2.jpg "Knights Wrecker")
A Little Bible Q & A For The Day
Viewed: 1411
Date: Sep 16 2016 2:18 PM
Hey everybody,
I hope your week has been positive. I also hope your weekend has a promising outlook. We would love to have you come see us Sunday. For today, here is a little Q & A.
The Question:
Dear Brother: Our teacher has recently begun to teach that baptized believers are saved and are right with God, no matter which denomination they are in. He also says we cannot prove that instrumental music and women preachers are wrong. Please comment.
The Answer:
Your teacher is badly mistaken on all the counts you mention. First, Jesus never gave us the option about which church. He only built one church (Matt. 16:18), He only purchased one church with His blood (Acts 20:28) and He only adds the saved to that one church (Acts 2:47). Notice the prayer of Jesus, "I do not pray for these alone [the apostles], but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me" (John 17:20-21). He prayed that all believers would be one, as He and the Father are one.
In the only example of denominational division we find in the Scriptures, Jesus specifically forbade it. In Corinth, believers were divided into different groups (1 Cor. 1:10-13), just as the denominations in any American city today. The Lord commanded, "Let there be no divisions among you" (v. 10). The question was then asked, "Is Christ divided?" (v. 13). That question needs to be faced honestly today! No one ever became a member of any denomination because the Lord wanted them to do it! It is His will that we be in "one body" (Eph. 4:4), "which is the church" (Eph. 1:22-23).
Your teacher also misses the point about the use of instruments and women preachers. It is not a question of our proving these things wrong, but of the scriptural authority for them. Jesus said, "All authority has been given to me" (Matt. 28:18). If we would please the Lord, we must submit to His authority as "Lord." So the question is: Where is the authority for instruments of music in Christian worship? So far, no one has found it! He has told us how to worship, the worship He accepts. Instruments are not included. Women are also forbidden "to teach, nor to have authority over a man" (1 Tim. 2:12) - and that is by the authority of Christ. Where is the authority for women to preach in the public assemblies? No one has yet found it.
This problem has long plagued mankind. Man wants to do things the way he would like them, not as the LORD said. We must remember the principle: "The way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps." (Jer. 10:23). When one is not willing to submit to the authority of Christ, to do things His way, the door is opened for man to do whatever he wants!
I hope this helps.
Have a great weekend!
Mitch Robison
Enon Church of Christ
1366 Enon Road
Webb, AL 36376
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