WHAT WE BELIEVE & PRACTICE AS THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN TEMBISA
We believe and practice that the Holy Bible is the inspired and infallible Word of God as stated in Timothy 3:16. We believe it is the only basis for all preaching, teaching and worshiping God.
All biblical, religious and theological issues are to be settled by referring solely to the scriptures.
We believe that God sent His one and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ as per John 3:16 to come to Earth to die for our sins so that we may obtain salvation. This marvelous gift is available to all who do the following:
1. We Must Hear, Listen & Obey The Word Of God: “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?'” (Acts 2:37)
2. We Must Believe In The Word Of God: “He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned'” (Mark 16:15-16)
3. We Must Repent Of Our Sins: “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30)
4. We Must Confess That The Lord Jesus Christ Is The Son Of God: “If you you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved” (Romans 10:9-10)
5. One Must Be Baptized (buried/immersed) Into A Pool Of Water For The Forgiveness Of Sins: “Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38) and subsequently added to the church by the Lord Himself to the saved as per Acts 2:47.
6. We Must Remain Faithful Until Death: “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown” (Revelation 2:10).
7. We Must Worship God In Spirit & In Truth: "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24)".
HOW DO WE WORSHIP
We believe that the objective of our worship to God our Creator is not to entertain ourselves, that means whatever we do in worship is not based on that what appeals to our physical senses, but must be based upon what pleases God.
We believe our worship services are to simply glorify God (John 1 :14) and to edify each other as children of God (Hebrews 10:24-25).
From the beginning, God has made it clear how He wants to be worshiped and, as His faithful children, we must abide by his teachings through His Word on we ought to worship in an acceptable manner.
Jesus said: “God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24).
Consequently, to worship God according to truth is to worship Him according to His Word, because His Word is truth (John 17:17). Therefore, we must not include any item not found in His Word.
1.Singing
Our method of singing in our worship service is that of Acapella Singing. This is because the New Testament does not authorise the use of mechanical instruments or hand clapping in our worship service. In fact, of the eight New Testament scriptures with regards to singing for God, none of them mentions the usage of mechanical music instruments or hand clapping while singing:
• “And when they had sung a hymn, they went our to the Mount of Olives” (Matthew 26:30).
• “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God…” (Acts 16:25).
• “Therefore I will praise Thee among the Gentiles, and sing to thy name” (Romans 15:9).
• “…I will sing with the Spirit, and I will sing with the mind also” (1 Corinthians 14:15).
• “…Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart” (Ephesians 5:18-19).
• “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16)
• “I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto Thee” (Hebrews 2:12).
• “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praise” (James 5:13).
2. Prayer
• There are many examples and instructions on prayer in the New Testament. Jesus tells us how to pray in Matthew 6:5-15.
• Because Jesus is our mediator (1 Timothy 2:5) and high priest (Hebrews 4:14-16).
• Our prayers must be addressed to God in the name of Jesus Christ (John 16:23).
• Lastly, in our prayers we should give thanks to God and praise His name. We can also pray for our needs and the needs of others (Philippians 2-3-4).
3. Preaching & Teaching
• God has commanded us to teach His Word to the saved and sinners (Matthew 28:19-20) and the early Christians “devoted” themselves to that teaching (Acts 2:42).
• According to Romans 10:17, faith is acquired by “hearing the word of God”, and it is only through studying God’s Word that we can teach others, overcome false teachings and grow stronger in Christ (1 Peter 2:1-2 and 2 Timothy 4:1-5).
4. Giving
• The church obtains the necessary funds to do its work when Christians give according to their means. 1 Corinthians 16:2 tells us who is to give: “each one of you”; when to give: “on the first day of every week”; and how much to give: “in keeping with your income”.
• But do it “cheerfully”, not “under compulsion” because God loves a “cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).
5. The Lord’s Supper
• Jesus instituted this supper on the night of His betrayal (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
• As Christians, we observer it in memory of His death, bringing to our remembrance the sacrifice of the body and blood of Jesus on the cross for our sins (Matthew 26:26-28)
• The Lord’s Supper consists of two emblems: unleavened bread (bread without yeast) and fruit of the vine (grape juice), which symbolise Christ’s body and blood respectively (1 Corinthians 10:16).
• In accordance with the New Testament teaching, we observe the Lord’s Supper on the first day of every week, as was practised by the first-century Christians (Acts 20:7)
• The text does not specifically state the first day of every week, just as the command to observe the Sabbath was simply “remember the Sabbath day” (Exodus 20:8).
• As the Jews understood this to mean every Sabbath, by the same reasoning we understand “the first day of the week” to mean the first day of every week.
• Additionally, we not only strive to worship on Sundays only but also worship on every Wednesday evening for a Bible Study and then we also meet on the first three Saturday mornings every month for Public Speaking Training.
• It is our long term desire to fellowship and worship on a daily basis as per the church of Christ in Acts 2:42-47.