Courtland  Church of Christ

Why don’t you teach that we are saved by faith alone?

 

Are We Saved By Faith Only?

     Today the vast majority of the religious world says that they are saved by "faith only".  Many good people erroneously think they are saved when they "accept Jesus as their personal saviour" and say the "sinner’s prayer".  But where in the Bible are we told this?  It is not there.  This may sound good and impressive, but this is false.  This is a lie of Satan.  This is something man has dreamed up.  Then two or three weeks later many churches encourage people to be baptized to join that denomination.  They say that one does not have to be baptized to be saved because they say you are saved before you are baptized.  I cannot think of a more flagrant crime against both God and Man than to teach lost sinners, who want to be saved something different than what God says in the Bible.

     In this case if they are eventually baptized, their sins are not forgiven and they are not saved because their baptism was not for this purpose.  They still have every sin they have ever committed and are still lost because they have believed a lie.  As we read in 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12, "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth."

     "Faith only" will not save anyone.  In James 2:19 & 24 we read, "You believe that there is one God.  You do well.  Even the devils believe and tremble….You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only."  If all we do is believe, then we are no better than the devils.  We must obey what God says to do, when God says to do it, how God says to do it, and for the reason God says to do it.

     Jesus says in Mark 16:16, "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved".  There is nothing hard to understand about this.  A person has to have help to misunderstand what the Lord says here.  Until people do what Jesus says that one must do to be saved then they are still hopelessly lost.

 

 

Why do you believe you have to be baptized to be saved?

 

The Baptism Of The Bible

     There is much disagreement today between what many people say and what the Bible says about baptism.  Baptism as commanded in the Bible is a believer’s immersion in water for the remission of sins so he can be saved and go to Heaven.

     One must first be a believer to be baptized. Infants and small children have no sin and no need to be baptized.  In Acts 8:36-37 it was asked, "What hinders me from being baptized?  Then Philip said, If you believe with all your heart you may".  Infants and small children cannot believe and are not subjects for baptism.  If one was baptized as an infant it did him no good.  When he becomes accountable he becomes lost.  Infant baptism is another ploy of Satan to cause people to be lost.

     Baptism is immersion, which is a burial in water.  Romans 6:4 says, "Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death".  The original Greek word which is translated baptize is BAPTIZO and only means to dip, submerge, or immerse.  It does not mean to sprinkle or pour.  If God wanted people to be sprinkled He would have used the Greek word RHANTIZO in His inspired word or if He wanted people poured He would have used the Greek word KATACHEO, but He didn’t.  The Bible says, "Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there" (John 3:23).  Here we see that the baptism required by the Bible requires much water.  Sprinkling or pouring require very little water, thus they are not the baptism required by the Bible.  If one is sprinkled or poured, he has not been baptized and has every sin he has ever committed and is still lost.

     Most of the denominational world laughs at God’s word when it says that baptism is for the remission of one’s sins so he can be saved and go to Heaven.  But God’s word says to "Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38).  And Jesus says, "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16).  When people say that baptism is not for the remission of sins and not necessary for salvation, they are contradicting what God says to their own eternal destruction.  Baptism is a command of God.  Acts 10:48 says, "And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord."

     Baptism is the new birth of a Christian.  "Jesus answered, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:5).  Romans 6:4 says, "Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in newness of life".  At baptism one is born again and becomes a child of God (Galatians 3:26-27) as he begins to "walk in newness of life" when he is raised up out of the waters of baptism.

     It is only by the grace of God that one is saved (Ephesians 2:8).  One can never do enough to earn his salvation.  Salvation is a free gift of God.  But God has chosen to use baptism to wash away all of our sins so He can give us that free gift.  God’s word says, "And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins" (Acts 22:16).  Jesus is only "the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him" (Hebrews 5:9).  There will be no unsaved people in Heaven.

     It is Jesus "who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood" (Revelation 1:5).  God’s word tells us how we come into contact with the cleansing blood of Jesus which was shed in His death on the cross so we our sins can be washed away.  Romans 6:3 says, "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death".  Since Jesus shed His blood in His death, when one is baptized into Jesus’ death he comes into contact with His cleansing blood and all of his past sins are washed away.  Also this verse tells us how we get into Christ by being "baptized into Christ".  Baptism is the only way to get into Christ where "all spiritual blessings" (Ephesians 1:3), "redemption" and "forgiveness of sins" (Ephesians 1:7), "salvation" (2 Timothy 2:10), and "eternal life" (1 John 5:11) are located.  Those who have not been baptized into Christ have none of these blessings and are still lost.  One has to have help to misunderstand what the Bible says about baptism, and Satan supplies that help.

