Churches of Christ

Set free 47

Well-Known Member
Back about twenty or so years ago I started attending a local church that went simply by the name "Christian church." They seemed like a good church, so I attended a meeting for people interested in membership. WOW, what a shock! They insisted that a person not only believe in Christ as Savior, but a person had to believe their church doctrines, and they did not accept any baptism from any other church outside their local church. That is, you had to be re-baptized in their waters, witnessed by their congregation, no exceptions. They also had the usual marks of legalism like faith plus the fruits of a life of faith in order to be justified. Well, I got up after this meeting, thanked them for their hospitality, and left never to return. I could not believe people will like sheep fall for these modern-day Church of Christ legalistic pharisees.
On one of the Christian TV channels I get they have a regular show done by this elder from a Church of Christ congregation.. He said something I was not aware of, that is, they teach that you have to be baptized (in their church I presume) before you can be a believer.
Churches of Christ are very common in small rural towns. They have special camps geared to children, teens and young adults.
Now, maybe I could possibly misunderstand all this, so if anyone here has upbringings or experience in a Church of Christ feel free to comment. But if even some of what I have said is true, they are apostasy on a pretty large scale.
 

Belle of Grace

Longing for Home
this elder from a Church of Christ congregation.. He said something I was not aware of, that is, they teach that you have to be baptized (in their church I presume) before you can be a believer.
Churches of Christ are very common in small rural towns. They have special camps geared to children, teens and young adults.
Now, maybe I could possibly misunderstand all this, so if anyone here has upbringings or experience in a Church of Christ feel free to comment. But if even some of
@Set free 47 what you're saying here is accurate. When I was in high school, I had a good friend whose family was dedicated to Church of Christ, and what you posted here lines up with what I recall from those years of friendship with a Church of Christ member. I attended a Baptist church but was not considered to be in a saved fellowship according to this friend. I've known of others in this denomination and they aren't solid in their commitment to attending church, going sometimes and dropping out for awhile. False churches generally do not have happy people. Only the Spirit of God can provide peace in our minds, and true joy in spite of our circumstances. All else is a miserable failure.
 

ItIsFinished!

Blood bought child of the King of kings.
Church of Christ teaches/promotes a work based salvation.
They, along with that, also teach your works sustain your salvation.
They also are very legalistic.

That said, liberty comes through Christ.
Redemption/ salvation is based upon what
Jesus Christ did for us on The Cross , NOT what we do or how we behave.

Jesus Christ alone saves the sinner.
For by grace through faith in Him alone.
It is a precious gift from God.

Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works , lest any man should boast.
 

Set free 47

Well-Known Member
There seems to be a trend that churches will call themselves something else other than their actually denomination identity. I've seen churches use a name like "LIving Waters Church, but you would never know they are actually Southern Baptist; same with an Assembly of God church in my area. Churches of Christ will do this sometimes simply with churches that say like, such and such Christian church. The way you will figure out they are a C of C church is they always have communion every week without exception. Some churches there is no Sunday School allowed, and they only sing acapella. But most of them simply use whatever Church of Christ they are. There is a C of C church a few miles from me that has a sign for "visitors" to enter here. I get the impression that they don't want visitors to initially be a part of their regular worship service, but I assume instead are directed to a special visitors meeting. I don't know this is the case for sure, but I don't plan on wasting my time some Sunday as a visitor to find out.
When I was growing up we were in a Disciples of Christ church simply called Cherokee Christian Church. This was a very liberal church. I never heard about getting saved there, only saw one baptism, only once saw someone bring their Bible to a worship service, sermons were boring, we did study the Bible in Sunday School. But Disciples of Christ and other churches along with Churches of Christ all can trace their origins to a common movement in the 19th Century where they wanted to break away from established churches who would deny communion to non members of a given church or members who were not in good standing. This movement was instead an open communion one where no one would be denied communion, member in good standing or not.
 
