In the basement of America’s largest home, the Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina, you can see a model of the structure. The model was completed first, as a guide to build the home. In Barcelona, Spain, you can visit the still unfinished Sagrada Familia Church. They have been working on it for fifty years. They will show you a model of what the building will look like when it is finished.
We all need patterns, and we must follow the right pattern. The Bible gives us a model for building Christ’s church. The New Testament is the right pattern. Members of the church of Christ refuse to accept any human creed in religion. We seek to plant New Testament churches throughout the world, after the New Testament pattern. We refuse any uninspired man’s statement, or system of statements, as our rule in religion. Articles of Religion, Confessions of Faith, Disciplines, Church Manuals, and Creeds formulated by men are rejected. The Word of God alone is our standard.
This is the only safe path because “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17). Peter says that God gave us “all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3); therefore, when we speak, we are to “speak as the oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11).
If we want to be pleasing to God, we need to follow His model.
—Adapted from Garland Elkins
