Church of Christ Studies

Why Am I A Member of the Church of Christ?

I appreciate your presence, friends, especially because of the unfavorable condition which prevails; and your coming from time to time is the greatest evidence possible of your genuine interest in these lessons that I am endeavoring to present. I am glad to note the presence of the fire department of your city. Every act that I have seen and everything of that sort and character to which attention has been called impresses me more and more with the fact that Nashville is not wholly given to worldliness, that its thoughts are not wrapped up altogether in things material, but that in whatsoever walk in life your people seem to be engaged, they have respect and reverence for things sacred and for things holy. Gentlemen, I bid you come back from time to time, enter into the singing of these good songs and hear what may be said, weigh it in the estimation of God's word, and accept it or reject it according as you find it to correspond therewith.

 

I want to call your attention to a passage of scripture by way of further introducing our services, and bid you listen to 1 Pet. 3: 8-16: "Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. And who is he that will affirm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evil-doers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ."

 

Verse 15 is the one that may most appropriately suggest the basis of the theme to-night, where Peter says: "Sanctify [set apart, make prominent] the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you [and yet do it] with meekness and fear."

 

I rejoice to believe that the time is upon us when people sitting in the pews will not accept just what the preacher says unless there be sober ground and scriptural references in support of the statements therein made. When I announce that, I do not insinuate or reflect upon any man who pretends to preach the gospel; but this matter, friends, is too sacred. The thing with which we have to deal has eternal issues depending upon it; and I would be glad if every man would study God's word, really come to the meeting with tablet and pencil, make note of the statements made, and, like the Bereans, search the Scriptures daily to see whether or not the thing spoken be true.

 

I have promised to apeak in reference to this thought: Why a member of the church of Christ; Of course I ought to be ready to give an answer to every man that might ask a reason for a claim of this kind. I would not be a member of the Democratic party and not give what I considered a good reason for it, and yet I think that I suggest the fade when I announce to you that many persons in the Democratic party there are who really do not know what Democracy teaches. If you would read out some of the planks and some of the principles by which that party is governed, there are red-hot members who would deny such being the Democratic doctrine. They have to be cited in some kind of a journal.

 

I would not be a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge unless I thought I could give a good reason for having so become identified.  

 

I stand in your midst to-night claiming to be a member of the church of Christ. I think it nothing but fair that the world should demand of me a reason for having taken a position of that kind. Before I attempt to give any, let me call attention to the fact that I could have been a member of any one of about two hundred different kinds of religious organizations. This country is filled with them, and I think it is ridiculous that, under one Christ, with one Bible, in a land that ought to lead the world, indeed, in religious thought and Bible information, we are, in proud America, divided into factions and parties galore to the alarming number of something like two hundred. Such a condition is enough to confuse any ordinary man.

 

Whoever thinks of becoming identified with any organization is bound to be confronted with this proposition. Now, out of the great multiplicity that there are, which one ought I to affiliate with? Where ought I to cast my lot? Well, there are numbers of factors that determine a man's decision along that line. Sometimes the very fact that he married a woman of a certain religious persuasion settles the question for him; sometimes it is because his grandmother happened to be a member of one religious body; and, again, it may be due to another's having a very fine building, already paid for, where the elite and bon tons of the community are wont to go. Social, political, and business matters have a large part in these things.

 

Now, friends, in all candor, there ought to be but one determining factor in a matter of that kind. Of what church ought I to be a member? The answer to that question is this: What does the Bible say with reference to church denominations and religious organizations? The man who is right before God respects the Bible first of all, while business, secular, and material considerations are wholly secondary. But what does the Bible have to say about matters of that kind? Now, that thought ought to be prominent, or else a public admission that I do not propose to be governed and directed by the Bible.

