“Worship with the church of your choice,” some men say. But what do the Scriptures say?
Jesus declared, “Upon this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18). That’s one, not many. “There is one body,” and Jesus is “head over all things to the church, which is His body” (Ephesians 4:4; 1:22-23). Again, one body, one church. “He is the Savior of the body,” (Ephesians 5:23); thus, He is the Savior of His church.
But there are so many churches teaching and practicing so many different things! Which is the church that belongs to Christ?
Since Christ is the Savior of the body, the church will be made up of the saved. The saved are those who have obeyed Jesus’ command to be saved. Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16a). If you are looking for the church that belongs to Christ, you will need to find those who teach and practice what Jesus commanded to be saved.
The church that Jesus built has Himself as its head, and no other: “For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church” (Ephesians 5:23). The only organization of its members on earth is members in a locality making up a local church under its own elders who shepherd the flock that is among them (1 Peter 5:2). If you are looking for the church that belongs to Christ, you will need to find a church that teaches and practices the New Testament organization of the church.
The church that Jesus built has worship that follows the pattern of the one church in the New Testament. “Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets” (Ephesians 2:20), the church then follows the teaching of Christ’s apostles and the New Testament prophets. If you are looking for the church that belongs to Christ, you will need to find a church that worships according to the teaching of the New Testament apostles and prophets.
We could go on. But the point to be seen is that the church that belongs to Christ is the church that follows the teaching of Christ and His apostles.
Instead of worshiping with whatever church we choose for whatever reason we choose, we need to be concerned with the church of God’s choice, which is the one built by His Son Jesus Christ.
Condemning human tradition, Jesus said, “Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up” (Matthew 15:13). Any church built upon human traditions instead of divine law is not the church that belongs to Christ.
-Larry Jones