Frequently Asked Questions
If I visit, will I be asked to make a donation?
How often do you take communion?
Do you practice open or closed communion?
Which Bible should I use?
What denomination do you belong to?
How does one join your church?
What must I do to be saved?
If I visit, will I be asked to make a donation?
No. In keeping with the commands of our Lord delivered through His apostle, Paul, the local church takes a collection on the first day of each week (I Corinthians 16:2). But this collection is a setting aside of funds by the members of the local church, and does not involve anyone outside of the church. There is nothing in scripture to suggest that we should raise money in any other way. Therefore, we take no collections from visitors, and visitors are not encouraged to participate in the church's collection. In fact, we would prefer that our visitors not place any money in the church's collection.
How often do you take communion?
We strive to follow the pattern laid down in the New Testament in all of our practices (Philippians 3:17). We see that Christians in the New Testament, with the approval of the apostles, assembled together to eat the Lord's Supper on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). Therefore, we do the same today: the local church comes together on the first day of each week (Sunday) to eat the Lord's Supper.
"Do you practice open or closed communion?"
The word "communion" means "sharing" - so let's think for a moment about what it is that we are sharing when we eat the Lord's Supper. The apostle Paul wrote that we share in the body and blood of Christ when we eat the bread and drink the fruit of the vine (I Corinthians 10:16). Clearly, this is something exclusively for those who are Christians. Even if they could, why would people who do not believe in Jesus desire to share His body and blood?
"Which Bible should I use?"
There are quite a few good, literal English translations of scripture. These include the King James, the New King James, the American Standard and New American Standard, the Revised Standard, among others. Any of these literal translations will give you a substantially accurate rendering of the original.
The key is to look for a literal, i.e., word-for-word translation, rather than a paraphrase. Not only will you get a more accurate translation, you will also be able to look up words in the original languages for further study. For example, consider II Timothy 4:2 in the New King James translation with the same verse in the Bible in Basic English:
| II Timothy 4:2, NKJ | II Timothy 4:2, BBE |
|---|---|
| Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. |
Be preaching the word at all times, in every place; make protests, say sharp words, give comfort, with long waiting and teaching; |
Immediately, we can see the problem with the Bible in Basic English paraphrase, "say sharp words". This sounds like a contradiction with Paul's earlier instruction in the same book, that a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all (II Timothy 2:24). The New King James rendering, "rebuke", is much more precise and makes perfect sense.
There is also the question, mentioned above, of being able to look up the meaning of the words in the original language. For example, take the word "ready" in the New King James Version. This English word represents a specific Greek word, ephistemi. Thus, you could look this word up in a lexicon of New Testament Greek, and gain some additional insight as to what Paul was charging Timothy to do. However, you would not likely have the opportunity to do so if you were working with a paraphrase such as the Bible in Basic English. If you will look at the table above, you will see that the BBE has no word to correspond to "ready"; thus, it has no word to represent the Greek word, ephistemi. If the BBE were your primary study Bible, you would never know that Paul told Timothy to be ready.
This is just a small example of the problems that arise with paraphrases. Paraphrases are often easy to read, because they use simple words and modern idioms. However, if we are studying the Bible in order to understand what the authors intended to say, then our main concern will be accuracy. More than that, if we believe that the Bible is God's word, then we will want to study it in the purest and most accurate form available. For those of us who are not fluent in biblical languages, there are a number of sound, literal translations that fill this need quite nicely.
"What denomination do you belong to?"
The New Testament teaches that there is only one faith among God's people (Ephesians 4:5). In fact, religious division among Christians is expressly forbidden (I Corinthians 1:10). There is no room for denominations within the body of Christ.
We aspire to practice pure New Testament Christianity, absolutely free from all man-made creeds and practices. We know no head but Christ (Colossians 1:18). We have no organization apart from the local church, for that is all we find in scripture.
We belong to no denomination. We belong to Jesus Christ.
"How does one join your church?"
It is not "my" church or "our" church, but Christ's church. Therefore, if we wish to know how to join, we need to ask Him.
"Christian" is another word for "disciple of Christ" (Acts 11:26). Jesus tells us that we become disciples through faithful obedience (Matthew 28:18-20). His chosen apostle, Paul, writing under the direction of the Holy Spirit, tells us that we come into Christ - become members of His body, the church - at the point of baptism (Galatians 3:27). The apostle Peter, also at the direction of the Holy Spirit, told the repentant believers on the day of Pentecost that they needed to be baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:36-38).
It is at the point of baptism that the repentant believer partakes of Christ's atoning sacrifice, and is thus freed from his sins (Romans 6:3-6). It is at the point of baptism that the repentant believer's sins are washed away (Acts 22:16). Thus we are not surprised when we find that baptism "saves" us (I Peter 3:21). In short, we join the body of the saved - the body of Christ, His church - when we are immersed in water for the remission of sins. We are "baptized into Christ" (Galatians 3:27; Romans 6:3).
Once members of Christ's body, we then join ourselves to a local assembly of disciples (Acts 9:26). This local body of saints is also referred to as a "church of Christ" (Romans 16:16).
"What must I do to be saved?"
The short answer to this question is, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 16:31). That is a perfectly true and complete answer, and if it weren't for the many misunderstandings in the religious world, we could in good conscience leave it at that. However, because there are so many variations in the world of "Christendom" that did not exist in the first century, we find it advisable to fill in a few details as to what it means to believe in Jesus.
In order to have our sins forgiven, and be granted eternal life, the Bible teaches us to…
- Believe in Jesus Christ (Acts 16:30-31)
- Repent of our sins (Acts 17:30)
- Confess Jesus as Lord and Savior (Matthew 10:32-33)
- Be Baptized (immersed in water) into Christ for the remission
of our sins (Acts 2:38) - Live a life of faithful obedience to God (Matthew 28:18-20)
Of course, if we really do number 1 correctly, the others will follow pretty readily. We're not talking about earning salvation here, we're just talking about how you respond when you learn that someone has died for you. And before we leave this topic, we must ask: Have you been saved from your sins?
