House Church Talk - What Does God Think About the Existence of Many "Christian" Denominations?

[cliffsilliman at juno.com]

A solution to this problem is to return to the one holy catholic church.

What would a world wide one church look like?
How about in your town? We figured that around 25% of our area has a
living relationship with Christ as Lord. Would there be city wide
servant/elders or would each hc have one or more. Would there be city
wide meetings or just in homes. Would we rent a building to have a city
wide meeting if we thought there should be one?

Would you honor decisions made from another hc about excommunication and
serving communion? What about the letter from the hc in Jerusalem?

The ex-editor of the Socialist Review told me in a conversation after the
fall of communism that the problem was the wrong guys were in charge.

Old joke a guy is found on an island after being shipwreaked for a number
of years. When the rescuers arrived they noticed three buildings on the
island. What are these buildings for? Oh that one is where I live and
that one over there is where I worship. That one over there is where I
use to worship.
On Mon, 6 Sep 2004 10:01:03 -0400 forwarded <forwarded at housechurch.org>
writes:
> (Original was a tad too long for the list software. - forwarder)
>  
> >From "james and loretta friesen"  theway at telus.net
> 
> What Does God Think About the Existence of Many "Christian" 
> Denominations?
> 
> The gospel of Jesus records that He built one church and that all 
> saved 
> people were in that church. He prayed for unity and rebuked 
> division. 
> Denominations as we know them did not exist till centuries later. 
> Yet 
> today hundreds of denominations exist in the name of Christianity, 
> claiming to be Christian. They are divided and contradict one 
> another. 
> This study examines the teaching of the Scriptures about the 
> existence of 
> denominationalism. Introduction:
> 
> To the average person, "Christianity" includes hundreds of different 
> 
> denominations that disagree with one another in name, organization, 
> 
> doctrine, worship, and plan of salvation. Such a situation clearly 
> constitutes division, not unity. Yet all the denominations claim to 
> be 
> Christian and to follow Jesus Christ.
> 
> If we really want to please God, however, we must forsake what we 
> want 
> and practice what He wants.
> 
> Ecclesiastes 12:13 - Man's whole duty is to fear God and keep His 
> commands. We should be determined to do God's will, not our own.
> 
> Mat thew 16:24 - To follow Jesus one must deny himself. True religion 
> does 
> not consist of what pleases us. It is entirely a question of what 
> pleases 
> God.
> 
> In this study we want to consider whether or not God is pleased by 
> the 
> existence of denominations. What does He really think about the 
> religious 
> division that exists today? Does He want unity instead? The only way 
> to 
> know what God thinks is to study His revelation, the Bible. So, what 
> does 
> the Bible say about denominationalism.
> 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
> 
> 
> I. The Bible Concept of the Church
> 
> Ephesians 3:10,11 says the church is part of God's eternal wisdom. 
> This 
> shows that the church is important to God, so we should respect His 
> will 
> regarding it. What does He say should be our concept of the church, 
> and 
> does denominationalism fit that concept?
> 
> A. Bible Meanings of the Word "Church" The word "church" is used two 
> ways 
> in the Bible:
> 
> The church in the "universal" sense The "universal" church refers to 
> the 
> body or group of all saved people everywhere. It includes all who 
> have 
> been redeemed by Jesus' blood, have been forgiven of their sins, and 
> have 
> been born into His spiritual family. Bible examples of this usage 
> are:
> 
> Mat thew 16:18 - Jesus promised to build His church. The church is 
> built 
> on Jesus and belongs to Him ("my church"). [Cf. 1 Cor. 3:11]
> 
> Ephesians 5:23,25 - Jesus is Head of the church, and He is Savior of 
> His 
> body. He gave Himself for the church. So the church is the body of 
> all 
> people who have been saved by Christ.
> 
> Acts 2:47 - The Lord added to the church those who were saved. The 
> "universal" church consists of all saved people everywhere because, 
> when 
> God saves people, He puts them in the church. In this sense, the 
> church 
> is always singular.
> 
> [See also Eph. 1:22,23; Col. 1:18,24; 1 Tim. 3:15; cf. 1 Cor. 
> 12:12-14 to 
> Acts 2:38; 22:16; Mk 16:16.]
> 
> The church in the "local" sense The "local" church refers to a 
> congregation of Christians in a region who have united themselves to 
> work 
> and worship together. According to the Bible, they have a pattern of 
> 
> organization, work that they are to do, and funds they use to do 
> this 
> work.
> 
> In the Bible, Christians were not just members of the universal body 
> of 
> all
> 
> saved people, but they also associated themselves into local 
> churches. 
> Here are some examples:
> 
> Acts 8:1 - The church which was in Jerusalem.
> 
