today which they had in the days of the apostles. All should be interested in this if you are interested in finding the redemption that is freely offered in Christ. To become a member of that same church today one must believe and obey the same gospel which they believed and obeyed in the first century. God has not changed the terms of membership into that church. The same conditions of membership that was required then, when complied with today, will make one members of that same church. The same Lord who added the saved to the church on Pentecost (Acts 2:47) is still in the adding business, and He has never added one soul to a denominational church started by men! And you can rest assured that He never shall. He has never added anyone to any church except the one He built on the rock. (Matt. 16:18). Those who are members of denominations today had to JOIN them; they had to be taken in by men on men's terms, just as you would join some civic club or fraternal order. Select any one of the hundreds of religious groups in our nation called churches—and you can be absolutely sure that the Lord will never add you to that denomination—when you do nothing but believe and obey the gospel of Christ. Such faith and obedience will make you a member of the Lord's church that we read about in the New Testament. (Acts 2:36-41, 47).

Please note that no one has ever become a member of the Lord's church—the one built on the rock—the one that He adds the saved to—by faith alone, and without proper acts or steps of obedience. God wants "obedience to the faith" (Romans 1:5). His gospel is to be preached "for obedience to the faith among all nations" (Romans 16:25-26). One must "obey from the heart that form of doctrine" in order to be made "free from sin" and become "servants of righteousness" (Romans 6:17-18). Since the Lord adds to the church "such as should be saved" (Acts 2:47) and "he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16), it follows that the Lord adds to His church such as believe the same gospel as preached by the apostles, and are baptized trusting in His promise to save them. We are baptized "into one body" (I Cor. 12:13) in order to be "reconciled" unto God "in one body." (Eph. 2:16). Therefore, the church in the general sense of the word includes all those who have obeyed the gospel of Christ and are saved. Have you obeyed the gospel? Have you, with faith in your heart, repented of your sins and been baptized in water for the remission of your sins like they did on Pentecost? (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38-41, 47). If so, you are not a member of a denomination; you have been added to the church built on the rock by the Lord Himself. And if you have not obeyed this same plan, you are not a member of the church we read about in the New Testament It is as simple as that.
—Paul Wilmoth

From the Preacher's Viewpoint. . .

Was Our Stand Too Strong?

God's preachers are to go into all the world and preach the gospel (Mk. 16:15; Matt. 28:18-20). Can they preach the gospel on the courthouse square? Sure they can. Can they preach to a denomination the gospel of Christ? Yes, they can if they will preach what is needed. Can gospel preachers preach on programs where there are false teachers? Yes, they can if they will preach what is needed. Does appearing on a program mean that one is endorsing a false teacher? No, not necessarily. However, if one is on a program with false teachers, he should expose false doctrine for what it is.

Many are writing and saying things now that should have been said 25 years ago. They are writing and preaching what we were standing for and writing about then. In the past we were criticized greatly for our strong stand for truth and right. However, we do rejoice that brethren are now standing up and speaking out against the onslaught of sinful activities, and may it ever be so. Some have said our stand was too strong, but we say their stand was too weak. We could have headed off much trouble if our brotherhood had spoken out as they should have years ago. Let's hope we are headed for greater things in the future.
—Malcolm L. Hill

Why Train Gospel Preachers?

Many members of the church love to listen to a preacher who knows the Bible and can preach it effectively. But how many members of the church have supported the training of gospel preachers? We would venture to say that the average member of the church has never contributed one dollar to training gospel preachers. Some are so unlearned about the Christian way that they do not know about the Lord's work. I have had some to ask me why they should give to train gospel preachers. They have expressed to me that training gospel preachers is not a work of the Lord Jesus Christ. How on earth they reach this conclusion we do not know. Is Bible study a work of Jesus? Is sending tracts out a work of Jesus? Is home Bible study a work of Jesus? Then why is training gospel preachers not a work of Jesus?
—Malcolm L. Hill

Living by Instinct

Many supposed Christians go to church to hear what God has to say about various things, but they leave the church house to do what they please and love to do. Most people do not live by what the Bible says. They live by instinct, which means they live and do what they want to do. Do you live by instinct or by what the Bible teaches? You know and can answer this in a truthful way.
—Malcolm L. Hill

Saved in All Churches?

There are those within the church of Christ who argue that there are saved people in all the denominations. This is not in keeping with Bible teaching. This type of doctrine would have men saved in manmade churches just as much as the church Christ built. No manmade church is equal to that of Jesus' church. Those who teach this do not know their Bibles. Christ teaches that one must be baptized in water to be saved (Mark 16:16). But if one can be saved in a denomination then one can be saved without water baptism because they teach one is saved without being baptized. Do you believe Christ gave the command to be baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38)? If one says Christ gave the command to be baptized in order to be saved, but He will save people who are not baptized, this means Jesus lied, and if He lied, He is not the Son of God bacause God cannot lie (Heb. 6:18; Titus 1:2). Think this through.
—Malcolm L. Hill