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About Joe Norman
Expertise
I can answer questions regarding acceptable worship, organization of the church, or any apsect of the Christian life. I am the son of a preacher and have studied the Bible from cover to cover since I was 12 years old. I am strong in my research skills and do not follow teachings of men. Many will label me as conservative and some might label me as liberal, but I just seek to be biblical. I understand proper exegesis and hermeneutics and apply them. My desire is to share my knowledge of God's Word with others. Please always keep in mind that none of us who are listed as experts here are divinely inspired and therefore it is possible to get incorrect answers from any one of us. Study the Scriptures and decide for yourself if what is taught is true.

Experience
I am the 4th generation in my family to be a faithful member of the church of Christ. I was raised by a preacher and have studied the Bible everyday since I was twelve. I am 44 yrs old now. I am not a "scholar", but I am very familiar with the scriptures.

Organizations
member of the church of Christ, served as a Deacon for a few years at LakeShore church of Christ in Waco, Tx. I currently live in the North Dallas area and worship with the Lewisville church of Christ.

Education/Credentials
School of hard knocks

You are here: Experts > Religion/Spirituality > Christianity - Restorationism > Churches Of Christ > The Lord's Supper & Salvation

Churches Of Christ - The Lord's Supper & Salvation

Expert: Joe Norman - 11/3/2009

Question
QUESTION: I live in a town where I cannot attend a Church of Christ. There is a community church with Baptist based beliefs. I am concerned about not having the Lord's Supper each week. It was explained to me that if you take the Lord's Supper to often it loses it's meaning and when I showed the scriptures about meeting each week and the example the bible set about communion, I was instructed that it was all perception and that there is no place in the bible that specifically states do it each and every week without fail. I was then instructed that if I wanted communion I could do it in my home. Which leads me to believe, it is better to study and home alone rather than going to a church that doesn't always particularly follow what you have grown up believing? Also I am concerned about salvation. I have been instructed once saved theory. I feel at times my salvation is on rocky ground and when I have asked about that, I am shot down with you were saved so move on. I can't do works, God saved me so don't look back. I realize I cannot do works, it is faith alone, however, I really confused anymore...can you lose your salvation other than the one unforgivable sin? Please help me with these questions, I would greatly appreicate it. Thank you so much for your time.

ANSWER: Hi Deb,

I am sorry to hear of your difficulties. It is of my opinion that you are better off holding worship services in your home with your family than you are to participate in worship with some denominational group that doesn't worship God according to His design. I have heard many say the same thing about taking the Lord's Supper too often, but they are wrong. It has never lost it's meaning for me and I have taking the Lord's Supper every Sunday since I became a Christian at almost 11 yrs of age.

Also, we KNOW that both theologically and sociologically, the Lord's Supper was the central act of the weekly assemblies of the early church. This is verified by historical records...ancient writings. Acts 20:7 and I Cor.11:20, 21, 33 show it was done on the first day of the week. The Lord's Supper is expressive of the central realities of the Christian faith and of what the church is all about. When Christians eat the bread and drink the cup, they are sharing in Christ's sacrifice and its benefits. They are participating in Christ's body and blood, that is, they are identifying with His life and death.

The Lord promised to be with His disciples always (Matt.28:20#. The Lord's Supper is a pledge of that continuing presence. In the bread and wine there are presented tokens of His body and blood. These are a pledge of continuing fellowship with Him. Paul claims that partaking of the Lord's Supper proclaims Christ's death #I Cor.11:26) until He comes. It is taken in anticipation of the messianic banquet. When we partake of this communion, we are to examine ourselves as well as remember the great sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf and the salvation we have as a result of this sacrifice. We MUST partake of the Lord's Supper every Sunday - unless we are unable to attend worship for some real reason.

Also, it isn't a problem if a local church always follow what you have grown up believing. What matters is whether or not they are following God's instructions. God didn't leave it up to man to decide how to worship Him properly. We have a pattern to follow in the New Testament. We are to follow that pattern. It doesn't earn our salvation to be obedient to God, but it does show our love for God, our trust in Him and His promises, and our respect for God.

Now let's discuss this topic of salvation. The once saved always saved belief is one of the most destructive and false teachings there is in the world today. It is similar to the lie the serpent told Eve in the Garden of Eden. He said that if she ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, she would not surely die. OSAS people teach that once you are saved, there is nothing you can do to lose that salvation. So even if you live a completely sinful life after becoming a Christian, you will still go to Heaven.

Such teaching flies in the face of the words of Paul. Paul asked, "Should we sin that Grace may abound?" Then he answered his own question with, "Certainly not!".(Romans chapter 6) Jesus spoke of the way being narrow and difficult and few would find it (Matt.7:13,14). Jesus spoke of how some would enter into the church and lead some astray. Peter spoke of wolves in sheep's clothing. He spoke of Satan as being a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.

