You guys say you are not "denominational", but isn't church of Christ just the main branch of the "Restoration Movement" which started in the early 1800s in the United States?  From what I understand, the Restoration Movement has since split.  The three main branches are the "church of Christ," the "United Church of Christ," and the Disciples of Christ.

Sincerely,
Just Another Church

Dear Just Another Church,

Historically speaking, the Restoration Movement is a bunch of different churches that adhere to similar doctrines… biblically speaking, the movement to restore New Testament Christianity is a principle, not a denomination.  The Monroe Valley church of Christ isn’t affiliated with any other congregation; we aren’t associated with a grouping of churches or national religious body.  Our congregation is completely independent of all others – our responsibility is to the Lord and none other, just like the first-century churches (Acts 14:23).

In the darkest days of the nation of Israel, a young king named Josiah rose to power.  The nation had reached such a state of wickedness that the temple was near ruins and in complete disrepair.  Josiah made a decision to have the temple repaired (2 Kgs 22:3-5).  In the process of repairing the temple, the workers found a copy of the Bible (2 Kgs 22:8).  The Old Testament Law was brought to Josiah, and he read it for the very first time (2 Kgs 22:10).  Josiah was mortified when he heard the words of the law; never before had he realized how wicked the nation was and how deeply entrenched in sin Israel had become (2 Kgs 22:11-13).  Josiah decided then and there to simply return to doing what the Bible said.  Josiah let the Bible be his guide in restoring the nation of Israel to what God intended it to be (2 Chr 34:30-31).  That is the ideal of the Restoration Movement.  Regardless of what man says, the church in Monroe is not a part of a denomination or some earthly hierarchy.  We appeal to the New Testament as our guide and daily attempt to restore biblical Christianity in our little corner of the world.  If other congregations around the globe take this same attitude, that doesn’t make us a denomination; that makes us brethren all serving the one true head, Jesus Christ (Eph 5:23).

     It seems like the Bible sends mixed messages.  In His Word, He will not come back until certain things happen, and then Christ comes to rule the world.  But then it says God could come any day now, and no one knows when.  But if the Antichrist is not here and if all these events have not happened, then He will not come because He says He will come after tribulations.  But we haven't even had the Rapture yet!

Sincerely,
Putting Things In Order

Dear Putting Things In Order,

The Bible doesn't send mixed messages, but sadly, many people have confused passages in the Bible, and that confusion has sent mixed messages to people.  The entire issue of the "rapture", tribulation events, the Antichrist, etc. stems from a teaching called Premillenialism, and it has really missed the boat.  None of those events will actually occur.  We have written several articles on those topics.  Feel free to read "Caught Up", "Don't Mark Me Off", and "Premillenialism" for specifics about what is wrong with those doctrines.

The one teaching God has really given on the subject of the end of time is 1 Thess 5:2.  God says the end will come like a thief in the night.  We can't predict when it will happen, and there will be no rapture events to give us a heads up.

      Hi.  I recently renewed my faith in God, but I have a question about something I am struggling with.  I don't quite understand why Jesus was necessary… or rather, why God deemed it necessary to have Jesus die to save everyone.  Couldn't God have saved lost souls without sacrificing Jesus?  I understand that Jesus came to save souls and that as a christian, you have to believe in Him to be saved.  I guess I just don't understand why it isn't enough to love God.

Sincerely,
Perplexed

Dear Perplexed,

God sent Jesus to die on the cross, so He could be both a just God and a loving God.  If God had simply forgiven us of our sins without paying for them, He would be a liar because God says that sin is deserving of eternal death (Rom 6:23).  It wouldn’t be right for Him to simply remove our guilt without paying for it.  It would be akin to a judge letting people go free simply because he liked them – a judge like that would be corrupt.

Instead, we see that God is both just and our justifier.  Jesus’ blood pays the price of our sin (1 Jn 1:7).  There are two ways to pay for sin.  We can pay for the sin ourselves by spending eternity in hell, or God’s blood can cover the cost of sin.  The Son of God came down and gave Himself to purchase us (Acts 20:28).  Rom 3:25-26 says that God sent Jesus, so He could show that He was loving and still righteous.

      In the Old Testament, it talks about unintentional sin.  Is there also unintentional (accidental) sin in the New Testament, like Paul before his conversion?  Thank you.

Sincerely,
Sinful By Mistake

Dear Sinful By Mistake,

Unintentional sins are committed every single day.  Paul said that all of his sins had been committed out of ignorance and in a clear conscience (1 Tim 1:13, Acts 23:1).  Paul also pointed out that he still needed mercy for his unintentional sins.  Ignorance is an explanation for our sins, but it doesn’t excuse our guilt.  God is patient with us, but eventually, we are responsible for seeking to remove our ignorance by finding the truth of God’s Word (Acts 17:30).  It is understandable when people sin because they don’t know any better, and that understanding engenders God’s compassion (as it should ours), and that is exactly why God’s love sent His Son, so we might have a way of escape from our unintentional rebellion (Jhn 3:16).

     Was Jesus actually God in the flesh?  Is the trinity a true, factual idea? Or was Jesus created by God, and is He indeed His Son, like I am my dad's son?  Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,
Family Facts

Dear Family Facts,

Jesus is God.  Jhn 1:1-3 and Jhn 1:14 say that Jesus is God.  Col 1:15-17 says that all things were created by Jesus… which means Jesus wasn’t created.  We often say that there is only one God… but technically, that is not the complete story.  There are three Gods in the Godhead, and They all work together in perfect unity.  Jesus is God (Matt 28:9), the Father is God (2 Thess 1:2), and the Holy Spirit is God (Gen 1:2).  The word ‘God’ just means ‘deity’.  Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are all deity.  They function with complete unity (Jhn 10:30), but They are separate Beings.  Jesus emptied Himself and became a human (Php 2:4-8).  Jesus is God’s son because He was miraculously born (Matt 1:18), because the Father raised Him from the dead (Acts 13:33), and because Jesus obeyed Him as a Son (Jhn 8:28).  It is that unique honor and connection that creates the Father-and-Son relationship between these two members of the Godhead.