HOW THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IS DIFFERENT

Everything about the church of Christ is very simple. It is not the purpose of the church to please vanity or pride with a display of vain things. It is not the purpose of the church to entertain people, or to amuse them when they attend our services. The church of Christ is a simple New Testament body, leading men and women to an understanding of the plain gospel of Christ. It leads men and women to Christ, and to God His Father. It always welcomes those who from the depths of earnest and sincere hearts will reach out to God in simple worship and obedient living and consecrated service in those things that are right and true. (2 Cor. 11:3; Titus 2:11,12).

The arrangement of the church of Christ is very unique. There is no humanly-made creed in the church. Its only rule of faith and practice is the Word of God, and those who believe the Bible and accept its rule of faith and practice make up the church of the Lord. (2 Tim. 3:16,17; 1 Pet. 2:4,5).

There are no ready-made prayers to read or to have read to you. From the depths of earnest hearts and sincere souls people in the church of the Lord express to God their earnest longings for His blessings and for His sustenance in every need. (1 Tim. 2:8).

There is no ready-made music in the church of Christ. Everyone makes his own melody in his heart by singing spiritual songs from the heart in praise to the God of heaven. (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16,17).

The church of Christ is not a denomination, nor is it any part of one. It simply represents that of which all denominatios claim to be a part -- the church of the Lord, which He purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28), and which is built upon the truth of His Sonship. (Matt. 16:18). It is the church of which Christ is the head, and of which He is the Savior. (Col. 1:18; Eph. 5:23-25).

It is the church in which believers in Christ find unity, and it is as members of this true church that protests can be offered against the divisions and sectarianism which denominationalism reflects. (1 Cor. 1:10-13).

If men today will proclaim the simple message which was declared by the New Testament church, if they will worship God in the simple sincere way in which that early church worshipped, if they will have the exact organization by which the New Testament church did its work, and if they will serve with the holy, earnest consecration that characterized its members, and if they will present to lost and dying men the same gospel plan of salvation, the same results attained by the church of the Bible will be attained by righteous men today.

We will have exactly the same church, the same hope for heaven, souls will be saved, God will be glorified, the name of Christ will be exalted in the hearts of men and the power of Christ and the unity of His disciples will be realized.

If you want to make "your calling and election sure," if you want to be exactly what God wants you to be, you will appreciate the church of Christ and the stand it is required to take if it pleases God. You will enjoy knowing more and more about the church, and one of the greatest thrills of your life will be realized when you find out really what it is and what it is to stand for.

Whether you realize it or not, you will find as a member of the true church what every sincere and earnest soul is looking for. Won't you obey the Word of God and thereby be added to the church of the Lord today? (Acts 41,47).

By Unknown --Taken from The Sentinel of March 1957.

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