 

Now, I can say to you candidly tonight that I cannot conceive of my being consistent with reason or revelation in becoming a member of any church on earth about which I could not read in the book of God. I just cannot fancy how I could get the consent of my mind to become a member of and a participant in any religious system on earth if, upon honest, careful investigation, I found that the Bible did not so much as mention that thing. I would not become a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge as a religious institution, because the Bible makes not the slightest reference to that organization. I would not think to-night of being a member of the Campbellite Church. Now, why not? it isn't because I haven't respect for any Campbell that ever lived. That isn't it. it isn't because I am prejudiced against that name. This to me is an eternal question. it transcends the limits of time and launches out in the fathomless depths of the wondrous and boundless beyond, and hence nothing human or of human origin is attractive. Why not? Because I recognize that the hope of the world and all that you and I know about things eternal, things beyond, are revealed to us in the Bible. Not for any mean, low, or prejudicial reason, but for that reason, I never have claimed, I think I never shall claim, to be a member of any organization other than the one concerning which the Bible has something to say.

 

But I want to get this thought before you further. The Bible does not authorize men and women to join churches or even one church. A year ago I spoke to you at length on that theme, and I merely make reference thereto. But no man lives who can turn to the Bible and find any authority for a man's joining any church under the shining sun. Now, I am just as certain that that is a correct statement as in your midst I stand. I have made it publicly and privately within the presence of those who would find an exception if it were there. I: am sure that it is not. I do not become a member of the church by any joining process; but, as illustrated heretofore, I was born into it, if a member thereof at all. There was no joining process connected therewith, but it was exactly like I became a member of my father's family. I never have joined it in all these years, and yet I am a member of the Hardeman family​.

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How did I come to be a member? I came to be a member by virtue of the fact that of flesh and blood I was born into it, and that settled it. There wasn't anything else for me to do. I was a member of it by virtue of a physical birth. Now, that is true in every one of your cases here. There is not a man to-night of this splendid company that ever thought of joining his father's family. None of us ever dreamed of such.

 

Now, friends, God's church is God's family. He has ordained and outlined that, based upon the spiritual birth, men enter into his family, and the birth itself implies transition out of one state or relation into another. So every person becomes a member of the church of the Bible by virtue of a spiritual birth, and that is why the Savior insisted that "except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven."

 

To be in the kingdom of heaven is to be in God's family, which is the church. A man is, therefore, born into the church—no joining about it; and the minute he is born God adds him to the church for which Christ died. God doesn't add him to a church, but to the church. Just here, friends, let me ask: Are you a member of a church or of the church t Of the former the Bible knows nothing; of the latter it speaks repeatedly.

 

Now, the first reason that I submit to you for claiming membership in the church of Christ is the foundation on which it rests. I know, friends, that the stability of any institution, of any organization, or of any being, depends upon the foundation. A house, though it be exceedingly costly, can only stand proportionate to the character and stability of the foundation on which it rests. You may take a man's life, and, I care not how it may be, unless there is back of all the achievements by him possible to be wrought a finely laid foundation, it is not far down the way before there will come a collapse in that man's career. Why? He did not have the foundation upon which thus to build.

 

If the real elements of manhood, uprightness, honesty, and genuineness of character are not in the very warp and woof of his being, he may spring up like a mushroom and his praises be sung abroad, but sooner or later that character will tumble and fall, and great will be the fall thereof.

 

So it is with any religious organization. its strength and its helpfulness and its possible benefits depend wholly upon the foundation underlying the same. Upon what, then, is the church of Christ founded? In Matt. 16:18, just after Peter had announced, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," Christ said: "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church." Whose church? The church of Christ, Christ's church, the church belonging to him, because he is the builder, because he is the head, because he bought it with his own blood and filled it with his own Spirit. Now, what is the rock? Upon the truthfulness of the statement just announced, upon the sublimity of the fact that I am a superhuman, upon the acceptance of the great truth that I am God's Son, I will build my church.

 

Paul said to the Ephesians (Eph. 2:19, 20) : "Ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God: and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone." He also said (1 Cor. 3: 11): "Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."

 

Now, the church of Christ is built upon Jesus Christ se the Son of God. The foundation upon which the church of Christ rests has been tested and tried, for Isaiah (28: 16) says: "Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste."

