Churches of Christ -- Sermons; Sermons, American -- 20th century
But here is the best figure I can draw on denominationalism and it’s not
entirely accurate (speaker points to board again). When a group of these
congregations, even if they have all been scripturally baptized—which
they have not—draw a ring about themselves and say, “We are the ‘A’
Church,” another group says, “We are the ‘B’ Church,” and another says,
“We are the ‘C’ Church,” each group of congregations distinguishing
itself from other similar groups by a distinguishing title—that is
denominationalism, pure and simple! That picture does _not_ represent a
_geographic_ distribution, for we have all those different denominations
right here in Nashville. It’s not a geographical division, but a
division based on difference in teaching, practice, and faith. That’s
not the Bible picture (speaker continues to refer to board). Here is the
Bible picture.
The church which wears these Bible names, and only these, is the right
church as far as the name is concerned. But, friends, any church that
calls itself by any other name, any name not in the Bible, is not the
right church because the Bible is right. When a church has a name upon
their building which cannot be found in the Bible, they need not claim
that they are taking the Bible as their one and only guide, for the very
name on the church building denies that claim. Just think how foolish it
is for a preacher to stand up and say, “We take the Bible as our guide,”
when, out in front of the building, in great big letters, is a name
which cannot even be found in the Bible! That’s one reason I think we
had better examine a man’s claim to follow the Bible. Here’s what the
Bible teaches on the name, and the Bible is right. The church that wears
these names and only these is right on that point.
But merely wearing the right name will not make a church right. It may
wear the right name and still be wrong in other respects. I used to
preach in a town where there was a great big church building which had a
name in bold letters that you could see almost all over town—Central
Church of Christ. But if you went to their worship, you’d find something
that’s not listed here at all (speaker refers to section of outline on
board). They were not following the Bible on worship. They had the right
name but they didn’t have the right worship. They were right on one
point but wrong on another. There are churches over the country called
“Churches of God.” That’s a good name, but they have items of doctrine
that cannot be found in the Bible. For instance, they preach that you
have to be baptized in the Holy Spirit in order to be saved, and that’s
not in the Bible. Consequently, they are wrong on doctrine; and to
merely wear the right name does not atone for their false teaching on
what one must do to be saved.
VII
Organization
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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