Are the churches of Christ the
Only
Right church?
The churches of Christ Greet You (Romans 16:16)
From time to time someone will say, "The churches
of
Christ think they are the only ones who are right."
Here is our position and the plain truth of the
matter: The
Bible is right; not sometimes, but all of the time! In order for
us or
anyone to be right we must be in harmony with the Bible. We believe
that any
departure from Biblical teaching is wrong (2 John 9‑11).
The idea is not that we are right and everyone
else
is wrong,
but that the Bible is RIGHT and anyone out of harmony with
it is WRONG.
We plead with people to believe the Bible, teach the Bible, and
practice
those things in the Bible without adding or subtracting anything (Rev.
22:18‑19).
The Bible has never been wrong. The Bible is
right, even if
not one person in the whole world believes it. If no one lives up to
its teaching ‑ the
Bible is still right. Every person who differs from the Bible is WRONG.
Our plea has never been "Everyone join us," but
has always been, "Let us all unite upon the teachings of our Lord."
We CAN see the Bible alike! It is possible for all men to speak the
same thing
when it comes to saying what the Bible says. Listen to the inspired
words that
were written to a divided congregation in the city of Corinth:
"Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of
our
Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be
no
divisions among you: but that ye be perfectly joined together in the
same mind
and in the same judgment" (I Cor. 1:10).
It is possible to do what this verse teaches, but
it will
require discarding of all denominational doctrines and names. This must
sound extremely
strange to the ears of some, but denominational doctrines are what
divide
us. The Lord says, "No divisions among you."
Speaking the same thing will require saying only
what the
Bible says on all subjects. Religious conferences cannot vote and
allow, for
example, women to preach to audiences of men and still be right. The
Lord
decided against such a long time ago (Read 1 Cor. 14:34‑35; Titus 2:15;
1 Tim.
2:10‑15).
We must go back to the Bible as our only
guide in religion.