Who Are The churches of Christ?

            Have you ever wondered, “Who are the churches of Christ and what do they believe?”  Let me begin by saying that the churches of Christ are not Campbellites nor are they dependent on the reformation movement, or the restoration movement for their existence.  The churches of Christ are not a modern denomination mainly because the Bible teaches denominationalism and division is a sin (1 Cor. 1:10-13).  Who are the churches of Christ then?

            Who are they?  The churches of Christ are just simply striving to be the church we read about in the Bible.  The church of Christ was not established by any man, rather it was established by Jesus Christ in the first century (Matt. 16:13-18).  The churches of Christ have no man made creed (Prov. 16:25), instead they strive to follow the Bible only (Col. 3:17).  The churches of Christ have no human leader, such as a pope, cardinal, pastor or head of the church.  We still believe the Scriptures teach Jesus Christ is the Head of His church (Eph. 1:20-22).  The churches of Christ are called by a Bible descriptions, not by denominational names of religious leader (Acts 4:11-12, 1 Cor. 3:11).  In short, the churches of Christ are are striving to be the church we read about in the Bible without any man made additions or subtractions (See Rev. 22:18-19).

            What do they believe?  The fundamental belief of the New Testament church was to do things exactly as Jesus and the Apostles had told them to do (Rom. 5:4, 1 Cor. 4:6).  This is what the churches of Christ today believe.  We believe in restoring the New Testament church back to its original state as seen in the Bible.  For example, the first century church met on the first day of the week to partake of the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7).  The churches of Christ today believe this is the same pattern we should follow (Acts 2:42).  In addition, in the churches of Christ you will not find mechanical instruments of music used to worship God.  We do not have these because God did not command them in the New Testament.  God tells us specifically to sing and make melody in our hearts (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16).  The churches of Christ believe in teaching the pure and simple plan of salvation as found in the New Testament.  In the Scriptures, people were taught to hear or recognize the authority of God’s Word (Rom. 10:17), believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God (John 8:24), repent of sin (Luke 13:3), confess the name of Jesus (Rom. 10:10) and be baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; John 3:5).  Today, the Lord’s church still teaches the same plan of salvation as found in the New Testament.  The churches of Christ also believe in living a sacrificial and devoted life to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Luke 9:23; 1 Cor. 6:19-20; Gal. 2:20; Rom. 12:1-2).  While this is only a sampling of the New Testament teaching we follow, our hope is it will whet one’s appetite to learn more about the church of the Bible. 

            The churches of Christ are not trying to bind where God has not bound, but we are also not trying to loose where God has not loosed (Rev. 22:18-19; Mt. 16:18-19). .  We simply want to do what the Bible says and put our faith in God not men.  If you have never visited the church of Christ in your area, we encourage you do stop by their assembly and learn more about the Lord’s church.