Friend, I am so thankful that you are reading this! I wanted to share with you that I found something especially intriguing—the church. Some may wonder, “What could be so ‘intriguing’ about ‘church’?” After all, it’s not that hard to find a church—they’re all over town! But, it is not “a” church that I have found! I want to show you that I have found “the” church! Let me explain.
First, I found that the church is actually the collection of people—the saved people. The church is not a building or a structure or a business. The church is the people. Specifically, the church is composed of all the people who are saved by Christ. In the Bible, when a penitent believer was baptized, God added that person to His church (Acts 2:41-47). They “were all baptized into one body” (1 Cor. 12:13). I found “the” church that is made up of those who have been baptized for the remission of their sins, just like the Bible teaches!
Second, I found the church that started in the Bible. The church was a central part of the eternal plan of God (Eph. 3:10-11). When Jesus came, He promised to build His church (Matt. 16:18). And He did! He “purchased” the church “with His own blood” (Acts 20:28), and He established His church in Jerusalem in 33 A.D. (in Acts 2). All modern “churches” have started in more recent times, but I found “the” church that Jesus Himself started in the Bible!
Third, I found the church described in the Bible. The church in the Bible is depicted as Christ’s “body” (Eph. 1:22-23), “family” (1 Tim. 3:15), “kingdom” (Col. 1:13), “bride” (Rev. 22:1), etc. How many bodies, families, kingdoms or brides does Christ have? Just one! And He condemns any kind of “division” of His church (1 Cor. 1:10). I found the “one” church (Eph. 4:4) that is described so beautifully in the Bible!
Fourth, I found the church that follows the Bible. Believe it or not, not all churches actually follow the Bible. Some follow their own church manuals, which are actually additions to the Bible. Some follow the directions of an earthly headquarters, which is foreign to the Bible. But I found the church that simply speaks where the Bible speaks, remains silent where the Bible is silent, calls Bible things by Bible names and does Bible things in Bible ways (Rev. 22:18-19; Matt. 7:21)!
Friend, I want to introduce you to the church of Christ! Jesus gave His life for it (Eph. 5:2) and one day will come and deliver it to His Father (1 Cor. 15:24). It is truly a valuable treasure when you find it, and I want you to know that it is worth every personal sacrifice in order to be in it (Matt. 13:44). You are important to me, and I wanted to share this with you, so that you might find “the church,” too!