“The True Church”

Richard Thetford

Everywhere you look these days there seems to be another church. There are well over 1,500 different so called churches in the world today. So one should be asking "what is the true church?" The true church was built by Jesus Christ - not man. Christ said: “...and on this rock I will build My church...”(Matt 16:18). So we know the true church is the one that Christ established and built Himself and the church is called two names in the New Testament, the church of God (1 Tim 3:15) and the church of Christ (Rom 16:16). The true church is comprised as Christ as the head “And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church” (Eph 1:22), and Elders (Bishops) (Phil 1:1; Tit 1:5-9), Deacons (Phil 1:1; 1 Tim 3:8-13), and Christians (Acts 11:26; Phil 1:1). When one attends a church that does not have Christ as its head but rather man and man made headquarters, then it can in no way be the church that Christ built. Christ established the terms of membership into His church. These are faith (Acts 16:31; 2:47; Heb 11:6), repentance (Acts 2:38; 17:30), confession (Rom 10:10; Acts 8:37), and baptism (Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; 1 Pet 3:21). Jesus Himself was baptized to show total obedience to God's word (Matt 3:16). Yet there are still those who say that baptism is not necessary for salvation. These have not found the true church. The mission of Christ’s church is to teach the gospel (Mark 16:15; Eph 3:10), to worship God (John 4:23,24), and to save people (Acts 2:47). Are you a member of the true church, the only church found in the New Testament?