I must have misunderstood what you were saying then... my apologies...
I agree about the instruments... but because it was never mentioned that they were used in worship, the CofC's decided to NOT use them. I have no problem with that.. I DO have a problem with the CofC's teaching (back in the day) that it was a sin to use them. I disagree with that, and like I said, many of the CofC's have stopped that teaching, going back at least 10 years. I just disagreed with you saying that the CofC's "no instrument" policy somehow made them unscriptural, or "questionable". I don't see how God could be against their use, either, unless the instruments, or the band, becomes the focus of the worship. In my opinion, God doesn't want our worship service to become a concert.. He wants us to worship Him from our hearts... if that can be accomplished with accompaniment from a band, then, GREAT.. But the fact remains, He chose to not mention the use of them, and none of the NT writers talked about them, nor did any of the first century historians that described how the followers of Jesus worshipped. So, if there is any mandate, it's for acapella. I believe God left that up to us to decide how we want to "do" it. (worship)
Your questioning the need for baptism makes me wonder how you explain away all the scriptures that indicate it is a necessary part of the salvation process... the scriptures are pretty plain.
The CofC does not teach any kind of "works" salvation. I'm sure there are some individuals that believe works are "necessary", but the same holds true of ANY church that I've attended.
I don't know which, if any, CofC's that still think they are the only true church... I know many of them did, back in the 50's and 60's but I don't think it's a prevalent belief any more... like I've said before, I know of Baptist churches that believed the same thing, so it's not just the CofC that can be painted with that brush.... and if a "church" believes it, they are wrong.
Sorry for my "assumptions" based on your post... love ya, brother...