Online Articles
Finding the Lord's Church
Quite often the question is asked, “In a world where there are so many different religions and denominations, how do we find the right church?”
Actually, finding the Lord’s church is not so difficult, for when a person truly finds the Lord, He finds His church (all the saved).
In Acts 2, thousands were made to see they had sinned in crucifying the Lord. Desiring salvation they were told, “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). When they gladly received the word, they were baptized (Acts 2:41). The found the Lord!! When they found the Lord, they were added to His church (Acts 2:47). Jesus’ church is simply all the saved. When one finds Jesus and is saved, he finds the church for the Lord adds him to it.
In Acts 11, Jesus was preached (vs. 20) and a great many turned to the Lord (vs. 21). As a result, a great many people were added to the Lord (vs. 24). Having found the Lord, did they find His church? Of course. To be added to the Lord is to be added to His body, the church (Eph. 1:22-23). When one is baptized, he is baptized into the body, the church (Gal. 3:27; 1 Cor. 12:13). Thus, when one truly finds Christ, He finds the church.
Dear reader, if you want to find the Lord’s church, find Christ. When you confess your faith in him, repent of your sins and are baptized for the remission of your sins you find Christ. Having found Christ, you find His church for He adds you to the saved. It’s automatic. This is what the Ethiopian eunuch found. Out in a place called desert, he believed and was baptized (Acts 8:38-39). Even out there in a deserted place, the Lord saw his obedience and added him to the saved (His church).
Now, another good question arises. How does one find a local church with which to worship. That’s easy. Find people who have done exactly what you did to become a Christian. Examine their worship and their work. If they are doing what you can read in your New Testament, then you can feel good about joining with them. Since they are loyally following the teachings of the King, you can to. If they practice things not found in the New Testament, look elsewhere.
Saul of Tarsus first found Jesus and was added to the saved (Acts 22:7-8,16). He found the church because he found Jesus. After that, he went and joined himself to a local church in Jerusalem that faithfully followed Jesus (Acts 9:26-28). Local churches following the teachings of Christ were often referred to as “churches of Christ” (Rom. 16:16). This fit them well because they truly were of Him.
It is our desire that you would find Christ by obeying His gospel and in so doing find yourself in His church. There is no greater find in all the world (Mt. 13:45-46).
