Semantics in Understanding the Lord's Church

adapted from an article by Aude McKee

edited by Bryan Gibson and Dave Brown

We are hesitant to get too involved with the way that words are used since the New Testament warns about “doting [being sick] about questions and disputes of words …”  However, there are certain times when the usage of words and terms (combinations of words) convey a false impression in and of themselves.  It is important for us to recognize what we are communicating implicitly when we use words in certain ways.  Let us look at some examples:

Do not say: “Church of Christ people.”
It is better to say: “Christians” (Acts 11:26), or “God’s children” (1 John 3:1-2), or “saints” (Romans 1:7), etc.

Do not say: “Church of Christ doctrine.”
It is better to say: “New Testament doctrine” (2 Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 8:8-12), or “doctrine of Christ” (2 John 1:9), or “doctrine of God” (Titus 2:10).

Do not say: “Church of Christ preachers.”
It is better to say: “gospel preachers” (Romans 10:15; 2 Timothy 1:10-11), or “evangelists” (2 Timothy 4:5).

Do not say: “I am trying to teach him/her our position.”
It is better to say: “I am trying to teach him/her the word of God” (Acts 13:5; 18:11).

Do not say: “Come, let us hear what the church of Christ teaches.”
It is better to say: “Come, let us hear the word of the Lord” (Acts 13:44).

Do not say: “I am trying to convert him/her to the church of Christ.”
It is better to say: “I am trying to convert him/her to the Lord” (Acts 11:21; 2 Corinthians 3:16).

Do not say: “The church of Christ teaches this or that.”
It is better to say: “The Bible, or the New Testament, teaches this or that.”

Do not say: “Congregations of the church of Christ.”
It is better to say: “churches of Christ” (Romans 16:16).

Do not say: “The church of Christ is right.”
It is better to say: “The word of God is right. 

We would hope that the church of Christ (as a description, not a name of a denomination) where you attend is making a sincere effort to conform to the word of God in its worship, work, organization, teaching, and practice” (Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 4:17; 7:17).

In the days of Nehemiah, Jewish men married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. As a result, children born out of those unions spoke half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak purely the language of God’s chosen people. Speech, such as that listed above under “do not say,” is the product of the influence of denominationalism, and is not pure, Biblical language. We must always be careful in our speech to convey that which is truth. Those expressions listed under “do not say” are language which is foreign to the teaching of the New Testament, and it will lead people to have a denominational concept of the church.

It is true that every departure from the truth in years past has been characterized by unscriptural terminology. A good rule always to follow is this: If you cannot describe a practice of a group with Bible language, used in exactly the same sense in which the inspired writers used it, then that practice is unscriptural!

For example, if you cannot explain the organization of a religious group with New Testament language, correctly used, then that group is unscripturally organized.

So, let’s be sure we keep our practice scriptural and then let’s be sure that we describe scriptural things with language that is in harmony with scripture.  That is the only way that we can know that we are communicating pure truth.

 

See also the article entitled: The Name of the Lord’s Church.