Now, the Bible tells us how we might get INTO Christ:

Romans 6, verses 3 and 4 says, “Or are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized INTO Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 We were buried therefore with Him through baptism unto death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.”

Listen to what Paul wrote in Galatians 3, verses 26 and 27: “For ye are all sons of God, through faith, IN Christ Jesus.” WHY? “27 For as many of you as were baptized INTO Christ did put on Christ.”

One should be clearly able to see that the same act that puts one INTO Christ puts one INTO the body, which is His church. Seeing that those who are IN Christ are those who will also inherit eternal reward, and if those who are IN Christ are in the body—in the church—would you say, then, that “One must be a member of the church of Christ to go to heaven?”

Well, if you want to be Scriptural, if you want to remain true to what the Bible says, then you’ll have to answer, “Yes! You have to be in the church of Christ if you want to be in heaven some day.”

Now, let’s ask the question just like we worded it in the very beginning of our lesson this morning: “Will only those in the church of Christ be in heaven?” The answer is, “Yes.” With the evidence we have seen this morning, there is one God, there is only one way of salvation, there is only one church, there is only one conclusion that we can draw. If you are going to heaven, it will be by the means which Christ has made available for that purpose.

I want to tell you this morning that there’s nothing magical about the church. Being in the church simply shows one’s obedience to the commandments of Christ! Just because one obeys the Gospel and becomes a member of the church does not mean that he will automatically go to heaven. One must be faithful to the end, Matthew 10:22; Revelation 2, and verse 10. For one…to…go…heaven, he must be a faithful member of the church of Christ.

Now, when we are, therefore, faced with this question, we really don’t have any choice in the matter of how we’re going to respond. The matter of “who is going to heaven” is not one of personal opinion, and it’s not one of personal judgment. It is a matter which is determined solely by what…God’s…Word…teaches.

Now, if it’s true that members of the church are being hateful and unloving when they give the proper answer to this question, then I would submit to you that God is also being hateful and unloving, because it’s His Word upon which the answer to this question is based.

Now, let’s understand one other important fact this morning, as we close our lesson: When someone asks, “Do you believe that only those in the church of Christ will be in heaven,” it is very crucial—it’s extremely important—that we identify what is meant by the term “church of Christ.” If the questioner means, “Do you believe that only those in the denomination, which calls itself the ‘church of Christ’ will be in heaven,” then we must make it crystal clear that the church of Christ is NOT a denomination, but instead, is the one, true church, that one can READ ABOUT in the pages of the New Testament.

Now, why is that so important? If the church of Christ is only a denomination, then we have absolutely no right to tell anyone that we are the only ones going to heaven. We would be making our “denomination” superior to theirs. But the truth of the matter is this: No denomination is any better than any other denomination, because none of these various kinds of religion are either authorized by or found in the pages of God’s Word. And if you want to be in heaven some day, then it is crucial that you be in the church. Which church? The Lord’s church, the only one found in God’s Word. Yes, only those in the church of Christ will be in heaven…as long as that church is the one authorized by the Word of God.

This morning, we will ask you this question: Don’t you want to be in heaven some day? I know that you do. We’re positive that all in the entire world—and I’m including those in the denominations—we’re positive that all in the world who believe in Jesus, who believe that He is the Son of God, want to obtain that heavenly reward. Now, please understand that when we tell you that only those in Christ’s church will go to heaven, that we are not being hateful and unloving. We are not trying to exhibit an attitude of arrogance and superiority. What we are trying to do is show you what the BIBLE teaches on this subject. Since we know and believe that the Bible is the final Word of God on who will be in heaven, it is our desire that every single soul in the entire world will be obedient to what the Bible teaches. That’s not arrogance. That’s not unloving. That’s not hateful. That’s LOVE! We love the souls of all mankind, and we do not wish that anyone would be lost eternally, but that ALL would come to repentance.

If you’re not yet a New Testament Christian, we pray that you would come forward this morning in your desire to put your Lord on in baptism so that you might have that hope of everlasting life. We pray you would come this morning—that you would be saved this very morning. And if you will do that, when you are baptized in Christ, and you rise from that watery grave of baptism, HE will add you to HIS church. And then, you, too, might some day be in heaven with all of them who have been saved in a like manner. We ask you to come in response, this morning, to the Lord’s invitation.

Are you, perhaps, a Christian who has maybe fallen back into the ways of sin? We pray that you, also, would come to the Lord this morning. If you don’t live a life of faithfulness to God, you will not receive that eternal reward. When you first became a Christian, did you not understand that you must continue to be IN Christ in order to be in heaven with all of God’s saved some day? We ask you, at this time, if that’s the case, won’t you please come back to your first love.

This morning, whatever your desire might be—whatever you need might be—we ask you to come, while we stand and sing.