 

Hence, Jesus Christ lived a third of a century on earth, withstood all the temptations to which human life is exposed, was met on various fields by the combined forces of the opposition, at last was led as a sheep to the slaughter and nailed to the tree of the cross. His body lay in a borrowed tomb for three days and three nights, while he entered into the realm of Hades. Having been thoroughly tested and tried both by the powers of earth and the Hadean world, he came forth triumphant on the third day ready to make good that statement in which he said: "Upon this rock I will build my church."

 

If I build, ladies and gentlemen, upon Swedenborg, Buddha, Confucius, Luther, Knox, Calvin, Wesley, Campbell, Joe Smith, Jr., Mrs. Eddy, or any other human being, I am but building upon the sand, and God said that the man who so does will ultimately and at last see his house collapse.

 

There is but one church built on Jesus Christ, and that is the church about which you read in the Bible and of which every Christian on earth is a member. With this we ought to be content. When you become God's child, let the matter there stop, so far as affiliation with organizations religious are concerned; for, be it remembered, there is no scripture, there is no authority other than human, for the existence of denominations.

 

Are you a Christians You answer: "Yea." Of what church are you a member? In connection with this let me ask: Are you a Christian? "Yes, sir." Of what Christ are you a follower? Suppose you think on that just a moment. You are a Christian, are you? "0, yes, Brother Hardeman." Well, now, honestly, of what Christ are you a follower to-night—which one? "0," you say, "I don't know a thing about the 'what Christ;' never heard of but one in all the Bible." Well, now, that is a fact; you never have. Now, why can't you see the other thought just as well? Of what church are you a member? You may read the Bible from first to last, and you never heard of but one church mentioned. The church is the body of Christ, and in the make-up thereof there is one head and one body, and Paul says "but one." Notwithstanding our submission to modern affairs and our being intimidated lest we speak the truth, let me march out and say it: There is as much sense in asking of what Christ a man is a follower as there is in asking of what church a Christian ought to be a member— just as much, because in the Bible there is but one Christ revealed, in the Bible there is but one church spoken of. Christ didn't say, "Upon this rock I will build my churches;" he didn't say, "Upon this rock I will build one of my churches;" he didn't say, "Upon this rock I will build a church." He did say, "Upon this rock I will build my c-h-u-r-c-h" (singular) ; and if you ever run across another one, just put it down that Christ did not build that one, because he built his upon the foundation tested and tried.

 

Swedenborg has, perhaps, built a church upon himself; the Hindu church is built upon old Buddha; the Chinese church is built upon Confucius; the church of Arabia is built upon old Mohammed. But the church of the Bible is built on Christ, and Christ alone. I presume the Campbellite Church would be built upon some Campbell, and so on down the line; but the church of the Bible is built upon Christ; and hence that is the sure, tried stone, absolutely certain to weather the storms of life and to pass over all the forces of opposition and stand at last in the presence of God Almighty justified, washed, and cleansed, that it may be presented unto him not having spot or wrinkle.

 

But I claim to be a member of the church of Christ, in the second place, because of the creed it has. Now, I am sorry that conditions suggest a discussion of creeds; and get, in self-defense and justice to all, we ought to know about those things. I do not remember, but I think I have Been a statement to the effect that there are about sixteen or seventeen hundred different creeds in America. Some one Bags: "Now, that won't do, because there are only about two hundred different denominations. That doesn't make any difference, because creeds multiply in the same ranks; and hence in one body there are piled up creeds, and then creeds, and then more creeds, one upon the other, no two of which are identical. Beloved, that is a matter that ought to challenge our concern. What does "creed" mean? it means my belief. Well, of course, then, every man has a creed. I have one, and also a discipline, a confession of faith, and a church manual. I am glad to-night to show it to this audience. The Bible is my creed, God's book is my discipline. The old Jerusalem confession of faith is mine to-night. God's law as laid down in the Bible is my church guide. Other than that I have none, have never subscribed to any other, and do not intend to. Now, why not? Because I believe this one is ancient. I can put one hand on Genesis and the other on Revelation and say: "I believe every word of it." From first to last, with all of its statements, it does not matter whether I can explain them or not, I believe them. I love the faith that was expressed by Sam Jones, perhaps in this very building or in a great tent in this city, when he said that he believed the whale swallowed Jonah. Why? Because the Bible said so. And Mr. Jones declared that if the Bible had said Jonah swallowed the whale he would still believe that, just because God's word said it. Friends, that is the faith by which a man is to walk.

