Church of Christ / Is it a Cult?

Hello, in this video we're going to be looking at the Church of Christ, or the Churches of Christ. We're not talking about the denomination, Church of Christ UCC, that Barack Obama is supposedly a member of.

Not talking about that group. We're talking about the group that came out of the 1800s. So, the Churches of Christ. The most famous members of the Church of Christ today. If you've heard anything about them, you've probably heard about the Church of Christ in relation to the clan from the hit TV show, Duck Dynasty.

Origins of the Churches of Christ and the Restoration Movement

So, Phil Robertson and family, they are probably the most famous members of the movement. But, where did this group start? So, the Church of Christ, or Churches of Christ, they are a restorationist group that was founded in the 19th century, so 1800s.

And they developed out of a group known as the Campbellites. The whole idea of the restorationist movement was that true Christianity was being restored to the earth. Incidentally, this is what Joseph Smith of the Mormons claimed about his church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This is what Ellen White of the Seventh-day Adventists claimed. That we, the Seventh-day Adventists, we are the true church, the true remnant church of the end times. Also, the Jehovah's Witnesses, even though they don't like using the word church or Christianity, they do claim to be the authentic version of Christianity.

And these are all groups that started up around the same time, the 1800s, and there are some connections. And the big question with the Church of Christ is, are they a cult? Because, without question, the Mormons and the Jehovah's Witnesses, historically, they have been considered cults.

That is standard Protestant evangelical doctrine. That's not my opinion. They've been considered cults from the beginning. So, the question is about the Church of Christ, are they a cult? Many would say they are.

Many would say they're not. And we'll get into their doctrinal distinctives in a moment. Now, one thing about the Church of Christ, they're big on this idea that you need to be a disciple. So, if you say, I'm a Christian, they might come back and respond, well, are you a disciple?

Because they'll look around, and this is what happened in the 1800s, these Restorationist groups, they looked around at the Presbyterians and the Congregationalists and the Methodists, and they thought, these people are not real Christians.

Many of them go to church on Sunday, and they're not committed. Some of them don't even go to church, and they're not real Christians. But we are, and the word they've sort of latched onto is disciple.

So, are you a disciple? And what they're asking is, are you actively involved? Are you truly committed to Christ? And let's face it, there's a lot of people that aren't all that committed. Some professing Christians don't even go to church.

So, that's a whole other subject that we're not going to get into, but many find this to be a powerful argument. So, if you say, I'm a Christian, and somebody responds, yeah, but are you a disciple? That may be an indication they are part of the Church of Christ.

I used to work with a guy who was part of this movement, because there's different branches, the International Church of Christ, and trust me, he was big on that. So, if somebody said they were a Christian, they're not going to take your word for it.

You need to kind of prove it to them. That's been my experience. So, I mentioned that in passing, but whether or not they're a cult, because you could say there's some legitimacy to that argument. Some Protestants would say that's true.

But, as far as this idea, are they a cult? I think the Restorationist movement, anytime somebody says we are the true church, or you have to be part of our movement in order to be saved, that's cult-like behavior.

With the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses, that's what they said. Though Jehovah's Witnesses still teach that. Some Mormons don't anymore, but the early Mormons seem to, that we are the true Christians.

Sectarianism and Salvation Outside Denominational Boundaries

So, that type of attitude, where you say you must be a member of our group, again, to be fair, some Churches of Christ members would say that's true, some would probably not say that. But anytime you say that you have to be part of our group in order to be a true Christian, that is a sectarian attitude condemned by Christ in Luke 9, verses 49 and 50.

My position, I believe the biblical position, because denominations didn't exist in Bible times. And again, that's a whole other subject of the different denominations, but I personally believe that there are saved people in pretty much all the different denominations.

Because salvation, it's not a matter of are you part of our church, or are you part of our movement, it's whether or not do you believe the Gospel. And this is a problem with the Church of Christ, that some would claim, that they add to the Gospel.

Baptismal Regeneration, Acapella Worship, and Rejected Creeds

So, let's finish the video by talking about some of the doctrinal distinctives. The first doctrinal distinctive of the Church of Christ is they believe in baptismal regeneration. So, you're not saved by faith alone.

You need to have faith and be baptized. So, they believe that the water literally washes away your sins. So, if you have not been baptized, you are not saved. So, baptismal regeneration, that's number one.

Number two, another thing they are very well known for, they forbid musical instruments in church. So, their worship services, it's acapella only. The third doctrinal distinctive is they reject creeds.

So, they would resist and reject the historic creeds of Christianity, including the Apostles Creed and Nicene Creed. They say you should just study the Bible, which a lot of people would probably be sympathetic to that viewpoint.

So, we're not saying that they're wrong in all these different areas, but there are some problems, baptismal regeneration probably being the biggest issue. So, I hope you found this helpful. If you did, feel free to subscribe to the channel.

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