Edgewood Church of Christ
Greenville, South Carolina
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This page was last updated: November 27, 2011
Your question is a timely one. Several religious groups and denominations teach the “Seventh Day” or “Sabbath Day” observance. We need to first understand that the Sabbath was given only to the Nation of Israel. It was part of the covenant that God had made with them and is found in Exodus 20:8. The Bible teaches that this covenant (Testament) would be replaced with a new and better covenant (Testament): Hebrews 8:8-13 and Hebrews 10:10. When it comes to the specifics of the Old Law and the Sabbath observance, we see in Colossians 2:14-16 that it is not binding on Christians today. 14 “having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. 16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, “ Paul teaches us that Christians should not to let others judge us for not keeping the Sabbath. Why then do we let people do this? The answer is, we should not! The Bible is clear that God has taken the Jew and the Gentile and man them one new man in the Church of Christ: Ephesians 2:14-15. The Old Covenant has been fulfilled and has been superseded by the New Covenant. Kindly, Don
Brother Gelles, can you offer a verse or passage of scripture that teaches we do not have to keep the Sabbath?
Thank you for emailing me your question. The verse you mention says; “Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.” The point of this statement is that Jesus could not be doing the things he was doing if he were a sinner. The Jews had long been taught the following: Psalm 34:15-16 "The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth." Proverbs 15:29 "The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous." Isaiah 59:1-2 "Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear." These passages make it clear that God does not respond to (hear) the prayers of sinners. Brother Wood notes in his commentary on this verse that “every blessing an alien sinner needs is obtained on specified conditions– prayer not being one of them (see Mark 16:16 and Acts 2:38, Ephesians 1:3). I agree because the Bible supports it. In the context of John 9:31 the very fact that Jesus was doing miraculous things proved he was not a sinner. As for sinners today, the same truth taught in the above scriptures applies today. Peter noted in 1 Peter 3:12 "For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil." So, based on John 9:31, yes, it is true to say that God does not hear the prayers of sinners (i.e. alien sinner, lost person). Kindly, Don
Based on John 9:31 is it true to say that God does not hear the prayers of sinners? Thank you Mr. Gelles. .
I always look forward to teaching others about the churches of Christ. Your question allows me yet another opportunity to do this. Your question contains two parts so lets look at them one at a time. 1. Is the church of Christ a cult? No. The Church of Christ is the very same church you read about in the New Testament. Was Jesus talking about a “cult” in Matthew 16:18? I think not. Was Paul talking about a “cult” in Romans 16:16? No. In each of these verses, the church that is being mentioned is the “body of Christ” (please see Ephesians 1:22-23). The Church of Christ is the “ecclesia” (a Greek word meaning the “called out”) of God. To call the Church of Christ a cult, simply shows that the person saying such, is ignorant as to what the church is and what the Bible teaches regarding it. One must remember that it will be the Church of Christ, which is the bride of Christ, that will be presented to God on the Day of Judgment ( Compare Revelation 21:2, 9, 10 with 2 Corinthians 11:2). 2. Do you believe that you are the only ones going to heaven? We confidently affirm what the Bible teaches, that only the saved go to heaven. The Bible teaches the saved are in the church (Acts 2:47) and that there is only one church (Matthew 16:18). By allowing scripture to interpret scripture, the Church of Christ is comprised of the saved who will go to heaven. If you would like to know more about how you can be saved and added to the church that Christ built, please contact me. Kindly, Don
I have read that the Church of Christ is a cult, and that they believe they are the only people going to heaven. Is the Church of Christ a cult? And do you believe that you are the only ones going to heaven?
The verse you quote comes from Acts 2:38. It is Peter’s response to those asking what they needed to do after hearing the gospel preached (Acts 2:37). The “gift” you are asking about has long been a source of discussion among faithful brethren in the Lord’s Church. I will kindly offer the following. The “gift” of Acts 2:38 is the Holy Spirit himself. In the Greek, the phrase “gift of the Holy Spirit” is what is called a Genitive of Apposition. In simple terms, this is a form of speech in which the noun in a sentence (also called the substantive in Greek) refers back to itself. An example of this would be “the city of Jerusalem”. Here Jerusalem, the noun, refers back to itself in the word city. The “city” is Jerusalem or Jerusalem is the “city”. In Acts 2:38 the Holy Spirit is the noun and it is referring back to itself in the word “gift”. So the “gift” is the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is the “gift”. Have I confused you yet! In Greek, the Genitive of Apposition is a common form of speech. So Peter is not saying anything here that would have been confusing to his listeners. Another way to understand what the “gift” is in Acts 2:38 is to use complementary passages to aid in the understanding. In Acts 5:32 the Holy Spirit himself is given. In 1 Corinthians 6:19 the Holy Spirit himself is given. In Galatians 4:6 the Holy Spirit himself is given. Do you notice a pattern? As Wayne Jackson (a respected preacher) pointed out, even though different endowments of the Holy Spirit are being given in Acts 10:45 and 10:47 as opposed to Acts 2:38, one can see that they (Acts 10:45,47) clearly teach that the Holy Spirit himself is being given. I would offer that there is ample grammatical evidence as well as scriptural support to conclude that the “gift” in Acts 2:38 is the Holy Spirit himself. I hope this aids you in your understanding. Kindly, Don
Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” What is “the gift”.
Thanks for the question. Please allow me to offer the following: 1. Location: The first rule in real estate is “location, Location, Location.” This is also true when it comes to congregations of the Lord’s Church. In seeking to be faithful to Matthew 28:19-20 congregations are planted in diverse areas. Location is important in reaching out to the lost and encouraging the saved. Many congregations are the result of a larger congregation staring a new work in a different part of town in an effort to reach more people. 2. Doctrinal Error: I wish your statement of “if you all believe the same” was true. There are times when congregations give way to error due to false teaching ( 2 Timothy 4:3-4). When the error can not be corrected it becomes necessary for faithful members of the Lord’s Church to leave. Some go to existing congregations while others may choose to start a new congregation in or near the area they previously worshiped. Not everyone who wears the name Church of Christ outwardly is right doctrinally. 3. No Limit: The Bible does not limit in anyway the number of congregations a city, county, state or country may have. Members of the Lord’s Church are free to start as many congregation as they feel are needed. Some even worship in homes or rental buildings such as a school or movie theater. 4. Human Failings: There are times when sound brothers and sisters can not work together. This is regrettable, but true. We see this very thing in Acts 15:36-41. This has lead to cities having several congregations in close proximity to one another. Kindly, Don
Hi, I appreciate you having a ask a question page. My question to you is, why are there several different Churches of Christ in your area if you all believe the same?