To the Utmost, Jesus Saves!

" Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)" Eph 2:5

" For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:" Eph 2:8

"And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee." Luke 18:42

" Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." Hebrews 7:25


A couple of nights ago my brother Brandon called me and put me on three-way with Frankie (not her real name) a young woman with whom he has classes at Philadelphia Community College. He recently went to a Bible Study with this woman to her church which belongs to the Churches of Christ, a group of non-denominational autonomous churches sprung from the Restoration Movement. My brother sat in this Bible study listening to her Pastor as he was teaching on the fallacies of a tithing in a "New Testament Church".

Though my brother conceded the Pastor had some valid Scriptural points concerning the matter, what Brandon heard out the pastor's mouth shocked him enough to call me. The Pastor told his congregation that those professed Christians in other denominations i.e. Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, Presbyterians, and so forth were baptized into their respective "doctrines" and not according to Scripture, therefore are not saved.

Being saved in a Baptist church, I went to Creeds.net and pulled up the New Hampshire Baptist Confession of 1833, and read to the woman what we Baptists confess about Christian faith. One by one, I would read the articles on the Scriptures, God, Man, a Gospel Church, and so forth, Brandon would stop and asked Frankie if she agreed with these statements of confession, or if they were Scriptural. She paused and said she would have to think about it.

Then Frankie said she has to call her "brother". She put him on three-way and the man whose name I could not recall entered into the increasingly volatile conversation. He started by "testifying" that he was raised in the "Baptist organization" and was very "religious" that his parents are ordained ministers in the Baptist organization, and he was on his way to ordination in the organization until someone from the Church of Christ argued from the Scriptures that he and others in denominations were not apart of the true Church of Christ. His argument that there is no such thing as a Baptist Church but only the Churches of Christ (Romans 16:16). Anybody else does not belong to Christ.

I asked him when the Churches of Christ began, he said on the day of Pentecost. His words etched in me that I knew this wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation. He got his Bible and started saying that tithing is not for the New Testament Church (as opposed to the Old Testament Church), the Lord's Supper was supposed to be done in the evening because it was a supper, and that the Lord's Blood (wine) was to be drinking from one cup, not many. Anyone who does not practice obey what the apostles taught concerning the ordinances, is not a true Church of Christ.

Now here is the coup de grace, the man said that water baptism is necessary for salvation. His proof-text were Mark 16:16 and Acts 2:38. If persons do not receive water baptism by immersion for the repentance are not saved. Brandon counterpointed that we are saved by faith not by works. The man contended by using the James passage to mean that good works (obedience) is the sign of faith and if anyone does not obey the apostolic doctrine (on baptism, tithing, Lord's Supper) is not Christ's.

I couldn't bear talking to them much longer after I was getting a little heated on the phone. I hung up and a minute later Brandon called me. I was broken close to tears. How could they be Christians and not discern the Spirit in us? How could they just immediately dismiss us as unredeemed because were baptized believers in the Baptist Church? I guess they were right and wrong about one thing, we are baptized into the Body of Christ (Church)... by the Spirit! (1 Corinthians 12:13)

I told my brother it is a dangerous thing to mess with a person's soul. These people are deceived and deceiving others into their aberrant doctrine. Apparently this man has joined a group which has shunned denominationalism to the point of rejecting all Christians in these denominations and joined a perverted form of anti-denominationalism. Now I know that the not all in the Churches of Christ would believe like this Pastor and his followers believe, but there is no doctrinal accountability or common confession or creed in this network of churches because they profess to "have no "man-made" creed but the Bible". It is unfortunate because this statement is a "man-made" creed. Baptists, who would be considered a Restorationist church, have confessions or statements of faith which like-minded Baptist churches join to form conventions or fellowships.

The Scriptures are clear concerning anyones salvation. Romans 10:917 says,

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Did Abraham's good works save him? The apostle Paul says in Romans 4:1-5,

What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath [whereof] to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Abraham obeyed God because he trusted in God, not the other way around. Abraham obeyed God when God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on Mt. Moriah because Abraham trust in the Lord who was able to raise Isaac from the dead (Hebrews 11:8-19).

Our salvation rest in One, the Lord Jesus Christ. These two people and many others have a nonsensical way of interpreting Scripture. It's like I said before and will say until the day I die, even Satan can quote Bible to prove his point, but he's the father of lies! One person can interpret the Scripture apart from the Church throughout all ages. The apostle John said that we the Church have anointing of the Holy One and we know all things (1 John 2:20). Every spirit, human or nonhuman must be tried (1 John 4:1).

The next day my brother called me and said to me that he will not talk to Frankie anymore. He told her in class that he could not talk to her anyone because it really hurt him and me that a self-professed Christian told us we were not saved, even if we confess the Lord Jesus and follow Him outside of the Churches of Christ (which to them it is virtually impossible to do).

This was a hard trial but a blessing. It really urges me to search the Scriptures daily and hear the testimony of the all-sufficient Savior. I serve a mighty God who is able to take stones and raise up children unto Abraham (Matthew 3:9, Luke 3:8). I'm glad my brother, my and my family, are among these stones.

Blessings.