     Satan doesn’t care how much truth of God’s word people accept as long as it is not enough to save them.  It is all right with Satan if people "accept Jesus as their personal Saviour" as long as they are not baptized (immersed, Romans 6:4) for the forgiveness of their sins (Acts 2:38) so they can be saved (Mark 16:16).  Satan knows that people are still lost until they are baptized for the forgiveness of their sins.  Satan uses "accepting Jesus as your personal Saviour" to give people a false hope of salvation.  Many people after they "accept Jesus as their personal Saviour" are usually baptized later to join that particular denomination, but not for the forgiveness of their sins so they can be saved because they think they are already saved.  Since their baptism was not for the forgiveness of their sins in order to be saved, they still have every sin they have ever committed and are still lost.  They have not done what God says, the way God says and for the reason God says for one to be saved.  Satan has just won another soul to be with him in the eternal torments of Hell.

     Revelation 20:15 says, "And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire."  Is your name in the Book of Life?  Are you sure?  This is something about which you cannot afford to be wrong.  There will be no second chances.   If one is lost in the eternal fires of Hell, he will only have himself to blame.

 

Why don’t you believe in the “sinner’s prayer”?

 

The Sinner’s Prayer?

     Today many people espouse the false doctrine, that in order to be saved, one must "accept Jesus as your personal Saviour" and say "the sinners prayer".  But where in the Bible is this found?  This teaching contradicts the Bible’s clear instruction as to what an alien sinner must do to obtain forgiveness and salvation.  Nowhere in the New Testament is the alien sinner ever authorized to ask Jesus to come into his heart and to pray for forgiveness in order to be saved.  I have yet to find anyone who can provide even one biblical reference to substantiate this false claim.  Many good honest people have been deluded by this false doctrine.  Today just as it was in the apostle Paul’s day, "there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ" (Galatians 1:7).

     If it cannot be found anywhere in God’s word, then from where did it come?  Man has devised his own scheme of redemption with the help of Satan.  Satan knows if he can fool people into believing his lie, they will still be lost and will be keeping him company in the burning fires of Hell.  "And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation20:15).  We must be obedient to God’s plan of salvation, not one that man has "dreamed up".  "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death" (Proverbs 14:12).  Jesus says, "And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Mark 7:7).  It is vain to follow the commandments of men, which will cause one to be lost.

     Usually "the sinner’s prayer" goes something like this: "Lord Jesus, I need You.  Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins.  I open the door of my life and receive You as my personal Saviour.  Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life.  Take control of my life. Amen".  This may sound impressive, but it is foolish for an alien sinner to ask Jesus to come into his heart and to say "the sinner’s prayer" in order to be saved.  God will not respond to such a request.

     God’s salvation is accomplished by obedience.  Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven." (Matthew 7:21).  Just calling Jesus our Lord will not get us into heaven, but we must do the will of the Father to go there.  Saying "the sinner’s prayer" to be saved will not save us because it is not according to God's will.  Jesus goes on to say, "Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?  And then I will declare to them, I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matthew 7:22-23).  These people were believers in Christ.  They called Him their Lord.  They apparently had "accepted Jesus as their personal Saviour".  But they were eternally lost because they hadn’t done the will of the Father, but their own will.  Such a tragedy!

     People may be sincere in their beliefs, but if what they believe is not in harmony with God’s will, they will be lost.  "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Colossians 3:17), that is by His authority.  But saying the sinner’s prayer to be saved is not by the Lord’s authority.  The Bible says forgiveness and salvation is only in Christ.  "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins" (Ephesians 1:7).  Paul says, "Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 2:10).  How does one get into Christ where he can be forgiven and be saved?  Galatians 3:27 says, "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ Jesus have put on Christ."  The Bible’s instructions are quite clear.

     We read concerning Jesus, "And being perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him" (Hebrews 5:9).  Jesus is only going to save those who obey Him.  What does Jesus say we must do to be saved?  Jesus says, "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16).  A person needs help to misunderstand this.  He does not say, he that believes and says "the sinner’s prayer" shall be saved.

     Because people do not believe and accept the truth of God’s word, many people will believe a lie that is going to cause them to be eternally condemned.  "And for this reason God will send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth" (2 Thessalonians 2:12-13).

     God says those who will not listen to Him concerning their salvation, "Then they will call on Me, but I will not answer; they will seek Me diligently, but they will not find Me.  Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would have none of My counsel" (Proverbs1:28-29).  If people will not listen to God’s counsel, particularly concerning their salvation, He will not have anything to do with them and they will end up being eternally lost.

     "The sinner’s prayer" is man’s substitute for God’s requirement of being baptized for the forgiveness of our sins.  God’s word says, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38), and "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16).  But man says to "accept Jesus as your personal Saviour" and say "the sinner’s prayer" for the forgiveness of your sins and you will be saved.  I cannot think of a more flagrant crime against both God and man than to teach lost sinners, who want to be saved, something different than what God says in the Bible.