 

But I stop and ask my friends many times, privately and publicly: Why have a creed other than the Bible? What is the reason for it? Well, I submit to you this: If a creed were to contain more than the Bible, don't you think it possible for that creed to contain too much? Of course that is possible. Again, if a creed contains less than the Bible, might it not contain too little? it might leave out the very thing that ought to be put in. Very well, then. If the creed contains no more than the Bible and no less than the Bible, it is exactly like the Bible; and since we do not need two of the same kind, identical, I am begging of you to lay aside every human creed and accept the word of God, and that alone.

 

Now, furthermore, I believe in the absolute completeness and perfection of the word of God; and that is based upon the statement made by Paul (2 Tim. 3:16, 17), where he said that "all scripture" inspired of God is "profitable." Now, you watch and see if there is anything left out that needs to be looked after by any kind of an assembly or body of religious people. it "is profitable for doctrine." The word "doctrine" means "teaching." Hence, all the teaching that man needs he can get from the Scriptures. But it is not only "profitable for doctrine" but "for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." Now, I believe that statement. What excuse, then, would I have for getting up another creed, even though it be considered supplemental?

 

Let every child of God on earth take the Bible as his guide, and, under the splendid light and the effulgent glory thereof, he will need no human ritual to help him find out where to go and how to walk in life. Allow me to say, friends, that human creeds have a bad effect upon the outside, honest man with reference to his faith in the word of God. I can see no ground on which human creeds, disciplines, and church rituals can be advocated. The Bible, and the Bible alone, ought to be the Christian's creed.

 

I claim to be a member of the church of Christ because of the name characteristic of it. I used to be met with the idea that such matters but little, that there is nothing in a name, and heard these things spoken of very lightly; but I am glad to believe that the world is coming to recognize that, after all, our name is the surest asset and the best capital we have on earth. I would not appreciate a man's telling me that there is nothing in a name, when Solomon said: "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches." What is the name of the church as spoken of in the Bible? There are various appellations, and all of them very significant. That institution is called the "church of God;" it is called the "church of the first-born;" it is called "God's house," "the pillar and ground of the truth;" it is called "God's building" and "God's temple," in which the Holy Spirit dwells. Now, these are Bible names; and what a wonderful impression would it make upon the people as they pass through the streets if they could see over the doors of our meetinghouses Bible names? But, instead of such, what do they And? This, that, and the other; and when they take their Bibles and attempt to find out from whence such come, they are absolutely in confusion as to why a religious organization or institution should bear a name other than those used in God's book.

 

But let me ask: What name characterized the membership in Paul's day' How were they designated in New Testament times? With reference to their relationship to one another, they were called "brethren;" with reference to their saintliness of character and purity of life, they were called "saints;" with reference to the fact that they are students and learners, they are called "disciples;" and when it came to the expression of their relationship to Christ, they were properly called "Christians."

 

No wonder, then, that Paul, while standing in the presence of King Agrippa, presumably to make a speech in his own behalf, turned to the king and presented to him the story of the cross and asked him why it should be thought a thing incredible to him that Christ should be raised from the dead. When he had finished, King Agrippa said: "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian." Paul never begged him to be a Democrat, he wasn't asking King Agrippa to be a Mormon, he wasn't pleading for him to be an Odd Fellow; but he pleaded and begged of him to become and be a Christian. That is what gospel preachers ever since that time have persuaded men to become and be; and I, for one, would not have you be anything else. I don't want any man who has ever favored me with his presence to be anything but simply a Christian—a member of the church that you read about in the Bible. I want him then to take the Bible as his creed and discipline and confession of faith, and be faithful, loyal, and true to it the remnant of his days, go about always doing good, walking in His footsteps, practicing the principles of pure and undefiled religion. If he will do that, when at last the storms of life are all over, heaven is certain to be his home.

