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 Do members of the Church of Christ believe they are the only ones saved?
Was Jesus God?
Does the Bible contradict evolution?
Do I really need to attend church to be a Christian?
Is the Bible the only way that we can learn about God?
Can a Christian be homosexual?
Do
members of the Church of Christ believe they are the only ones saved?
Anyone that believes Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and obeys
Christ will be saved. The way we learn how to obey Christ is by
reading and understanding the Word of God. The apostle John wrote: "He
who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (John
3:36) The apostle Paul wrote: "...the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from
heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution
to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of
our Lord Jesus. And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction,
away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power." (2
Thessalonians 1:7b-9) It is not for Christians to judge who will be
saved or lost. It IS for Christians to preach God's word that others may
choose life. It is not enough that one simply acknowledges that Jesus
is God's Son. Note what the apostle James wrote: "You believe that
there is one God. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder."
(James 2:19) Obeying
the Son doesn’t mean that after having learned of a command
by God we can simply do anything we want, perhaps driven by
our own desires, and then say we did it in Jesus’ name.
Obeying implies that the process and/or result is to be
measured by a known standard. For example, God told
Noah to build an ark. Information about the kind of
wood to be used, the dimensions, number of floors, etc.,
were provided to Noah; however, it is not recorded what
tools Noah was permitted to use, emphasizing the end result
over the process. Notice what the apostle Matthew
records:
“Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord,
lord.’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the
will of my Father who is in heaven will enter. Many
will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy
in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your
name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to
them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE
LAWLESSNESS.'” (Matthew
7:21-23)
During a
discussion with some Pharisees and scribes, Jesus said,
"This people honors Me with their
lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain
do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of
men.'" (Matthew 15:8, 9) Here, Jesus emphasized
that to "worship" God based on the teachings and
fabrications of men is "vain" worship. People honor
God with their lips when they choose to honor Him in ways He
has not specified, or contrary to ways He has specified.
One's heart is said to be "far from God" when a person does
not think it important enough to search God's word to learn
how he is to live and worship Him.
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Was
Jesus God? Moses records in the first book of the Old Testament:
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)
The word for "God" in this verse is "Elohim," a plural word in the
Hebrew language. Notice verse 26 of the same chapter: "Then God said,
"Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness..." Both of
these verses indicate that there was a plurality that was active at the time of
creation. Hold on to this idea as we look at the book of John, in the
New Testament. Verse one states: In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1) Note what verse 14
states: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld
His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace
and truth." Finally, the writer of Hebrews records statements that God
the Father spoke about the angels. "But of the Son He says,
'Thy
throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the
scepter of His kingdom.'" (Hebrews 1:8)
Notice the prayer of Jesus.
"I do not ask in behalf of these alone
(his apostles), but for those also who believe in Me
through their word; that they may all be one; even as Thou,
Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may
be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send
Me. And the glory which Thou hast given Me I have
given to them; that they may be one, just as We are one; I
in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in
unity, that the world may know that Thou didst send Me, and
didst love them, even as Thou didst love Me." (John
17:20-23) Many people today struggle to understand how
God can be one, yet three distinct "persons." Jesus
explains it very well here, for the quality of oneness or
unity that He desires for us is the same quality that He
shares with the Father. He says,
"...that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father,
art in Me, and I in Thee..." The word
"even" in this scripture means "in the same way." This
explanation allows us to understand better, though not
fully, the "trinity" by understanding how many people in His
church can be united to such a degree that Jesus uses the
phrase "perfected in unity."
The degree of unity enjoined by the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit is perfect unity.
From these biblical passages, it
becomes quite clear that Jesus was, and is, God.
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Does
the Bible contradict evolution? As the Bible is God's word for all
mankind, it cannot contradict true science. As such,
science and the Bible should be in harmony with each other.
