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“What is the Church of Christ? #5”
There are so many people who, in their minds, are persuaded that they are New Testament Christians, yet belong to a church that was not founded on the rock of Matthew 16:18. A church's practices and beliefs are key to understanding whether or not they are Scriptural in organization, worship and most of all ownership. If our heavenly Father did not plant it, it is not His. (Matthew 15:13) Anyone can set up a creed, build a building, put on a suit or a robe, put on a smile and claim to belong to Jesus. The United States of America is a free country, founded in order to worship as one pleases. However, that does not mean it is pleasing to God, no matter how sincere one is, or how much study he has done. Living by the Bible alone and worshiping in a church that has been planted by the Bible alone is not what is in the interest of many religious individuals.
In our world today, we must have a name for everything. If a group meets somewhere, no matter how puny, it's not very long and it has a name. This puts them on the map. They have an identity that can be recognized by others, or inquired into, or simply establishes a foundation for more members. When people came out of the denominations and other sectarian groups, they were on their own without a church name, or well known group to identify with. There was no formal universal name give to the church Jesus Christ built in the New Testament. Yet, as our culture demands, they too wanted to be put on the map and remain Scriptural. The name Church of Christ was chosen simply because that was what the one church was called in New Testament times and the centuries following. Most of all, it named Christ as the owner. That is why many times the church sign would say, "The Church of Christ meets here", putting emphasis on the people and their founder, rather than the located building.
Until the 1800s, there were individuals now and then who dared discuss proper authority and came close to making a stand for the whole counsel of God in religious matters. Yet, the fundamentals of salvation in Christ such as learning New Testament doctrine, repentance, confession, water baptism, and church membership fell far short. Denominations, sectarians, and other religious groups put their emphasis on faith only, a doctrine primarily preached in the 1500s to counteract the works only doctrine of the Catholic Church. Water baptism became the most discussed doctrine among members of the church, simply because it was so plain and hard to misunderstand. Acts 3:38, 22:16, and 1 Peter 3:21 directly linked water baptism with having ones sins forgiven now in this life. Understanding obedience became the key to understanding the whole of salvation. Popular denominational doctrines said, "You can't save yourself, only the blood of Christ can save you." Sectarian preachers completely ignored Acts 2:40, "And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation." (KJV) Once people began to realize the distinct whole of what the New Testament taught on obedience to the gospel, multitudes believed the gospel over their human creeds and wisdom and were immersed in water for the forgiveness of sins, the Lord adding them to His church. (Acts 2:47)
The Church of Christ became the fastest growing religious body in America during the 1800s. Members of the church were known as the people who knew the Bible. Debates on water baptism by brethren with sectarian and denominational preachers were many. Instrumental music was non-existent among churches of Christ as well. Instead of denominational "revivals" brethren of the Lord held "gospel meetings" to help make the distinction between the entertaining aspect of revivals and community meetings with the sole intention of causing people to understand the gospel of Jesus Christ.
J.M Mathes preached the gospel in central Indiana between 1835 and 1845 baptizing 2,000 people. In 1851, for approximately one year he reported to have preached 400 sermons and baptized 600 people. T.M. Allen, at the end of 1856 reported to have traveled 2,400 miles (horseback folks), preached over 160 sermons, and baptized 1,178 individuals. T.B. Larimore held a gospel meeting in Nashville having baptized nearly 200 people, the gospel meeting having lasted several weeks. These are small ensamples of the hunger for the truth of the pure gospel preaching of Jesus Christ. It is said that this is not even a tithe of what was done, for most preachers of the gospel did not write down their work in a diary.
The Church of Christ was on the map! Even into the 1900s, gospel meetings were packed with standing room only. Memories from the late Cecil Willis recalled how children many times sat in the front around the feet of the preacher to make room for the older folks to sit down. He once told me how a preacher came to Trinity County in Texas, put up a tent and began to preach. There was one man and another woman and her daughter who obeyed the gospel. Not much I suppose. Nonetheless, he stated that the older woman was his grandmother, and the daughter was his mother. So the first church in Trinity County was established. The Church of Christ became a magnificent structure. There was no headquarters on the earth, no creed but the New Testament, and few preachers with college degrees. The common plow boy was indeed the servant of the Lord. However, there was a tremendous cost. The devil also began his work in them as well.
