Do not believe everything you read

A couple of weeks ago, I taught a lesson about the life of Saul of Tarsus (later as Paul the apostle). The study pointed out how Saul left Judaism and began preaching the gospel of Christ (Acts 26:1-11). During Paul’s missionary journeys, people were being converted to Christ and local churches were established (Acts 15:36).

Pretend that you once practiced Judaism with Saul. How would you react if you heard that he started teaching the things he previously spoke against (Acts 9:1-2)? Unless you were willing to leave Judaism yourself, you would not have much good to say about him anymore. You would likely do what you could to discredit him. After all, you would not tell people, “Saul found the truth and left us.”

In the sermon, I asked the audience to imagine what people (especially Jews) would say about Saul online if the Internet existed in the first century. People would call him a false teacher. There would be all kinds of false accusations flying around. People would claim that Paul taught things not lawful (Acts 16:21), that he attempted to profane the temple (Acts 24:6) and that he spoke against the law and Caesar (Acts 25:8).

All these accusations against Paul are not true. Too many people are quick to believe lies though, especially concerning religious matters. If all these things were circulated over the Internet, Paul would find himself saying something modern Christians often have to say – do not believe everything you read!

When you search for “the beginning of the church of Christ” online, you will read over and over that Alexander Campbell started the church. Alexander Campbell left the Baptist church and his father, Thomas Campbell, left the Presbyterian church. Obviously, both denominations will be critical of these men, so we must be mindful of what we read. Like Saul leaving the Jews to teach the gospel of Christ, no Baptist or Presbyterian will say, “Those Campbells left because they found the truth.”

When Paul left Judaism, he did not start his own church. The same is true of the Campbell’s – they were not seeking to start their own church. I am not suggesting that nobody has ever left a denomination with the intent to start their own. That has absolutely happened in the past and continues to happen today. Just like Paul though, people can leave a false group and begin following the Lord without any manmade creeds or teachings. This is what the Campbells sought.

When teachers preach the truth, people can be converted to Christ (Acts 9:19-20; 18:1-8). When this happens, local churches can be established. But whose churches are these? They must be the church that Christ built with His own blood, the church that the Lord’s people belong to (Matt. 16:18; Acts 20:28; Acts 2:47). Anything else is a denomination. A church only belongs to Christ if it teaches the doctrine of Christ and recognizes Him as its head (II John 9; Col. 1:18).

Over the last few hundred years, some people who attended faithful churches of Christ were called Campbellites. This label is wrong because Christians do not follow Campbell, only Christ. Sadly, this is not a new problem. Consider the example found in 1 Corinthians. Some converts called themselves after Paul (verse 12). Whether a person called themselves a “Paul-ite” or was labeled a “Paul-ite” by others, Paul clearly taught that this was wrong (verse 13). Everyone Paul converted in the first century was converted to Christ, just as Campbell’s converts were in the 1800s or modern converts are today.

With so much false information floating around online, Christians must encourage people to open their Bibles and verify claims they hear. Confusion can be cleared up! Let’s compare what we have discussed with the origins of other denominations.

In the year 1536 AD, John Calvin began the Presbyterian church. In 1607, John Smythe started the Baptist church. Did these men get back to the gospel and encourage people to simply be Christians in the Lord’s church like we read about in the New Testament? If this was their intent, something went wrong.

Were there Presbyterians before 1536 AD? Were there any Baptists prior to 1607 AD? Most importantly, where do you read of those groups in the Bible? Both denominations were started by men, meaning they are man-made religions. They taught some Biblical truth, but they also mixed in many of their own doctrines. Recall how Paul consciously avoided creating his own sect. He did this because Christ had already established His church. This why Paul called them churches of Christ (Rom. 16:16).

Could a church of Christ become a man-made church? Of course! The group’s name might be scriptural, but they could still teach man-made doctrines. Consider the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons). Joseph Smith started that group in 1830 AD. The Lord’s church was started in approximately 33 AD. Any group claiming origins after that year has a fundamental problem.

When you read the New Testament, you will find letters written to churches of our Lord. Some of these letters describe improper things the churches were doing and needed to repent of (Rev. 2-3). This shows that just having a scriptural name is not enough – your religious group must recognize that Christ has ALL the authority and that all of His doctrine must be followed (II John 9).  If your group does not have a scriptural name though, something is wrong from the start – think about it!

Chuck