The following is a response to an article published widely within and throughout the Baptist community. I am not a preacher, nor am I a scholar, but I feel I cannot simply ignore comments like these that is available for anyone to read online, so I respond in my own non-scholarly way. Note: for an article about the comments concening the conclusion of this author that the Church of Christ is a CULT read response Here.

COMMON SENSE QUESTIONS A "CHURCH OF CHRIST" PREACHER CANNOT CLEARLY ANSWER

by Pastor David Martin - Solid Rock Baptist Church - Bartlett, Tennessee

The religious sect known as the "Church of Christ" has many peculiar and aberrant doctrines that are contrary to the word of God. It is a most deceptive and dangerous cult. Their teaching of baptismal regeneration is an age-old heresy that has damned millions to hell, and is still doing so today. The idea that they are the one, true and restored church of Jesus Christ puts them in the same league with the Mormon and Roman Catholic churches.

If you are a member of this "church" or have been influenced by its teachings, we challenge you to ask your preacher the questions that follow, then get your King James Bible out, open it up, and ask the Holy Spirit to show you the TRUTH (John 16:13). If you have never been saved in the Bible sense, for heaven's sake, do not mistake being "washed in the baptistry of the church" for being washed in the blood of Christ.

If you ask one of these "preachers" any of the questions in this tract, you won't get a straight answer due to their "screwball" theology. You'll have them in "hot water," "swimming in circles," trying to explain their heretical positions. They'll be "hopping all over the pond" because they can't stay too long in one spot without sinking in the mire of their false doctrines.

Don't YOU wind up being baptized in the "Lake of Fire" by accepting a "waterworks" based plan of salvation and rejecting salvation by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ. (Matt. 3:11; Rev. 20:15; Eph. 2:8,9; Rom. 5:9; Rom. 11:6).

Here are Questions for Campbellites:

1. According to the history of the "Church of Christ," God used certain men to "restore" the New Testament Church in the early 1800's. Where was the true New Testament church before then? Jesus said that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church (Matthew 16:18). What happened to the church and where was the truth it was responsible for preaching before God restored it?

A. This question can be answered by Baptists as well. What happened to the church for the first 300 years until the reformation? Where was the true Church before then? Charles H. Spurgeon sates the following: “We believe that the Baptists are the original Christians. We did not commence our existence at the reformation, we were reformers before Luther and Calvin were born; we never came from the Church of Rome, for we were never in it, but we have an unbroken line up to the apostles themselves. We have always existed from the days of Christ, and our principles, sometimes veiled and forgotten, like a river which may travel under ground for a little season, have always had honest and holy adherents.” I think that we can both agree that Christians have existed since the beginning, and many have turned away to apostasy along the way

2. If a "Church of Christ" elder refuses to baptize me, will I be lost until I can find one who will? Do I need Jesus AND a Campebllite "preacher" in order to be saved? If I do, then Jesus Christ is not the only Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5) and the Holy Spirit is not the only Administrator (1 Cor. 12:13) of salvation - the "Church of Christ" preacher is necessary to salvation for he is performing a saving act on me when he baptizes me! Is this not blasphemy against Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost?

A. No, you do not need an elder or a preacher to baptize you. In all instances of baptism in the New Testament it does not stipulate the method of baptism. In Acts 2 when Peter preaches the first Gospel sermon he preached the death, burial and resurrection of Chirst (v 22-35). When the audience responded to this teaching by asking, "What shall we do?" (v 37) what was Peter’s response? It was not: "Accept Jesus as your personal savior" . . . "Ask Jesus to come into your heart" . . . "Pray the sinner's prayer" . . ."You can't do anything because that would be earning salvation" . . . "You obviously believe what I have preached, and thus you are now saved based solely upon faith alone." No he said, ”Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

3. If the water pipes broke and the baptistery was bone dry, would my salvation have to wait until the plumber showed up? If I were to die before then, would I go to hell? If obedience to water baptism is the means of forgiveness of sins, then I would.

A. This is a very hard question, and one I would revise a put to you. If I were to hear the gospel and begin to understand the truth of it, but die before I am able to make any conscious decision, say the Sinners Prayer or Repent of my sins, will I go to hell? Who know what my intentions are except God, in both instances. We will neither of us find a scripture that will support our belief that any intention before death is what will provide us salvation prior to death.

