I am a member of a Baptist church, but I was thinking about changing.  What is the difference between Church of God and church of Christ?

Sincerely,
Just Browsing

Dear Just Browsing,

The Church of God and the churches of Christ are vastly different.  The Church of God is a name used by numerous, mostly unrelated Christian denominational bodies, most of which descend from either Pentecostal/Holiness or Adventist traditions.  Most groups that use the title Church of God believe in speaking in tongues, modern prophecy, and visions.  All of these things are false teachings.  See “Speaking In Tongues”, “The Lost Art Of Prophecy”, “I Dreamed A Dream” for further details on what the Bible says about these behaviors.

Churches of Christ are all individual congregations (we have no centralized leadership other than the Bible) that simply try to follow the Bible pattern for everything they do.  This is not the case with every church of Christ, but it certainly is for us in Monroe, WA.

Everything a church does (worship, membership, how they teach to be saved, how they spend their money, even their name) needs to have Bible verses backing them up (1 Tim 3:15).  A church needs to be able to explain the reasons for why they do what they do (1 Pet 3:15).
Our congregation here in Monroe goes by the name ‘Monroe Valley church of Christ’ because ‘church of Christ’ is a Biblical name for a congregation (Rom 16:16).  We worship by singing (Col 3:16), studying the Bible (1 Tim 4:13), praying (2 Thess 3:1), taking communion (only on Sundays – Acts 20:7), and taking up a collection (also only on Sundays – 1 Cor 16:1-2).  We teach that you must hear God’s Word (Rom 10:17), believe God’s Word (Jhn 3:16), repent of your sins (Mk 6:12), confess Jesus as your Savior (Lk 12:8), and be baptized to be saved (Acts 2:38, 1 Pet 3:21).  We do all these things because they are practices found in the Bible.  Our philosophy is simple: if the Bible speaks, we speak; if the Bible is silent, we are silent.

Hopefully that helps to clarify the differences for you.  A faithful church of Christ is simply trying to do just what the Bible says… no more, no less.

I saw a vision when I gave my life to Jesus that I was preaching to millions of souls on a stage and crusades.  I praise the Lord who used me to bring at least sixty souls.  When will my whole vision come to pass?

Sincerely,
Visionary

Dear Visionary,

The days of dreams and visions have passed.  In the past, God spoke to various people through dreams, visions, and prophecy, but today He speaks to us through His Son, Jesus Christ (Heb 1:1-2).  Now that we have the complete and perfect Bible – there is no need for God to give people individual dreams or visions.  It is through the Word of God that we learn how to live faithfully (Rom 10:17).

We are sure that your dreams mean something, but they don’t mean anything supernatural or prophetic.  What you had was not a vision.  Prophets have visions, and there are no more prophets since we have the perfect and complete Word of God (1 Cor 13:8-10).  The human mind is a complex and wondrous thing (Ps 139:14).  It is perfectly normal for our minds to make mental connections as we pray, study, sleep, etc.  Those mental images aren’t visions; they are just your own thoughts as your mind meditates upon what you have said, read, or heard.

We recommend you read “I Dreamed A Dream” for more information.

I have a question.  It seems I have been given some dreams that seem to be too real for dreams, life-like.  In one of them, I am facing demonic activity to the point of them wanting to possess me.  I am a man of faith and even fight back in this sleep state.  I start to pray really hard in tongues even in these so-called dreams.  I do fight them off, but they seem to be persistent.  Personally, I do fight them off from the Scripture and also by praying in tongues.  This seems so weird to be doing this while I am so-called “dreaming” these things.  I just want to know if others have had this type of experience.  I have had other visions of certain areas of hell also.  If what I have seen is real, my hardest reality in dealing with this vision is that I cannot do anything to help these souls I have seen in torment, a torment like I know I would not want anyone to face.

I thought about asking my pastor about this, but I hate to say this, I am afraid of being classified as being a little mentally unstable.  I know as a Holy Ghost-filled Apostolic CHRISTIAN, I should know better.

Sincerely,
Labeled As ‘Mentally Unstable’

Dear Labeled As ‘Mentally Unstable’,

The days of dreams and visions have passed.  In the past, God spoke to various people through dreams, visions, and prophecy, but today, He speaks to us through His Son, Jesus Christ (Heb 1:1-2).  Now that we have the complete and perfect Bible – there is no need for God to give people individual dreams or visions (1 Cor 13:9-10).  It is through the Word of God that we learn how to live faithfully (Rom 10:17).  So don’t worry about your dreams, as vivid as they are; they aren't a message from God.  Feel free to read “I Dreamed A Dream” and “Three Cheers For Miracles” for an in-depth look at what the New Testament says about speaking in tongues, dreams, and prophecy.

My mother is very religious, and she and her husband (not my father) claim to live their lives according to the Bible, which is wonderful.  However, I have a couple of questions regarding her faith.  I am forty-eight-years-old, and my father just died last year (my parents have been divorced since I was around ten years old).  Two days before my father died, he told me that he was not my biological father.  I had no idea and was in absolute shock.  Because of the trauma of losing my father, I was not able to focus on what he had told me and not able to ask him questions.  When I asked my mother, after my father died, to tell me who my biological father was, she told me that it was not necessary that I know... THAT IT DIDN'T MATTER... and that she came to this decision by praying to God.  I can't believe that God would want me to suffer the way I am.  All I want is to know who it is... I don't want a father, and I don't want to disrupt anyone else's life.  I am having trouble believing that God really operates this way.  I am a nice person, and I believe in God, but I can't believe that He would want me to suffer like this.  My mother is Baptist.  Please let me know if you believe my mother is justified in her faith or if she is just hiding behind it.  Thank you.

Sincerely,
Who To Trust?

Dear Who To Trust,

The issues involved with finding birthparents are very emotional and sometimes painful… as you are now experiencing.  We will not even pretend to handle all of the counseling issues involved with what you are dealing with; we will simply focus on answering your doctrinal question.

Whatever your mother’s intentions are (and we are sure they are sincere), praying about something doesn’t mean that you are guaranteed to make the right decision.  Whether or not your parents would talk to you about your birthfather is an issue of wisdom, not doctrine.  If your mother believes that God spoke to her directly – she is wrong.  God doesn’t speak through visions and prophecy anymore (read “I Dreamed A Dream” for further details).

Just because your mother prayed for wisdom doesn’t mean that she did what was wise.  People make mistakes all the time, and this may, or may not, be an example of bad judgment.

(The following is a follow-up to Preying Preacher)

He says the Lord gave him a dream about me, and the Lord put us together; he has been a preacher for ten years… so he says.  I do love him, but I don’t know what to think.

Sincerely,
In A Trap?

Dear In A Trap,

Anyone that tells you that they have had a vision from the Lord is lying to you.  1 Cor 13:8-10 says that all prophecy and visions have ceased now that we have the perfect Bible.  We have written on this topic extensively in “Three Cheers For Miracles” and “I Dreamed A Dream”.  You are being deceived into leading a sinful life.  This preacher is a charlatan and is wickedly conning you into a lascivious relationship.  No matter what he says, you must leave this relationship and never look back.  Sin is sin, no matter how he makes you feel.