Churches of Christ: Beliefs and Practices

congregations bearing the name church of christ arose from the combined movements of two men barton stone and alexander campbell who both disliked the schisms and denominations in christianity and sought to simply be part of the church christ started they didn't find that the catholics baptists or other denominations around were teaching what they believed the bible said and so their churches did not join them they held to no creed or confession but the bible stone and campbell's movements merged in 1832 and remained as one until 1906. some churches of christ talk about their history and mention stoning campbell but in others the names of these men may be unfamiliar many instead teach that their churches have been around since the time of christ robert notgrass preacher at lubeck church of christ in washington west virginia says some may make the accusation saying i thought a man by the name of alexander campbell was the one who started the church of christ however the truth is that alexander campbell was almost 1800 years too late to establish the church of christ campbell was born on september 12 1788 but as was already noted the churches of christ existed back when the book of romans was written by the hands of the apostle paul thus campbell was not the founder he simply took on the name used in the first century as does every church of christ today this goes along with the church of christ view of themselves as undenominational not a denomination in their view but simply that church of christ congregations belong to nothing but true christianity itself wes mick adams of the radically christian website says a man becomes a member of the church of christ as soon as he becomes a christian he becomes a member of the church of christ because the lord adds him to his church acts 2 47. in other words the church of christ is not a group you decide to join after you become a christian you cannot join the church of christ if you are a christian you are already a member of the church of christ because churches of christ are autonomous there have been congregations that have kept the name but changed theology in this video i'll be discussing the standard beliefs of these churches without always qualifying myself that there may be a church here or there that is different for example churches of christ as we'll discuss later don't allow women elders if one decides to have them and this has happened the other churches have nothing to do with them we're also looking at the churches of christ which is a non-instrumental set of churches not the closely related christian churches and churches of christ which allow instruments in worship and are effectively a separate movement at this point being classified separately since 1906 churches of the type we are talking about sometimes go into the christian churches and churches of christ branch if they decide to have instrumental music or women pastors and so on also worth mentioning is that in 1969 many of the churches in the christian churches movement formed the denominational body and became the christian church disciples of christ for a more detailed discussion of the history watch my video church splits church of christ and christian church disciples of christ churches of christ affirm the trinity deity of christ his virgin birth sinless life death resurrection ascension and future return a final judgment heaven and hell and literal devil churches of christ don't use the term of sacraments the church of christ buffalo wyoming website says should we use the word sacrament in speaking of her religious activities the bible never does does that hold any weight with you that the bible doesn't use that term whenever we use words and terms that are foreign to the bible it always leads to a certain amount of confusion let's call bible things by bible names and while we're at it let's do bible things in bible ways that being said while some churches of christ might use the term ordinance most don't use this term either they practice baptism and the lord's supper but there's not a unifying term they give to them churches of christ baptize only believers not infants and they baptize only by the mode of immersion viewing sprinkling or pouring as invalid and not true baptism brent kircheville on the website of west palm beach church of christ in west palm beach florida says of the effects and purpose of baptism baptism is how we ask god forgiveness when we have our sins cut off and how we unite ourselves with christ baptism is simply a condition of god's grace not a sacramental work that merits salvation the blood of christ saves us through the conditions of god's grace being met we must believe in the lord repent of our sins confess jesus is the lord and be immersed in water for the forgiveness of our sins when we do this we are nothing but god extends grace to us they also say on re-baptism sometimes people are baptized because everyone else is doing it or without this understanding again you did not have to have perfect knowledge of the scriptures but you did need to understand our sinful condition and that repentance and baptism were obedient acts to god by which god cuts off our sins many denominations do not teach that baptism saves many teach that salvation can occur outside of baptism or that baptism is a way to become a member of their church but that is not the function of baptism and is an improper understanding of what baptism is for baptism is for the forgiveness of sins acts 2 38 baptism is required for salvation first peter 3 21 baptism is the point at which all sins are forgiven not beforehand colossians 2 11-13 as we see in acts 19 when that understanding is not present about what the purpose of baptism is and what jesus the christ has done for you and me then re-baptism is necessary robert notgrass says no one is a christian child of god who has not been baptized in the name of by the authority of christ under the remission of sins on the lord's supper the website of la vista church of christ in la vista nebraska says the catholics point out that jesus said this is my body and this is my blood the question is was he saying this literally or as a figure or symbol early christian writers understood that it was symbolic because christ was present before the disciples whole while making the statement the obvious understanding is that he meant this figurative after saying that the cup was his blood jesus then calls it the fruit of the vine the church also says about the elements is it a sin to use fermented juice in keeping the lord's supper let me ask this is it a sin to use raised bread in keeping the lord supper i think the answer to both is yes because it violates the symbolism jesus established for his memorial meal there are also some churches of christ however that use only fermented wine and others that use only one cup or only one loaf of bread in observing the lord's supper churches of christ observe the lord's supper weekly on sundays an article on church of christ's website thywardistruth.com says no congregation of the church of christ with which i am familiar of or which i have heard