1 Pet.5:8-11
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

It is true that we cannot earn our salvation. It is also true that no one can snatch us from the hand of God, but we can choose to leave God. We can be taught error and due to our believing false teaching, be lost. There are too many passages in the New Testament warning us about false teachers and being lost for OSAS to be true. Study the book of Hebrews. Also, water baptism IS required in order to become a Christian and have your sins washed away. You will be told it is merely symbolic and that salvation comes before water baptism. You will be told it is a "work". Indeed it is a work but not a work of man to earn anything. It is a work of God. No one baptizes themselves. They MUST submit their will to someone else and permit that person to baptize them just as Christ gave up His will and permitted them to crucify Him. He could have called 10,000 angels to destroy the world and set Him free. But He died alone for you and me.

If you need a more in depth study on the false teaching of once saved always saved, please ask a follow-up question and I will be happy to respond with a deeper study on salvation. I appreciate you asking me this question and I pray that this helps you some. Also, if you need help finding a church of Christ close to you, here is a link that will help you.

http://www.churchzip.com/

To God be the glory.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for your response!!! Thank you for the website for the churchzip. I have already looked there. However it isn't possible right now for me to travel, so therefore came the questions about church vs home study. Since I feel I have some what of a strong foot hold on the teachings, I would just like more guidance and thought provoking studies to continue to learn and become better grounded. If you could give me a link or a good source of studies. Right now I am studying some things from Beth Moore and Joyce Meyers...so far they seem to be on the mark at least of what I have been reading and studying thus far. I would appreciate any comments you might have if there are better suited studies out there. Again, thank you so much for your response.

ANSWER: Hi Deb,

If you can't travel to the nearest church of Christ it is my opinion that you are better off having home worship and partaking of the Lord's Supper at home. I highly recommend that you study God's Word more than you do any "Christian" book on certain topics. But if you do read some books on certain topics, I recommend you stay away from those written by those in the denominational world because they twist God's Word. I recommend books by members of the church of Christ. One is called The Bible It's Text and Background by Tom Barton. I also recommend anything by Everett Ferguson. Their books should be available on Amazon or through Gospel Advocate or the Sunset Bookstore in Lubbock Texas. Also look for writings by Jimmy Jivadin and Ed Wharton.Joyce Meyers and Beth Moore are false teachers. Also, Joyce Meyers is a "pastor" or "evangelist for a denominational church. That alone should tell you to avoid her. Women are not to have leadership roles in the Lord's church according to the New Testament. The reasons were not cultural either but based upon the order of creation and the fact that Eve was deceived by the serpent in the Garden of Eden but Adam was not deceived. He sinned intentionally.

Another good author in the brotherhood is Wayne Jackson. I don't agree with him all the time but I do most of the time. If there is a specific topic that you wish to study and want a good book on that topic, I might can recommend something. Just ask me specifically and I will try to help you. May God bless you richly.

Your brother in Christ, Joe Norman

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Again, thank you so much for your quick response, it is greatly appreciated. I would really like to study more on salvation and most importantly I would like to study how to have a better relationship with the Lord and to live in and not of the world, how to draw strength from the Word to not give in to doubts and guilt. It is funny that you mentioned Sunset Bookstore, my father had studied to become a preacher for the Church of Christ through Sunset. It is also with this regard that having my father as a preacher and now being gone since 2001, I found that he helped keep me grounded and on track when I would slip and now I have a sinking feeling I cannot do it on my own. I will not allow Satan to steal that away, but my mind is my own worst enemy, how do I strengthen that? Sorry to keep bombarding you. Again, thank you for your past responses.

Answer
Hi again Deb,

I am not sure what I can offer that will help you. We all grow spiritually at different rates. As you know from the parable of the seed and the sower, most who hear the Word of God are not saved for various reasons.

The best way I know of to improve your relationship with God is to make sure you devote yourself to the study of His Word, prayer, and fellowship with your brothers and sisters in Christ. These three things are vital to your spiritual growth. Do not forsake the assembly. Do not spend most of your free time with non-Christians or in doing things that might tempt you to sin.

My dad was also a preacher up until he retired at 78 years old. His father was an Elder for many years. His grandfather was also a preacher. So I am the fourth generation of my family (on both sides) to be a faithful member of the Lord's church.

My dad wrote this on the inside of every Bible he gave me. "This book will keep you from sin and sin will keep you from this book."

You strengthen your mind by dwelling on good things while avoiding even thinking about evil things. I again recommend you avoid denominational writers works. There might be some good things in what they present, but unless you are firmly rooted in God's Word, they will lead you astray into believing man-made doctrines. They at some point always twist God's Word. That is even possible with some who are of the Lord's church because we are all human and fallible. But God's Word is perfect and complete. He preserved it for us through His divine providence. This is why we must be like the Bereans who studied the scriptures daily to see if what was being taught them was true.

Each one of us is responsible for making sure we are on the one way, the narrow way that leads to eternal life. I pray this is of help to you.

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