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Introduction:
Based on a count from a book considering itself a directory of
churches of Christ, there are 144 congregations using the name
“Church of Christ” in the Nashville to Columbia corridor from
which our membership comes. This, however, doesn’t really tell
us much. These churches range in a spiritual perspective from
extremely strict and conservative to extremely liberal. This
ranges from congregations that won’t allow Bible classes and
only use one cup for the Lord’s Supper to congregations that
have completely given up the pursuit of scriptural authority for
their work. Surprisingly, despite the quarrels and squabbles that
take place between these different kinds of churches, I get the
feeling from some people, if it has the moniker “Church of
Christ” on the sign it is ok. It is as if people can decry all
the things they don’t like about a church, but then they wipe it
away saying, “At least it’s Church of Christ.” I especially
get this feeling when I’m talking to some folks about family
members that attend congregations they believe teach error or when
someone leaves a congregation and goes to another one they believe
teaches error. I certainly do not think we should set ourselves up
as the judge of congregational soundness for all the other
congregations. Nor do I think we are somehow the standard of what
is right. However, I am concerned with the mindset I sense from
some that despite the differences everything is really alright as
long as it’s “Church of Christ.” Examine with me why this
mindset is just not accurate. Discussion: I.
What is “church of Christ”? A.
The “at least it’s Church of Christ” mindset has lost
sight of what “church of Christ” even means. “Church of
Christ” is not the approved name or title that God gave His church. It is
not the approved
name or title that God has given local congregations. “Church of
Christ” is a description. “Church” translates the word
“ekklessia” meaning assembly. It refers to a group of people
gathered together. “Of Christ” is a prepositional phrase
meaning belonging to Christ. Thus, “church of Christ” merely
means the group of people belonging to Jesus Christ. In a
universal sense, this describes all the people everywhere
assembled spiritually in Christ (cf. Hebrews 12:22-23). In a local sense, this describes people who
belong to Christ in a geographical locale who assemble together to
serve the Lord and build each other up (cf. Romans
16:16). B.
Personally, I do not have a problem with a local church
giving itself a name especially in our modern climate of needing
to distinguish one congregation from others. However, we need to
honestly admit no congregation in Scripture used a name. They
simply used descriptions. Consider some of the ones used. 1.
In Romans 16:16,
Paul referred to multiple local congregations as “the churches
of Christ.” Was he saying, “All the churches named ‘Church
of Christ’ greet you”? Of course not. He was saying, “The
churches that can be described as belonging to Jesus greet you.” 2.
In I
Corinthians 1:2 and II Corinthians 1:1,
Paul called the local congregation to which he was writing, “the
church of God which is at Corinth.” 3.
In Galatians 1:2,
Paul spoke of “the churches of Galatia.” 4.
In I
Thessalonians 1:1 and II Thessalonians 1:1, Paul wrote “to the church of the
Thessalonians.” 5.
In I Thessalonians
2:14, Paul called the churches of Judea, “the churches of
God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea.” 6.
In I Timothy 3:15,
Paul called it “the church of the living God.” 7.
Interestingly, when Paul wrote to Ephesus, Philippi and
Colossae, he wrote “to the saints who are at Ephesus” (Ephesians
1:1); “to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in
Philippi, including the overseers and deacons” (Philippians
1:1); and “to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who
are at Colossae” (Colossians
1:2). 8.
Most often, it is just described as “the church”—e.g.
Acts 11:26; I Timothy 3:15; Philemon
1:2, et al. C.
Interestingly, among churches of Christ people used to
argue about whether or not we were allowed to capitalize the word
“church” on our signs because it was a description and not a
name. Now even some of the seemingly soundest of brethren have
adopted the denominational mindset that the phrase is the approved
name and for all that someone does wrong, at least they are still
one of us because “at least they’re Church of Christ.” Do
not make this mistake. Our sign could just as easily read any
number of biblical descriptions and we would still be the exact
same church and still be a local congregation belonging to Christ.
Our sign could read “the Franklin church of the living God”,
“the saints in Franklin”, “the church of the Middle
Tennesseans”, “the church of Franklin”, “the Franklin
church” or “the Franklin Church of God in Christ Jesus.” I
am not suggesting we need to change our sign. I’m simply
pointing out what that sign and title represent. D.
The main point here being, however, that we must be very
careful. The “at least it’s Church of Christ” mindset
misuses and misapplies the biblical phrase “church of Christ.”
We must not be guilty of that. II.
“Church of Christ” is not God’s stamp of approval. A.
Colossians
3:17
says, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in
the name of the Lord Jesus…” (ESV). We understand that doing
something in the name of the Lord means doing it with His
authority as demonstrated in Acts
4:7-12. Some people, however, act as if doing something in the
name of Jesus simply means saying those words. They have the idea
that if we say what we are doing is in the name of Jesus, then it
must be. That is just not true. I can do things with Christ’s
authority without saying those words. Sometimes I say those words
but I’m not doing something authorized by Christ. For instance,
I do not have to say “I’m preaching this sermon in the name of
Jesus,” to be preaching by His authority. On the other hand, I
can say “I’m getting drunk in the name of Jesus” all day
long and it won’t make getting drunk authorized. B.