has ever restricted who may partake when the lord's supper is served this is not to say that all who partake are in the kingdom it is to say that determination will be made by a study of what the scripture requires for admission into the kingdom and not by examination around the lord's table an article by paul nichols on the website of fossil creek church of christ in fort worth texas states that no one in a congregation has the authority to control another person's partaking but makes the observation the catholic church the lutheran church of the missouri synod and some other religious sects believe and practice close communion and now we have members of the church of christ who are also advocating this practice open communion is still the overwhelming majority for scriptures the bible contains a canon of 66 books churches of christ teach that the bible is inspired and inerrant the late wayne jackson wrote on the christian courier website it is the epitome of inconsistency to claim confidence in the canonical scriptures in one breath and then trash the sacred documents in the next if the bible is inspired it is inerrant without error in its original form and if it is not inerrant it is not inspired churches of christ often teach in god as the creator and oppose evolution brad harab neurobiologist author and founder of focus press writes evolution is true that is microevolution is true we know today that things can change within limited parameters eg dog breeds this is a scientific fact however science has never observed a dog reproducing into a fern or giraffe or anything other than a dog macro or organic evolution on the other hand the theory that everything evolved from a common ancestor is unbiblical and unscientific and while many teachers and professors will try their best to use intellectual intimidation to convince you that all knowledgeable people believe evolution the fact remains that it is illogical and irrational david hersey of the granby church of christ in granby missouri writes men and women came along on the sixth day of the creation of god which is now roughly six thousand years old according to scriptural chronology at the time of jesus quote the creation was about four thousand years old on original sin kevin cawley preacher at new boston church of christ in new boston texas writes there is no greater threat to practicing true christianity than the doctrine of original sin the doctrine of original sin lies at the heart of almost every false doctrine in the christian religious world today the bible does not teach this false doctrine likewise an article by norm fields of the church of christ northside in lagrange georgia says we are not born sinners with a sinful nature children are innocent and pure they do not have a sinful nature church of christ's website thy word is truth.com lists god's plan of salvation you must hear the gospel you must believe you must repent you must confess you must be baptized for the remission of sins you must be faithful unto death two things about salvation that are taught in churches of christ that go together is their rejection of salvation through faith alone and that they often teach against the use of a so-called sinner's prayer for example brent phillips writes on the website of the church of christ valley congregation in glendale arizona the sinner's prayer is neither biblical nor scriptural and none of the passages used to support sinner's prayer salvation work is advertised the reformers knew that faith only just does not make any sense either biblically or practically here is the problem it is just too vague when exactly is one saved don't say at the point of faith alone without any works of obedience no one really believes that and that is not what the bible teaches there has to be some point of practical reference in which at which one goes from being unsaved to being saved where is that point in real time exactly when does the new life in christ begin with faith only there is just no real or perceived point that is easily clarified in the minds of men it is just too vague and nebulous faith only is a great sounding doctrine but it is a lousy one when it comes to practice and practical implementation so enter the sinner's prayer now we have an actual moment a line of demarcation a dividing point from the old life to the new life a time that can be specifically identified and remembered when someone gets saved the sinner's prayer is only the result of the doctrines and commandments of men not god it is a sorry attempt to fix the defective doctrine of faith only what is more it does not do a very good job of it the website of la vista church of christ says it is not faith alone but faith working in harmony with working obedience you see when paul talked about faith in romans his concept of faith was one that worked he started the letter with through him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for his name among whom you are also the cult of jesus christ romans 1 5-6 and he ended his letter on the same note now to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of jesus christ according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now has been made manifest and by the prophetic scriptures has been made known to all nations according to the commandment of the everlasting god for obedience to the faith romans 16 25-26 the bible doesn't teach that salvation is exclusively by faith that was a doctrine that originated with men the bible has always taught that salvation occurs when faith is joined by obedient action to the commands of god churches of christ are opposed to all five of what are often called the five points of calvinism on total depravity victor esque writes on the website of the oceanside church of christ in atlantic beach florida the concepts of total depravity and sinful nature are man-made doctrines on unconditional election terry benton writes on the website of la vista church of christ salvation has been placed on a conditional basis that can be chosen or rejected on a self-hardened heart basis or an open heart basis there is real choice given to man to choose he may harden his heart and become a vessel for wrath or he may soften his heart toward god and be made a vessel of honor unlimited atonement the website of montevista church of christ in phoenix arizona says this doctrine is false because it implies that christ did not really die for everyone while the bible affirms that he did this doctrine of limited atonement is also false because it is contrary to the many expressed statements that show god's desire that all should be saved by turning from sin on irresistible grace lowell sally writes on the website of anderson church of christ in anderson alabama this false doctrine of man is better known as the direct operation of the holy spirit the idea is basically this before a person is regenerated or born again or saved he can't believe if he wants to god predetermines each soul that will be saved and the one chosen to be saved cannot overcome god's saving power upon them this false doctrine of men makes each of us nothing more than robots having no free will at all and on perseverance