J.D. Tant
Church of Christ.………………………………………………….Your Church
1. All spiritual blessings……………………………………………….Close communion
2. All Promises………………………………………………………………..Water baptism
3. All blood ……………………………………………………………..Paying the preacher
4. All Pure religion……………………………………………………………..????????????
5. All reconciliation…………………………………………………………….????????????
6. A new creature……………………………………………………………….????????????
7. Salvation…………………………………………………………………………???????????
The Son of God to the apostles said, “Preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15) and promised salvation to all who would believe and obey it.
In preaching the gospel by which all men can be saved the gospel minister is often met by the opposition of religious people, claiming that he teaches all are lost outside of “his” or “your” church, as they call it. As the gospel minister has no church, but is simply a member of the church of Christ, he should ever be ready and willing to show the difference between the church of Christ to which he belongs, and your church to which all sects belong, and carefully show what we get in each.
1. All will accept that all spiritual blessings are in Christ, or in his church. Not a single spiritual blessing promised in the word of God but what comes to us in Christ. But all will claim that these blessings come outside of your church, for they claim none have to belong to your church to be saved.
2. All promises of life, of forgiveness of sins, of comfort, and Christian enjoyment come to us outside of your church, because they claim a man may have all these and not belong to your church.
3. We hear Paul teaching that without the shedding of blood there is no remission, and John teaching His blood will cleanse us from all sins. All sectarian churches claim you can reach the shed blood outside of your church, and can get remission of sins outside of your church, and in so doing they hold that your church is a useless institution so far as forgiveness of sins concerned.
4. You ask one of the church defenders, can a man have pure religion outside of your church? All will gladly answer, “Yes.” They will tell of the men and women who had pure religion yet never belonged to your church, and many they claim had it and did not belong to any church. So it is not necessary to belong to your church in order to do pure and undefiled religion.
5. The most serious objection that can be urged against your church is that it does not have reconciling in it. Paul says, “We pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20). But where are we reconciled unto God? Paul says we are reconciled in the one body. (Eph. 2:16). In Col. 1:18-24 he says this one body is the church. Inasmuch as Christ said I will build my church (Matt. 16:18) and He built only one church, and this one church is called the body of Christ, and we are reconciled in the one body, it necessarily follows that we are reconciled to God in His church; and as all human church defenders claim we are reconciled outside of your church, it is nothing short of a logical conclusion that your church and the church of Christ are two separate institutions—one built by man and the other built by God, one built on the sand, the other on the rock.
6. We are taught in the Bible that when we become Christians we are new creatures in Christ, old things have passed away, and all things are new (2 Cor. 5:17). But all agree that we can become new creatures outside of your church, for your church demands that a man must be a new creature in Christ Jesus before you will baptize him into your church. But since a man is made a new creature in Christ, and since he must be a new creature, or in Christ, before you want him in your church, it also follows that your church is outside of Christ, and that Christ is outside of your church.
7. Peter teaches there is no other name under heaven or among men whereby we can be saved only in the name of Christ (Acts 4:12). All teach that salvation is in Christ, and that we must be in Christ to be saved, and all human church preachers tell us we are saved outside of your church. It then follows that Christ is not in your church.
All these items considered, what does a man gain in belonging to your church?
Outside of your church he can (1) hear the Gospel, (Rom. 10:17), (2) believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, (John 20:30-31) (3) repent of all his past sins, (Acts 17:30), (4) confess the Son of God, (Matt. 10:32) and (5) be baptized into Christ, as Paul teaches this is the way to get into Christ, (Gal. 3:27) and you will not take him into your church until he gets into Christ. Then this man outside of your church can get comfort, joy, peace, happiness, forgiveness of all past sins, and a promise of a home in heaven. I ask in reason’s name, what does he get in coming to your church? The correct answer is: “He gets baptism by one of our preachers, yet he can go to heaven and live with God and the angels without our baptism. He can get close communion if he will come into our church, but his salvation is not endangered if he never gets close communion. He can help support our preacher who claims the Bible is one thing and our doctrine another.” Then I ask, what benefit is your church?
Let us make a general summary, and find out if your church is a benefit or a curse to any town.
The town of X contains 1,500 people, and has three churches outside the church of Christ. These three churches have respectively A, B and C as their pastors. Each talks to the other about your church and affirms some Christians in all three churches, and it makes no difference which one you belong to, you will go to heaven.
You go to Brother A and ask him: (1) Brother A, must a man believe the Bible to be saved? he will answer, yes. (2) Brother A, must a man obey the Bible to be saved? he answers, yes. (3) Brother A, must a man believe your doctrine to be saved? He will say, no. (4) Brother A, must a man belong to your church to go to heaven? he says emphatically, no. Then Brother A confesses that the Bible teaches one thing and his church teaches another, as you must believe and obey the Bible to go to heaven, but you need not believe and obey his doctrine, not belong to his church to go there.
Now, let’s ask Brother B, the second pastor. Brother B, must a man believe and obey the Bible to go to heaven? He says, yes. Must a man believe your doctrine and belong to your church to go to heaven? He says, no.
Also go to Brother C the third pastor, and ask him: Brother C, must a man believe and obey the Bible to go to heaven? He will say, yes. Ask him: must a man believe your doctrine and belong to your church to go to heaven? He will tell you, no.
Then, if these three preachers who are preaching for three human churches, or for your churches, will confess that you must believe and obey the Bible to go to heaven, yet all will tell you, you can go to heaven if you do not believe their doctrine, nor belong to their church, I ask, what does this world gain in paying three preachers in a little town of 1,500 people $6,000 a year to preach for your church when each and all of them confess you can serve God and go to heaven outside of their churches.
But the deception the your church preachers practice on the poor people, does not stop here. In the same town Brother C who preaches for your church No. 3, starts a union meeting, and begs A and B to come and help him convert people to the Lord, so they can be saved outside of your church. Brother A goes each night and earnestly works, prays, and sings for God to come down and convert sinners in Brother C’s meeting. Also Brother A’s deacon, Brother F. who is the leading member in Brother A’s church, and song leader, will go and lead songs each night for Brother C. On Friday you meet Brother A, and ask him Do you believe Brother C and his brethren are Christians and will go to heaven? He tells you plainly, they are, that he is not so narrow as to think all will be lost outside of your church. Then tell A you saw F up at C’s meeting last night leading songs for C, and ask him if Brother F is a Christian. He will tell you that Brother F is his deacon and the best song leader in your church and has been a zealous worker in his church for twenty years. But Brother C did not have a good song leader, so he got Brother F his best song leader to go up and lead songs for Brother C. All this Brother A will tell you on Friday.
But Friday night comes. Brother C is having a fine meeting. Brother A goes to meeting and earnestly prays for God to bless Brother C’s meeting and give him many souls that night. At the close of the meeting Brother C opens the doors of his church for members and Brother F who has become tired of Brother A’s church will go up and join Brother C’s church. The next day old Brother A will preach at his church and condemn Brother C for proselyting and will turn Brother F out of his church for heresy. If it will make Brother F a heretic to join Brother C’s church why are not all of C’s members heretics?
The entire system of “your” church business is unscriptural. Then why not quit the your church business, and come on and preach the Bible that all claim will save, and be reconciled in the one church, and live the life of a child of God, that heaven may be our eternal home.
