David Hepburn

IS THE CHURCH OF CHRIST A NEW CHURCH?

By / about our church, David Hepburn

No, the church of Christ is not a new church. It was founded by Jesus, through His apostles, in Jerusalem in the first century. This makes it hundreds of years older than any denomination in existence today.

In Matthew 16:18 Jesus made this promise: “I will build My church.”

On the Day of Pentecost in A.D. 33, that promise was fulfilled and the church of Christ came into existence. On that occasion, the gospel was first preached by Peter and the other apostles. They revealed the Lord’s plan of salvation: “Repent, and each one of you be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

Those who responded had their sins forgiven and were added to the church of Christ (Acts 2:47). Members of the church of Christ today are members of that same church which was established 2,000 years ago.

WHAT IS THE DISTINCTIVE PLEA OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST ?

By / about our church

Members of the church of Christ today want to restore the original New Testament church. To do this, it is necessary to set aside creeds and doctrines created by people. We must go back beyond all the denominations that people have established, back to the pattern for the church left for us in the New Testament.

To be God’s true people, we must accept the Bible alone as the authority in all religious matters. Therefore, we should be able to give a “thus says the Lord” for everything we teach and practice. We need to “speak where the Bible speaks and remain silent where the Bible is silent.” If we teach the pure Word of God today, we are planting the same seed that was planted in the first century. When that seed was planted then, Christians and only Christians were produced and the church came into existence. The plea of members of the church of Christ today is for religious unity based upon the Word of God.