Introduction

Introduction

The Church of Christ in its truest form is a fellowship of obedient believers who have faith in Jesus as the Son of God and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior who restores them to God.  In this truest form the church is a spiritual family without division.

In an earthly context, the church of Christ seeks to be a local fellowship of people who God has added to the church (Acts2:47). 

A Restoration Movement began in the United States during the early 19th century.  Believing that creeds were divisive, church leaders abandoned all denominational labels and promoted a return to the First Century New Testament church as its unifying theme.   In the beginning of this movement, however, the desire was to be Christians only; known only by the name Christian, without any earthly divisions.  For this reason the phrase, Church of Christ, was used as part of a sentence and was not intended to be used as a title for division.  The intent was to say, "The Church of Christ meets here.", and then all those who enjoyed a relationship with God through obedient faith in Jesus would find a place of welcome among their spiritual family.  Over time, Church of Christ, became a title of this particular group of Christians to others and even within its own fellowship.

We in the New Richmond Church of Christ seek to provide a place where Christians can gather together for the glory of God and be known as Christians only.  It is not our intent to cast judgement on those who meet elsewhere for the Glory of God.

The Message

The message we bring is the message of Jesus.  The work of Jesus was and is to restore people to God, the creator of all things.  To understand Jesus' work one must understand our need for restoration in the first place.

People have the ability to make choices.  When we choose to do the things that do not please God, then we commit sin.  God cannot have a relationship with anything that is unholy, so our sin causes us to be separated from God, and we have all sinned.  God is just and though He loves us He will let us recieve what we deserve.  Consider how a parent might correct a child.  The child may receive what is deserved, but the parent still loves the child.

While God is just, He is also merciful, but mercy is offered on His terms.  Jesus took our punishment for us, and by obedient faith in his work, we are restored to God.  When God looks at the faithful, He doesn't see their sin because the punishment that Jesus accepted satisfies the need for justice.  Therefore, through obedient faith in Jesus and his life, death, burial, and ressurection, we have access to the mercy of God and eternal life.

Godly sorrow then works to motivate us to continually transform into the image of CHRIST.  2Cor.7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation, a repentance which bringeth no regret: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. 

This change shows itself by a desire to live our lives for the good of others, for the glory of God and no longer in a way that seeks only our  own good.  This is the message that we bring.  It is called the Gospel; the Good News, and it is good news for those who realize they are separated from God to discover that there is a way back to God.  The name of the way is Jesus.

The Source

We believe the Bible.  It is our source of knowledge about Jesus.  We accept that God has provided the Bible for us by inspiring those whose testimonies and letters are contained therein.  When questions arise, the Bible is our standard.  We agree that the Bible does not uncover every mystery of God, but that it teaches us sufficiently for us to be restored to our Creator.

Many people have studied the Bible and have been successful in writing the message in understandable ways.  We appreciate their efforts and the many thoughts they share in commentary and instruction, but when a person speaks of God, we believe his thoughts must agree with testimonies and teaching of the bible.  An old saying from our heritage goes like this:  "Speak where the Bible speaks, and be silent where the Bible is silent."

An Open Invitation

You are cordially invited to visit our congregation.  This is simply an introduction of who we are and what we believe.  Please stop by and study with us as we seek to learn of Jesus and build faith in him.