Regrettably, some folks seem to treat the phrase “Church
of Christ” in the same way. It is almost as if they think if a
church calls itself a “Church of Christ” even though they
disagree with what the church is doing it is really not a big deal
because they have God’s stamp of approval. That is just not so. C.
For instance, take a look at the seven churches of Asia in Revelation 2-3. While I recognize that these people were the
children of God, we still see that five of the churches were not
approved by God and God was threatening to remove their lampstands.
God did not approve of Ephesus because it had left its first love
(Revelation 2:4). God did not approve of Pergamum because they had
some who held the teaching of Balaam and the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2:14-15). God did not approve of Thyatira because they
tolerated the Jezebel (Revelation
2:20). He did not approve of Sardis because it was dead even
though it had a reputation of being alive (Revelation
3:1). He did not approve of Laodicea because they were
lukewarm (Revelation
3:15-16). What if these churches had a sign that said
“Church of Christ” outside? What if they were listed in a
directory of “Churches of Christ”? Would that have changed
God’s disapproval? Of course not. On the other hand, God
completely approved of Smyrna (Revelation
2:8-11) and Philadelphia (Revelation
3:7-13). Did He approve of them because their sign said
“Church of Christ” or because they were listed in a directory
of supposed “Churches of Christ”? No. They were approved
because they were really of Christ. D.
We need to understand that this issue is not whether
something is called of Christ, it is about whether or not it
really is of Christ. Just using that phrase doesn’t grant
God’s stamp of approval. III.
Being in a “Church of Christ” doesn’t equal
fellowship with God, walking in the light does. A.
Sometimes I fear some have lost sight of how we gain and
maintain fellowship with God. We do not gain fellowship with God
by being a member of a congregation that uses the name “Church
of Christ.” According to I
John 1:5-7, we have fellowship with God by walking in the
light, because He is in the light. B.
Note that John says if we walk in darkness and try to claim
to be in fellowship with God, we are not. If someone is walking in
darkness, not following God’s will, because of the congregation
of which they are a member, then they do not have fellowship with
God even if the sign says “Church of Christ.” Yes, I recognize
we are all in a growth process. I am not about to stand in
judgment over every individual and I will leave it up to God to
sort out the hearts of everyone involved in the many different
kinds of churches and the many different doctrines. However, I
recognize the general rule. If someone is denying the will of God,
walking in a path other than His straight and narrow, they are
walking in darkness and they do not have fellowship with God. C.
Notice the two sides of what this means. First, if a person
assembles with a congregation that does not have the name
“Church of Christ” above the door who is walking in the light,
then he or she is in fellowship with God (Please, keep in mind the
point, walking in the light means being a working part of a
faithful congregation that teaches and follows God’s word).
Second, if a person assembles with a congregation that does have
the name “Church of Christ” but they are not walking in the
light, they are not in fellowship with God. IV.
Looking at ourselves. A.
We must not look at this lesson and talk about all those
other churches out there and all those other Christians out there
that aren’t getting it right. The real import is for us to look
at ourselves and what this means for us. How readily we may think
we are fine with God just because we have the so-called right name
on our sign. Brethren, we are not in fellowship with God because
of our sign. We will only be in fellowship with God if we are
walking in the light. We must constantly examine ourselves and our
walk. B.
Further, we need to look at our own words and mindset.
Perhaps none of this applied to you and you have never had this
kind of mindset. But we each need to give consideration to how we
have thought about Christians and churches we believe are not
following the pattern God has given us through His word. This is
especially true when dealing with our family and children. We must
not breathe a sigh of relief just because they are attending a
church that says “Church of Christ” over the door. We need to
encourage them to walk in the light, following God’s pattern. We
also need to think about this when members from our own fellowship
abandon the pattern of God by leaving us to have fellowship with
error in churches that do not follow God’s patterns. If someone
leaves us and goes to another congregation that faithfully teaches
and follows God’s word for whatever reason, then let them go
with our blessing. However, when someone breaks fellowship with us
to abandon sound teaching for error in another congregation we
must not send them with our blessing. Rather, we must let our
concern for their soul be known. C.
How are we doing? Do we understand what “church of
Christ” is and means? Are we walking in the light or trusting in
our sign? That sign is not God’s stamp of approval on us. We
have to be doing His will. As Jesus said, “Why do you call me
‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46, ESV). Conclusion: Let us not be happy that people are attending some place called “Church of Christ.” Rather, let us be happy when people are walking in the light as God is in the light. Let us be happy when we have all come to a unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God (Ephesians 4:13).
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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