     On the Day of Judgment people will find out too late that their substitute did not work when they are condemned to the eternal fires of Hell, "those who did not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.  These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power" (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9).  If a person is lost in Hell, he will only have himself to blame.

     

What about the thief on the cross, wasn’t he saved without baptism?

 

The Thief On The Cross

     The sad thing is that there are many people today who try to use "the thief on the cross" as their justification for not obeying the clear and plain command of Jesus to be baptized.  On the Day of Judgment it will not be the case of "what about the thief on the cross".  The thief on the cross was before the death of Christ and before the New Testament took effect.  Hebrews 9:17 says, "For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives."  We cannot be saved like the thief because Christ’s New Testament is in effect for us today.  Anyone refusing to obey Jesus on His terms has no legitimate claim on the salvation that Jesus offers.  One will certainly be held accountable for his disobedience by the eternal loss of his soul.  He will only have himself to blame.

     People need to stop spending their time in trying to figure out a way to get around doing what the Lord said, but rather they need be willing to submit to the final authority of our Lord.  When we stand before the Lord on the day of judgment to be judged by Him, there are going to be many who have chosen not to do what the Lord has said.  Romans 10:3 tells us that people are "Seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God."

     Jesus said in Mark 16:16, "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved."  How are people going to explain to Jesus on the Day of Judgment why they did not do what He says and for the reason He says?  The New Testament of Christ requires us to be baptized for the remission of our sins (Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16) so that we can be saved (Mark 16:16, 1 Peter 3:21).  It did not take effect until after the death of Christ.  The thief did not come under the New Testament as we do today.  It will be too late on Judgment Day to find out that one hasn’t obeyed the Lord and is still lost.

 

 

Why don’t you believe in “once saved, always saved”?

 

Once Saved Always Saved?

     There are those who say that "once you are saved you are always saved".  They say that it is impossible to fall from God’s grace regardless of what you do.  This may sound good and comforting, but let’s see what the Bible says.  In 1 Corinthians 9:27 the apostle Paul says, "But I buffet my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."  Paul said that it was possible for him to become a castaway.  If Paul became a castaway he would be lost.

     In 1 Corinthians 10:12 Paul gives a warning to the Christians at Corinth by saying, "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall."  Why such a warning if it is impossible to fall?  So the very people, who think they cannot fall, are given a warning to take heed lest they fall.

     In Galatians 5:4 we read, "You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by the law; you have fallen from grace."  Isn't it strange, that people who say they believe the Bible also say that we cannot fall from grace, when the Bible so plainly says that we can fall from grace.  Who are we to believe, God or man?  Even though many religious bodies say that you cannot fall from grace, the Bible clearly says that people can fall from grace.  And without God’s grace we cannot be saved.

     The doctrine of "once saved always saved" and that you cannot fall from God’s grace and be lost is a doctrine that originated with Satan.  Satan wants people to believe that they cannot fall from grace and be lost.  In Genesis 2:17 God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the day they ate of it they would surely die.  But in Genesis 3:4 Satan told Eve, "You will not surely die".  Satan only added the word "not" to what God had said.  Just as Satan told a lie to Eve, Satan is still deceiving people today by telling them they can Not fall from grace and once they are saved, they are always saved.  He is trying to lull people into complacency.  This is one of the many ways that Satan deceives people so they will be eternally lost.  But 2 Peter 1:10 says, "be even more diligent to make your call and election sure."

     God's promises are conditional upon our doing His will.  Jesus says in Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven."  And also Hebrews 5:9 says concerning Jesus that "He became the author of eternal salvation to all whoobey Him." 

 

 

Why don’t you use instrumental music in your worship?

 

Our Singing In Worship

    Jesus says in John 4:24, "God is spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."  Singing has a very definite place in worshipping God "in spirit and in truth".  God has commanded each one of us to sing in worship.  When people just sit through the worship service and never attempt to sing (unless they can't sing) they are not obeying God.  Or when people sit and listen to a choir sing they are not obeying God’s command to sing.  There is no Biblical authority for a choir in worship.  Congregational a cappella singing is the only kind of music divinely authorized by the Lord for Christian worship.

     In Colossians 3:16-17 we read, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus."  In verse 16 we are commanded to sing. In the very next verse we are told, "whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus."  Everything we do in religion is to be done "in the name of the Lord Jesus, which means by His authority.  We can certainly sing by the authority of the Lord.  But where would we go in the New Testament for authority for instrumental music in the worship?  It just isn’t there.

     In 1 Corinthians 14:15 we read, "I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the understanding also."  Not only does an instrument not have a heart, but it also does not have a spirit with which to understand.

