Questions People Have Asked

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Questions people have asked:

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1. Does your church go by the New Testament?
2. Are only men permitted to lead the congregation during services?
3. Are musical instruments used during worship?
4. Does your church believe that one must be baptized, by being fully immersed in water, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost on order for an adult to be saved?
5. Does your church believe of laying of hands?
6. Does your church believe in speaking of tongues?
7. Does your church see homosexuality as a sin?
8. Is your church considered non denominational?
9. Are visitors accepted kindly?
10. Is youth "leader" the same as a Youth "minister"?
11. What must I do to be saved?... I think it's the all mighty who has the last say in who he lets in and who gets left behind.

Answers:

1. Does your church go by the New Testament?

Absolutely! All Scripture is given by inspiration of God (2 Tim 3:16-17).  The Christian is obligated to observe the commands found in the New Testament. The cross of Christ removed the Old Law (Col 2:14).

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2. Are only men permitted to lead the congregation during services?

Yes. This fulfills the commands given in 1 Timothy 2.

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3. Are musical instruments used during worship?

No. They are not authorized (Col 3:17). (more)

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4. Does your church believe that one must be baptized, by being fully immersed in water, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost on order for an adult to be saved?

Yes. (Mk 16:15-16; Mt 28:19-20; Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:20-21). (more)

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5. Does your church believe of laying of hands?

There were two kinds of "laying of hands" in the New Testament. First was that which was done by the Apostles in order to pass on miraculous abilities (Acts 8). The second was a custom of the day in which men would lay hands on an individual and pray for them. We are not Apostles, so we can not do the first. The second is no longer a custom so we do not do it either.

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6. Does your church believe in speaking of tongues?

People spoke in tongues in the New Testament times but that ability passed away after the Word of God was fully confirmed (Mark 16:17-20; 1 Cor 13:8).

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7. Does your church see homosexuality as a sin? 

Yes, the Bible teaches it is a sin. (Rom 1:25-28).

8. Is your church considered non denominational? 

We don't even like to call ourselves "Non-denominational" because that carries certain connotations with it today. I like to call ourselves "Anti-Denominational."  (more)

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9. Are visitors accepted kindly?

Definitely. (more)
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10. Is youth "leader" the same as a Youth "minister"? I am just wondering why the label? I might sound a little legalist but a "little leaven leavens the whole lump".

(This question concerned the link on the Good News for Youth page and was replied to by Mark Bass from the Alkire Rd Church of Christ)  I appreciate your writing to question something that concerned you about our web page (you found it linked to the Gahanna-Jefferson Church of Christ web page).  In reply, no, the youth leader is not a youth minister. He is one of our deacons who directs various programs for our young people (devotionals, etc.). I realize the term is not found in scripture, but it simply describes what he does. It's like the term "song leader".  It is not found in scripture, but we do not consider it a title, it is merely a description of what he does -- he leads the singing therefore he is a song leader. We also use the term "eldership" in spite of the fact that it is not found in scriptures (even in the Greek). However, it is not a title, but merely describes a plurality of elders serving in the local congregation. There are any number of other terms or names that we use to describe various programs and works that are not found in the Bible per-se (Church Secretary, Bible Class Teacher, Vacation Bible School, Gospel Meeting, youth devotional, etc.), but I do not think they are unscriptural. We certainly do not want to use unscriptural titles or names. I don't know how else we could identify the deacon who works with our youth.  I hope this answers your question. If not, please feel free to write back. Brotherly, Mark Bass.
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11. What must I do to be saved?... I think it's the all mighty who has the last say in who he lets in and who gets left behind.

I would agree that God has the right to decide who he lets into heaven.  I would never teach that we can earn our own salvation.  However, I believe that God has told us who he will allow into heaven.  He's put a few conditions on who he will let in. Those conditions are the ones listed on our "Salvation Page."  Why would He give us those conditions if He did not mean to require them of us? Again, this does not mean we earn our salvation but that we must meet the requirements to accept the gift of that salvation.  For example, if one buys a lottery ticket and wins millions of dollars, did they earn that money? Absolutely not!  But they never would have received it if they hadn't bought the ticket. (Please don't think that I am condoning gambling. I believe it to be a sin. But the example fits). There are some things that we have to DO to be assured of heaven (James 2:15-26).  Not to EARN our salvation but to show our faith in God. "Faith without works is dead."

-- Ralph Price --