Are those who go to the church of Christ the only ones that will be saved? The Lord's church is the body of Christ, (Colossians 1:18). If one is not part of the body of Christ, which is the church of Christ, then one is not saved because Jesus is the savior of the Body, (Ephesians 5:23). Now, one must ask, is
the church of which I am a member doing what it needs to do to be part of
the body of Christ? If it isn't, then it isn't part of Christ's body; If it
is, then it is part of Christ's body. For example; if
people take the Statement of Faith from the Lutheran Church or the Catechism
of the Roman Catholic Church, and follow these manmade documents, they are
practicing those respective beliefs and are therefore affiliated with that
man made denomination and are therefore either Lutherans or Catholics.
So any body of believers that
acts according to the scriptures to serve and worship God is part of the
body of Christ whether their name says "CHURCH
OF CHRIST" or some other name that is scriptural in nature such as "CHURCH
OF GOD" or "CHURCH
BY CHRIST JESUS". However, others see the unity that we have, which unity comes solely from the study of scripture, and assume that we couldn't have such if we didn't have some kind of extra-biblical affiliation. And so they conclude that we are a denomination just like them. The truth of the matter is that those who desire to respect Jesus' standard for unity simply don't allow human opinion to influence that which is precious to them. As a result, this one central desire unites us in a way that no manmade religious organization could ever achieve. This is why in the denominational world you simply do not find the concern for teaching sound doctrine as you find among members of the body of Christ. It is also why if we ever give up that desire, we WILL become nothing more than another man made denomination. Some who worship in denominational churches have stated, on occasion, that those who worship at a church of Christ claim that they are the only one's that will be saved. Though this might be heard from some that attend a church of Christ, it should be noted that the general attitude of only being able to be saved by means of any "particular" religious affiliation can be attributed to most, if not all, of the denominations and other religious factions. The only way anyone can be sure they are following the right path to God through their church affiliation is to study His word regarding His church.
2 Corinthians 13:5 See also: |
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