Churches, Not Doctrine Clubs

“The headship of Jesus Christ over the church has a very practical application in issues of reformation. If a church is a Christian church at all, this means that it does not ‘have a right’ to its own doctrinal traditions. The headship of Christ means that He is the final authority, and he has set down His requirements in the Scriptures. So if a church names the name of Christ, then it has an obligation to conform its teachings and practices to the requirements of Scripture. It is not possible to say, for example, that ‘this denomination’ was found in the conviction that it is possible for a true saint ‘to lose his salvation.’ The fact that this teaching was present at the denomination’s founding does not justify continuing in that error — preceisely because the church is a true Christian church. Christ is the Head, and not the founding denominational fathers” (Mother Kirk, p. 48).