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The Truth About the Church of Christ
Dr. Hugh Pyle shares with us that many years ago, a strange religious sect joined the so called "Christian" community. Over the years they have gained a notable following of ill-taught people who are being convinced that this is the one true church, and that it was actually founded by the Lord Jesus Christ on the day of Pentecost. In order to prove their points of doctrine, they use the most chopped-up portions of mismatched and ill-chosen verses imaginable. About three-fourths of their proof texts do not even relate to the subject at hand. This book is a helpful tool for soul winners who would convert these dear, lost people.
99 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1977
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 29, 2024
A BRIEF BUT POINTED CRITIQUE OF THE MAJOR DOCTRINES OF THE “CHURCH OF CHRIST”
Author Hugh F. Pyle wrote in the Introduction to this 1977 book, “A strange religious sect has joined the ‘Christian’ community in the last century and a half. They are gaining a notable following of ill-taught people who are being convinced that this is the one true church and that it was actually founded by Jesus Christ on the day of Pentecost! They are completely warped, doctrinally, on much of what the Bible teaches. Eight of their biggest heresies relate to the ‘plan’ of, or ‘steps to salvation’ as taught in the Church of Christ. They teach: 1. Salvation of Works… 2. Baptismal Regeneration…. 3… that a born-again soul can lose his salvation after all. 4. That the… are the one and only true church. 5. That one cannot know in this life that he is saved. 6. That their church has the one and only Bible name. 7. That Christians must take the Lord’s Supper every Sunday to be scriptural. 8. That to worship where instrumental music is used is sinful.” (Pg. 7)
Later, he adds, “Of course, they also are warped about the Holy Spirit, the second coming of Christ, and many other glorious themes. They claim that God will not hear a sinner; that there is no divine call to the ministry. They deny heart-felt religion. They ignore the warning of Christ about sectarianism. They fail to be honest in contrasting the teachings of Paul and James… In this book we will deal with the prime errors of the Church of Christ that relate largely to salvation.” (Pg. 17)
He acknowledges, “There are some fine people caught up in this movement and some of them no doubt are saved folk who found the Lord before they got in (or in spite of their doctrine) and have just never been subjected to much sound Bible teaching. And no doubt many of the Church of Christ preachers are truly and sincerely deceived, having been brought up in the movement, and have never taken the trouble to discover the truth about themselves. The very fact that their ministers are argumentative debaters and their followers are taught to do likewise has no doubt led many of them to ‘come out swinging’ and everything they study and learn is but considered a weapon with which they can make war on those who disagree.” (Pg. 10)
Of water baptism, he observes, “The Gospel of John… was written to reveal how men might know the Lord and have eternal life through His name. Yet, baptism is never once mentioned in the Gospel of John in connection with the plan of salvation… Rather than teaching salvation by baptism, Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 1:17, ‘For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel.’ Is it possible that Jesus never saved anybody because He never baptized anybody?” (Pg. 22)
He adds, “They teach that water baptism is essential to salvation, but then you can lose your salvation, and when you come back to be ‘saved again’ you do not have to be baptized the next time! If water was necessary for salvation the first time, why is it not necessary for salvation the second time?... The Church of Christ teaches that you can lose your faith but not your baptism. How inconsistent!” (Pg. 23) He wonders, “were Peter, James and John in Hell became they were not baptized after Pentecost?” (Pg. 34)
He notes, “Mark 16:16 is used by the [Church of Christ] to try to prove that we are saved by baptism… You say, ‘But does it not say that “he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved?”’ Yes, it does, but it also says, ‘... he that believeth not shall be damned.’ It does NOT say that a person will be damned if he is not baptized.” (Pg. 37)
He points out, “what about the verses that Church of Christ and such people use which seem to teach that one can lose his salvation?... they have failed to distinguish between RELATIONSHIP with God and FELLOWSHIP with God. Relationship with God is settled when one receives Christ and is born again. Fellowship with God can be broken and must be kept up along the way… they fail to distinguish between backsliding and apostasy. They would say that 1 John 2:19 describes a backslider who went back on God. But God explains… ‘…they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all OF us.’ In other words, they were not really a part of the family of God to start with!” (Pg. 55)
He asserts, “When [Alexander Campbell] WAS baptized it was by a BAPTIST preacher and not in order to have his sins remitted! The same is true of … other forerunners of the Church of Christ movement. So ALL of the founders of this sect of baptismal regeneration were themselves never properly baptized, according to Church of Christ teaching today!” (Pg. 65)
He says, “The [Church of Christ member] insists that he refrains from using a musical instrument in his worship service because the Bible does not specifically instruct him to. However, on the other hand, they have a pitch pipe, hymnbooks, collection baskets, electric lights, air-conditioning, and up-to-date baptistries. For all of this the Bible gives absolutely no specific instruction!” (Pg. 80)
As to whether Church of Christ members might be saved, he suggests, “if a person believes what the Church of Christ teaches and does not understand God’s way of salvation, then [they] are not saved no matter how many religious theories he embraces or how many times he has been dipped in the Church of Christ pool. We recognize, of course, that there are probably a number of people in the Church of Christ because they have married someone who was a member or because they were over-persuaded to join such a group after they had found Christ elsewhere/ Because of this, there very probably are some saved people in the movement… As a pastor, however, I found fewer people of the [Church of Christ] persuasion who were truly saved than almost any other denomination or sect that I ever had contact with.” (Pg. 97)
This book will be of great interest to those wanting a critical appraisal of the Church of Christ.
