Necessity

Question 1: Is it necessary to be a member of Christ's church in order to be saved or can one be saved in the Catholic Church, or one of the other denominations?

ANSWER:It is, indeed, necessary to be a member of the church for which Jesus died in order to be saved. He said that He would build one church (Matthew 16:18). In Acts chapter two, we read of its establishment. Paul said in Ephesians 1:22-23, that the church is His body. Later, in Ephesians 4:4, he tells us that there is only one body. It is into this one body, this church, that one "must" be baptized through the agency (the direction) of the one Spirit (I Corinthians 12:13). The direction of the Spirit comes only through the word of God, which tells us how a person enters that one church. On the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), those who "gladly received his word were baptized; and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls" (Vs.41). "And the Lord added daily to the church (His church) such as were being saved (Vs.47). These believing people repented, and were immersed for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), after which they were added to the church that Christ had built. (They were not added to the Catholic Church, which was established 600 years later, nor were they added to denominationalism, which had its several beginnings in the fifteenth century and later!) All of the saved people on Pentecost Day were members of the Church of Christ! Obviously, there is no difference between those who live today and the people of Acts Chapter two (Acts 2:39)! When people today, as they, gladly receive His word (when they believe and submit totally to it), repent, confess, and are immersed in water for the remission of sins, they too are added by God to that same church; the one church, the Church of Christ (Romans 16:16). Since Christ built only one church (the church of the Bible), it can only be concluded that all other religious organizations (including all Catholic and Protestant Churches) were built by man (Matthew 15:8-14). In these, there is no promise of salvation; no promise of hope; no promise of the blessings of Christ (Ephesians 1:3). These promises are to be found only in His body; the Church of Christ!

Question 2: How can we convince people that Christ accepts only one church?

ANSWER:Before any can be convinced of this or any other truth they must first be caused to realize that in religious matters all authority resides solely in the Bible. Many verses can be used to teach and support this basic truth, e.g., Matthew 7:21-29; Mark 16:15-16; John 12:48; John 17:17; Romans 1:16; Galatians 1:6-9; II Timothy 2:15; II Timothy 3:15-17; Revelation 22:18-19; etc. Once this truth is accepted, the honest heart will be receptive to the truth of the one church as taught in Matthew 16:18; John 17:20-23; Acts 2:37-47; Ephesians 1:22-23; Ephesians 4:4-6; etc. 

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