"The Churches of Christ Salute You" - Romans 16:16
Written By: George W. DeHoff
Throughout the world are congregations of Christians who have obeyed the commands which our Blessed Lord said for sinners to obey to be saved. These Christians meet for worship and are organized into local congregations. They are neither Catholic or Protestant. They belong to no denomination. They have no central government, nor earthly headquarters. Each congregation is independent taking the New Testament as its sole and only authority in religion. The members insist that if we believe the same things the early Christians did and do the same things they did, it will make us the same thing. Paul was a member of no denomination, yet he was a Christian and a member of the Lord’s Church.
The church of Christ was established on Pentecost day A.D., 33, as we read in Acts 2. Every saved person was added to the church (Acts 2:47). The church is composed of all Christians on earth. The members of the church were called “Christians” (Acts 11:26). The Lord gave this name (Isaiah 62:2). Human names are condemned (1 Corinthians 1:12-13; Acts 4:12).
“The Word of God is the seed of the Kingdom” (Luke 8:11). This seed produced Christians when first planted. If we plant the same seed today, we will reap the same product. The life is in the seed. If there were not a Christian on the earth today, you might become one by believing, repenting, confessing your faith in Christ and being baptized. If there were not a church of Christ on earth, we might start one by obeying the gospel the apostles preached. Paul went to Corinth and preached “the gospel.” “Many of the Corinthians hearing, believed, and were baptized” (Acts 18:8). Paul later addressed them as the “church of God” and “the body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:2; 1 Corinthians 12:27).
Nineteen centuries have passed since the beginning of the church but we still have the same truth. We have today the same church unchanged in name, doctrine, organization, faith and practice. We dare not use any creed except the New Testament (2 John 9). We must not add to our worship any doctrine or commandment of man (Matthew 15:9). Our plea is for unity—not during a so-called union meeting—but for all time on the platform given in God’s word (Ephesians 4:4-6). We plead no merit of our own—only the merit of Christ’s shed blood and of His Holy Word. The New Testament is the Word of God. It is inspired of God and is superior to any human confession of faith (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Will you not join with us in standing on the solid rock of God’s word?
-George W. Dehoff