of the saints or the similar teaching of eternal security the montevista church of christ website says the bible warns in some way on nearly every page against the danger of the child of god sinning and being lost eternally secondly the bible records many examples of those who did fall away from god's grace or favor third why would the bible urge faithfulness upon the children of god in order to enter heaven if a child of god cannot sow sin is to be lost eternally fourth the passages which assert the possession of eternal life now are to be understood as referring to it in prospect and not a complete reality the wesleyan doctrine of entire sanctification is rejected the montevista church of christ website says nowhere does the bible provide any evidence for an alleged doctrine of the second work of grace scripture teaches that the holy spirit works through the word of god to sanctify set apart the christian dan jenkins of the palm beach lakes church of christ in west palm beach florida says on these spiritual gifts of prophecy tongues and knowledge love never ends as for prophecies they will pass away as for tongues they will cease as for knowledge it will pass away first corinthians 13 8 esv these gifts were part of the church when it was in its infancy paul showed this when he stated when i was a child i spoke like a child i thought like a child i reasoned like a child when i became a man i gave up childish ways first corinthians 13 11. god had something far greater than these gifts which were so necessary for the church as it began and part of his plan until the church reached maturity on speaking in tongues alan greeley in a sermon at the montevista church of christ said tongues were not a secret language that only angels could know only god could know biblical tongues were languages of some culture that could be interpreted either miraculously or interpreted because someone actually spoke the language or they were understood because it was your language but what you see in modern day charismatic congregations is nothing of the sort so even if i did believe in modern day miracles at the hands of men there's no way i would believe charismatics are actually speaking in tongues because what they are doing is not anywhere close to being consistent with that miracle in biblical times the website of monroe valley church of christ in monroe washington says prophecy was needed until the bible was complete but now that we have everything god wanted us to know prophecy is ceased on end times views dr richard beck of highland church of christ which by the way in 2014 began using instrumental music rights when it comes to eschatology my faith tradition the churches of christ has leaned heavily toward preterism according to preterism almost all end times prophecy in the bible is referring to the destruction of jerusalem in 80 70. partial preterism represents what most people in the churches of christ have believed we don't believe in the antichrist rapture tribulation thousand-year reign or battle of armageddon kyle rye of buford church of christ in beaufort georgia says since the early 20th century the generally accepted eschatological teaching of the churches of christ has been that of amillennialism or nunc millennialism the bible teaches that the church and kingdom are one in the same all eschatological events will unfold on one final day rather than over a period of several years doug dingley of chouteau hills church of christ in choteau oklahoma writes on gender god created the two only the two and none other but the two genders period hence everyone born thereafter would be after their own kind and once again only either male or female no third option no combination no need for confusion nor has our eternally perfect god ever made the man conceived mistake of putting a woman's soul into a man's body or a man's soul into a woman's body on homosexuality travis main church of christ teacher on church of christ articles.com writes god established man and woman to come together to create offspring they were to share their desires together in marriage not in non-authorized unnatural sexual sin god declares such people who do not repent are worthy of death that judgment is in the hand of god understand clearly god does not wish that upon them however if homosexuals reject god and continue in an unauthorized lifestyle death by god is what they choose wayne galloway of fort logan church of christ in stanford kentucky says same-sex marriage is completely foreign to scripture and contrary to the divine pattern of male female marriage on divorce and remarriage most churches of christ have a position but not all of them agree for example articles on the website of timberland drive church of christ in lufkin texas say the cause of fornication is the only legitimate and divinely sanctioned ground for which a man may put away his wife and jesus gives the right to remarry only to those who put away their mate for fornication if one is put away and then remarries they commit adultery therefore if an innocent party is put away for incompatibility they commit adultery if they remarry when a divorce takes place and no fornication has been committed any marital relations or any exercise of the privileges and rights of the marital relationship by either party constitutes adultery in contrast the elders of woodland's oaks church of christ in the woodlands texas say if a non-believing spouse makes the decision to divorce his her christian spouse then the believing spouse is free to remarry without any consequences churches of christ are opposed to elective abortion john mitchell preacher at calhoun church of christ in calhoun georgia writes in the article god hates abortion what is happening in our nation today the mass killing of innocent life which takes place through abortion is an irreverent assault on the unique work that god performs it is an abomination to him something that he hates not only because it destroys the work of his hands and the life that he gives but also because of how it destroys that life churches of christ are non-instrumental meaning that in worship singing is acapella however it is worth noting that within the non-instrumental side of churches of christ that some especially larger churches have shifted on this issue the largest one in the u.s richland hills church of christ in texas now known as the hills church added a service with instrumental worship in 2007. however many churches have also strongly resisted this change worship being only a cappella is based on a principle of only having things as part of worship if the new testament explicitly allows them having no instrumental music is the most consistent example of this but some churches of christ use the same principle in other areas such as teaching that churches should not have fellowship halls or that there should be no age divided classes but the churches should always meet together in one group some churches of christ have taught that women should wear skirts or dresses and men only should wear pants or jeans however this is not the majority position today many churches do still emphasize modesty and dress