Is the church of Christ a Christian Denomination?
This article was written in response to an article by an ex-member of the church of Christ in Edmonton, Canada, who is now with the Catholic Church. You should read his article before continuing in order to understand this discussion.
Dear Friend,
Once again I feel inclined to respond to your new article, "Is the Church of Christ a Christian Denomination?" I hope my thoughts are informative and useful for you.
First, allow me to define some terms. Please note that these definitions are for the use of this discussion only and in reference to the topics included in this discussion. I'm not an expert on defining words, but I want to make sure you know what I mean when I use certain words or phrases.
By "church of Christ" I refer to the individual, autonomous congregations throughout the world that generally believe in baptism for salvation, the Bible as the sole source of authority, and do not believe in the use of mechanical instruments in worship of God. The "church of Christ" is the representation on earth of Christ's true Church in heaven. I suppose the Edmonton Church of Christ would be one of these, though I cannot be sure since I do not know anyone in that congregation, and therefore cannot vouch for them in this definition. There are many other unique characteristics I could include, but these should be sufficient since you already know what I'm talking about. If this is not a sufficient definition, I will be happy to clarify further at your request.
By "Christ's true Church" I refer to all those, living and dead, who believe in Christ and are admitted into His kingdom by Him through baptism (Acts 2:41). This Church is perfect and complete. Neither Satan nor the gates of Hades could stop Jesus from building this Church. This Church has existed since Christ's resurrection, will never end, and can never be divided. It was for this Church that Christ died (Ephesians 5:25-27) to make her holy and blameless. This Church is composed of all men and women who are heirs to salvation through Christ. (It also includes children who die before being reaching a point in their lives when they become able to understand the Gospel and thus accountable for sin; since they died before being guilty, they are automatically saved.)
By "denomination" I refer to something "that is a part of a whole." For example, a slice is a part of the whole pie. It may contain some, most, all, or none of the elements common throughout the whole pie, but is not a complete pie in and of itself. Likewise, a church that is a denomination may contain some, most, all, or none of the elements of the true church, but no one denomination can ever possibly claim to be the complete church. The word denomination means "a division or part of a whole." By definition, a denomination is contrary to clear and plain teachings in the Bible on unity and oneness of the body of Christ. The fact that a church claims to be a denomination automatically makes it something other that what Christ built. "Christ's true Church" is NOT a denomination, and it is impossible that it could be one.
By "Christian" I refer to anyone and everyone who believes that (1) Jesus Christ is the living Son of God who was born of a virgin and willingly died on the cross, was buried, and was resurrected on the third day, (2) through Him alone salvation is made possible, and (3) the New Testament contains the Gospel of Jesus. By "Christian" I do NOT necessarily mean every saved person. I only refer to those purporting (claiming) to follow Christ. The United States is a "Christian" nation in the sense that I am using this word. If this is not a sufficient definition of "Christian" I will clarify at your request. I realize this definition may be broad and inclusive of many different churches (read: denominations) and religions, but it is necessary in order to differentiate between the "Christian" religions and the various cults, pagan groups, and other non-Christian religions. Yes, the church of Christ is "Christian," in the sense that its members believe in Christ and follow Him. However, the word "Christian" is just a name that many people wear, even though it does not fit them. The Mormons claim to be Christian, but have many doctrines that show otherwise. Therefore, it is necessary to define the word "Christian" so broadly for this discussion.
By "true Christian" I refer only to those who are saved according to the Gospel. The United States is NOT a "true Christian" nation, for it is made up of many people who are not saved. Christ's true Church is made up of true Christians.
First I will address the theory that the Campbells started the church of Christ. I will use Paul's example in 1 Corinthians 1:13. "Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" You may recall from Acts 18 that it was Paul who went to Corinth and established the church there by teaching the Gospel and bringing people to Christ. But did he establish the "church of Paul?" No! Apollos later had a hand in building up the church there (Acts 19:1), but did he build the "church of Apollos?" No! "What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one" (1 Cor. 3:5). At Corinth, there was a problem with divisions (1 Cor. 1:10) and Paul wrote to do away with those divisions. To do so, Paul taught them that the church was not his nor Peter's, nor Apollos', but Christ's alone, for (1)Christ had not been divided, (2)Paul was not crucified for them, and (3)they were not baptized in the name of Paul. Therefore, though Paul helped start "the church of God which is at Corinth" (1 Corinthians 1:2), he was not the originator (author, creator) of the true Church that belongs to Christ ("I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth" (1 Cor. 3:6)). Sometime after the death of the last Apostle, the churches of Christ established in various cities by the Apostles began to weaken and die. Perhaps the heresies that sprang up (such as the Catholic church, which favored an earthly hierarchy and apostolic succession) persecuted those who wanted to stick to what the Apostles had written and taught. True Christians began to disappear, and the Catholic church emerged. There is no way to prove whether or not true Christians ever completely disappeared from the earth. It is possible that they met and taught in secret to avoid persecution from the rising Catholic church.
