I AM NOT COMMITTED TO THE CHURCH OF CHRIST!

Guest Writer: David Maxson

o, this title is not a misprint. It’s true. As strange as it may sound, my commitment is NOT to the church. My commitment is to Christ! Let me explain.

irst, I must define what the church is. The church of Christ is simply all those souls who have been saved by Christ. The word “church” in our English Bibles comes from the Greek word ekklesia, which means “called out ones” (from ek, “out” and kaleo, “called”). In the New Testament it refers to those who have been called out of darkness into light (1 Pet. 2:9). I like the description of the church in 1 Peter 2:10; it is “the people of God.”

f the church is not an institution (if it is simply “the people of God”), then why should my title disturb you? Does the church have any authority? Should the church determine what I preach or practice as a Christian? Should my loyalty be to the church? God forbid! I have vowed my commitment to Christ, not to the church! I have pledged my allegiance to the King, not to the citizens of His kingdom! I have promised to follow the Shepherd, not the sheep in His flock! I am bound to obey the Captain of my salvation, not the soldiers in His army!

esus said before He ascended back to the Father, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18). We’re told that God has “seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come” (Eph. 1:20-21). Where does the church stand in relation to Christ? “And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:22-23).

ometimes we hear it said that someone has “quit the church.” Good! I wish more would. Frankly, we’ve made too many disciples of the church when we ought to be making disciples of Christ. Sometimes I hear, “You’ll never make me a Church of Christer!” Good! I would not want you to be one. All I want you to be is a Christian; nothing more, nothing less.

e have corrupted the simple New Testament concept of the church.  By institutionalizing the church, we’ve given it a status the Lord never intended for it. The church does not have any authority; it must practice what the Lord has authorized. The church does not decide what is sound doctrine; it must follow what the Lord has taught. The church does not save (think about this)… it is the saved.

he church is people. Saved people. God’s people. May we all, as the people of God, render our life and breath to God who alone is worthy of our worship and submission. Amen.&

THE BEGINNING OF RELIGION

Bob Myhan

an is so innately religious that practically no period in recorded history has been religion-free. Religion has come to mean different things to different people, but it always involves some sort of ritual, the purposes of which vary from religion to religion. “True religion…is that System of faith and practice revealed in Scripture that is designed to bind man anew to God in Covenant relationship” (C. C. Crawford, Genesis: The Book of the Beginnings, Volume II, page 369).

rue religion, as defined above, did not exist in the Garden of Eden, prior to man’s sin. Indeed, before man sinned against God, he did not need to be bound anew to God. In Gen. 3:14,15, however, God revealed His intention to “bind man anew to [Himself] in Covenant relationship.” He said He would put “enmity between [the serpent] and the woman, and between [the serpent’s] seed and her seed.” “Enmity” is the opposite of “amity,” or friendship (see James 4:4).

o put enmity between the serpent and the woman, therefore, would be to restore the friendship that had previously existed between her and God. The serpent’s seed would be those who make themselves enemies of God by disobeying His laws (see John 8:44). The woman’s Seed is Jesus Christ (Gal. 4:4). Those who are reconciled to God become enemies of the serpent, who is “the Devil and Satan” (Rev. 12:9).

ur first glimpse of religion is in the offerings of Cain and Abel (Gen. 4:1-5). Abel practiced true religion, offering righteous sacrifices by faith, while Cain practiced false religion, offering evil sacrifices by opinion (Heb. 11:4; 1 John 3:12). Thus religion began with man’s expulsion from Eden.    

he most basic element of true religion is sacrifice. The respective sacrifices of the Patriarchal and Mosaic ages were but shadows of the reality, Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29; Heb. 9:6-26).

s mentioned in the July 27^th Faith Builder, God has revealed His will in just such a way as will best facilitate our understanding of it. If the Son of God had come into the world immediately after the first sin, there is no way that anyone could have appreciated the love of God or the magnitude of sin.

o God introduced the idea of sacrificial religion, and developed it incrementally through the ages, until such time that His love—as fully demonstrated through the sacrifice of His Son—could be appreciated and reciprocated. And it is only those who come to appreciate His love to the point of reciprocating it that come to appreciate the magnitude of sin. But those who wish to appreciate and reciprocate His love—by loving Him and sacrificing all for Him—must seriously study His will. Don’t you want to appreciate and reciprocate His love?&