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DWB

Well-Known Member
I think each Church is independent with no national office or oversite. They believe in the 4 Gospels mainly, leaning heavily Christ's earthly ministry. They don't like music during a service either. Tennessee seems to be the headquarters since there is one on almost every corner. The service is mainly singing and a sermon. After 20 years I am just now getting my wife to at least give the Rapture some validity and show an interest in Paul's letters. She has been a loyal Church of Christ member for 60 plus years.
 

Sandra Lee

Active Member
I was raised in the Church of Christ. They believe to be saved a person must be baptized by full emersion. They believe we are saved by grace through faith, but that salvation can be lost. They believe if a person is saved they will do good works. They do not believe we work our way to heaven. I was saved in the Church, however, since I was very young, 13 years of age when I was saved, I constantly wondered if I had lost my salvation, until I studied scripture enough to learn more of God's word. The church is very conservative as compared to a lot of churches today. I now attend a Calvary Chapel. It is a "seeker" church, and honestly, it is too permissive. There is not enough good old fashioned preaching of "the word." Gay couples hold hands in service. I was in shock, when I first attended. Imagine the difference in churches? The music is so different. It is loud, and they seldom sing the old hymns I grew up singing. I still sing them though, at home when I worship on my own. They avoid the issues of adultery, homosexuality and so forth. I have to say that I heard the truth growing up in the Church of Christ, even if it was strict, or what some call legal. They believe in singing of hymns only. No instruments are used in worship service. Women wore dresses only. I am glad that I was raised in that church because it brought me to my lord and savior Jesus Christ. My only hope. Communion was taken very seriously. One was to examine one's heart to decide on taking communion. If one had unrepented sins, then one should not take communion. If a church member had committed a sin such as adultery, then that person would be required to go to the front of the church, and confess the sin to the church members, and ask for the church members forgiveness, as well as from the Lord. Then, that person would be in good standing again. I remember the Church elders coming to our home to confront my mother about her lack of submission to my father. She didn't like it much at the time of course, but when she found out she had terminal cancer, she wanted to be re-baptized in the church again. The church is welcoming of visitors, but they do want visitors to know what the basic beliefs of the church are, before taking communion. I hope my post helps those unfamiliar with Church of Christ beliefs. They do not want unbelievers to take communion. That might have been the reason, one would feel that visitors are sent to a certain area first? I am not sure. The church did believe in Sunday school for both children, and adults. They do carry and believe in the Bible, and use them in service also. I knew the word at a young age, and memorized scripture as a child. The church may be very legal, but it is a Bible believing church. I hope I have not caused offense by my post. It is not my intent. I have been a member here for a long time, but am only now posting. My name is Sandy. Nice to meet other believers here, and to share info, and our love of Jesus.
 
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Matthew6:33

Withstand in the evil day. Eph 6:13
I was raised in the Church of Christ. They believe to be saved a person must be baptized by full emersion. They believe we are saved by grace through faith, but that salvation can be lost. They believe if a person is saved they will do good works. They do not believe we work our way to heaven. I was saved in the Church, however, since I was very young, 13 years of age when I was saved, I constantly wondered if I had lost my salvation, until I studied scripture enough to learn more of God's word. The church is very conservative as compared to a lot of churches today. I now attend a Calvary Chapel. It is a "seeker" church, and honestly, it is too permissive. There is not enough good old fashioned preaching of "the word." Gay couples hold hands in service. I was in shock, when I first attended. Imagine the difference in churches? The music is so different. It is loud, and they seldom sing the old hymns I grew up singing. I still sing them though, at home when I worship on my own. They avoid the issues of adultery, homosexuality and so forth. I have to say that I heard the truth growing up in the Church of Christ, even if it was strict, or what some call legal. They believe in singing of hymns only. No instruments are used in worship service. Women wore dresses only. I am glad that I was raised in that church because it brought me to my lord and savior Jesus Christ. My only hope. Communion was taken very seriously. One was to examine one's heart to decide on taking communion. If one had unrepented sins, then one should not take communion. If a church member had committed a sin such as adultery, then that person would be required to go to the front of the church, and confess the sin to the church members, and ask for the church members forgiveness, as well as from the Lord. Then, that person would be in good standing again. I remember the Church elders coming to our home to confront my mother about her lack of submission to my father. She didn't like it much at the time of course, but when she found out she had terminal cancer, she wanted to be re-baptized in the church again. The church is welcoming of visitors, but they do want visitors to know what the basic beliefs of the church are, before taking communion. I hope my post helps those unfamiliar with Church of Christ beliefs. They do not want unbelievers to take communion. That might have been the reason, one would feel that visitors are sent to a certain area first? I am not sure. The church did believe in Sunday school for both children, and adults. They do carry and believe in the Bible, and use them in service also. I knew the word at a young age, and memorized scripture as a child. The church may be very legal, but it is a Bible believing church. I hope I have not caused offense by my post. It is not my intent. I have been a member here for a long time, but am only now posting. My name is Sandy. Nice to meet other believers here, and to share info, and our love of Jesus.
Hi Sandy, welcome! I am not familiar with Church of Christ other than seeing them around and hearing about them.