in reference to deuteronomy 22 5 thywordistruth.com says it is a stretch to say that this passage prohibits a woman's wearing slacks first the slacks that women wear are not a man's attire they are made for women second scottish men under the same reasoning would have to surrender their kilts this does not mean that there are not principles that govern a christian's dress the basic rule is modesty first timothy 2 verse 9. some conclude from this passage in first peter 3 3 that women should not wear makeup and jewelry such as not their teaching monroe valley church of christ in monroe washington says on their website in today's society women wear pants all the time that are women's pants they are designed for women look like a woman should wear them and would look decidedly inappropriate for a man to wear if a woman is wearing trousers that are feminine she is fine however if a man or a woman begins to dress in a way that clearly is against the natural design the lord intended that is a sin on alcohol kevin cauley says some will object with the thought but jesus drank socially or social drinking is done with god's approval in the bible various passages will be cited to support the argument no one is questioning whether jesus drank wine the question is whether jesus drank beverage alcohol he did not such would have implicated him in some of the worst sins in biblical history the problem is clarified when we appropriately recognize that the word wine in the bible is used for both intoxicating and non-intoxicating beverages there is no excuse for a christian to be a social drinker brad harb states a position that the bible doesn't condemn all drinking of alcohol but then says he will tell his children rather than fret about alcoholism or justification of moderate drinking just determine today that you will not use alcoholic beverages it will make your life simpler and your influence stronger make a difference and be that shining light you don't need it to be pleasing to god as paul admonished abstain from every form of evil on tithing churches of christ don't view it as a mandatory requirement for christians today thywordistruth.com says if we are to go to the old testament for the christian standard of giving which of these standards shall we choose the truth is that the old covenant has passed away having been nailed to the cross and is no longer binding thus neither tithing nor any other old covenant standard is binding today while the new covenant does not give a percentage requirement it does set a standard a christian is to give as god has prospered him the government of local congregations is by a plurality of elders each congregation is completely autonomous and in control of their own property choosing their own ministers and with no authority other than the bible that determines doctrine kyle rye says congregations associated with the churches of christ are considered unique because they appoint elders in the local congregation and believe that such leaders are the only biblically authorized form of church government under the headship of christ on church of christ's website radically christian wes mcadams says every church not only needs elders but they need the right kind of elders every church needs men who meet the qualifications titus 1 5-16 first timothy 3 1-7 and who are willing to do the work many congregations resort to men's meetings or congregational meetings in which decisions are made democratically i suppose we think this is biblical because we live in a democracy the church is not a democracy it is a monarchy christ is the head and there are specific offices in his church he gave the apostles the prophets the evangelists the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry for building up the body of christ ephesians 4 11 through 12. ministers don't use titles like reverend or pastor doug dingley of chouteau hills church of christ writes how do we refer to our religious leaders and congregations of the churches of christ well biblically of course whatever was good enough for god's first century church is good enough for god's 21st or any other century church they are biblically correctly and therefore congregationally referred to as an evangelist a minister and or a preacher churches may also have deacons but they are servants of the church and don't have governing authority a small minority of churches of christ are opposed to paid preachers dan jenkins in the article what does the bible say about women preachers writes the key verse to answer our question is found in the last phrase in verse 35 the prophet's wives could not speak because it is shameful for women to speak in the church first corinthians 14 35 all women are included in these words two verses later paul shows that this was not a cultural optional matter but the things i write unto you are the commandment of the lord what did god say about women preachers that is all that matters god said let your women keep silent for it is shameful for women to speak in church lavish the church of christ says elders have specific qualifications one of which is the husband of one wife titus 1 6. this qualification automatically rules out women some churches of christ fit under the title of non-institutional churches of this type tend to fellowship with other churches in the same group the non-institutional churches teach against church support of para-church organizations such as colleges or missions organizations the website of church of christ internet ministries which has a directory of local congregations claims 15 000 congregations and 2 million individuals worldwide other estimates have claimed 3 million worldwide in 2021 christian standard magazine reported the following statistics for the united states in 1906 there were 2 649 congregations and 159 658 members in 1946 that was 10 089 congregations and 682 172 members the peak was in 1985 after which the numbers declined in 2010 the numbers were 12 584 congregations and 1.6 million adherents and in 2021 11 seventy five congregations and one million ninety two thousand one hundred eighty two in attendance total adherence number one point four two million the article quotes the report churches of christ in 2050 by tim woodruff and stan granberg showing this chart of decline since 1990 and stating that churches of christ have lost more than two thousand people and nine congregations a month since 2015. granberg also reported that 91 percent of people who attend churches of christ are in congregations of fewer than 250 people and that 55 percent of congregations number 34 people in average attendance 46 percent of u.s congregations are in only five states texas tennessee alabama arkansas and oklahoma supporters of ready to harvest at ready to harvest.com can watch videos ad free there and read my transcripts with sources and there are several other benefits members made this video possible visit ready2harvest.com to join and enable the production of more videos like this

