I believe that you have to be baptized to go to heaven, but the church I might go to believes you don’t have to be baptized to go to heaven.  IF I join this church, and I still believe it in my heart that you have to be baptized, will I still get in to heaven even though the preacher who baptized me doesn’t?

Sincerely,
Asking For Directions

Dear Asking For Directions,

The church needs to be the pillar and ground of the truth in the local community (1 Tim 3:15).  If a congregation isn’t teaching the totality of what Jesus’ Word says, He promises to spit them out of His mouth (Rev 3:16).  Baptism is necessary for salvation (1 Pet 3:21, Mk 16:16, Acts 2:37-38).  If a church doesn’t teach baptism, it isn’t teaching salvation.  If a congregation can’t be trusted to preach and teach the truth about what it takes to become a christian… it can’t be trusted.  Whenever you join yourself to a local church, you are pledging your time, effort, and reputation to them.  Are you sure you want to attach yourself to a group that you wouldn’t trust to teach you about salvation?  If you would like help finding a faithful church in your area (that does properly teach the Bible), e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org, and we would be happy to help locate one for you.

     Is the church more of an organization or an organism?

Sincerely,
Orderly

Dear Orderly,

The argument over whether the church is an organization or an organism has come up in recent years because of the debate over whether there is a need for organized religion at all.

Many people in today’s modern world view themselves as Christians but also don’t feel any need to place membership with a local congregation or to have any organization to their spirituality at all.  Is Christianity a disorganized organism, or is there an organization and structure to how the church should function? What does the Bible say?

When Paul talked to Timothy about the church, he said that it was the pillar and ground of the truth, and there was a certain way that we should behave in it (1 Tim 3:15).  When the Corinthian church was running in a disorganized fashion and people were just shouting and talking over one another, Paul rebuked them and said that the church should do all things “decently and in order” (1 Cor 14:40).  He also told them to make sure and wait for one another when they assembled to take the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:33).

Every expectation of the church that we find in the New Testament points toward organized religion.  The book of Ephesians says that the church can find unity and oneness only in following the organized standards of the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:3-6).

How can I prove to someone that the kingdom is fulfilled?  I understand the kingdom is the church, and the person I am talking with believes that also, but for some reason, they don’t think the church is completely fulfilled; therefore, they believe in visions and miracles.  Are there any verses that specifically say that the kingdom has been fulfilled?

Sincerely,
Loyal Subject

Dear Loyal Subject,

The kingdom isn’t done with its work… but that doesn’t mean you can’t prove that visions and miracles have ceased.  The work of the kingdom won’t be entirely fulfilled until the Great Day of Judgment (Jude 1:6) when Christ will hand the kingdom over to the Father (1 Cor 15:24).

Visions and miracles have ceased because the kingdom doesn’t need them anymore.  Paul said that prophecies would stop when ‘the perfect’ comes (1 Cor 13:8-10).  The ‘perfect’ isn’t the end of time; it is the completed Bible.  The Bible is called “the perfect law of liberty” (Jas 1:25).  When the final book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, was completed, we no longer needed prophecy in order to understand God’s Will.  Jude said that we have God’s law handed down to us “once and for all, delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3).  Since God provides all knowledge and wisdom in His Bible (everything that pertains to life and godliness – 2 Pet 1:3)… what would be the purpose of visions and prophecy continuing?  The church (i.e. the kingdom) still has work left to do here on this planet, but visions are no longer necessary to fulfill that work.  We recommend reading “I Dreamed A Dream” and “Three Cheers For Miracles” for more on this subject.

I am interested to know of any verse that states that I need to go to my pastor regarding starting a home Bible study.

Sincerely,
Homeschooled

Dear Homeschooled,

There are no verses on this subject… because you don’t need their authority.  The Scriptures are a free gift from God to all mankind.  The Bible is useful to all and useful at all times (2 Tim 3:16).  The Bereans were praised for their individual desire to study the Scriptures for themselves (Acts 17:11).  We are told to discuss the Scriptures (especially with our families) at every available opportunity (Deu 11:19).  If you start teaching false doctrine – the church will have a responsibility to correct it (Acts 20:28-29), but there is nothing wrong with home Bible studies.

     I have a question regarding placing membership in a congregation.  What if there are no suitable congregations in the area?  What I mean is, the congregation I have been attending for years appears to be veering away from strictly following the gospel.  Or, to say the least, I have some issues with the leadership there (I know for a fact that there are at least a couple other people that feel the same way).  Recently, I have been attending elsewhere and have noticed that they have someone I know (who came forward at my original congregation as an adulterer) who appears to be slowly working themselves into more prominent positions in that congregation.  All the other congregations in the area are either not faithful or far from home.  I know first-century Christians had to deal with far more than this, but it can be discouraging.  What is your advice?

Sincerely,
The Wanderer

Dear The Wanderer,

When we read of the struggles of the seven churches of Asia in Revelation 2 and 3 or when we see that the church in Corinth was condoning a man who had his father’s wife (1 Cor 5:1) and had doubts whether Jesus was actually raised from the dead (1 Cor 15:3-8), we are left realizing that the early churches definitely were full of imperfect people trying to live by a perfect Word.  What you need to do is ask whether or not a congregation is trying to be faithful to the Bible and to Christ as Lord.  We can, and should, put up with a lot of individual differences as long as there is an honest interest to still do what the Bible says.  However, once Bible preaching and Bible authority are exchanged for “itching ears” preaching (2 Tim 4:3), that’s the time to find somewhere else.

It can be extremely hard when you feel a congregation is slowly changing course, but remember, you can also be a voice to help them drift right back to where they ought to be.