Faith In Christ: Necessary But Insufficient...
The Church Of Christ is indispensable to the Salvation of man
IT IS COMMONLY believed today that the only thing a person needs to do to be saved is to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ and accept Him as Lord and personal Savior. The Bible does affirm that faith is important; however, it also teaches that faith is not enough. Man needs to become a member of the true Church for Christ to save him.
MEMBERSHIP IN THE CHURCH OF CHRIST
Is it true that membership in the Church of Christ is unnecessary for the attainment of salvation? In Apostle Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, this is what he wrote:
“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. ‘Expel the wicked man from among you’.”
(Reference: I Cor. 5:12- 13 New International Version, Emphasis Mine)
Apostle Paul taught that those outside the Church will be judged by God. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself explained what will happen to those outside the Church on His second coming. This is what the Bible says:
“When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out‘.”
(Reference: Lk. 13:25-28 New King James Version, Emphasis Mine)
Christ Himself declared through this parable that He will not save those outside the Church on His second coming. Because of this, what did He command people to do? He commanded them. to enter through the narrow gate or door (cf. Lk. 13:23-24). Anyone who would enter through the gate or door would be saved. Our Lord’s statement is recorded in John 10:9 which says:
“I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved.”
(Reference: NKJV, Emphasis Mine)
In the same verse of the Revised English Bible, Christ clarified that anyone who comes into the fold will be saved:
” I am the door; anyone who comes into the fold through me will be safe.”
(Reference: John 10:9 REV, Emphasis Mine)
Thus, those who entered in Christ join the fold or flock. Which is this flock being referred to? In Acts 20:28, we learn that this flock is the Church of Christ:
“Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, to feed the church of Christ which he has purchased with his blood.”
THE RECOGNIZED SAVIOR
However, some misunderstand us to be teaching that the Church is the Savior. This is without any basis at all. While the Iglesia Ni Cristo teaches that the Church is necessary for man’s salvation, it does not teach that the Church itself is the Savior. Rather, the Church of Christ recognizes Christ as the Savior and it is the Church that Christ will save (cf. Acts 13:23; Eph. 5:23). It is through Christ that the Church would gain God’s grace (cf. Rom. 5:1-2). Moreover, members of the Church of Christ need not just believe in Christ. Jesus Christ admonished His apostles, thus:
“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned’.”
(Reference: Mk. 16:15-16 NKJV, Emphasis Mine)
According to Christ, as could be gleaned from the passage, it is not enough that one believes. One must also be baptized into the one body.
“In the same way, all of us, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free, have been baptized into the one body by the same Spirit, and we have all been given the one Spirit to drink.”
(Reference: Rom. 5:8-9 Good News Translation, Emphasis Mine)
This one body is the Church of which our Lord Jesus Christ is the head (cf. Col. 1:18). By this, one joins the Church which Christ will save.
Believing or having faith alone in Christ is insufficient as Apostle James points out, thus:
“You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.”
(Reference: Js. 2:24 NKJV, Emphasis Mine)
Why can’t faith alone save man? Apostle James explained that faith by itself, that is, apart from works, is dead (cf. Js. 2:14, 17). He further taught that the kind of faith that should be possessed by man is faith made perfect through works (cf. Js. 2:22). What other teaching of the Bible must all people receive and consider? This is the answer of the Bible:
“For a husband has authority over his wife just as Christ has authority over the church; and Christ is himself the Savior of the church, his body.”
(Reference: Eph. 5:23 TEV, Emphasis Mine)
Christ is the Savior of His body, the Church―the Church of Christ. In order to be saved, one must be baptized into Christ’s body and his faith must be coupled with works.
WHY MEN NEED SALVATION
Why do all men need salvation? What are all men guilty of? Apostle Paul explained that, with the exception of Christ, all men have committed sin (cf. Rom. 5:12; I Pt. 2:21-22). How have they committed sin? The Bible reveals, thus:
“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”
(Reference: I Jn. 3:4 King James Version)
All men have committed sin through their disobedience to God’s laws or commandments. The deplorable consequence of this is that God considers sinners His enemies (cf. Col. 1:21). What is God’s judgment on sinners or His enemies? The Holy Scriptures explain, thus:
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Reference: Rom. 6:23 NKJV, Emphasis Mine)
The partial compensation for sin is the cessation of breath, depriving men of the continuing enjoyment of life on earth. But what is the complete payment for sin? Where shall the sinners pay fully for their sins? This is the answer of the Bible, thus:
“Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”
(Reference: Rev. 20:14 NKJV, Emphasis Mine)
The full payment for sin is in the lake of fire. This is the second death wherein the freedom of men and their power to do what they desire will cease. There is nothing of material value that can save man from punishment in the lake of fire. Not even silver nor gold shall be able to deliver man from the Lord’s wrath (cf. Zeph. 1:18). In his letter, Apostle Peter described the day of God’s wrath or Judgment Day:
“But the heavens and the earth which now exist are kept in store by the same word, reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”
(Reference: Rom. 5:8-9 Good News Translation, Emphasis Mine)
The day of Judgment will come at an unexpected hour. On that day, men who are under the condemnation of God because of their iniquities will not be answered in their supplications to Him.
GOD'S LOVE AND COMPASSION
How did God show His love and compassion to men who are subject to His wrath on Judgment Day? We learn of God’s love through what is written in the Book of Romans, thus:
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”
(Reference: Rom. 5:8-9 NKJV, Emphasis Mine)
Despite our being sinners, God demonstrated his love and compassion by allowing Christ to die for us. The importance of being justified by Christ’s blood is the forgiveness of sins and the receiving of the right to serve God (cf. Heb 9:14-15, 22). Only by this process can men find their way to God. But, as earlier underscored, only the body of Christ or the Church of Christ was redeemed by Christ’s blood (cf. Acts 20:28, Lamsa). What then are all men required to do? They must become members of the body of Christ (cf. I Cor. 12:27)― the Church of Christ ( Iglesia Ni Cristo)
IN CONCLUSION
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WE KINDLY EXTEND our visitors an invitation to explore the pristine, unadulterated teachings of Christ and His apostles as they were taught in the first-century Church Of Christ. These teachings presented here is the path that leads to eternal life for all on that appointed day of Judgment:
The Truth About Salvation
CHRISTIANITY IS A RELIGION with over 2.4 billion followers worldwide. It is composed of diverse faiths with thousands of denominations, such as Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist, Adventist—the list goes on. The Center for the Study of Global Christianity estimates that there are over 45,000 denominations globally, with more than 200 in the United States alone. Each denomination has its own unique set of beliefs and doctrines, especially when it comes to how one can achieve salvation. Do any of these religions truly teach the proper way of salvation?
Reach Out
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(Eph. 4:29, Amplified Bible)
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(1 Corinthians 13:4-5, Amplified Bible)