congregations bearing the name church of christ arose from the combined movements of two men barton stone and alexander campbell who both disliked the schisms and denominations in christianity and sought to simply be part of the church christ started they didn&#39;t find that the catholics baptists or other denominations around were teaching what they believed the bible said and so their churches did not join them they held to no creed or confession but the bible stone and campbell&#39;s movements merged in 1832 and remained as one until 1906. some churches of christ talk about their history and mention stoning campbell but in others the names of these men may be unfamiliar many instead teach that their churches have been around since the time of christ robert notgrass preacher at lubeck church of christ in washington west virginia says some may make the accusation saying i thought a man by the name of alexander campbell was the one who started the church of christ however the truth is that alexander campbell was almost 1800 years too late to establish the church of christ campbell was born on september 12 1788 but as was already noted the churches of christ existed back when the book of romans was written by the hands of the apostle paul thus campbell was not the founder he simply took on the name used in the first century as does every church of christ today this goes along with the church of christ view of themselves as undenominational not a denomination in their view but simply that church of christ congregations belong to nothing but true christianity itself wes mick adams of the radically christian website says a man becomes a member of the church of christ as soon as he becomes a christian he becomes a member of the church of christ because the lord adds him to his church acts 2 47. in other words the church of christ is not a group you decide to join after you become a christian you cannot join the church of christ if you are a christian you are already a member of the church of christ because churches of christ are autonomous there have been congregations that have kept the name but changed theology in this video i&#39;ll be discussing the standard beliefs of these churches without always qualifying myself that there may be a church here or there that is different for example churches of christ as we&#39;ll discuss later don&#39;t allow women elders if one decides to have them and this has happened the other churches have nothing to do with them we&#39;re also looking at the churches of christ which is a non-instrumental set of churches not the closely related christian churches and churches of christ which allow instruments in worship and are effectively a separate movement at this point being classified separately since 1906 churches of the type we are talking about sometimes go into the christian churches and churches of christ branch if they decide to have instrumental music or women pastors and so on also worth mentioning is that in 1969 many of the churches in the christian churches movement formed the denominational body and became the christian church disciples of christ for a more detailed discussion of the history watch my video church splits church of christ and christian church disciples of christ churches of christ affirm the trinity deity of christ his virgin birth sinless life death resurrection ascension and future return a final judgment heaven and hell and literal devil churches of christ don&#39;t use the term of sacraments the church of christ buffalo wyoming website says should we use the word sacrament in speaking of her religious activities the bible never does does that hold any weight with you that the bible doesn&#39;t use that term whenever we use words and terms that are foreign to the bible it always leads to a certain amount of confusion let&#39;s call bible things by bible names and while we&#39;re at it let&#39;s do bible things in bible ways that being said while some churches of christ might use the term ordinance most don&#39;t use this term either they practice baptism and the lord&#39;s supper but there&#39;s not a unifying term they give to them churches of christ baptize only believers not infants and they baptize only by the mode of immersion viewing sprinkling or pouring as invalid and not true baptism brent kircheville on the website of west palm beach church of christ in west palm beach florida says of the effects and purpose of baptism baptism is how we ask god forgiveness when we have our sins cut off and how we unite ourselves with christ baptism is simply a condition of god&#39;s grace not a sacramental work that merits salvation the blood of christ saves us through the conditions of god&#39;s grace being met we must believe in the lord repent of our sins confess jesus is the lord and be immersed in water for the forgiveness of our sins when we do this we are nothing but god extends grace to us they also say on re-baptism sometimes people are baptized because everyone else is doing it or without this understanding again you did not have to have perfect knowledge of the scriptures but you did need to understand our sinful condition and that repentance and baptism were obedient acts to god by which god cuts off our sins many denominations do not teach that baptism saves many teach that salvation can occur outside of baptism or that baptism is a way to become a member of their church but that is not the function of baptism and is an improper understanding of what baptism is for baptism is for the forgiveness of sins acts 2 38 baptism is required for salvation first peter 3 21 baptism is the point at which all sins are forgiven not beforehand colossians 2 11-13 as we see in acts 19 when that understanding is not present about what the purpose of baptism is and what jesus the christ has done for you and me then re-baptism is necessary robert notgrass says no one is a christian child of god who has not been baptized in the name of by the authority of christ under the remission of sins on the lord&#39;s supper the website of la vista church of christ in la vista nebraska says the catholics point out that jesus said this is my body and this is my blood the question is was he saying this literally or as a figure or symbol early christian writers understood that it was symbolic because christ was present before the disciples whole while making the statement the obvious understanding is that he meant this figurative after saying that the cup was his blood jesus then calls it the fruit of the vine the church also says about the elements is it a sin to use fermented juice in keeping the lord&#39;s supper let me ask this is it a sin to use raised bread in keeping the lord supper i think the answer to both is yes because it violates the symbolism jesus established for his memorial meal there are also some churches of christ however that use only fermented wine and others that use only one cup or only one loaf of bread in observing the lord&#39;s supper churches of christ observe the lord&#39;s supper weekly on sundays an article on church of christ&#39;s website thywardistruth.com says no congregation of the church of christ with which i am familiar of or which i have heard has ever restricted who may partake when the lord&#39;s supper is served this is not to say that all who partake are in the kingdom it is