Why Is It Called The “Church of Christ”?

Do you wonder why it is so important that the church be designated properly? Let us give these very simple and very vital reasons:

1. The church belongs to Christ by right of purchase. “To feed the church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood” Acts 20:28. No other person or thing, therefore, should have any part in the title of the church.

2. The church is the body of Christ. “And he is the head of the body, the church.” (Col. 1:18) The body of Christ is the church of Christ, so it is altogether logical and right that the church be called “the church of Christ.”

3. The church is the bride of Christ. “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great: but I speak in regard of Christ and the church.” (Eph. 5:31 -32)

4. The church operates under the sole authority of Christ. “All power in heaven and earth has been given unto me: go ye therefore…” Matt. 28:18-20. Since it operates by no earthly authority, by what right should it be called after any earthly being or thing?

5. Christ is the Savior of the Church. “Christ also is head of the church, being himself the savior of the body.” Eph. 5:23. So we are obligated to no other person or thing. Why should we desire to glorify any other than the Savior?

– by H. L. Collett

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They Could Not Blush

The fat is in the sun — and, we may add, “in the fire” for all who question the various stages of undress seen in the stores and on the streets these days. The more angular and misshapen the woman, or the more knobby-kneed the man, the less propriety and modesty is shown. And no one blushes!

Jeremiah prophesied against Jerusalem saying, “Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush . . . “ (Jer. 6:15a).

They could not blush. It is a terrible thing when a people can no longer blush. It means there is no sense of shame — the con­science is seared. They have so lowered their standards that “abominations” appear acceptable. Self-respect has been de­stroyed, and there is no personal pride to urge them to better, higher, more noble attainments. Their moral “slip shows” and they “couldn’t care less.”

Further, they frequently compound their degradation by a blasé smugness, as though their calloused hearts were marks of high honor. He who blushes (should one remain) is a “square,” or maybe a “cube.”

Once my wife and I visited a woman whose attire was almost non-existent. We were so embarrassed for her that we sought to excuse ourselves; but apparently she thought her clothing (?) perfectly adequate. She sat, chatting gaily, until her three-year-old, wearing training panties, walked into the room. Then she rushed the child away with a “spat” saying, “You know better than to come in here undressed like that!” I suppose psychology has some explanation for it.

Paul commends “shamefastness”—a word meaning “bound, or controlled by a sense of shame—modesty.”  As abedfast person is “bound” to the bed by physical disability, so a shame-fast person has a built in sense of right or propriety that “binds” and forbids appearing in public carelessly or improp­erly clothed (1 Tim. 2:8-10).

When a friend of mine commented on the gross immodesty that prevailed in a western resort city, he was told, “After awhile you’ll get used to it.” My friend replied that he hoped not.

“Getting used to” something that degrades character and lowers moral standards is no inducement to one who
can still blush and is proud of it

– by Robert F. Turner