The church of Christ is the only church one must be in to be saved.

Debate Etiquette Plagiarism I thank WFTL for the concession regarding his plagiarism. Invalid Sources 1. I stopped looking at the comments section when I expressed irritation with the peanut gallery. If anyone cares, you will find my two comments to the effect and none after. So no, I didn’t know. 2. I am not responsible for the Affirmative’s errors. Perhaps if he wasn’t so hasty in posting this would be a non-issue. 3. Again, the sources were references to his invalid Red Herring argument. Debating Personal Interpretations Instruments WFTL concedes that Jesus never condemns the use of instruments during worship but says we shouldn’t expect him to because he commands us to sing only. For a man using the New Testament alone, it is funny that he doesn’t produce a bible verse to show Jesus commanding everyone to sing only in worship. There isn’t one. Funnier still, his logic reveal two Sola Scriptura Double Standards[1] (SSDS) and it is a two for one. I'll demonstrate. 1. WFTL would like to say that since the use of instruments in worship is not mentioned in the New Testament, therefore; they are forbidden in worship but according to his source [2], using contraception is not mentioned in the New Testament, therefore; it is acceptable. To prove my point, all one has to do is follow the number and scroll down to the section on acceptable forms of contraception that have no biblical backing. So which is it? If it is not in scripture then it is forbidden, or if it is not in scripture then it is acceptable? 2. WFTL said he would use the New Testament as his only source. Using instruments in worship is not in the Testament. Therefore, he is using something not in in the New Testament as his source but his opinion as to why it is not in the New Testament. Baptism WFTL says I falsely accuse him of saying, “one must be baptized by believers of accountability.” But that is exactly what he said as I now cite WFTL as he says in round 2, “Baptism by believers of accountability.” Not of, by believers of accountability. It is no wonder he has such difficulty interpreting scripture, he can’t even interpret his own criteria. Whether it is out of haste in posting or his terrible communication skills, I am only responsible for debating the criteria he presented, I'm not a mind reader. With regards to immersion, we used the same verses and came up with different conclusions that are not found in scripture. So between the two of us, whose interpretation is correct? This has been my challenge to WFTL throughout this entire debate. WFTL is correct that I cannot submit a scripture for the imagery of Jesus kneeling in water but neither can he provided scripture saying Jesus was completely under water when he was baptized in the Jordan. The mode of baptism is never given in scripture. He gives Mark 16:16 as his example so I will do the same, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” I have no problem with “and is.” I have a problem with the words that aren’t in the text at all . Must be another demonstration that if it is not found in scripture, God really wants us to do it. (SSDS) Paul Referring to the Churches of Christ? This is starting to get sad. I have already shown from the original Greek the meaning of the Greek word ekklēsia that shows Paul is speaking for all of the church in greeting to the individuals in Romans. It looks like we have another case where we cannot tell who has the right interpretation. I will take this a step further. Romans 16:16[3] KJV : The churches of Christ salute you. NIV : All the churches of Christ send greetings. NLT : All the churches of Christ send you their greetings. ESV : All the churches of Christ greet you. WEB: The assemblies of Christ greet you. Of this small sampling of bibles, only the KJV has “The Churches of Christ” and only there can WFTL assert the naming of the church. All others, however; are closer to the definition I have provided for the word ekklēsia and demonstrate Paul is talking about the people in the church as opposed to using the name of the church. How can WFTL be sure if his interpretation is true if it is possible the KJV is inaccurate in Romans 16:16? There is certainly no way he can know from the bible because nowhere in scripture does it say one translation is better than another. This could still fall in his line of reasoning though. Not in the New Testament so the KJV must be the right translation. (SSDS) Paul Breaks Form My opponent wants some bible verses that demonstrate Paul asked the Ephesians to pray for him. That’s fair. I forgot to edit my summery after I discovered I was refuting plagiarized work so I will give more than just Ephesians. Eph. 6:18–20: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. Rom. 15:30: …strive together with me in your prayers to God for me. Col. 4:3: Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds. 1 Thess. 5:25: Brethren, pray for us. 2 Thess. 3:1: Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you. In all instances, Paul is not praying to Jesus but to brethren in the local churches. Recall, I demonstrated the verb pray is the action to ask humbly and that is what Paul does in these five verses. Does this mean that Paul is bypassing Jesus? Shouldn’t he take those prayers straight to Christ, the one mediator, alone? Certainly not because WFTL is right, God wants us to pray for each other but it is also very helpful, when praying for each other, that we also pray to each other to know the intentions others need praying for. Back and Forth on the Fifth So the True Church of Christ doesn’t Tithe? Then why is criteria 5 based off 1 Corinthians 16:2? It would really help if you actually labeled it but let’s have another look. “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.” If Tithing is bad thing, why does Paul say, concerning the collection, do what I told the Galatians to do and on Sunday let everyone set aside what they can afford as God let them prosper and not to wait until Paul comes?Apparently, Paul likes to break CoC New Testament interpretation. [4] My Church Is Not On Trial Seriously, if you wanted to debate the papacy you should have said so in your proposition. Enough said. I will address what he prefaced his perpetuation of the Red Herring with “We are to follow the example that the Apostles left for us to follow, which is contained in the bible.” WFTL can you substantiate that claim with a bible verse? No, you cannot. Just another case of believing something to be true because it is not in scripture. (SSDS) Closing WFTL’s list looks like a bowl of scrambled eggs but let's be fair, it looked like that before I gave rebuttal. Let's see where we are at. 1. Apostolic Origin: WFTL offers nothing but the assertion that they had the New Testament. My friend, the early church didn’t have a New Testament for three centuries. It was canonized in the late fourth century and early fifth century by the Catholic Church. Until then no one knew which early Christian writings were scripture so you can thank, the council of Rome 382AD, the council of Hippo 393AD Pope Damasus, and Pope Innocent for clearing that up. [5] 2. It took him three rounds to figure out what he wanted it to be but ironically, he demands of me what he himself cannot provide, explicit instructions on the mode of baptism. (SSDS) 3. WFTL says we must follow the example of apostles in the New Testament but the New Testament does not self-authenticate. No inspired table of contents.(SSDS) 4. What happened to #4? 5. Tithing to the church is forbidden and the proof text is a verse about how to tithe to your local church! What? (SSDS) 6. Jesus never gave a command in the New Testament to sing only or play instruments during worship. Not in scripture, Jesus must have commanded it! Not in scripture, Instruments are forbidden! (SSDS) Well I’m Dizzy. The crux of this debate boils down to the Affirmative’s inability to demonstrate how he knows his interpretation of the New Testament correct. To prove the validity of his mess of a list, I asked him to demonstrate how he knows his list is the criteria for the one true church by telling us how he knows his interpretation of the list is correct, show us historically where the early church used his same criteria, and demonstrate that there are no more or less criteria. I also asked him where his leaders got their authority pass the test like the actual early Christians. WFTL didn’t acknowledge any of it but the fact remains that the early church did not go by the New Testament because they didn’t have it. It was still in development until the late 4th century at the earliest. I give WFTL credit, he went everywhere to distract from the weakness of his argument and all he really says is I’m in error. How does he know he is not in error himself? I submit that he cannot with Sola Scriptura as there is no inspired glossary. I thank WFTL for this debate. He is a noble man by virtue of his service to our country and I hope we meet again. God Bless. [1] http://tinyurl.com... [2] http://tinyurl.com... [3] http://tinyurl.com... [4] http://tinyurl.com... [5] http://tinyurl.com...