4. If my past sins are forgiven when I am baptized in water, and it is possible for me to "lose my salvation" and go to hell after being baptized, then wouldn't my best chance of going to heaven be to drown in the baptistery?!! - before I had a chance to sin so as to be lost again? If I wanted to be absolutely sure of heaven, isn't that my best opportunity?

A. First to answer this absolutely ridiculous question we have to assume that we cannot do something that will cause us to loose our promise of eternal life once we are saved. If that is you premise read and understand the following scriptures.

Matthew 10:22: "...he that endureth to the end shall be saved."

John 15:6: "If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up , thrown into the fire and burned."

1 Corinthians 15-2: "By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain."

Galatians 6:8-9: "The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in going good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

2 Timothy 2:12: "If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us."

Hebrews 6:4-6: "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come. If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the son of God afresh and put him to an open shame."

5. If as a Christian I can sin so as to "lose my salvation," just what sin or sins will place me in such danger? Is it possible to know at what point one has committed such a sin, and become lost again? Please be specific and give clear Bible references.

A.

Matthew 12:31-32

Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

Mark 3:29

But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.

Luke 12:10

But unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.

6. If as a Christian I can fall and "lose my salvation," is it possible to regain it? If so, how? If God "takes away" my salvation, doesn't that make Him an "Indian giver"? How could I ever know for sure that I was saved or lost?

A. No, an unforgivable sin is unforgivable. You make the decision to Question God.

7. After becoming a Christian, are there any sins that will put me beyond the "point of no return" so that I cannot regain salvation? What sin or sins will put me in such jeopardy, so that, after becoming a Christian, I would be doomed to hell without any recourse? Please be specific and give me clear Bible references.

A. Please see the answer to Question 5.

8. If I committed some sin -whether in thought, word, or deed, one minute before a fatal car crash - would I go to hell if I did not have time to repent of it? And, please, don't just say that it's up to God without giving me a specific Bible reference.

A. Romans 2: 5-12

“But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;”

9. Why does the "Church of Christ" insist that their name is scriptural when it cannot be found anywhere in the Bible? The church is referred to as the "church of God" eight (8) times in the Bible, but never is it called the "church of Christ." The verse they use is Romans 16:16, but it doesn't say "church of Christ." Where does the Bible call the church the "church of Christ"?

A. This question is the most ridiculous yet! The plural of church is churches. How nitpicky can we become.

10. If the "Church of Christ" claims to worship God only as "authorized" by scripture because they sing only (and do not use instrumental music), then where do they get the "authority" to use hymnals, pitchpipes, pews, and indoor baptistries in their worship services? If the answer is that they are "aids to worship," where does the Bible allow for that? Where is your required authorization? If a pitchpipe can be an "aid to worship" for the song service in the "Church of Christ," then why can't a piano be an "aid to worship" for Baptists who may need more help in singing?

A. I could add to the list, Overhead Projectors, Powerpoint, The PA system, recording devices, Charts, graphs and potted plants. These my be classified along with your list as “Aids to Worship” but they are not used directly as part of the worship by all of those worshiping as a musical instrument does. There is no singing being done by a guitar or drums.

11. The "Church of Christ" teaches that a sinner is forgiven of sin when he is baptized in water by a Campbellite elder. Where does the Bible teach that water baptism is required in order to have one's sins forgiven? Every time the phrase "for the remission of sins" occurs it is speaking of the fact that sins have been forgiven previously! The Bible plainly teaches that the forgiveness of sins is conditioned upon repentance of sin and faith in Christ - never upon water baptism! (Matthew 3:11; Luke 24:47; Acts 3:19; Acts 5:31; Acts 10:43; Acts 20:21; Romans 1:16; Romans 4:5; et.al.) Where does the Bible teach that forgiveness of sin is linked with water baptism? When Christ made the statement in Matthew 26:28, "for the remission of sins," it had to be because they had been forgiven all through the Old Testament! Christ shed His blood because God forgave repentant and believing sinners for thousands of years before the Son of God came to "take away" sins and to redeem us and pay the sin-debt with His own precious blood. How can one say that "for the remission of sins" means 'in order to obtain' in light of the fact that God never uses the phrase in that sense? In the Old Testament God forgave sin on the basis of a blood sacrifice (Heb. 9:22) - the Old Testament saints had their sins remitted (i.e., forgiven) but they were not redeemed until Christ came and shed His blood at Calvary. Their sins were covered (Romans 4:7; Psalm 32:1), but the sinner was not cleared of his guilt (Exodus 34:7) until the Cross (Heb.10:4). Before Calvary, the sins of believers were pardoned, but they were not paid for (i.e., redeemed) until the crucifixion (see Romans 3:25 and Heb. 9:12-15). When Jesus said, "It is finished," (John 19:30), all sin - past, present and future - was paid for, and the plan of salvation was completed, so that 'whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins' (Acts 10:43). In Acts 2:38, the people were baptized because their sins were forgiven (at Calvary when Jesus said, "Father, forgive them,") and they received the blessing of forgiveness when they repented of their sin of rejecting Christ and accepted Him as their Saviour and Lord. Friend, heaven or hell depends on what you believe about this.

