Can a Person Be Saved Attending an Unscriptural Church?
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If a person obeys the gospel, goes to a place where there is no Church of Christ, is he/she saved by attending another church? Does Romans 2:14-15 have any bearing on this?
This question contains several assumptions that we need to unravel before we can answer it. First, the Bible teaches that Jesus is the one who saves us. “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Ephesians 5:23 says that He is the savior of the body. The body is His church (Ephesians 1:22-23). One is saved by virtue of being in the body of Christ. This is not a matter of attendance, per se, but spiritual location. One puts on Christ and is admitted into the body of Christ through baptism according to Galatians 3:27. One remains faithful to the Lord by observing all things that He has commanded us to do (Matthew 28:18-20). One of the things that He has commanded us to do is to assemble with the saints on the first day of the week (Hebrews 10:25).
Another assumption in this question is that the name “Church of Christ” must be on the outside of the building to be a church of Christ. That is not necessarily the case. There are many names for the church used in the scripture and “church of Christ” is just one of them. The question that must be answered is whether one is attending a congregation of people who are observing the things that the Lord has commanded for us to be faithful. If one has done this, then he has attended a church of Christ whether the name as such is on the building or not. If they are not doing these things, then he has not attended a church of Christ regardless of what name is on the building. They may even have “Church of Christ” on the building and not be the church of Christ. In other words, it is not the name on the building that makes a congregation a church of Christ, but their practices and beliefs. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:21-23).
May one be faithful to the Lord by attending another church that is not the church of Christ? If it is not a congregation that is practicing and believing what the Lord has commanded, then one’s attendance is just as significant to the Lord as attendance at a baseball game or some other non-spiritual event. As far as the Lord is concerned, there is only one body (Ephesians 4:4), and the body is the church. Those who are not His body are not His church and attending those organizations means nothing to the Lord.
Romans 2:14-15 does not have any bearing on this question because we are no longer under a covenant where Jews and Gentiles are divided. Paul’s point in Romans 2:14-15 is that gentiles, in the period of the Old Covenant, were counted faithful by the Lord if they did the things of the law. This is the same point that we are making regarding the church today. It is those who do what the Lord says to do that will be counted faithful. Those who are not doing the things that the Lord said to do will not be counted faithful.