From your statement:
They believe we are saved by grace through faith, but that salvation can be lost.
It sounds like Armenian doctrine (salvation can be lost) which is false. From your post I think you know this to be true.

My problem is when churches pick and choose which parts of the bible to be legalistic about. The scripture should be taken as a whole, within its context.

I have also had experiences like you with Calvary Churches (I used to attend and have seen 2 fall, one to hsong). Although I find them better than most other churches, I still prefer the Baptist Church if you can stand the false teachings of Calvinism and you know the scriptures enough to recognize and weed through them.

It sounds like you have some good experience to share. Thanks for joining us. God bless.
 

DWB

Well-Known Member
The "once saved always saved" has always been a question for me. Are any resources on RF with more info on this topic?

Reason being, I have known many who were devout believers during their teenage years, yet totally walked away from the faith as adults. As much as I would hope they will be included with Body of Christ, I wonder due to their non-repentance of sin and continued sinful behavior. Maybe they were never saved to begin with??
 

Tall Timbers

Imperfect but forgiven
I now attend a Calvary Chapel. It is a "seeker" church, and honestly, it is too permissive. There is not enough good old fashioned preaching of "the word." Gay couples hold hands in service. I was in shock, when I first attended.

This is in the Calvary Chapel church? Is it actually affiliated with Calvary Chapel or is that just the name of their church?
 

Matthew6:33

Withstand in the evil day. Eph 6:13
The "once saved always saved" has always been a question for me. Are any resources on RF with more info on this topic?

Reason being, I have known many who were devout believers during their teenage years, yet totally walked away from the faith as adults. As much as I would hope they will be included with Body of Christ, I wonder due to their non-repentance of sin and continued sinful behavior. Maybe they were never saved to begin with??
https://www.raptureforums.com/forums/threads/osas-once-saved-always-saved.3393/

Happy reading, blast from back in 2007 - 5 pages long
 

Sandra Lee

Active Member
I've visited numerous Calvary Chapels around the country. Most I'd return to, some I wouldn't. One had a pastoral who was definitely in the wrong profession, but all if them endeavored to properly teach the Word. Sounds like you stumbled across an apostate Calvary Chapel.
Tall, I would like to find a church that preaches bodly the word of God. When, I made mention of my concern about homosexuals holding hands in the sanctuary, I was told "we are a seeker church." I had never heard of a seeker church. I came home, and looked it's meaning up. The church appeals to younger generations mostly. This church wants to bring homosexuals into the church, in hopes of exposing them to the word of God. My complaint with this church is that, the very issues these particular people need to hear about, are not really addressed. They tend to focus on the love of Jesus in this church, and do not preach about the side of God, that will not tolerate sin, and that those that engage in such behaviors that do not repent and turn away from sin will burn in the lake of fire forever. I do not feel fed there, so I read my Bible often to compensate. One thing about the Church of Christ was that we were taught the whole Bible, not just the New Testament, so the justness of of God was taught there also. This is a major fault of many churches today. Teaching only the love of Christ for us. God is just also, and is incapable of accepting sin, promising to judge those that do not turn from it. Sadly, this is a major end time issue.
 
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