 

I said to you the other day that the church is represented as the Lamb's wife, and everybody knows that. Now, I just ask you, gentlemen, honestly, to-night: What name do you expect your wife to wear? If you are Mr. Johnson, how would you like for your wife to go by the name of Mrs. Brown? I know enough about you gentlemen to know that such would not suit you very well. And when you raise an objection, suppose she answered you this way: "I am Mrs. Johnson all right, as a fact; but I am Mrs. Brown-Johnson." That still doesn't go well. Nothing short of her wearing your name, and yours alone, will meet your demands.

 

The relation between Christ and Christians is that of husband and wife. A loyal, faithful wife loves to wear the name of her husband, and considers it an honor to so do. Don't you think it next to ridiculous for a person to claim to be married to Christ, while at the same time he is wearing another's name? If a Christian loves Christ as he should, no other name is desired.

 

When God made a helpmeet for Adam, he gave her a name which cannot be pronounced without calling the name of the husband to whom she was to be joined; hence her name—"woman." When people believe and obey the gospel, they become married to Christ, and their name is such that you cannot say it without giving honor to Him who is the head.

 

A man is in a powerfully bad light trying to defend the Bible against the evolutionists and infidels while at the same time in his own life and practice he does not conform thereto. If I won't wear Bible names, if I won't subscribe to the Bible as my only creed, if I won't take it, and it alone, I am at a disadvantage in trying to defend it against the enemy; but when I plant my feet upon God's word, raise aloft the banner of Christ, and propose to wear the names, be governed by God's law, recognize Christ as the one and the sole head, then, with other qualifications necessary, I am able to present a good front toward the enemy of the Book of truth. Why? I showed my faith in it by accepting it, by indorsing it, by practicing it in every detail and in every phase. If this world is ever united, friends, I ask you, what book will be the creed of the union? Do you think that all could unite upon any man-made book? Certainly not. And we might as well get right down to the point and admit that if the Christian forces of the city of Nashville ever get together on the question of a creed, it will be by the elimination, the wiping out, of all human books and booklets and the adoption of the Bible, and the Bible alone. May God speed the day when this shall be done.

 

We can never unite on a human name. You can't get the religious people of the world to be Campbellite, Methodists, Baptists, or Presbyterians; and if we ever present a solid phalanx against the devil and all the agencies that threaten the peace, happiness, and highest estate of human beings here upon this earth, we must stand simply as Christians and as Christians alone.

 

I had a splendid friend of mine not long since, in talking to me just along this line, to say: "Hardeman, when we all get to heaven, we will he together over there." And he said: "There won't be any Campbellite, there won't be any Episcopalians, and none of us will be Mormons on the other shore; we will all be one." I said to that good friend: "Did you ever pray as the Lord taught his disciples to pray?" "0," he says, “Yes." I begged of him not to do that any further, unless he was willing to practice it. What did the Savior teach men to pray? "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven." That man admitted that in heaven there would not be any of these human names. Consistency demands that either the prayer be omitted or those divisive names be left off. If you believe there will be no Mormons, Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, or Campbellite over there, why not try to get rid of all such here?

 

With all the earnestness and power of my being I want to insist upon every man who has not as yet resolved and purposed in his heart just to be a Christian, to take the Bible as his guide and Christ as his leader, to form that resolution and carry it into effect this night. If there are those who have subscribed to human creeds and human affairs, I beg you to lay aside these, that there be no divisive things to mar the peace and unity of those who really love the Lord. If there are those who have tasted that the Lord is gracious, but have wandered away, we want you also to respond to the glad call.