Brother Petras asked a good question a few weeks ago. He said how can we prove the church of Christ is the only church that will be saved…? What makes us believe that we are right saying this and how do we convince someone caught up in a denomination…?
One church IS NOT as good as the others is what some false religious people are teaching. – THAT IS A LIE!
They may say that it doesn’t matter which church we belong to because we all believe in the same God. Wrong answer! It does matter.
WE ARE NOT ALL THE SAME
Jesus DID NOT come to earth and build any Baptist church, nor any Adventist church, nor any Pentecostal church nor any other church except the church God sent Him to build.
Jesus promised in Matthew 16:18 that He would build His church. That church came into existence on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem according to Acts chapter two. Three thousand souls obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ on that day after Peter preached to them and the Lord added them to the church, Acts 2:47
The three thousand souls whom the Lord added to the church were saved as a result of them TURNING AWAY from their sinful lifestyles and sinful practices, and obeyed the gospel of Christ. They weren’t called Baptists, nor Pentecostals, nor Adventist, nor Jehovah’s Witnesses, nor any other religious names… They were called CHRIST-ians (followers of Jesus Christ).
A Baptist is a Baptist – NOT a Christian!
A Christian is a Christian – not a Baptist!
It is therefore very important for you to know that… A Pentecostal person is a Pentecostal person – NOT a Christian!
A Christian is a Christian – not a Pentecostal!
An Adventist person is an Adventist person – not a Christian! A Christian is a Christian – not an Adventist!
A Jehovah’s Witness person is a Jehovah’s Witness person – not a Christian! A Christian is a Christian – not a Jehovah’s Witness!
YOU BECOME SLAVE (servant, follower) TO WHATEVER YOU CHOOSE TO OBEY.
In Romans 6:16 the apostle Paul asked a very profound question and in turn he gave the answer for the very question he asked.
The apostle asked… “Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey?” Then he gave the answer… “You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.”
Dear listener, I know you may have read the above passage many times, but do you understand it?
Here is a way to look into this passage and understand what it is saying…
● If you study with the Baptist and obey their teachings, you become a Baptist follower. Baptist- is one who follow the teachings of the Baptist movements.
● If you have studied with the Pentecostal and obey their doctrine, you become a Pentecostal follower. Pentecostal – is one who follows the teachings of the Pentecostal movements.
● If you study with the Jehovah’s Witnesses and obey their doctrine, you become a Jehovah’s Witness follower. Jehovah’s Witness- is one who follow the teachings of the Jehovah’s Witness movements.
● If you study with the Adventist and obey the Adventists doctrine, you become an Adventist.
Adventist – is one who follows the teachings of the Adventist movements.
●●● But, if you study the Bible with a Christian, you are studying the will of God – (the gospel of Christ) and if you obey the gospel of Jesus Christ, you will become a Christian… (CHRIST-ian) one who follows Christ.
So now, look into the scripture (Rom.6:16)… what does it say…
If you give yourself to be an Adventist, you are NOT a servant (slave) of Christ! You are a servant, slave or follower of the Adventist! An Adventist person is NOT a follower of Christ! A follower of Christ is one who has forsaken everything, including himself/herself and completely obeys the gospel of Christ, and is doing the things Christ commanded.
If you give yourself to be a Baptist, you are NOT a Christian – you are a Baptist! A Baptist person is NOT a follower of Christ! A follower of Christ is one who has forsaken everything, including himself/herself and completely obeys the gospel of Christ, and is doing the things Christ commanded.
If you gave yourself to be a Jehovah’s Witness, you are not a Christian – you are a Jehovah’s Witness!
A Jehovah’s Witness person is NOT a follower of Jesus Christ! A follower of Christ is one who has forsaken everything, including himself/herself and completely obeys the gospel of Christ, and is doing the things Christ commanded…
And so it is with every religious denomination and all who obey their doctrines…
You get my drift?
In Isaiah 54:5 we read… “For your Maker is your husband, The LORD of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth.” Now, If the Lord of hosts is your husband, how come you aren’t wearing His name? How come you wear the name Adventist? How come you are wearing the name Pentecostal? How come you are wearing the name Jehovah’s Witness? How come you are wearing the name Baptist? How come you are wearing a different name?
Here is a Biblical example… in Acts 19:1-5 there we find some followers/disciples of John the Baptist. They were baptized by John but NOT FOR REMISSION OF THEIR SINS. The apostle Paul went up to Ephesus and there he met them, questioned them concerning their faith, and based on the answer they gave to Paul the apostle who was filled with the Holy Ghost; he knew that they were STILL IN THEIR SINFUL STATE. He explained to them the purpose of John’s baptism and taught them the correct teachings… “When they heard this, they were baptized (a second time or re-baptized) in the name of the Lord or (by the authority of Jesus Christ which is found in Matthew 28:19“
For YOUR OWN SALVATION – It doesn’t matter how religious of a person you are – it doesn’t matter who you are nor how much Bible you know… what does matter is… unless you let go and give up your religion along with your religious beliefs and religious practices, and submit yourself to God’s righteousness, and obey the gospel of Jesus Christ… you are not a Christian – You aren’t saved – You are still a wretched disobedient sinner living in the rudiments of your sins. You are still dirty in your sins. You are still under condemnation and MUST obey the gospel of Jesus Christ to have your sins wash away.
To have your sins washed away, you must…
1) Hear the gospel first, Romans 10:17
2) Believe the gospel, Romans 10:9-10
3) Repent of sins, Luke 13:3-5
4) Confess Christ, Acts 8:37, Matt.10:32
5) Be baptized for remission of sins, Acts 2:38, 1 Peter 3:21, Acts 22:16
When you have completed those five steps, something amazing happens… the Bible says the Lord will add you to the church, (Acts 2:47), what church? The church He promised to build in Matthew 16:18 … the church that He purchased with His own blood, Acts 20:28. The church that is His body and He is the head of it, Ephesians 1:22-23, Col.1:18.
Then you must…
6) Be faithful unto death, Revelation 2:10.
Consult your Bible now to verify these things I have written, then contact me or any faithful member of the church of Christ with a willing desire to obey the gospel of Jesus Christ; we will be willing to help you to obey the Lord.
This opportunity is available to every person who is not a member of the Lord’s church, to every person who are in religious denominations, and to everyone who is living ungodly, worldly, and sinful. This is your calling to come and obtain salvation which is only available in Christ.
Do not let this opportunity pass you by. Do not die in your sins… there is no repentance after death!
This Lesson is brought to you by your fellow brother in Christ;
Robert H Brown
Courtesy of Bro. Winston S Chambers