However, since knowledge, hence our understanding, based on
scientific research and discovery occasionally changes,
science cannot be that which is perfect, because man's
intelligence isn't perfect. God's word should be the
standard by which things are judged; not the other way
around. For more
in-depth study on this and similar topics, please see John Clayton's
website, 'Does God Exist?'
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Do I really need to attend church to be a Christian?
The apostle Luke records in Acts 20:28 that Jesus purchased
the church with His blood---the ultimate price paid for
something that many today regard as unnecessary. The term
"church" literally means "called out." It describes
those individuals that have been called out of darkness and
into the light of Christ (1 Peter 2:9). Recognizing
that their sins have caused a separation between themselves
and God (Isaiah 59:2), they have willingly left a life of
sin in order to serve God. Christians are part of
God's family--not an institution--here on earth.
Today, however, many people associate the word "church" with
a building. This is a misuse of the word.
It is not necessary to be assembled with other Christians in
order to worship God. However, one cannot worship God
while willingly avoiding the personal contact and
encouragement of other Christians that comes during the
weekly assembly. In fact, we are directed to assemble
with other Christians. Note what the writer of the
book of Hebrews tells us: "and let us consider how to
stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking
our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but
encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day
drawing near." (Hebrews 10:24-25) The church is not an
institution created by man; it is a vital organism with
Christ as its head. The lines get blurry when we think of
the Lord's church simply as a piece of real estate with an
address. Jesus died on the cross of Calvary, and the blood
shed in His death is that same blood that purchased His
church. (Acts 20:28) Christ paid the ultimate price for
something that many sweep under the rug, believing they can
take a short-cut and achieve the same thing. Imagine if you
had to sacrifice your son's life in order that someone else
might live, and then that someone disregarded your gift and,
as far as they were concerned, indicated that your son died
for nothing. Would it make you angry having given up the
most precious thing you had? Imagine, then, the wrath of God
at Judgment Day.
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Is
the Bible the only way that we can learn about God?
Absolutely not! In fact, one needs only to look around to
see evidence of God everywhere. God has designed His creation so that
man would be compelled to search for its Architect and meaning. Man cannot create
something from nothing. We can fashion things from existing matter, but we
cannot create. The fact that there is matter suggests something or
someone greater than ourselves. We can also read about God in a
great many of man's works, such as poetry. However, only one book (which is actually a compilation of many books, letters, and poetry)
rightfully claims to have been directly inspired by God's Holy
Spirit.
(2 Timothy 3:16) It is in this book that we read: "...that
which is known about God is evident within them; for God
made it evident to them. For since the creation of the word
His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine
nature, having been clearly seen, being understood through
what has been made, so that they are without excuse."
(Romans 1:19, 20)
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Can
a Christian be homosexual? "and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and
Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having
made them an example to those who would live ungodly
thereafter; and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by
the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw
and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt
his righteous soul tormented day after day with their
lawless deeds), then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly
from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under
punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who
indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise
authority..." (2 Peter 2:6-10) God has always condemned sin.
The story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis
18:16-19:29), during the time of Abraham, teaches us today
about sin, its effects on our lives, and God's mercy and
wrath. God would have spared the two cities if only 10
righteous people were found there. However, the two cities
had become so debased that God's anger burned against
them--His judgment was final.
Note what the apostle Paul wrote to the
church in Rome: "Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their
hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them.
For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served
the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For
this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women
exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the
same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and
burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing
indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of
their error." (Romans 1:24-27) Paul wrote similarly to the church
in Corinth: "Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit
the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor
idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor
thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers,
shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you; but you
were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God." (1
Corinthians 6:9-11) Today, people are being taught that the homosexual is such
from birth. Note that Paul said that some of those in
Corinth had lived a homosexual lifestyle; however, when they
gave their lives to God, they abandoned this way of
life--they were then washed, sanctified, and justified
before God. From these passages, and others, we know that not
only does God not condone homosexual relationships, He will not allow
those that participate in such to enter heaven. God has the same power today to
help those that desire to live righteously.
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