Question
Please how can I answer this question… Is it only the members of the Church of Christ that would be saved?
Answer
Keith Sharp
It is not my role to determine who is saved and who is lost. “There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?” (James 4:12) My role is to declare the terms of salvation. “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’” (Mark 16:15-16).
When one believes and is baptized, the Lord adds him to the church (Acts 2:47). Thus, if you are using the name “Church of Christ” to mean the church built by Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:18), then all the saved in the present age belong to it, not because the church saves, but because the Lord adds the saved to the church (Acts 2:47).
The church saves no one. Christ is the Savior, but He saves His body (Ephesians 5:23), the church (Ephesians 1:22-23). The church is simply the people who have been saved by Jesus Christ viewed as a group (Hebrews 12:22-24).
If you are using the name “Church of Christ” in the sense of a denomination, not only is the answer “No,” you should not be a member of that or any other denomination. All denominations have three characteristics: a sectarian name, a human creed, and organization tying local churches together. Sectarian names are sinful (1 Corinthians 1:10-13), human creeds are sinful (2 John verses 9-11; Revelation 22:18-19), and, since the independent local church is the only organization Christ has authorized for His people (1 Corinthians 1:2; Philippians 1:1; 1 Peter 5:1-2), denominational organizations are sinful. Thus, it is a sin to be a member of any denomination.
The church Jesus built has several authorized names but no exclusive name. It is the “church of Christ,” since it belongs to Christ (Romans 16:16; John 17:10), but it may be called the “church of God,” since it also belongs to God (1 Corinthians1:2; John 17:10). In the New Testament, the church is called by various names, but by no exclusive or sectarian name.
To be saved, one must hear the gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16; 10:17), believe in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1-2; 10:8-10), repent of his sins (Romans 2:4), confess his faith in Christ (Romans 10:8-10), and be immersed in water for the remission of sins (Romans 6:3-4; Acts 2:38). Anyone who does this is saved and added by the Lord to His church (Acts 2:47).