Now let us fast forward 1800 years. The Catholic church is the leading religion in the world, but there is unrest in the people. Luther breaks away and amasses a following. After him, other people rose up and new "Protestant" churches were born, each with their own beliefs that identified them and made them unique from the other Protestants and from the Catholic church. During this time period, many people were opening the Bible and reading for themselves instead of relying upon what the Catholic church said. People began to realize that there were some differences between what was written in the Bible and what the Catholic church practiced and taught. Likewise, people began to see problems among the various Protestant churches. Each claimed to be the true church of Christ of the New Testament, though wearing various names not found in the Bible (Presbyterian, Lutheran, Mormon, et al). Thomas and Alexander Campbell and Barton Stone were among those reading the Bible and searching for the truth. They realized that the church must do everything Christ commanded and cannot do anything He does not allow. They wanted to go back to the Bible way of doing things. They did not want to reform the Catholic church or reorganize any of the Protestant churches. Instead, they set aside creeds and traditions of men and decided to obey 1 Peter 4:11 and speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent. Hence, using the New Testament churches as a model, they came together as Christians, wearing no other name, and performed the same acts of worship done in the New Testament, without adding to or taking away from the written word. They realized that they were attempting to preach the same Gospel preached by the Apostles, building congregations that were like the congregations of the New Testament. Their work grew as they taught the Gospel. A few split off from them, forming the Disciples of Christ and other such groups. The question is, though, did they originate this "new" church, or was it already the same church as established by Christ in the New Testament? Yes, they may have established a congregation (local church of Christ) where they lived, but they did not originate (author, create) a new religion or restore Christ's true church.
I am not a Campbellite, and I've never found anyone who claimed to be one. Alexander Campbell was, I believe, wrong on a few issues. He was just a man with a few good ideas, but he did not originate the church of Christ in the United States anymore than Paul originated the church of Christ in Corinth. Campbell was not a prophet or apostle, nor did he have any other inspiration than simply reading the Bible and obeying it. I can do the same thing today that he did.
These "Bible-only" Christians realized that if they were going to do Bible things Bible ways, that this church needed a name found in the Bible. Why did they need a name? With all the other reformation churches spreading and wearing names, each claiming to be the true church, it was obvious that these Christians needed away to identify themselves separate from the denominations. They wanted to do away with the titles of men, such as "Lutheran" or "Wesleyan" or "Calvinist." Since the church belongs to Christ, and the name "churches of Christ" is found in Romans 15:15, they decided to call themselves the church of Christ so others could identify them without confusing them with any particular doctrine taught by any particular man. Hence, the name "church of Christ" is a Bible name, not a man-made denominational name. Other names could have been chosen, such as "church of God" or "Disciples of Christ" or "Church of the First-Born" or "Church of Jesus Christ." Church of Christ was not the only Scriptural name they could have chosen. More on this below in my discussion of Webster's definition.
Did the Campbells "restore" Christ's true Church? No! The true Church, which is the body of Christ, can never be divided, destroyed, or defeated by Satan or the gates of hades. The Campbells realized this and when they discovered the church of the New Testament, they copied it, and thus once again the true Church of Christ, which is His body, was represented on earth in the "church of Christ." I suppose you could almost say Campbell restored the earthly congregations, but he was not "miraculously inspired" to do so, and therefore he was not a "restorer" in the divine sense of the word. There is no prophecy in the Bible that says someone would come along later to restore the earthly church after it disappears that could be made to point to Campbell or any other modern man. He just did what the Bible said, and thus he is given credit today for being one of the first "modern" members of the earthly church of Christ. But he does not dictate the faith or beliefs of any man in the church of Christ today. Nor is he worshipped, prayed to, or elevated to a status higher than any other mortal, like so many Catholic "saints" are and the first Mormon prophet is.