> 1 Corinthians 1:2 - The church of God which was at Corinth.
> 
> 1 Thessalonians 2:14 - Churches of God which were in Judea.
> 
> Revelation 1:4,11 - The seven churches of Asia.
> 
> Galatians 1:2 - The churches of Galatia.
> 
> Note that, in this local sense, the word "church" can be used in the 
> 
> plural - "churches of Christ" (Rom. 16:16). Congregations existed in 
> 
> different localities, but they were not religiously divided. All had 
> the 
> same pattern of organization, doctrine, worship, salvation, etc.
> 
> [See also Acts 11:22; 2 Cor. 1:1; 8:1; Gal. 1:22; 1 Cor. 16:1; Rom. 
> 
> 16:1,4; 1 Cor. 14:33.]
> 
> B. The Denominational Concept of the Church Modern denominations 
> include 
> many local congregations, and they claim there is one universal 
> church 
> composed of all "saved" people. But they add something new - the 
> denominations. All these "saved" people in all these local churches 
> are 
> now divided into denominations.
> 
> The concept of a denomination, as commonly believed today, involves 
> all 
> the following elements:
> 
> * Each denomination is an affiliation or confederation consisting of 
> a 
> number of local churches.
> 
> * Each denomination has its own peculiar name, doctrine, 
> organization, 
> plan of worship, etc., which distinguishes it from other 
> denominations.
> 
> * Each denomination claims it is composed of Christians, but it does 
> not 
> claim to contain all faithful Christians. Each denomination believes 
> 
> there are faithful children of God in other denominations. "There 
> are 
> saved people in all the denominations." "We're all going to heaven, 
> just 
> by different routes." "One church is as good as another." It's just 
> a 
> matter of personal preference, like different kinds of cars, colors 
> of 
> clothes, etc. So "join the church of your choice."
> 
> Ask any informed denominationalist, and he will confirm what we have 
> 
> said. Ask: "Are there saved Christians in your denomination?" He 
> will 
> say, "Yes." Ask: "Are there Christians in other denominations, who 
> will 
> go to heaven?" He will say, "Yes." Ask: "Does one have to be a 
> member of 
> your denomination to go to heaven?" He will say, "No." So each 
> denomination claims to consist of some Christians, but not all 
> Christians.
> 
> A denominational preacher once said the following in a letter to 
> me:
> 
> "There is only one 'holy Christian Church,' of which Christ is the 
> Head, 
> but it is now made up of many denominations ... But faith in Christ 
> is 
> the first criterion of membership in the holy Christian Church, and 
> we 
> feel that such believers can be found in all Christian 
> denominations."
> 
> C. Denominationalism Differs from God's Plan. God's plan involves 
> all 
> saved people in one universal body, yet associated together in local 
> 
> churches. Denominationalism changes God's plan by adding the concept 
> of 
> denominational affiliations - associations of local churches that 
> contain 
> some of the saved but not all of the saved - organizations that are 
> more 
> than just local churches, but less than the universal church. 
> Denominations were unknown in the Bible. They constitute an 
> addition, a 
> change in God's plan. Most people can easily read their Bibles and 
> see 
> that this is so.
> 
> What does God think about unauthorized changes in His pattern? What 
> 
> difference does it make? Will God be pleased with people who defend 
> the 
> denominational concept?
> 
> Galatians 1:6-9 - Any man is accursed if he preaches a gospel 
> different 
> from what is revealed in the New Testament. But denominationalism is 
> 
> different from the gospel. It is nowhere authorized in the gospel.
> 
> 2 John 9 - Whoever does not abide in Jesus' doctrine does not have 
> God. 
> Is denominationalism part of Jesus' teaching? No! It is not revealed 
> in 
> His word. Therefore, those who practice this unauthorized change 
> have not 
> God! [See also Rev. 22:18,19.]
> 
> Is God pleased when people follow man's wisdom instead of His? The 
> church 
> is part of God's eternal wisdom in the Bible (Eph. 3:10,11). 
> Denominations are not in the Bible, so they must have come from men. 
> If 
> we participate in them, we are following man's wisdom, not God's. 
> What 
> does God think about this?
> 
> Proverbs 3:5,6 - We must not lean on our human wisdom, but must 
> trust in 
> God to guide us.
> 
> Proverbs 14:12 - There are ways that seem right to men, but their 
> end is 
> death.
> 
> Mat thew 15:9,13,14 - Human traditions and commands make our service 
> to 
> God vain or empty. Everything religiously which God did not plant 
> will be 
> rooted up. By whose command do denominations exist? Who planted 
> them? Not 
> God, but man. Hence, they make people's worship and service to God 
> vain 
> and they will be rooted up.
> 
> [See also Isa. 55:8,9; Jer. 10:23; Col.3:17; 1 Cor. 1:18-25; 


________________________________________________________________
Get your name as your email address.
Includes spam protection, 1GB storage, no ads and more
Only $1.99/ month - visit http://www.mysite.com/name today!