Posts by Kyle Rye (Page 12)
THE WHY SERIES – WHY DOES THE CHURCH OF CHRIST BELIEVE THAT SALVATION CAN BE LOST?
The Bible indicates that salvation is received when one confesses his or her belief in Jesus as the risen Son of God (Mark 16:16; Romans 10:9-10), repents of the sins that he or she has committed (Acts 2:38; 2 Corinthians 7:10), and submits to baptism so that he or she reenacts Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection and, thereby, comes in contact with God’s grace through Christ’s blood which removes all sin (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:1-4; 1 Peter 3:18-22).…
THE WHY SERIES – WHY DOES THE CHURCH OF CHRIST BELIEVE THAT BAPTISM IS ESSENTIAL TO SALVATION?
Nearly every religious body associated with Christianity administers baptism in some fashion. Some believe it is an act of obedience that symbolizes a believer’s faith in Christ and death to sin. Others believe that baptism is simply the means by which a believer becomes a member of the church body. But the congregations associated with the Church of Christ are known for their insistence that baptism is an essential part of salvation. On what is this belief based? This belief…
THE WHY SERIES – WHY DOES THE CHURCH OF CHRIST BELIEVE THAT IT IS THE CHURCH JESUS INSTITUTED?
As a member and minister of a congregation associated with the churches of Christ, I often encounter “why”questions—questions like “why do Churches of Christ lack instruments in worship,” “why do Churches of Christ forbid women from leading in the worship service,” “why do Churches of Christ observe the Lord’s Supper every Sunday,” and “why do Churches of Christ place so much emphasis on baptism.” Sometimes the questions are posed from those outside our fellowship, and sometimes the questions are posed from those…
THE ME IN BLASPHEMY
In Colossians 3:8 Paul identified blasphemy as one of the sinful behaviors that Christians are to “put off.” It is identified in a list that included anger, wrath, malice, and filthy language. These latter behaviors are familiar to us, but blasphemy is a behavior that is somewhat foreign to our twenty-first century culture since the term is rarely used. So, what is blasphemy and how might we commit it? The word blasphemy is an Anglicanized form of the Greek noun blasphemia,…