A. In Acts 8:5-13, Philip was preaching in Samaria. Verse 5 says he "preached Christ unto them." Verse 12 says he preached "the things concerning the kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ." What was the response of the people? They believed and were baptized (vs12-13). Now, where in the text does it say Philip preached baptism? Nowhere! Thus, it is logical and right to conclude that preaching Jesus and His kingdom includes preaching about baptism nor anything about the content of what was preached, else the Samaritans (including Simon) would not have known how to respond to Philip's preaching.

In that same chapter (Acts 8), Philip was called away from Samaria to preach to the Ethiopian nobleman (eunuch). In verses 30-33, we see this man is reading from the book of Isaiah, chapter 53. Upon inquiring of Philip about whom the scriptures were speaking, "Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus" (v 35).

What was the response to this preaching about Jesus? Verse 36 provides the answer: "Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" Now, where in the text does it say Philip preached to him about baptism? Again . . . nowhere! Therefore, we logically and rightly conclude that preaching about Jesus necessarily includes preaching about baptism.

12. If salvation is not by works of righteousness which we have done, and baptism is a work of "righteousness," then how can water baptism be a part of salvation? (Titus 3:5; Matt. 3:16) In the Bible, we are SAVED BY GRACE, and grace does not involve human effort or merit - grace is grace and work is work! (Just read Ephesians 2:8,9 and Romans 11:6.)

A. In Mark 16:16 - "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." He that believeth what? The preached Gospel of Mark 16:15. The proper response to the preaching of the Gospel is to believe and be baptized in order to be saved. According to Jesus, preaching the Gospel includes preaching about baptism, else how would one know to be baptized as seen in verse 16?

13. The "Church of Christ" teaches that "obeying the Gospel" includes being baptized in water in order to be saved. If this is true, then how is it that the converts of Acts 10 were saved by faith before and without water baptism? The Bible says in Acts 5:32 that only those who obey God may receive the Holy Ghost - so what did those in Acts 10 do to obey and receive the Holy Ghost and be saved? In the light of Acts 10:34-48, Acts 11:14-18, and Acts 15:7-11, how can anyone honestly believe that water baptism is necessary to salvation? Simon Peter said their hearts were "purified by faith" (Acts 15:9) and that we are saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ like they were (Acts 15:11); that is, before and without water baptism! We know that unsaved people do not receive or have the Holy Spirit (John 14:17; Romans 8:9). We know that the Holy Spirit is given only to those who have believed on Christ (John 7:39). We know that the Holy Spirit seals the believing sinner the moment he puts his faith and trust in Christ as Savior, before he is ever baptized in water (Ephesians 1:12,13).

A. It is clear the message of Acts 10 is not how to obtain salvation, but God giving a clear example that the salvation of Christ was not just for the Jews as all of the Apostles up to this point believed, but for all including the Gentiles. The gift of the Holy Spirit was a sign to all who read the bible that all will be saved through Jesus’ sacrifice, not just the Jews. They received the Holy Spirit even before they were taught ("...as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them..." Acts 11:15). They did not have faith in the Gospel Message until they heard the Gospel. If speaking in a tongue is evidence that one is saved, then I suppose we ought to conclude that Balaam's donkey was a Christian (Numbers 22:28, 30).

But even in this example after hearing the words of Jesus, did not Peter command them to be baptized. How much more clear can the importance of Baptism be seen, but in these passages!