to say that determination will be made by a study of what the scripture requires for admission into the kingdom and not by examination around the lord&#39;s table an article by paul nichols on the website of fossil creek church of christ in fort worth texas states that no one in a congregation has the authority to control another person&#39;s partaking but makes the observation the catholic church the lutheran church of the missouri synod and some other religious sects believe and practice close communion and now we have members of the church of christ who are also advocating this practice open communion is still the overwhelming majority for scriptures the bible contains a canon of 66 books churches of christ teach that the bible is inspired and inerrant the late wayne jackson wrote on the christian courier website it is the epitome of inconsistency to claim confidence in the canonical scriptures in one breath and then trash the sacred documents in the next if the bible is inspired it is inerrant without error in its original form and if it is not inerrant it is not inspired churches of christ often teach in god as the creator and oppose evolution brad harab neurobiologist author and founder of focus press writes evolution is true that is microevolution is true we know today that things can change within limited parameters eg dog breeds this is a scientific fact however science has never observed a dog reproducing into a fern or giraffe or anything other than a dog macro or organic evolution on the other hand the theory that everything evolved from a common ancestor is unbiblical and unscientific and while many teachers and professors will try their best to use intellectual intimidation to convince you that all knowledgeable people believe evolution the fact remains that it is illogical and irrational david hersey of the granby church of christ in granby missouri writes men and women came along on the sixth day of the creation of god which is now roughly six thousand years old according to scriptural chronology at the time of jesus quote the creation was about four thousand years old on original sin kevin cawley preacher at new boston church of christ in new boston texas writes there is no greater threat to practicing true christianity than the doctrine of original sin the doctrine of original sin lies at the heart of almost every false doctrine in the christian religious world today the bible does not teach this false doctrine likewise an article by norm fields of the church of christ northside in lagrange georgia says we are not born sinners with a sinful nature children are innocent and pure they do not have a sinful nature church of christ&#39;s website thy word is truth.com lists god&#39;s plan of salvation you must hear the gospel you must believe you must repent you must confess you must be baptized for the remission of sins you must be faithful unto death two things about salvation that are taught in churches of christ that go together is their rejection of salvation through faith alone and that they often teach against the use of a so-called sinner&#39;s prayer for example brent phillips writes on the website of the church of christ valley congregation in glendale arizona the sinner&#39;s prayer is neither biblical nor scriptural and none of the passages used to support sinner&#39;s prayer salvation work is advertised the reformers knew that faith only just does not make any sense either biblically or practically here is the problem it is just too vague when exactly is one saved don&#39;t say at the point of faith alone without any works of obedience no one really believes that and that is not what the bible teaches there has to be some point of practical reference in which at which one goes from being unsaved to being saved where is that point in real time exactly when does the new life in christ begin with faith only there is just no real or perceived point that is easily clarified in the minds of men it is just too vague and nebulous faith only is a great sounding doctrine but it is a lousy one when it comes to practice and practical implementation so enter the sinner&#39;s prayer now we have an actual moment a line of demarcation a dividing point from the old life to the new life a time that can be specifically identified and remembered when someone gets saved the sinner&#39;s prayer is only the result of the doctrines and commandments of men not god it is a sorry attempt to fix the defective doctrine of faith only what is more it does not do a very good job of it the website of la vista church of christ says it is not faith alone but faith working in harmony with working obedience you see when paul talked about faith in romans his concept of faith was one that worked he started the letter with through him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for his name among whom you are also the cult of jesus christ romans 1 5-6 and he ended his letter on the same note now to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of jesus christ according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now has been made manifest and by the prophetic scriptures has been made known to all nations according to the commandment of the everlasting god for obedience to the faith romans 16 25-26 the bible doesn&#39;t teach that salvation is exclusively by faith that was a doctrine that originated with men the bible has always taught that salvation occurs when faith is joined by obedient action to the commands of god churches of christ are opposed to all five of what are often called the five points of calvinism on total depravity victor esque writes on the website of the oceanside church of christ in atlantic beach florida the concepts of total depravity and sinful nature are man-made doctrines on unconditional election terry benton writes on the website of la vista church of christ salvation has been placed on a conditional basis that can be chosen or rejected on a self-hardened heart basis or an open heart basis there is real choice given to man to choose he may harden his heart and become a vessel for wrath or he may soften his heart toward god and be made a vessel of honor unlimited atonement the website of montevista church of christ in phoenix arizona says this doctrine is false because it implies that christ did not really die for everyone while the bible affirms that he did this doctrine of limited atonement is also false because it is contrary to the many expressed statements that show god&#39;s desire that all should be saved by turning from sin on irresistible grace lowell sally writes on the website of anderson church of christ in anderson alabama this false doctrine of man is better known as the direct operation of the holy spirit the idea is basically this before a person is regenerated or born again or saved he can&#39;t believe if he wants to god predetermines each soul that will be saved and the one chosen to be saved cannot overcome god&#39;s saving power upon them this false doctrine of men makes each of us nothing more than robots having no free will at all and on perseverance of the saints or the similar teaching of eternal security the montevista