Rome Church of Christ

Our Beliefs

Jesus said, "Upon this rock I will build My church" (Matthew 16:18). That "rock" or foundation was the confession of Peter that Jesus was "the Christ, the Son of the living God." The mission of the Rome Church of Christ is to be that church with Jesus Christ as its cornerstone.

Worship

When you visit one of our Sunday services, you can expect to find a simple worship service that seeks to replicate the worship of first century Christians. Their worship practices are found in the New Testament as Christ and His apostles indicate through the writings and testimony we have in scripture. When we assemble, it is with the priority of worshiping God according to His prescribed pattern. As a result, the Lord’s body that meets at Rome is encouraged and built up in this common bond. We worship God every first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:1), and we worship Him through the following acts:

Praying: (1 Timothy 2:1-8)

Congregational A Cappella Singing: (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16)

Taking Communion: (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11)

Preaching: (Acts 2:42; Romans 10:14)

Giving: (1 Corinthians 16:2)

Salvation

We are all given the opportunity to worship God in eternity, the goal of every believer (Revelation 5:11-12; 19:5-7). We demonstrate our faith in Him by following His commands for rendering obedience to His gospel in all of the following ways:

Faith in the Gospel (Hearing & Believing)

Romans 10:17 tells us, ". . . faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." Mark 16:16 tells us we cannot be saved without believing the gospel of Christ.

Repentance

In Acts 2:38, Luke records that "Peter said unto them, 'Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'" Paul (Acts 17:30) says that "all men everywhere should repent."

Confession

To the Romans Paul declared, "For with the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation" (Romans 10:10). Acts 8:37 tells us the words the Ethiopian eunuch used to confess that Jesus was the Son of God.

Baptism

Jesus said, in Mark 16:16, "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." Colossians 2:12-13 tells us through baptism we are "buried with Christ" and Romans 6:4 tells us that following baptism we are "raised to walk in newness of life."

Remaining Faithful

Through John, Jesus tells His followers, "You may be tested and . . . you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life" (Revelation 2:10). James (1:12, 20) tells us that he who perseveres under trial will receive the crown of life and that we must be "doers" of the word.

God's Word

The Bible is considered the source of practice for most movements under the heading “Christianity.” There are some who would take the Scriptures and build a belief system outside of the given text and context. This is how man-made creeds develop, and these differ from group to group. You can expect the congregation that meets here at Rome to have a wholesome respect for the inspired word of God, the sole and complete source of authority for what we believe, what we do in our worship, and how we attempt to conduct our lives. Because the members of the Rome Church of Christ accept the Word of God as the all-sufficient source of faith and practice, we reject all human creeds; they are unnecessary duplication of what is already there or they are additions to the original text (Galatians 1:8-9; Revelation 22:18-19).

Helping Others

Benevolence

When Jesus is asked about the greatest commandment, He says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind." He then says the second greatest commandment is that you should "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37-39). Philippians 2:3-4 tells us to place others before ourselves and to look out for the interests of others. We are also instructed to "Do good unto all men, especially those of the household of faith" (Galatians 6:10). The Rome Church of Christ strives to meet the needs of our members and our community through works of benevolence. We have a fully stocked food pantry, and we are involved in other works that meet the physical needs of our community and beyond (Matthew 25:34-40).