Occasionally, when a person finds out that I’m the preacher for the Sweetwater church of Christ, I will be asked, “What’s the difference between the church of Christ and (insert denomination)?”
Usually I just answer the question as asked (as I will do later in this article). But before I answer the question, I want to ask a question (or few) myself: Should this be? Should the state of Christianity be such that there are distinct differences in belief, doctrine, and practice between the assemblies of those who claim to be Christ’s followers? And should we be okay with things being as they are? Paul warns the church in Corinth to be of the same mind and judgment (1 Corinthians 1:10). So is the current state of Christianity what Jesus ever intended? I pray you will spend some thought on the answers to those questions.
To begin answering our question about the difference between the church of Christ and various denominations, I believe there are a couple of traits we have, the knowledge of which is essential to understanding who we are and what makes us different.
“...It is our sincere desire to simply be the church you read about in the New Testament. Not be “like,” but simply “be.””
First, the Bible alone is our authority. We have no additional documents (creed books, manuals, confessions, etc.) that govern our belief, teaching, and behavior. Such books are a requirement for a denomination, else how would they make themselves distinct? Yet in having the Bible alone as our guide it seems that we do distinguish ourselves from most modern groups.
Second, it is our sincere desire to simply be the church you read about in the New Testament. Not be “like,” but simply “be.” Some would say that we seek to practice “New Testament Christianity.” Of course, such a phrase is intended only to draw distinction between itself and “Denominational Christianity,” which most people practice today while unaware there is another option.
With those points in mind, let me proceed with describing a few more differences between ourselves and most major denominations. Keep in mind that the following is not intended to explain the “why” of what we believe, but the “what” (though a little of the “why” is included, it is not comprehensive). It is also not intended to argue against the beliefs or doctrines of other groups, but rather to focus on what we believe and teach. Thus, if you want further explanation about any of these things, please don’t hesitate to contact the author. He would love to hear from you!
First, if we seek to simply be the church we read about in the Bible then it will create some differences between ourselves and others in our form of worship. Worship in the early church was simple. For example, when the church in Corinth came together they prayed and sang (1 Cor. 14:15), partook of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:20-26), gave as they had been prospered (1 Cor. 16:1-2), and preached a message from God (1 Cor. 14:29-31). Those are the same things we do today.
Since the early church sang without the accompaniment of musical instruments (which were not authorized), that’s what we do. We follow the commands found in Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 where the church is told to sing, and sing only. I think it’s worth noting musical instruments did not become widespread in worship until the last few hundred years. Until then most assemblies were “a cappella,” an Italian word used to refer to unaccompanied vocal music, which literally means “in chapel style.” Singing without instruments used to be the normal thing rather than the exception!
Likewise, in following the example of the New Testament church in our worship we also take the Lord’s Supper weekly. This was a major part of the early church’s weekly assembly (for example, Acts 20:7). Thus, if it’s what they did, it’s what we do.
Second, if we seek to simply be the church we read about in the New Testament there will be some major differences in our organization. Most denominations today have some sort of central office, a headquarters that oversees all things related to that denomination. The church of Christ has no such office or headquarters.
Each congregation of the church of Christ is independent and autonomous. The biblical model for church organization was of such independent assemblies, with elders (also called bishops and pastors) overseeing each congregation (see 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9). It’s important to note each “eldership” (because each congregation has multiple elders) is only responsible for the church they serve. No eldership has power over another congregation or its eldership. The elders of a church are directly answerable to Jesus Christ himself, the only head of the church (see Colossians 1:18).
Third, if we seek to simply be the church you read about in the New Testament then there will be differences between other groups and what we teach about salvation. We believe a person is saved by grace, through faith (Ephesians 2:8). Yet to be benefited by God’s grace one must have an obedient faith (consider Hebrews 5:9).
The Bible teaches (and early Christians believed and taught) that a person is saved by hearing and believing God’s Word (Romans 10:9-10, 17; John 3:16-17), repenting of sin (Acts 2:38), confessing before men that Jesus is the Son of God (Romans 10:9-10), being baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21), and living faithfully until death (Matthew 24:12-13; Revelation 2:10). It is no one act of obedience, but all of them together that saves.
We also reject Calvinism, which to varying degrees has influenced most protestant denominations today. Whereas Calvinism teaches that man is depraved and sinful from birth, that Jesus died only for the elect (who have been predestined, chosen by God apart from their own will), that no one can understand the Bible without the direct, miraculous operation of the Holy Spirit on their heart, and it’s impossible to lose one’s salvation, the early church did not teach nor believe any of those things. Thus, we do not believe them, but reject them and teach against them as false doctrine (consider Galatians 1:6-9).
We believe the Bible was written assuming mankind has free will, the ability to choose whether to obey or disobey God on his own volition (consider Genesis 4:6-7; Joshua 24:15; Matthew 23:37; Acts 13:46). We believe Jesus came to die for the whole world, and God’s grace is offered to anyone who will accept it through obedience (John 3:16-17; Titus 2:11-13). We believe that sin is not an inherited trait, but willful breaking of God’s laws (see 1 John 3:4), thus children (and the mentally handicapped) are in a safe state. We believe a person can know the truth if they so desire, because that is what Jesus promised (Matthew 7:7-8; John 8:32; Ephesians 3:3-5). We believe that while a person’s salvation can’t be taken away, they can willingly forfeit it by choosing to be unfaithful to the Lord (Consider Galatians 1:6; 5:4; Hebrews 6:1-9; 10:26-31; 2 Peter 2:20-22).
“To me, it only makes sense that the person who is sincerely concerned with doing God’s will and submitting to Jesus as Lord will be diligent to find out what the church of the Bible was supposed to be doing, and want to be a part of THAT church.”
Why do we believe, teach, and do such things? Well, simply because we want to be the church you read about in the New Testament. And if those are the things they believed, taught, and did, then it demands we do the same.
In closing, a couple more questions may be crossing your mind: Why put such emphasis on being the church you read about in the New Testament? Why does it matter?
Let me present two ideas in response to those questions. First, there are many passages which speak of the dangers of false doctrine (for example, Colossians 2:8; Hebrews 13:9; 2 Peter 2:1) as well as adding to or taking away from the Scriptures (John 8:31; 1 Corinthians 4:6; Revelation 22:18-19). As Jesus said in John 8:31, to be His disciples we must abide in His word (stay without the bounds of what He has said). Second, we can be certain about what God approved and disapproved of in the church we read about in the New Testament. Many modern denominations teach and practice things that are questionable at best, and often directly contradict what we read in the Bible.
To me, it only makes sense that the person who is sincerely concerned with doing God’s will and submitting to Jesus as Lord will be diligent to find out what the church of the Bible was supposed to be doing, and want to be a part of THAT church. We are certain that if we believe what they believed, teach what they taught, and do what they did, we aren’t just like them, but we are what they were: the church of Christ.
How about you?
—Daniel Howell, Preacher, Sweetwater church of Christ