The first emphasizes “the true church,” and when evangelizing, he begins his conversations with others by asking, “How many churches did Jesus build?” Later, he quotes Matthew 16:18 to show that Jesus built only\u00a0one. It wasn’t the Baptist Church,\u00a0the Methodist Church, the Mormon Church, or the Catholic Church because all of them have serious flaws, according to the Bible. The church that Jesus built was the Church of Christ, which was founded in the year 33 A.D. Its name is the “Church of Christ” (Romans 16:16), and it practices the one baptism (Ephesians 4:5), has the Lord’s Supper every Sunday (Acts 20:7), has a collection every first day of the week (I Corinthians 16:1-2), sings without instruments, etc. He exhorts others to “investigate the Church of Christ.”<\/p>\n
When the first brother talks about the church, he often has a sectarian concept and mixes up references to the local church and the universal church. He leaves the impression that he wants to attract people to a network of congregations with historical traditions and official or “semi-official” papers, schools, and perhaps other institutions. After emphasizing various points about\u00a0the church, perhaps this brother\u00a0may mention Jesus Christ, his life, death, and resurrection. Still, these points come much later, perhaps even after the contact is baptized.<\/p>\n
The second Christian’s first point\u00a0of emphasis is “Jesus Christ and\u00a0Him crucified<\/em>” (I Corinthians 2:2). His method of introducing Jesus Christ\u00a0to his contact might differ according to the circumstances. He often asks individuals to read all or portions of one of the gospels or the book of Acts. Or, perhaps he’ll point out what the Bible says about sin and that Jesus\u00a0Christ’s death is the solution when his grace is accepted through repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38). With some people, he may begin by reading texts about Christ’s death and resurrection and point out the reliability of the testimony of the many witnesses to those events. When teaching about Jesus Christ and his authority, the second evangelist will emphasize\u00a0that growing in Christ in a human denomination is impossible. Such is possible only by worshiping with disciples who truly submit\u00a0to his authority as given in the New Testament. He exhorts people not\u00a0to investigate the church because though God’s people have been washed in the blood of Christ, they still often have flaws that discourage seekers. He urges them to “investigate Christ and his word.” There are no flaws there!<\/p>\n The two men mention many of the same points, but there is a great difference in emphasis. The first\u00a0begins by talking about the product of salvation ( and he has misconceptions about that) while perhaps later\u00a0talking of the source of salvation,\u00a0Jesus Christ. The second speaks\u00a0first and foremost about the source\u00a0of salvation, Jesus Christ, and then builds on that foundation, teaching about work and worship in local congregations that truly respect his authority.<\/p>\n Thankfully, many who hear the teaching of the first man read between the lines enough to see that it is necessary to go beyond external acts of worship and organization and imitate Jesus in their personal lives. But it is also true that some\u00a0he teaches become satisfied with belonging to what they consider “the true church,’ without ever seeming to grasp the importance of changing their hearts and attitudes. They pray very little, are in constant petty skirmishes with others, and give little importance to mercy and grace. Frankly, they seem to have been converted to a system more than to an individual, Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n Those who accept the gospel message of the second man come to realize\u00a0that it all begins with subjection to Jesus Christ. From the very beginning, they seek to change their hearts and lives according to his teachings. Emphasizing imitation of Jesus,\u00a0they learn to be humble but firm, submissive, and loving. With this spirit, they meet with faithful congregations that are subject to Christ and refuse to copy the presumptuous practices common in mainstream religions.<\/p>\n May God help us to evangelize more like the second man. That is an imitation of first-century evangelists like Peter (Acts 10:36-43), Philip (Acts 8:35), and Paul (I Corinthians 2:2). Subsequently, we’ll see people truly converted to Christ and not merely convinced about some external acts without seeing the importance of changing their hearts.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Gardner Hall Biblical Insights 14(9) September 2014 The First Man The first emphasizes “the true church,” and when evangelizing, he begins his conversations with others by asking, “How many churches did Jesus build?” Later, he quotes Matthew 16:18 to show that Jesus built only\u00a0one. It wasn’t the Baptist Church,\u00a0the Methodist Church, the Mormon Church,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[536,451],"class_list":["post-67928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-preaching","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":60991,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-was-the-church-built\/","url_meta":{"origin":67928,"position":0},"title":"When Was the Church Built?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 29, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Richie Thetford In the denominational world, one would get all kinds of different dates as to when \"their\" church was established. But we need only to be concerned with one church - the church that Jesus built! Therefore, let us take a look at when the church of Christ\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/construction.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":94178,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-church-of-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":67928,"position":1},"title":"The Church of Christ","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 22, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Joe R. Price via The Spirit's Sword The expression \"church of Christ\" is a descriptive term of possession. The word church is a collective noun (like \"flock\" or \"family\"). The church is composed of saved people (Christians, the \"called out\" ones, Acts 2:41, 47). \"Church of Christ\" is used\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32106,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/were-abraham-and-moses-in-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":67928,"position":2},"title":"Were Abraham and Moses in the church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 7, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I heard a quote from a preacher sometime ago that Moses and Abraham are not in the Church of Christ (Ephesians 4:4; I Corinthians 12:13), even though they are currently saved. I understand they were never baptized into Christ; but if they are not in the body, where are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55569,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-church-yours-mine-or-the-lords\/","url_meta":{"origin":67928,"position":3},"title":"The Church: Yours, Mine, or the Lord’s?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 7, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Clem Thurman via\u00a0Gospel Minutes, Feb. 6, 1976 Questions: Isn't it true that the present-day church of Christ was begun in the early 1800s by Alexander and Thomas Campbell? Was there any organization of your church from the first to\u00a0the 18th centuries? On what basis can your ministers claim that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30792,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-you-join-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":67928,"position":4},"title":"Can you join the church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: V.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\"Join the church of your choice\" is a foolish idea A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is advocating pleasing self. B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We need to join the church of God's choice. We cannot \"join\" but we can be added to the Church! Answer: I agree that care is needed in wording, but in this particular case,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29355,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/denominationalizing-the-work-of-the-lord\/","url_meta":{"origin":67928,"position":5},"title":"Denominationalizing the Work of the Lord","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 3, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jerry F. Bassett Sentry Magazine, March 2003 To denominate is \"to give a name to: designate,\" according to Miriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. This same source defines a religious denomination as \"a religious organization uniting local congregations in a single legal and administrative body -- denominational\" being the adjectival form\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67928"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67928\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Analysis<\/h2>\n