North End Church of Christ

By: Wendell Mitchell, Via Gospel Advocate, 9/2002

Criticizing the church of Christ, usually done by its own members and church leaders, has reached epidemic proportions. Not only has this criticism become widespread, it is being done with an arrogance that manifests a deep-seated disrespect for God and His church. Many behavioral blights have rocked the church through the years, but this one ranks at or near the top.
The earliest teaching I received in the church was simple but clear–study your Bible, obey its truths, trust God to keep His promises, and by His grace be rewarded with a heavenly home after death. None of this straightforward teaching needed bands playing, whistles blowing or clowns tumbling for me to understand it.
I am persuaded that the same gospel message that saved me in 1952, and my father before me in 1922 and his father before him in 1901 is the same gospel message that will save my grandchild in 2002. And I am further persuaded that the church of Christ is the religious body that proclaims this unadulterated message.
Without question, some difficult texts in the Bible pose considerable problems for even the best of scholars, but none of these texts involve what I call threshold questions about salvation. The gospel message about salvation is that you have to be immersed in water (baptized) for the remission of your sins in order to contact the blood of Christ shed on your behalf. When you do this, you become a member of the church that Christ will save. You should then do your best to glorify God in your work and personal life, but the father–child relationship you have established allows you to ask and receive forgiveness when you fail.
Being a politician, I use a lot of references to political figures. One that comes to mind is the late congressman Albert Rains from Gadsden, Ala., a man known for his silver tongue. He was fond of making a conclusive statement and closing by saying, “That’s the way it is, without prefix or suffix.” Well, I feel that way about the requirements for salvation. That’s the way it is, without prefix or suffix.
A book titled I’m OK – You’re Ok made the New York times best-seller list several years ago. This philosophy seems to be in fashion with much of our church leadership today. The ministers in particular, and to some extent the elders, take pride in pointing out what is wrong with the church of Christ and what is right about the denominational world.
Frankly, I see very little wrong with the church of Christ, particularly when you compare it to denominational churches. Churches that openly declare their own texts as superior to the Bible or churches that openly advocate using something other than Jesus Christ as the intermediary between God and humankind are automatically off the list with me. The fact that they may have some good points, and many do, is not a redeeming factor when measured against the standard of truth as prescribed in Psalm 96:13; John 17:17,19; Romans 2:2 and many other passages.
A word about truth–it is not arbitrary. You cannot first decide the concept or doctrine you want to embrace and then declare that to be truth. The Old Testament views truth as an essential quality of God, signifying His reliability, dependability and faithfulness. Derived from this is the concept of truth as a fact or state that has unalterable validity or stability and, therefore, must be accepted. As applied to mankind, truth meant that the individual was consistent in his or her actions and that he or she conformed to God’s will, as revealed in the Law.
Today truth is still more than something merely to be thought or believed. It is something to be done. The word is often used as an equivalent to the revelation of God in Christ (that Jesus Christ is God’s Son, what we generally refer to as the great confession). Acceptance of and dedication to this truth equips us for fellowship with one another and acceptance by God. We learn from Scripture that the faith we espouse through this concept of truth leads us to do what God commands, not what mankind decides is a better or different way to conform to God’s will.
Modern technology has given us innumerable new tools to make delivery of the gospel message more efficient and more effective. Better sound systems, computers, auditorium screens, video cameras, televisions and e-mail name only a few.
The point is that the gospel of Christ (His death, burial and resurrection) is the power of God unto salvation. A basic difference exists between the saved and the unsaved. Everyone is not okay. The salvation described by the gospel writers necessarily involves coming in contact with the blood of Christ. We do this through baptism and only through baptism. We want to be saved, and we want others to be saved.
This criticism is a threat to the church in that it is weakening our faith and resolve. We must not abandon truth for popular sentiment.