     God has spoken in the New Testament concerning the kind of music we must use if we expect to worship Him "in spirit and in truth."  Singing is the limit of God’s command.  God nowhere in the New Testament authorized mechanical instruments of music to be used in worship of the church and to use it is a sin.  A lifeless mechanical instrument of music cannot worship.

In Ephesians 5:19 we read, "Speaking to yourselves in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord."  Also we read in Colossians 3:16, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching, and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."  Here we see in our singing, we are to speak, teach, and admonish one another.  This is what God expects us to do when we sing.

     But can a mechanical instrument of music speak, teach, or admonish as God wishes us to do when we sing?  No.  A mechanical instrument of music cannot accomplish anything God has commanded when we sing to Him in worship.  Here we see that when we sing, we are "to sing with grace in your hearts" and "make melody in your heart."  The melody God wants is to come from the human heart and not from lifeless mechanical musical instruments.

     Some people say, "I like instrumental music in worship".  It becomes: "I like it, I want it, and I am going to have it."  Their feelings take precedence over what God has authorized.  They are trusting in themselves.  In Proverbs 28:26 we read, "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool."

     We read in 2 John 9, "Whosoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God."  We can not use instrumental music by the doctrine or authority of Christ, because Christ has nowhere authorized it.  If we add mechanical instruments of music to the worship of God then we have added to God’s word.  In the closing words of the New Testament we are warned not to add to His word.  In Revelation 22:18, "If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book."

     If we follow only what God has authorized in our singing in worship, then the whole congregation will sing without mechanical instruments of music.  Only then can we be pleasing to God so we can go to Heaven.

 

 

It doesn’t really matter what you believe, does it?

 

Does It Really Matter What You Believe?

     Many people say that it doesn’t really matter what you believe as long as you are sincere.  But to believe this is to believe a lie of Satan.  If it doesn’t matter what you believe, then it doesn’t matter if you believe at all.  God’s word tells us "he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."  God’s word tells us we must believe in Him.  To believe in God is to believe and obey every word He has given us.

     If it doesn’t matter what you believe, are Hindus, Muslims, and others, who are so sincere that they will even die for their false beliefs, lost?  But Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).  The only way to God is through Jesus.  Jesus says, "For if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins" (John 8:24).  Hindus, Muslims, and other false religions do not believe in Jesus.  They have no real hope.  By not believing in Jesus, one will die in his sins and be lost in the burning fires of Hell.  So it does matter what you believe.

     What about the false beliefs of those who are in denominations?  The reason denominational people are so divided is they want to pick and choose what they want to believe, reject the parts of God’s word they do not like, and add the things they want.  Does it matter what they believe as long as they are sincere?  But what does God say about this?  "Because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.  And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth" (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12).

     People in the denominational world are going to be condemned because they do not believe and obey all the truth of God’s word.  Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven" (Matthew 7:21).  Just because people call Jesus their Lord does not mean they are going to be saved.  But people must believe and obey everything God says, in the way He says, how He says, when He says, and for the reason He says.  Many people who believe they are all right have not done this.  Jesus says, "Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?  And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matthew 7:22-23).  These people believed in Jesus and called them their Lord, but why are they lost?  They have not believed and done all "the will of My Father in heaven" (Matthew 7:21).  There will be many surprised but lost people on the Day of Judgment who thought that it doesn’t really matter what you believe as long as you are sincere, but they will be sincerely wrong.  If a person ends up in Hell fire because he believed a lie, he will only have himself to blame.

 

Isn't the church of Christ just another denomination?     The Lord’s Church

     "The Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:47).  Only those who are saved according to God’s instructions are in the Lord’s church.  But how many churches does the Lord have?  Jesus says in Matthew 16:18, "Upon this rock I will build My church."  The word "My" shows possession and that the church belongs to Jesus.  The word church is singular not plural.  The Lord only promised to build His one church.

     In Ephesians 4:4-6 we read, "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all, and in you all."  Just as there is only one God, there is only one body.  What is this one body?  In Ephesians 1:21-22 we find out what this one body is, "And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body."  Here we see that the Bible says the church is the body.  So the one body is the one church which belongs to the Lord.  One might as well believe in more than one God as to believe that the Lord has more than one church.

     Today we hear the sincere but mistaken plea to "attend the church of your choice."  Why not attend the church of God’s choice, the only one that Jesus "purchased with His own blood" (Acts 20:28).  Christ did not shed His blood to purchase any denomination.  The one church that Christ purchased with His own blood belongs to Him and the name it wears must honor Him.  We read in Romans 16:16, "The churches of Christ greet you."

     We read in Ephesians 5:23, "Christ is the head of the church, and he is the savior of the body."  Christ is only the saviour of His one body, His one church.  The Lord only adds the saved to His church (Acts 2:47).  In the Lord’s scheme of redemption, He has only planned to have one church.  He is only going to save His one true church.