A local church of Christ today strives to be the exact representation of Christ's true Church on earth, just like Christ is the exact representation of the nature of God (Hebrews 1:3). Of course Christ is perfect, and His true Church, which is composed of all obedient believers and innocent children, is perfect. But the representation here on earth, the church of Christ, is full of mere men who are capable of error, no matter how well-intentioned they may be. Not every church of Christ is exactly like every other, as evidenced by the fact that some believe in supporting various man-made institutions and others do not, while some do not believe in having Bible classes and others do (the church of Christ congregations range from what is called "ultra-liberalism" to "ultra-conservatism" in their practices). The New Testament gives examples of Corinth and Rome and Ephesus and the other congregations having various problems and differences, but they were still the "churches of Christ." Likewise we are all united in being baptized into Him, confessing our faith in Him as our Savior and the Son of God, and living in obedience to His Gospel, rejecting the traditions and creeds of men. That is what makes each congregation a representation of the true Church of Christ.
Is it possible that the church of Christ is just another Christian denomination? By definition, NO. The local church of Christ strives to be a mirror image of the true spiritual Church of Christ in Heaven. If the church of Christ is a denomination, then the true Church in Heaven is a denomination. Of course, that is not so. Admittedly, the U.S. government views all the Protestant churches as denominations, even the church of Christ. But that is simply to identify some as being Christian and others as being pagan, atheist, or whatever else is non-Christian. Since I'm in the Air Force, my religious options are usually Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, or Other. The "Other" is usually Wicca, Hindu, Muslim, and some other non-Christian groups. Of course I cannot classify myself as Protestant either, though obviously the Air Force thinks the church of Christ is part of the Protestant movement! They are wrong.
You said, However, they do not accept any other established church as Christian, and some are so bold to say that all other churches are "churches of Satan." A person can only do one of two things: he can follow Christ, or he can follow Satan. He cannot do both (Matthew 6:24; 1 Corinthians 10:21; Matthew 12:30). Likewise, a church can either be led by Christ, or not. The church that truly follows Christ is His Church. Anything else must be the work of Satan. I didn't make the definition; Christ Himself did in the Scriptures referenced above.
You said, According to the Webster Dictionary, a denomination is "a religious body comprising a number of local congregations having similar beliefs..." The Edmonton Church of Christ has no ties, bonds, or allegiance to any other church of Christ in the world, other than the common fact that they follow Christ through the Bible. There is no director, committee, leader, or other upper organization that manages/directs the Edmonton Church of Christ and some other church of Christ; the highest source of authority is Christ, Who speaks through the Bible. In the congregation, the elders have charge to watch and guide the flock in following the Bible. But the elders in one church of Christ have no authority when visiting another church of Christ. There is no "religious body" on the earth, known as the church of Christ (as defined above) other than the individual, local congregations; each congregation IS the body; not that Christ has many bodies, but that Christ's body (true Church) is represented in many churches of Christ in many places. Webster's definition says a denomination is a "religous body comprising a number of local congregations having similar beliefs." Yet there is no such religious body made of 2 or more churches of Christ with similar beliefs (except possibly among the ultra-liberals, who are becoming more and more like the denominations in their actions, and thus sinning). Since no local church of Christ is obligated to share similar beliefs with any other local church of Christ, Webster's definition of a denomination excludes the church of Christ, and hence, the church of Christ is not a denomination! If every church of Christ in the world, except one, was to disappear suddenly, that one church of Christ would still be the representation of the true Church and would not collapse just because the others did; each congregation is (or at least should be) built firmly only on the Rock of Christ, not on the shifting sands of popular opinion and creeds of man. In fact, by this definitin, the Catholic church is a denomination! Let us see...the Catholic church is a religious body...it is composed of a number of congregations throughout the world that have similar beliefs...hmmmm? If the papacy ever collapsed/failed, what would happen to the rest of the Catholic church?
Ok, let us take Webster's other definition: "a general name for a class of things". Everything has a name. There is nothing in existence that man has discovered that man has not given some way to identify it. Everything in the world is classified/categorized/identified/named in some way. There are 2 "classes" of people in the world: those who believe and obey the Bible, and those who do not. Every person falls into one of these 2 classes, as does every religious group. Which one do you think the Edmonton Church of Christ tries to fall in to? By this definition, the Catholic church is a denomination! This definition does not make the church of Christ a denomination like the Baptists and Methodists anymore than the extent that it puts the Mormons in the same class with the Catholics, which is equally objectionable to both groups! This definition simply says that "church of Christ" is a name for the people who assemble to follow the Bible.
