{"id":96865,"date":"2026-07-22T18:40:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T23:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=96865"},"modified":"2026-07-22T18:40:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T23:40:49","slug":"the-church-that-isnt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-church-that-isnt\/","title":{"rendered":"The Church That Isn’t"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\tby Steve Dewhirst
\nvia\u00a0Sentry Magazine<\/em>, Vol. 21 No. 4, December 1995\n

Language is our best friend and worst enemy. On the one hand, it’s flexible and accommodative, allowing the conveyance of a concept without being overly technical. Yet it’s this very ease of loose language that finally blurs the same concept. After years of assuming, “You know what I mean,” people often don’t know, and the speaker himself may have forgotten. Consider how speech has gradually shaped our thinking about the church:<\/p>\n

“My grandmother grew up Church of Christ.”<\/h2>\n

This statement has two clear problems. First, it speaks of the Church of Christ in a denominational sense like, “She grew up Presbyterian,” etc. Since there exists no Church of Christ denomination, it would be impossible to grow up therein. Secondly, one doesn’t simply “grow up” a Christian. Discipleship can only come by personal study, conviction, and commitment (cf. John 6:44-45; Hebrews 8:11).<\/p>\n

”You only accept Church of Christ baptism”<\/h2>\n

We’d best not accept any church’s baptism! Since truth is divinely revealed, churches have no right to standardize any doctrine; scripture alone is sufficient. The only baptism that matters is found on the pages of the Bible. And remember, the church, as a universal body under human oversight, doesn’t exist.<\/p>\n

“What does the Church of Christ teach about. . .”<\/h2>\n

Without an official Church of Christ entity, there can be no “church teaching” on any subject.<\/p>\n

“What is the work of the church?”<\/h2>\n

This question must be more specific. If one means a local church, the answer is found in the New Testament. But if he means the church universal, it’s an altogether improper query. The universal body of Christ can only “work” as individual saints pursue the things of God. It has no collective work, and no organizational mechanism for accomplishing such.<\/p>\n

“Will the Church of Christ accept my marriage?”<\/h2>\n

Again, the church as a denomination is only the figment of imaginative sectarians. The real concern should be whether the local fellowship of Christians believes the marriage conforms to Bible teaching.<\/p>\n

“The Church of Christ is comprised of all her congregations.”<\/h2>\n

Welcome to the world of sectarianism. The church universal, all the saved of all ages, is comprised of individual saints, not congregations. The Lord adds only the saved to His body, and makes the determination of one’s spiritual condition with the infinite judgment of Deity. Local churches, on the other hand, may inadvertently accept some the Lord rejects, despite the best of intentions. To equate an imperfect local church with the spiritual Zion is presumptuous.<\/p>\n

“We are reconciled to God in the church.”<\/h2>\n

Careful. Ephesians 2:16 says both Jews and Gentiles are reconciled to God by the cross. The rightful place of the redeemed is the one body, but the church is nowhere portrayed as the vehicle of that reconciliation. Our place in the body of Christ is not the cause of our salvation, but the result.<\/p>\n

“One must be a member of the Church of Christ to be saved.”<\/h2>\n

If one is saved, he is already a part of that great body of the redeemed; to be saved and to belong in Christ’s church are synonymous concepts. But we really mean he must also belong to a local church family. Without question, that’s God’s design for His children, and to reject His design is sinful. However, are we prepared to say that saints in difficult places like China, where Christians may be completely isolated from one another, cannot be saved because they don’t “go to church” on Sunday? Remember, the basis for salvation is our vertical relationship with God; the horizontal relationship we enjoy with other disciples, while intended to aid the vertical, is not the criterion for eternal redemption. Local churches do not dispense salvation.<\/p>\n

“The name ‘Church of Christ’ distinguishes us from the denominations.”<\/h2>\n

Really? Actually, that name distinguishes us from no one. First, it cannot distinguish us from man-made sects when people believe that’s what we are. Second, the name cannot even distinguish us from those brethren with whom we disagree.<\/p>\n