{"id":92779,"date":"2025-12-24T13:22:31","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T19:22:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=92779"},"modified":"2025-12-26T14:30:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T20:30:33","slug":"how-do-you-identify-the-true-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-you-identify-the-true-church\/","title":{"rendered":"How do you identify the true church?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t<h2>Question:<\/h2>\n<p>Dear Sir,<\/p>\n<p>Thank you for your response to various questions. I have learned so much from the La Vista Church of Christ&#8217;s website, and I want to let you know. I really want to join a true church of Christ.<\/p>\n<p>I have two questions:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>How do you identify a true church?<\/li>\n<li>Is Christ coming back? Or does the rapture happen when we die?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>I wait urgently for your insightful response.<\/p>\n\t<h2>Answer:<\/h2>\n<p>The answer to your first question is simple, but it requires effort. You need to check the things a church teaches and practices against what God has said. You need to be like the Bereans, &#8220;<em>for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so<\/em>&#8221; (Acts 17:11).<\/p>\n<p>See:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/identifying-a-new-testament-church\/\">Identifying a New Testament Church<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-christ-built-only-one-where-did-they-all-come-from\/\">If Christ Built Only One, Where Did They All Come From?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/blueprint-of-a-biblical-church\/\">Blueprint of a Biblical Church<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>One attribute of God is that He cannot lie (Titus 1:2). He always keeps His word. &#8220;<em>And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so <strong>Christ<\/strong> also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, <strong>will appear a second time<\/strong> for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him<\/em>&#8221; (Hebrews 9:28). So, yes, Christ is coming back. However, he is not coming back to set up a kingdom in this world. He is returning to bring the world to an end. &#8220;<em>The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up<\/em>&#8221; (II Peter 3:9-10).<\/p>\n<p>Because of this, the idea of a rapture is incorrect. See &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-rapture\/\">What Is the Rapture?<\/a>&#8220;<\/p>\n\t<h2>Response:<\/h2>\n<p>Dear Sir,<\/p>\n<p>Thank you so much for your reply. It contains so much that I am taking my time to read and understand it all.<\/p>\n<p>God bless you richly.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Question: Dear Sir, Thank you for your response to various questions. I have learned so much from the La Vista Church of Christ&#8217;s website, and I want to let you know. I really want to join a true church of Christ. I have two questions: How do you identify a true church? Is Christ coming&hellip;<\/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,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[448,343],"class_list":["post-92779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-church","tag-rapture"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7020,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-you-werent-a-part-of-the-rapture-and-had-to-face-the-tribulation-would-that-shake-your-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":92779,"position":0},"title":"If you weren&#8217;t a part of the rapture and had to face the tribulation, would that shake your faith?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 5, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question for you concerning the rapture. I have been thinking about this a long time and I was wondering what you thought of this. With all that is happening in the world today, we all know the end of the world is at hand. My question\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13624,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/could-you-write-a-response-to-common-sense-questions-a-church-of-christ-preacher-cannot-clearly-answer\/","url_meta":{"origin":92779,"position":1},"title":"Could you write a response to &#8220;Common Sense Questions a &#8216;Church of Christ&#8217; Preacher Cannot Clearly Answer?&#8221;","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 15, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I just wanted to start by saying how much I appreciate your website, it has helped answer many questions that have arisen in my life. My preacher has just started a Sunday night study based on the web site\u00a0http:\/\/www.biblebelievers.com\/david_martin\/martin_church-christ.html\u00a0and the many false and some \"silly\" questions this site brings\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86914,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-attend-a-different-church-after-being-baptized\/","url_meta":{"origin":92779,"position":2},"title":"Is it wrong to attend a different church after being baptized?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Greetings Brother, I want to know if it's wrong, once we're baptized, to worship at a church other than a Church of Christ. Answer: I'm puzzled. If you were baptized at a church of Christ because you realized you need to obey the Lord and you realized the church\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20600,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/your-article-on-the-rapture-really-helped-me-out\/","url_meta":{"origin":92779,"position":3},"title":"Your article on the rapture really helped me out","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 22, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Just wanted to say I enjoyed the\u00a0article on rapture, I'm a member of the church and have been having a discussion with a family member about the rapture. I found your article and it really helped me out! Answer: I'm glad it helped and I hope you find the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67110,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-the-churches-of-christ-the-only-correct-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":92779,"position":4},"title":"Are the churches of Christ the only correct church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 19, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi Jeffery, In the article \"Wasn't Babel the city of Eridu?\" you mentioned, \"You will not find any claim that the churches of Christ are the only correct church on this site.\" Do you no longer believe in the one true church? I understand that not every church with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29889,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-proper-for-a-church-to-give-gifts\/","url_meta":{"origin":92779,"position":5},"title":"Is it proper for a church to give gifts?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Please, I would like to ask the following questions: Is it scriptural for the church to organize a send-forth program for its outgoing preacher, elder, or faithful member who is relocating? The program typically involves citation, extolling of virtues, prayers, and presentation of gifts purchased by both the church\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92779","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=92779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92779\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}