You said, The first is the belief that, although restoration played a part, the Church of Christ has always been present ever since the first century. As I stated above, the true Church has always existed in heaven and can never be destroyed or divided. However, local congregations representing that true Church did cease to exist on the earth until somebody decided to go back to the Bible.
The Catholic and Orthodox Churches can historically trace their origins back to the first century. Ok, I'll give you this one. The roots of the Catholic and Orthodox churches are clearly described in the following Scriptures: 1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:2-8,13; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10; 2 Peter 1:1-3; 2 Peter 2:10-22; Jude 10-19
You said, the Church of Christ could legitimately add to Sacred Scripture the story of the Church's restoration, just as in 2 Kings 22 and 23. The Church of Christ has not added to Sacred Scripture, and prefers to de-emphasize their belief in the restoration of Christ's Church, and emphasize their interpretation of the New Testament. No, we could not legitemately add anything to the Scripture, for there are no more divinely inspired men on the earth today. Rather, we adhere to what is written, because if we added what you call the story of our restoration, we would be violating Revelation 22:18-19. The author of 2 Kings 22-23 was inspired by God to write what he wrote. As I said in my last letter, I do not emphasize or press my own personal opinions of the Bible, nor do I try to convert people to the "church of Christ." Rather, I simply try to show people Christ and His Word, and let them draw their own conclusions.
You said, An objective view of the Church of Christ, that does not debate Biblical interpretation, will not see anything unique to distinguish it from other Christian denominations. Well, if we could just throw out the Bible, I guess the Catholic church would be right after all! But, the Bible DOES matter, since it is God's inspired Word, and therefore we cannot ignore it. Outside of Biblical interpretations, there is nothing to make the church of Christ any different. But what does that prove? It proves that we are just another religion. Likewise, outside of the Pope's word, there is nothing to differentiate the Catholic church from any other denomination.
You said, To believe that the Church of Christ could be historically traced back to the first century, they would be in the company of the Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches. To believe that the Church of Christ restored Christ's Church, they would be in the company of most churches formed after the Protestant Reformation. No, the local church of Christ cannot be traced all the way back to the first century. The Downtown Church of Christ in Gatesville, TX began in 1984, when a few families committed themselves to assembling and worshipping the same way the churches of the first century did, but they cannot trace that particular congregation or their individual lineages back to the first century! Even though the congregation in Gatesville began in just 1984, the true Church has been in existence since Christ established it in the first century. Likewise, the congregation here in Minot, North Dakota, has only been in existence a short time, since a few Christians decided to work together the same way the New Testament Christians did, but we cannot trace ourselves all the way back to the first century! You've sure got me stumped on that one! I just wish I could find even ONE congregation somewhere in the world that has met in that same place, with people of the same lineage, meeting there in the same way the Apostles left them in the first century. I guess I'll just have to become an atheist since it is hopeless to find even one! Really though, unless you live in Italy or Spain or Greece or Israel or somewhere in that geographical area today, even you are from from finding one such church. Any Catholic church in the US or Canada today is just a denomination of the main Catholic church in Rome (or where ever the headquarters is).
Tell me this: WHY is it so important to trace your church back to the first century? Does that prove anything? It does not prove that one church is right and another is wrong. What we OUGHT to be focusing on is making the church right in God's sight today and in the future, rather than worrying about what happened before we came along. We build the church today the way Christ designed it, and neither lineage nor succession are important.
As to believing we are the restoration of Christ's Church, that does not put us in the same class as the denominations. Rather, it makes them want to be in the same class with us, though their efforts are in vain until their actions change to meet God's word.
Again I say to you that you should not follow a church to find Christ. Instead, you should follow Christ to find His Church! May the Lord guide and assist you in this effort.
Grace and Peace to you,
-David F. Sims-
http://web.ndak.net/~npchurch/
PS: I'm posting this and my last letter online at our web site.
Be advised that since I originally wrote this article, he has updated his article to address a few of these issues.
Written by David F. Sims, doing my part to "turn the world upside down" (Acts 17:6)
All quotes taken from the New American Standard Bible, unless otherwise stated.
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