You've probably heard it said—maybe you've even wondered it yourself: “Aren't churches of Christ awfully strict?” If legalism means earning a place in heaven by keeping enough rules, then no. That's not what we teach, and it's not what we believe. Salvation is God's gift, received through a living faith, and nobody can put God in His debt (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5). Still, we take obeying God seriously here at Christians in Honesdale, and a fair question like this one deserves a real explanation, not a shrug.
What Legalism Really Means
The word gets used loosely, so let's pin it down before answering the charge. In the Bible's own terms, legalism is trusting your own record. It turns obedience into a paycheck: I put in the work, so God owes me heaven. Scripture shuts that door and locks it. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
There's a second kind worth naming, too. Legalism can also mean binding rules on people that God never gave. Jesus condemned that practice in the strongest language He used, calling it vain worship built on human commandments (Matthew 15:9).
We don't want anything to do with either one.
Can Obedience Put God in Anyone's Debt?
No, and Jesus said so plainly. “So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty’” (Luke 17:10). Stop and weigh that. Someone who obeyed everything, and none of us has, still wouldn't have earned a thing. Heaven was never for sale. Obedience was never the price. God saves people because He's merciful (Titus 3:5), not because somebody's record impressed Him.
So if you've heard that people like us think they can work their way into heaven, you've heard a caricature, not the teaching.
Isn't Baptism Just Another Work?
Here's where the charge usually gets sharper. If baptism is necessary for salvation, as we teach from Acts 2:38, doesn't that make baptism a “work”—exactly the kind of thing Ephesians 2:9 rules out?
Look closely at what Paul is actually ruling out in that verse. He's ruling out a system of merit: a record of law-keeping good enough to put God in your debt, the kind of “work” that earns a wage rather than receives a gift (Romans 4:4-5). Baptism isn't a personal achievement added on top of faith. Paul describes it as something done to a person, not something a person accomplishes: “having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead” (Colossians 2:12). The power at work there is God's, not the one being baptized. That's not a wage earned. That's a person, empty-handed, letting God act.
So no, trusting God enough to be baptized isn't a rival to grace. It's simply where grace meets us. A drowning man who grabs the rope thrown to him hasn't rescued himself.
Why We Still Take Obedience Seriously
Because Jesus is the one who tied obedience to love. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). His apostle John repeated it near the end of his life: “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).
That's the whole heart of it. Obedience isn't a wage we're collecting. It's love answering grace. A forgiven person who asks, “Lord, what do You want from me?” isn't being legalistic. That's gratitude going to work.
It's the same reason we teach that baptism is necessary for salvation (Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:21). We're not stacking up rules to score points; we're taking Jesus at His word. Faithfulness afterward matters for the same reason, since the New Testament warns that a Christian can turn away and fall from grace (Hebrews 3:12-13; Hebrews 6:4-6). Taking those warnings at face value isn't fear. It's honesty about what the text actually says.
Where the Strict Reputation Comes From
Here's the plain truth of it. In this congregation we ask for Bible authority for everything we do together in worship and in our work (Colossians 3:17). We want a chapter and verse standing behind our practices—why we sing without instruments, why we share the Lord's Supper every single Sunday rather than a few times a year, why we immerse instead of sprinkle. Set that beside churches that treat such things as matters of taste, and it can look rigid. We get why it strikes people that way.
We'll admit something else without being pushed. Any congregation, and any Christian, can slide from careful obedience into pride or a hard spirit. Jesus rebuked religious people who kept the small rules while dropping “justice and mercy and faithfulness” (Matthew 23:23). If a Christian has treated you that way, the failure belonged to us, not to God. Careful obedience and a cold heart were never meant to keep company.
Test It Against the Bible Yourself
Don't settle the question by a label, in either direction. Open the New Testament and watch how grace and obedience actually relate. You'll find partners there, not rivals. And as you weigh what we've said, know who's saying it: here at Christians in Honesdale we're simply Christians, an independent congregation with no denomination or headquarters behind us, so we can only answer for ourselves, never for anyone else. Take all the time you need. This question is a good one, and the Bible has never been afraid of it.
An Open Door and an Open Book
If grace and obedience have ever felt like a tug-of-war in your own faith, we'd love to open the Scriptures with you and let them settle it, at your pace and with no pressure. You can schedule a free Bible study, learn more about who we are, or reach out about visiting.
When we gather:
Our building is at 416 Main Street, Suite D, Honesdale, PA 18431. Parking is behind the building, and so is the entrance we use.