New Testament Faith

The church of Christ dates back to the first century.  (Romans 16:16)  Jesus had promised to build his church on the solid foundation that he was the Christ, the Son of the living God.   (Matthew 16:16-18).  This is the first time that the word “church” is found in the Bible, and Jesus is the only one who ever promised to build his church.  In the second chapter of Acts one can read of the beginning of the church Christ promised to build.  In the years that followed, the church grew rapidly, first in Jerusalem, then Judea, Samaria, and finally to the whole Roman Empire.  (Acts 1:8; Colossians 1:23)  The entire book of Acts gives the history of this phenomenal growth.  The church of Christ started in America in the late 1700s, resulting from a movement begun by several religious leaders to “go back to the Bible” and “do Bible things in Bible ways and call Bible things by Bible names”.   Such people did not begin the church of Christ, yet they set out to restore what Christ began.

The church of Christ is not a denomination.  This word is never used in scripture, but what is used is enlightening to the serious Bible student.  In the first century there was only one church made up of many congregations.  The church of Christ is the “body of Christ” (Colossians 1:18); the “house (family) of God” (I Timothy 3:15); the “kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).  One becomes a member of the church (or kingdom), by means of a spiritual birth.  (John 3:3-5)

The church of Christ teaches the biblical plan of salvation.  One must hear the gospel (John 6:45); believe in Jesus Christ as the promised Savior (John 8:24); repent of sins (Acts 17:30); confess that Jesus is the Son of God (Romans 10:9,10); and be baptized into Christ for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; Galatians 3:26,27)  When these conditions are met, the Lord adds the person to his church. (Acts 2:47)

The church of Christ encourages religious unity.  We are known for our emphasis upon returning to New Testament Christianity in order to unite everyone into one body.  (I Corinthians 1:10)  We believe that the New Testament is the only rule for faith and practice in religious matters.  (II Timothy 3:16,17; II Peter 1:3), and that God’s Word must authorize all that is done in the worship and work of the church.  (Colossians 3:17; Galatians 1:8,9)  We believe that it is possible to have religious unity in a day of division by simply putting aside human traditions and following the pattern set forth in the New Testament.  The church of Christ is seeking to be the same church one reads about in the Bible.  The “seed” of the kingdom is the word of God.  (Luke 8:11)  When that seed is sown into good and honest hearts it will produce the same harvest that it did in the first century.  It produced Christians who were members of the church that Christ promised to build.  It will do the same today.  We invite your further investigation of the church of Christ.

We believe in following God’s plan of Salvation.

What must I do to be Saved?