As a native in the former American frontier, just west of Appalachia in what we today call the South, having been exposed to numerous forms of so-called Biblical Christianity, the fact never ceases to amaze me that the Church of Christ shares historical roots with its rival groups next door.
The religious fervor of the Second Great Awakening geographically expanded views on justification similar to those of Luther. They remain prominent in the South to this day. But from that same time and place, the early 19th-century, American frontier, a drastically different, yet less prominent, view came to be.
This drastically different view on justification vexes southern Evangelicals to this day. Oddly enough, this view belongs to the Church of Christ, a group also rooted in the Second Great Awakening.
Simply put, however, the Church of Christ belongs to a different branch of that Great Awakening tree. We call that branch the Restoration Movement, or the Stone-Campbell Movement.
Two other bodies today, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the independent Christian Churches, also belong to that branch. But southern Evangelicals today are well aware of and quite bewildered by the spiritual rollercoaster ride of their Church of Christ rivals.
State of the Evangelical’s soul
If you want to know how different the Church of Christ is amongst its Second Great Awakening cousins, I’ll provide this ideal scenario.
Let’s ask a 21st-century Evangelical where he’ll go when he dies. He’ll tell you something like this:
- I was saved when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior on Aug. 28, 1992;
- The Holy Spirit began to dwell within me on Aug. 28, 1992;
- Since I was saved at that moment on Aug. 28, 1992, I was later baptized to demonstrate publicly my faith;
- I’ve experienced greater inner peace since Aug. 28, 1992.
In other words, he doesn’t fall out of God’s favor when he sneezes. His state of grace is a steady continuum.
State of the CofC member’s soul
What about the average Church of Christ member?
Let’s ask him.
“Say, if you drop dead right now, are you going to Heaven? Or straight to Hell?”
Here’s his sincere answer:
- I became cognizant, more or less, of what I must do to be saved at 10-years-old on Aug. 28, 1992;
- I was immediately baptized for the remission of my sins on Aug. 28, 1992;
- I sinned countlessly thereafter, each time changing my soul’s destination from Heaven to Hell;
- Each time I sinned, I immediately asked God for forgiveness;
- In response to my plea, God changed my destination to Heaven — again;
- If I drop dead now, I’m going to Heaven as long as I asked God for forgiveness after I had sinned;
- Otherwise, I’m going straight to Hell if I sin after asking God to forgive me for the previous sin.
In other words, like a good Catholic, the Church of Christ member’s final destination constantly fluctuates between Heaven and Hell till the moment of death.
So, if he drops f-bombs during the final throes of death, he must struggle with all his might to cry out to God for forgiveness. If he’s in the habit of dropping f-bombs, however, his last words may very well be f-bombs rather than “God, please forgive me for dropping f-bombs just now.”
And off to Hell he goes to fry for all eternity rather than taking ownership of a shiny golden mansion.
Accusations of ‘Catholicism’
Evangelicals have good reason to accuse Church of Christ members of holding “Catholic” sentiments when it comes to justification. It’s possible for both members of the Church of Rome and the Church of Christ to change their afterlife plans rather frequently.
But it’s easier for a Church of Christ member to obtain God’s forgiveness since he doesn’t need a priest for that. However, it’s extremely important he never forgets to seek forgiveness, especially if he’s in the habit of dropping f-bombs.
A simple f-bomb while in the throes of death would waste God’s most recent pardon.