I am not ashamed to say that I try to get people to become members of the church of Christ. But, why should anyone became a member of the church of Christ? Let us consider that question. It is not our intention here to try to persuade anyone to leave one denomination to become a member of some other denomination. For our consideration, we will have to go back long before there was a single denomination on the face of the earth.
Beginning at creation, man has been of dual nature, possessing both a physical body which is temporal and a spirit that is eternal. “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). Solomon said that at death, “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it” (Ecc. 12:7). This being the case, we would be wise to do as Amos told Israel, “Prepare to meet thy God O Israel” (Amos 4:12). It is because of the second of these, the eternal spirit, that we ought to become members of the church of Christ.
It is important that we understand that there is a heaven and there is a hell. The Lord said of heaven, “Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven” (Luke 6:23). A little later He told His disciples, “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). Never, in scripture is there a negative word said about heaven! It is a place that is to be longed for and worth whatever effort and hardship it might take to reach. In like manner, the scriptures clearly reveal hell, but in this case there is never a word uttered in scripture that speaks positively about it. It is always presented as a place to shun, a place to go to any lengths to escape. Jesus said, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28). There is a certainty that we will each enter one or the other, there is no third choice. Jesus said, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment but the righteous into life eternal” (Matt. 25:46). He also stated, “…for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:28-29). And, it is also a fact that once we leave this physical world, we will not be able to make any changes. Abraham told the rich man that, “…there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence” (Luke 16:26). What one does in the here and now determines which of the two will be their eternal home. Paul wrote, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (II Cor 5:10). We will be judged by our life as it is compared to God’s word, which for this age is the gospel of Christ (Acts 3:22-24; Matt. 17:5; Heb. 1:1-2).
Do note that not all roads lead to heaven, only the strait and narrow of God’s word (Matt. 7:13-14). Jesus said, “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:9) and “…Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up” (Matt. 15:13). Many religious people will be lost in the last day (Matt. 7:22-23). One must be obedient to the gospel of Christ in order to be a saved person, for “it is the power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1:16). On the day of Pentecost, the gospel was preached and many that heard were pricked in the heart and desired to know what they needed to do (Acts 2:22-37). These believing Jews were told to repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38). The Romans were reminded by Paul that when they were baptized into Christ, they were raised to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:3-4). It was when they obeyed that they were made free from sin (Rom. 6:17-18). Those on Pentecost who gladly received the word were baptized (Acts 2:41). The last verse of that chapter says that “the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. The church the Lord added people to was His church, the one He built (Matt. 16:18), the one over which He is the head (Eph. 1:22-23). It is His! It is the church of Christ!. There is no salvation in any other (Acts 4:12). The same act that puts one into Christ, where salvation is, puts one in His body, the church (I Cor. 12:13).
If there is a man-made group wearing the name “Church of Christ”, they are not any more the church that belongs to the Lord than any other man-made religious institution. So, why the church of Christ? Paul said we all had to appear before the judgment seat of Christ and be judged according to what we have done in this body. He then said, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men…” (II Cor. 5:11). If the church does not belong to Christ, it is the wrong church!