Author Hugh F. Pyle wrote in the Introduction to this 1977 book, “A strange religious sect has joined the ‘Christian’ community in the last century and a half. They are gaining a notable following of ill-taught people who are being convinced that this is the one true church and that it was actually founded by Jesus Christ on the day of Pentecost! They are completely warped, doctrinally, on much of what the Bible teaches. Eight of their biggest heresies relate to the ‘plan’ of, or ‘steps to salvation’ as taught in the Church of Christ. They teach: 1. Salvation of Works… 2. Baptismal Regeneration…. 3… that a born-again soul can lose his salvation after all. 4. That the… are the one and only true church. 5. That one cannot know in this life that he is saved. 6. That their church has the one and only Bible name. 7. That Christians must take the Lord’s Supper every Sunday to be scriptural. 8. That to worship where instrumental music is used is sinful.” (Pg. 7)
Later, he adds, “Of course, they also are warped about the Holy Spirit, the second coming of Christ, and many other glorious themes. They claim that God will not hear a sinner; that there is no divine call to the ministry. They deny heart-felt religion. They ignore the warning of Christ about sectarianism. They fail to be honest in contrasting the teachings of Paul and James… In this book we will deal with the prime errors of the Church of Christ that relate largely to salvation.” (Pg. 17)
He acknowledges, “There are some fine people caught up in this movement and some of them no doubt are saved folk who found the Lord before they got in (or in spite of their doctrine) and have just never been subjected to much sound Bible teaching. And no doubt many of the Church of Christ preachers are truly and sincerely deceived, having been brought up in the movement, and have never taken the trouble to discover the truth about themselves. The very fact that their ministers are argumentative debaters and their followers are taught to do likewise has no doubt led many of them to ‘come out swinging’ and everything they study and learn is but considered a weapon with which they can make war on those who disagree.” (Pg. 10)
Of water baptism, he observes, “The Gospel of John… was written to reveal how men might know the Lord and have eternal life through His name. Yet, baptism is never once mentioned in the Gospel of John in connection with the plan of salvation… Rather than teaching salvation by baptism, Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 1:17, ‘For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel.’ Is it possible that Jesus never saved anybody because He never baptized anybody?” (Pg. 22)
He adds, “They teach that water baptism is essential to salvation, but then you can lose your salvation, and when you come back to be ‘saved again’ you do not have to be baptized the next time! If water was necessary for salvation the first time, why is it not necessary for salvation the second time?... The Church of Christ teaches that you can lose your faith but not your baptism. How inconsistent!” (Pg. 23) He wonders, “were Peter, James and John in Hell became they were not baptized after Pentecost?” (Pg. 34)
He notes, “Mark 16:16 is used by the [Church of Christ] to try to prove that we are saved by baptism… You say, ‘But does it not say that “he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved?”’ Yes, it does, but it also says, ‘... he that believeth not shall be damned.’ It does NOT say that a person will be damned if he is not baptized.” (Pg. 37)
He points out, “what about the verses that Church of Christ and such people use which seem to teach that one can lose his salvation?... they have failed to distinguish between RELATIONSHIP with God and FELLOWSHIP with God. Relationship with God is settled when one receives Christ and is born again. Fellowship with God can be broken and must be kept up along the way… they fail to distinguish between backsliding and apostasy. They would say that 1 John 2:19 describes a backslider who went back on God. But God explains… ‘…they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all OF us.’ In other words, they were not really a part of the family of God to start with!” (Pg. 55)
He asserts, “When [Alexander Campbell] WAS baptized it was by a BAPTIST preacher and not in order to have his sins remitted! The same is true of … other forerunners of the Church of Christ movement. So ALL of the founders of this sect of baptismal regeneration were themselves never properly baptized, according to Church of Christ teaching today!” (Pg. 65)
He says, “The [Church of Christ member] insists that he refrains from using a musical instrument in his worship service because the Bible does not specifically instruct him to. However, on the other hand, they have a pitch pipe, hymnbooks, collection baskets, electric lights, air-conditioning, and up-to-date baptistries. For all of this the Bible gives absolutely no specific instruction!” (Pg. 80)
As to whether Church of Christ members might be saved, he suggests, “if a person believes what the Church of Christ teaches and does not understand God’s way of salvation, then [they] are not saved no matter how many religious theories he embraces or how many times he has been dipped in the Church of Christ pool. We recognize, of course, that there are probably a number of people in the Church of Christ because they have married someone who was a member or because they were over-persuaded to join such a group after they had found Christ elsewhere/ Because of this, there very probably are some saved people in the movement… As a pastor, however, I found fewer people of the [Church of Christ] persuasion who were truly saved than almost any other denomination or sect that I ever had contact with.” (Pg. 97)
This book will be of great interest to those wanting a critical appraisal of the Church of Christ.
March 7, 2011
This book was written in 1977 and the style is very 70-ish, meaning there is a lot of unnecessary name calling that could have very easy been left out. Insults aside, the book does contain much valuable information about C. of C. beliefs outside the norm of historical Christianity and scriptural refutations of each, including baptismal regeneration, loss of salvation, etc.
July 28, 2016
Very good book dealing with doctrinal errors of the "church of christ".
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews