"God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth"(John 17:17).
These verses teach that we must worship in spirit and truth, and God's word is truth. Therefore, what his word instructs concerning worship, we must do in order to be acceptable unto him.
We've discussed singing and partaking of the Lord's supper.
We are commanded to give of our means. "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God has prospered him..."(I Cor. 16:2). That does not say it is a "free will" offering. A free will offering implies that one can give only if he wants to. Giving is not optional. If one prospers, he must give if he is to please God. "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver" (II Cor. 9:7). Our giving is not what makes us different.
We are instructed to pray. In Acts 2:42 we read of four acts of worship. We read that they continued steadfastly in the "apostles' doctrine" (they continued with their teaching), and "fellowship" (contribution), and in "breaking of bread" (the Lord's supper), and in "prayers." Our prayers are to be addressed to God the Father, not to Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or to any other being. Jesus taught his disciples to pray: "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be they name" (Matt. 6:9). "But in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Phil. 4:6). "For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil" (I Pet. 3:12). In John 15:16, Jesus states that , "...whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name...." Our prayers are addressed to God (not Christ) in Christ's name. We are not the only ones who pray to God. That alone does not make us different.
We are instructed to preach and teach God's word. We noted in Acts 2:42 that to continue in the "apostles' doctrine" is to continue in their teaching. Then we read in Acts 20:7, when Paul met with the disciples to break bread, he "preached unto them." But we are not the only ones that preach or teach. That alone does not make us different.
In conclusion, we teach that one must be baptized for the remission of sins in order to be saved. Note what Peter said to those Jews who asked: "What shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, repent and be baptized...for the remission of sins..."(Acts 2:37-38). He didn't say repent for the remission of sins. He didn't say be baptized for the remission of sins. He didn't say only believe and accept Jesus as your saviour. He did say repent and (Webster says the conjunction "and" connects things of equal value) be baptized. What did Peter say baptism was for? "The remission of sins." It takes both repentance and baptism for the remission of sins. What did Christ have to say about baptism? "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved..." (Mark 16:16). We are not the only ones who immerse. That alone is not what makes us different.
What makes the church of Christ distinctively different is the fact that we believe and practice ALL of the things we have discussed in this series of articles. There is not another religious organization in the world that believes and teaches all that we have discussed.
"If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God" (I Pet. 4:11).
Don H. Noblin
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