church of christ website says the bible warns in some way on nearly every page against the danger of the child of god sinning and being lost eternally secondly the bible records many examples of those who did fall away from god&#39;s grace or favor third why would the bible urge faithfulness upon the children of god in order to enter heaven if a child of god cannot sow sin is to be lost eternally fourth the passages which assert the possession of eternal life now are to be understood as referring to it in prospect and not a complete reality the wesleyan doctrine of entire sanctification is rejected the montevista church of christ website says nowhere does the bible provide any evidence for an alleged doctrine of the second work of grace scripture teaches that the holy spirit works through the word of god to sanctify set apart the christian dan jenkins of the palm beach lakes church of christ in west palm beach florida says on these spiritual gifts of prophecy tongues and knowledge love never ends as for prophecies they will pass away as for tongues they will cease as for knowledge it will pass away first corinthians 13 8 esv these gifts were part of the church when it was in its infancy paul showed this when he stated when i was a child i spoke like a child i thought like a child i reasoned like a child when i became a man i gave up childish ways first corinthians 13 11. god had something far greater than these gifts which were so necessary for the church as it began and part of his plan until the church reached maturity on speaking in tongues alan greeley in a sermon at the montevista church of christ said tongues were not a secret language that only angels could know only god could know biblical tongues were languages of some culture that could be interpreted either miraculously or interpreted because someone actually spoke the language or they were understood because it was your language but what you see in modern day charismatic congregations is nothing of the sort so even if i did believe in modern day miracles at the hands of men there&#39;s no way i would believe charismatics are actually speaking in tongues because what they are doing is not anywhere close to being consistent with that miracle in biblical times the website of monroe valley church of christ in monroe washington says prophecy was needed until the bible was complete but now that we have everything god wanted us to know prophecy is ceased on end times views dr richard beck of highland church of christ which by the way in 2014 began using instrumental music rights when it comes to eschatology my faith tradition the churches of christ has leaned heavily toward preterism according to preterism almost all end times prophecy in the bible is referring to the destruction of jerusalem in 80 70. partial preterism represents what most people in the churches of christ have believed we don&#39;t believe in the antichrist rapture tribulation thousand-year reign or battle of armageddon kyle rye of buford church of christ in beaufort georgia says since the early 20th century the generally accepted eschatological teaching of the churches of christ has been that of amillennialism or nunc millennialism the bible teaches that the church and kingdom are one in the same all eschatological events will unfold on one final day rather than over a period of several years doug dingley of chouteau hills church of christ in choteau oklahoma writes on gender god created the two only the two and none other but the two genders period hence everyone born thereafter would be after their own kind and once again only either male or female no third option no combination no need for confusion nor has our eternally perfect god ever made the man conceived mistake of putting a woman&#39;s soul into a man&#39;s body or a man&#39;s soul into a woman&#39;s body on homosexuality travis main church of christ teacher on church of christ articles.com writes god established man and woman to come together to create offspring they were to share their desires together in marriage not in non-authorized unnatural sexual sin god declares such people who do not repent are worthy of death that judgment is in the hand of god understand clearly god does not wish that upon them however if homosexuals reject god and continue in an unauthorized lifestyle death by god is what they choose wayne galloway of fort logan church of christ in stanford kentucky says same-sex marriage is completely foreign to scripture and contrary to the divine pattern of male female marriage on divorce and remarriage most churches of christ have a position but not all of them agree for example articles on the website of timberland drive church of christ in lufkin texas say the cause of fornication is the only legitimate and divinely sanctioned ground for which a man may put away his wife and jesus gives the right to remarry only to those who put away their mate for fornication if one is put away and then remarries they commit adultery therefore if an innocent party is put away for incompatibility they commit adultery if they remarry when a divorce takes place and no fornication has been committed any marital relations or any exercise of the privileges and rights of the marital relationship by either party constitutes adultery in contrast the elders of woodland&#39;s oaks church of christ in the woodlands texas say if a non-believing spouse makes the decision to divorce his her christian spouse then the believing spouse is free to remarry without any consequences churches of christ are opposed to elective abortion john mitchell preacher at calhoun church of christ in calhoun georgia writes in the article god hates abortion what is happening in our nation today the mass killing of innocent life which takes place through abortion is an irreverent assault on the unique work that god performs it is an abomination to him something that he hates not only because it destroys the work of his hands and the life that he gives but also because of how it destroys that life churches of christ are non-instrumental meaning that in worship singing is acapella however it is worth noting that within the non-instrumental side of churches of christ that some especially larger churches have shifted on this issue the largest one in the u.s richland hills church of christ in texas now known as the hills church added a service with instrumental worship in 2007. however many churches have also strongly resisted this change worship being only a cappella is based on a principle of only having things as part of worship if the new testament explicitly allows them having no instrumental music is the most consistent example of this but some churches of christ use the same principle in other areas such as teaching that churches should not have fellowship halls or that there should be no age divided classes but the churches should always meet together in one group some churches of christ have taught that women should wear skirts or dresses and men only should wear pants or jeans however this is not the majority position today many churches do still emphasize modesty and dress in reference to deuteronomy 22 5 thywordistruth.com