We have all had the experience of learning something and then later forgetting what we thought we had learned. It is easy to do! Think back to all the things that you learned in school or in college. If you haven’t refreshed yourself and reviewed many of those subjects regularly (if you’re like me), you’ve forgotten more than you knew! For this reason, God has left us with His inspired Word to study and refresh ourselves often, so we don’t forget (Rom. 12:1,2; 1 Tim. 4:13). A lack of knowledge has been a problem for God’s people before which led to their punishment (Hos. 4:6). We don’t want that to happen today, so here are some fundamentals to review and know:
There is only one church. The church of Christ was built by Jesus Himself (Mat. 16:18) and began on the Day of Pentecost AD 33 (Acts 2). No other church was formed until hundreds of years later. That means the church that you read about in the Bible is the only one that can save us (Acts 4:12; Eph. 5:23; Col. 1:18).
God does not approve of denominationalism. Because Jesus built one church, there should be no division into multiple churches, called by different names, with different doctrines. This is clearly seen from the problem at Corinth (1 Cor. 1:10-13). If we show our support to various churches by commending them or by attending their worship/events, we are going beyond what God allows (2 John 9-11; Eph. 5:11; 1 Tim. 4:1-8).
Baptism is for the forgiveness of sins. Many teach that a person is saved by their faith and then they are baptized as the first step of obedience. However, this is not what Jesus taught nor the apostles and inspired preachers. They taught that a person must believe, repent, confess that Jesus is the Christ and then be baptized in order to be saved (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 8:36-38). Baptism is only for those who are old enough and competent enough to understand the fullness of the Gospel and the importance of the church knowing they stand condemned without washing away their sins (Acts 22:16; 1 Pet. 3:21).
Attending worship is not an option. The early church met every first day of the week being careful not to willfully choose to forsake the assembly (Heb. 10:25; 1 Cor. 16:1,2). Remembering Christ’s death on that day through the observance of the Lord’s Supper was their purpose, in addition to praise in song, prayer, giving, and teaching (Acts 20:7; Eph. 5:19; 1 Tim. 2). It has become popular with the onset of live streaming to neglect the worship assembly in favor of “watching later” or “watching while driving” to pursue other interests before the Lord. However, there is no substitute for “true worshippers” (John 4:23).
No doubt, in a society of “tolerance” and “acceptance” it is easy to be influenced by the world around us. But, we can’t forget and neglect the principles that God has put into place for our own good. God wants His laws in our minds (Heb. 8:10). This will allow us to save ourselves and save others (1 Tim. 4:16).
~Derrick Coble
There is only one church. The church of Christ was built by Jesus Himself (Mat. 16:18) and began on the Day of Pentecost AD 33 (Acts 2). No other church was formed until hundreds of years later. That means the church that you read about in the Bible is the only one that can save us (Acts 4:12; Eph. 5:23; Col. 1:18).
God does not approve of denominationalism. Because Jesus built one church, there should be no division into multiple churches, called by different names, with different doctrines. This is clearly seen from the problem at Corinth (1 Cor. 1:10-13). If we show our support to various churches by commending them or by attending their worship/events, we are going beyond what God allows (2 John 9-11; Eph. 5:11; 1 Tim. 4:1-8).
Baptism is for the forgiveness of sins. Many teach that a person is saved by their faith and then they are baptized as the first step of obedience. However, this is not what Jesus taught nor the apostles and inspired preachers. They taught that a person must believe, repent, confess that Jesus is the Christ and then be baptized in order to be saved (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 8:36-38). Baptism is only for those who are old enough and competent enough to understand the fullness of the Gospel and the importance of the church knowing they stand condemned without washing away their sins (Acts 22:16; 1 Pet. 3:21).
Attending worship is not an option. The early church met every first day of the week being careful not to willfully choose to forsake the assembly (Heb. 10:25; 1 Cor. 16:1,2). Remembering Christ’s death on that day through the observance of the Lord’s Supper was their purpose, in addition to praise in song, prayer, giving, and teaching (Acts 20:7; Eph. 5:19; 1 Tim. 2). It has become popular with the onset of live streaming to neglect the worship assembly in favor of “watching later” or “watching while driving” to pursue other interests before the Lord. However, there is no substitute for “true worshippers” (John 4:23).
No doubt, in a society of “tolerance” and “acceptance” it is easy to be influenced by the world around us. But, we can’t forget and neglect the principles that God has put into place for our own good. God wants His laws in our minds (Heb. 8:10). This will allow us to save ourselves and save others (1 Tim. 4:16).
~Derrick Coble