What Does God Think of "Denominations"?
Do you belong to one of Christianity's "denominations"? Perhaps you attend an
"Assembly of God", or a "United Pentecostal" service. You may consider yourself a
"Catholic", or a "Methodist", or a "Lutheran". Of course, there are others, such as
"Presbyterian", "Baptist", "Church of God"... and even groups which some may not
consider Christian, such as "Mormon", "Jehovah's Witness", or a variety
of other sects claiming to have their peculiar set of beliefs which please God.
Additionally, we see "non-denominational" Christian groups (those claiming they are not
part of any "denomination"), again, all claiming
that theirs is the way of Jesus Christ, yet tolerating, but not able to fully agree with
others who don't believe exactly as they do. I have heard leaders of these groups say
that these "divisions" are actually pleasing to God; that they are "diversities" of the Body
of Christ. It is interesting to note that there is one title these groups all claim for themselves. One "name" they all
lay hold to: "Christian". Yet "Christian" groups around the world are the epitome of division. They are confused, divided, scared of one another, envious of
the other's numbers, and BY their divisions, frustrating the prayers of Jesus, that
"we would be one, as Jesus and the Father are one".
Is this the way of Christ? When Paul said there was "one faith", did he mean what he
said? If there is "one faith", doesn't it make sense to believe that there is also only one set of beliefs that is right? If there is "one church", or "one body", isn't reasonable to expect that every one in this family of God will believe the same thing? Yet by belonging to a "denomination" or a "non-denomination", your actions prove otherwise. If a person has been made a member of the true "church" by God, why would that "church member" join himself to any of men's sects and creeds? The reasonable and sincere seeker of Jesus Christ will not deny this truth. If you think that the Body can exist "divided", you are not being "reasonable". If you are a holy Ghost filled believer in any denomination, you are in disobedience to the Spirit you have received... perhaps in
ignorance, but hopefully never again after reading this!
In order to lend credibility to their sects, certain groups have picked out for themselves
one of the titles given to the church in the Bible. Others chose to add names to the
word church which are not used in its connection in the Bible, such as, Baptist,
Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, and many others. God condemned such divisive
practices at their inception (1Cor.1:10-13); still, we should be more concerned with
whether or not we are in the church than what its proper name might be, for only those
in the safety of the church will be saved.
The word, "church", comes from ekklesia, a Greek word which means "called-out ones";
and that is exactly what the church is: people called out of the darkness of sin into the
light of holiness. Many in our time call the building in which they worship "the church";
but the word "church" refers only to God's earthly family, and it should never be used in
reference to a building built by men. The church is the earthly dwelling place of God's
Spirit, as Paul stated, "your body is the temple of the holy Ghost" (1Cor.6:19). Peter
described the church as "living stones", forming "a spiritual house", a place "to offer up
spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ" (1Pet.2:5). The church, then, is
the people of God, not a mere building. As the man of God said, "the Most High
dwelleth not in temples made with hands" (Acts 7:48).
How does one become a Church Member? This is vital, because if one is in fact a
Church Member, all other associations or memberships in other "churches" are
unnecessary, and in fact, sin. Moved by the Spirit of prophecy, the Psalmist declared
(Ps.87:5,6), "And of Zion [the church] it shall be said, `This man was born in
her'. And the highest Himself shall establish her. The Lord shall count [note], when He
writeth up the people that this man was born there." One must be born into
the church because it is a divine family; it is not a club which can be joined. In Old
Testament Zion, it was by a natural birth that one became a member of God's family,
but in this New Covenant it is a by spiritual birth. This is why Jesus said to Nicodemus,
"Ye must be born again" (Jn.3:3-7). The following three verses
reveal, in New Testament terms, how one enters the church:
These three Scriptures state clearly how one becomes a church member, and they all
agree: baptism. The only question, then, is "Which baptism is it that makes us church
members, a baptism in water or the baptism of the holy Ghost? That question is fully
answered by the verse from 1 Corinthians 12:13: "BY ONE SPIRIT ARE WE
ALL BAPTIZED INTO ONE BODY." Friend, regardless of how good a
person appears to be or how lofty his religious title, if he has not received the baptism of
the holy Ghost (with the evidence of speaking in other tongues), he is not in the church
of Jesus Christ. The church is comprised only of Spirit-baptized people. Some of these
saints are obedient and some disobedient, but no one else is in the church, though many
may yet enter in.
Not all Members of the Church will be saved! Not all who are born into the church
will be faithful to God. Therefore, the church, as a whole, is not perfect. Nor was it
perfect in the days of the apostles. Ananias and his wife Sapphira, for example, were
anything but exemplary believers. From its beginning, the church has been a mixed
multitude, some good and some bad; but Jesus will purge the church of its ungodly
members before his return (Mt.13:36-43). We are still living in the age when the church
must carry both the bad and the good, the foolish and the wise, the false and the true.
But, thanks be to God, the end is drawing near.
Now, my brother, my sister, in which group of the church are you? You, who have been
born of the Spirit of God, is your garment still spotless? Are you yet among the few
who "have not defiled their garments?" Or is your robe like the robes of some rich
believers, which James described as "motheaten?"
If you belong to a "denomination" you are "unfaithful" to the truth. You have made
yourselves members of "another" church, which is not another (for there is only one), but
is a "harlot". If you have ignorantly done so, God is willing and ready to forgive, and to
bless you for "coming out" of the congregations of the disobedient. And, as we are
learning, out of "Christianity" itself - a religion which tolerates sin, unites the spirit-
baptized and the unbeliever, and is of Satan. If you love Jesus, you are not looking for a
"form of godliness" - you are looking for your family in Christ Jesus... and in this hour
they will be found obediently following their Lord OUTSIDE of the divisions of men. If
you are "reasonable" and if you have faith - you will join them!
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