says it is a stretch to say that this passage prohibits a woman&#39;s wearing slacks first the slacks that women wear are not a man&#39;s attire they are made for women second scottish men under the same reasoning would have to surrender their kilts this does not mean that there are not principles that govern a christian&#39;s dress the basic rule is modesty first timothy 2 verse 9. some conclude from this passage in first peter 3 3 that women should not wear makeup and jewelry such as not their teaching monroe valley church of christ in monroe washington says on their website in today&#39;s society women wear pants all the time that are women&#39;s pants they are designed for women look like a woman should wear them and would look decidedly inappropriate for a man to wear if a woman is wearing trousers that are feminine she is fine however if a man or a woman begins to dress in a way that clearly is against the natural design the lord intended that is a sin on alcohol kevin cauley says some will object with the thought but jesus drank socially or social drinking is done with god&#39;s approval in the bible various passages will be cited to support the argument no one is questioning whether jesus drank wine the question is whether jesus drank beverage alcohol he did not such would have implicated him in some of the worst sins in biblical history the problem is clarified when we appropriately recognize that the word wine in the bible is used for both intoxicating and non-intoxicating beverages there is no excuse for a christian to be a social drinker brad harb states a position that the bible doesn&#39;t condemn all drinking of alcohol but then says he will tell his children rather than fret about alcoholism or justification of moderate drinking just determine today that you will not use alcoholic beverages it will make your life simpler and your influence stronger make a difference and be that shining light you don&#39;t need it to be pleasing to god as paul admonished abstain from every form of evil on tithing churches of christ don&#39;t view it as a mandatory requirement for christians today thywordistruth.com says if we are to go to the old testament for the christian standard of giving which of these standards shall we choose the truth is that the old covenant has passed away having been nailed to the cross and is no longer binding thus neither tithing nor any other old covenant standard is binding today while the new covenant does not give a percentage requirement it does set a standard a christian is to give as god has prospered him the government of local congregations is by a plurality of elders each congregation is completely autonomous and in control of their own property choosing their own ministers and with no authority other than the bible that determines doctrine kyle rye says congregations associated with the churches of christ are considered unique because they appoint elders in the local congregation and believe that such leaders are the only biblically authorized form of church government under the headship of christ on church of christ&#39;s website radically christian wes mcadams says every church not only needs elders but they need the right kind of elders every church needs men who meet the qualifications titus 1 5-16 first timothy 3 1-7 and who are willing to do the work many congregations resort to men&#39;s meetings or congregational meetings in which decisions are made democratically i suppose we think this is biblical because we live in a democracy the church is not a democracy it is a monarchy christ is the head and there are specific offices in his church he gave the apostles the prophets the evangelists the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry for building up the body of christ ephesians 4 11 through 12. ministers don&#39;t use titles like reverend or pastor doug dingley of chouteau hills church of christ writes how do we refer to our religious leaders and congregations of the churches of christ well biblically of course whatever was good enough for god&#39;s first century church is good enough for god&#39;s 21st or any other century church they are biblically correctly and therefore congregationally referred to as an evangelist a minister and or a preacher churches may also have deacons but they are servants of the church and don&#39;t have governing authority a small minority of churches of christ are opposed to paid preachers dan jenkins in the article what does the bible say about women preachers writes the key verse to answer our question is found in the last phrase in verse 35 the prophet&#39;s wives could not speak because it is shameful for women to speak in the church first corinthians 14 35 all women are included in these words two verses later paul shows that this was not a cultural optional matter but the things i write unto you are the commandment of the lord what did god say about women preachers that is all that matters god said let your women keep silent for it is shameful for women to speak in church lavish the church of christ says elders have specific qualifications one of which is the husband of one wife titus 1 6. this qualification automatically rules out women some churches of christ fit under the title of non-institutional churches of this type tend to fellowship with other churches in the same group the non-institutional churches teach against church support of para-church organizations such as colleges or missions organizations the website of church of christ internet ministries which has a directory of local congregations claims 15 000 congregations and 2 million individuals worldwide other estimates have claimed 3 million worldwide in 2021 christian standard magazine reported the following statistics for the united states in 1906 there were 2 649 congregations and 159 658 members in 1946 that was 10 089 congregations and 682 172 members the peak was in 1985 after which the numbers declined in 2010 the numbers were 12 584 congregations and 1.6 million adherents and in 2021 11 seventy five congregations and one million ninety two thousand one hundred eighty two in attendance total adherence number one point four two million the article quotes the report churches of christ in 2050 by tim woodruff and stan granberg showing this chart of decline since 1990 and stating that churches of christ have lost more than two thousand people and nine congregations a month since 2015. granberg also reported that 91 percent of people who attend churches of christ are in congregations of fewer than 250 people and that 55 percent of congregations number 34 people in average attendance 46 percent of u.s congregations are in only five states texas tennessee alabama arkansas and oklahoma supporters of ready to harvest at ready to harvest.com can watch videos ad free there and read my transcripts with sources and there are several other benefits members made this video possible visit ready2harvest.com to join and enable the production of more videos like 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Transcript for:Churches of Christ: Beliefs and Practices

Transcript for:
Churches of Christ: Beliefs and Practices