Toward the end of the 18th century, several men of different denominations, in various geographical locations, studying independently of each other, began asking:
Why not go back to the pattern of the first-century church, prior to the emergence of denominationalism?
Why not adhere to the Bible only, and commit to the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.)
Why not plant the same seed, the Word of God (Luke 8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God), that first-century Christians planted, and be Christians only as they were?
They began encouraging people to relinquish human creeds, abandon denominationalism, and follow only the Bible. They asserted that such action would not establish another denomination, but would be a return to the original church. They insisted that nothing should be required of people other than what is taught in the scriptures.
Churches of Christ are in agreement with the movement those men began; sometimes called the Restoration Movement. With the Bible as our only guide, we seek to discover what the original church was like, and be like that. We feel that we have no right to ask people to pledge their allegiance to a human organization, but only the right to ask them to follow God’s Word.
In 1967, Dr. Hans Kung, a well-known European theologian, published a book entitled The Church. Dr. Kung claimed, and lamented, that the modern-day church had lost its way; had become bogged down with tradition; had failed to be what Christ intended it to be. The only remedy, he said, was to go back to the scriptures to see what the church was in the beginning, and to recover in our day the essence of the original church.
This is what Churches of Christ are committed to. We do not subscribe to man-made creeds, only to the New Testament pattern. We do not consider ourselves a denomination – but simply members of the church Jesus established, buying it with his blood (Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.). That is why we identify ourselves as Churches of Christ – not used as a denominational designation, but as a descriptive term, indicating that the church belongs to Christ.
Because all authority has been given to Christ (Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.), and because he alone has been designated as God’s spokesman in this age (Hebrews 1:1-2 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;), it is our conviction that he alone has the right to say what the church is and what we should teach. We believe that teaching the Bible without modification is the only right way to lead people to become Christians.
We are saddened by religious division. Jesus prayed for unity (John 17:20-23 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.). And the apostle Paul appealed for unity among those who were divided (I Corinthians 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.). We believe the only way to achieve unity is to follow the same blueprint – the Bible; that no individual or organization has the right to draw up a set of rules by which people are religiously governed. Compromise cannot bring unity, but following the same book can. It is safe and right to appeal for religious unity on this basis. To subscribe to any human-authored creed is to promote division.
Last Updated: January 8, 2019 by cocadmin
History
Toward the end of the 18th century, several men of different denominations, in various geographical locations, studying independently of each other, began asking:
They began encouraging people to relinquish human creeds, abandon denominationalism, and follow only the Bible. They asserted that such action would not establish another denomination, but would be a return to the original church. They insisted that nothing should be required of people other than what is taught in the scriptures.
Churches of Christ are in agreement with the movement those men began; sometimes called the Restoration Movement. With the Bible as our only guide, we seek to discover what the original church was like, and be like that. We feel that we have no right to ask people to pledge their allegiance to a human organization, but only the right to ask them to follow God’s Word.
In 1967, Dr. Hans Kung, a well-known European theologian, published a book entitled The Church. Dr. Kung claimed, and lamented, that the modern-day church had lost its way; had become bogged down with tradition; had failed to be what Christ intended it to be. The only remedy, he said, was to go back to the scriptures to see what the church was in the beginning, and to recover in our day the essence of the original church.
This is what Churches of Christ are committed to. We do not subscribe to man-made creeds, only to the New Testament pattern. We do not consider ourselves a denomination – but simply members of the church Jesus established, buying it with his blood (Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.). That is why we identify ourselves as Churches of Christ – not used as a denominational designation, but as a descriptive term, indicating that the church belongs to Christ.
Because all authority has been given to Christ (Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.), and because he alone has been designated as God’s spokesman in this age (Hebrews 1:1-2 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;), it is our conviction that he alone has the right to say what the church is and what we should teach. We believe that teaching the Bible without modification is the only right way to lead people to become Christians.
We are saddened by religious division. Jesus prayed for unity (John 17:20-23 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.). And the apostle Paul appealed for unity among those who were divided (I Corinthians 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.). We believe the only way to achieve unity is to follow the same blueprint – the Bible; that no individual or organization has the right to draw up a set of rules by which people are religiously governed. Compromise cannot bring unity, but following the same book can. It is safe and right to appeal for religious unity on this basis. To subscribe to any human-authored creed is to promote division.