How Does One Get Into The Church Christ Built

Not a single denominational church was built by Christ for he built his church, one and only, in the first century hundreds of years before any denominations came into existence.  The New Testament scriptures, after the gospels and Acts chapter 2, all refer to the church as a then-existing institution.  Paul wrote to various churches in some of his epistles.  John in the book of Revelation wrote to the seven churches of Asia.  The church Christ built was established in the first century, not during the Reformation or the centuries thereafter.

The question men and women need to be seeking an answer to today is not how do I get into this denomination or that one but how do I get into the church Christ built?  Don’t ask how do I become a Baptist or a Methodist or any other such thing but how do I become a Christian?  How do I enter into Christ’s church? 

Being in the church Christ built is an entirely different thing than being in a denomination.  One can be in a denomination and yet outside the church Jesus built.  If being in a denomination is the same as being in the church built by Jesus then the denomination has no reason for existence and should drop its denominational name and associations and just call itself what it would be under those circumstances--the church of God, the church of Christ, the church, or some other scriptural name or designation.  It would be “the church” and not “a denomination.”  It would be the church Christ built.

Generally speaking, almost all denominations admit they are not essential for most freely admit that one can be in another denomination other than their own and be saved thus making the one they are in non-essential.  This is also an unintended confession that they are not the church Jesus built for his church is essential.

Many say Jesus is all that matters, the church does not matter.  Why do they say that?  Because they have a denominational concept of the church.  I am the first to agree that there is not a denominational church on earth that matters and every one of them ought to cease their existence.  But, that is a far cry from saying that the church Christ built does not matter.

In this article, I am not concerned about how one gets into X, Y, or Z denomination but with how one gets into Christ’s church.  Certainly, there are steps to be taken as there are steps to be taken before one can enter any institution.  One must be made aware of the institution, what it does, and what purpose it serves before any desire can be created to be a part of it.  So it is with the church Jesus built.

The church built by Jesus matters so much that you cannot be saved outside of it, without becoming a member of it.  It is “the church of God which he purchased with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28 NKJV)  If you are outside that church it means you were never purchased with the blood of Christ.  It means you are not a part of the body that he is saving.  “He is the Savior of the body.” (Eph. 5:23 NKJV)  What body?  “He is the head of the body, the church.” (Col. 1:18 NKJV)  The church is the spiritual body of Christ of which he is the Savior.  It is the body he is saving.

Christians are “members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones.” (Eph. 5:30 NKJV)  “You (Christians--DS) are the body of Christ, and members individually.” (1 Cor. 12:27 NKJV)  One is either in that body or he is not, you are either inside or outside, and where you are makes all the difference for salvation.  Yes, the church matters.  It is not Jesus yes and the church no. 

The church is what Jesus gave himself for on the cross.  “Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.” (Eph. 5:25-27 NKJV)

Salvation is in Christ which is the same as saying in his body, the church.  “Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” (2 Tim. 2:10 NKJV)  In Christ one is a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).  In Christ are found all spiritual blessings (Eph. 1:3).  “In Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ.” (Eph. 2:13 NKJV)  That is in Christ and not out of him.  The list could go on and on but the point is that to be “in Christ” is absolutely essential to salvation but to be in Christ is to be in his body, the church.  The church is thus essential.        

One cannot join the church Christ built.  God adds the man or woman to it under certain conditions.  “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47 NKJV).  Who was added to the church?  Those who were being saved.  Who then is in the church?  The saved.  Who is outside the church?  The unsaved.

Does God just add whoever he pleases to the church unconditionally?  If so it would not be a man’s fault if he failed to obtain salvation.  There would be nothing he could do about it as it would be entirely in God’s hands.  It does not work that way.  At the close of the first gospel sermon ever preached Peter exhorted the crowd saying, “Save yourselves from this untoward generation.” (Acts 2:40 KJV)  Other more modern translations use the words “be saved” but the thought is the same.  It is up to the individual.  The individual has something to do.  Salvation is not unconditional and God does not save men adding them to the church unconditionally.

Does this mean that all who are in the church are saved?  No, for some go astray and live in sin and hypocrisy, in indifference and unconcern, without a deep abiding faith and love, who have fallen away.  It does mean, however, that you must be in the church to be saved for that is where those who will be saved are placed by God.

Upon hearing the gospel before one can be added to the church, before God will do the adding, one must believe what he has heard.  Paul defines the gospel by which we are saved if we believe in 1 Cor. 15:3-4, “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received:  that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he arose again the third day according to the scriptures.” (NKJV)  This correlates with Peter’s confession of Christ in Matt. 16 when Christ asked, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:15 NKJV)  Peter’s reply was, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:16 NKJV)  Jesus then says, “On this rock I will build my church.” (Matt. 16:18 NKJV)  It was by the resurrection that Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God with power … by the resurrection from the dead.” (Rom. 1:4 NKJV)  Thus one must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died for our sins and was raised from the dead.

Jesus Christ as the Son of God is the foundation upon which the church was built “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (2 Cor. 3:11 NKJV)  He is the “chief cornerstone” (Eph. 2:20 NKJV) of the church.  So a man must believe these things about Christ to be saved.  Faith then is essential.  We are “living stones” (1 Peter 2:5 NKJV) being built up as “a spiritual house” (church - DS) (1 Peter 2:5 NKJV) upon the foundation that has been laid--on Christ Jesus.

But, is this faith enough by itself?  No, and all know it who are honest.  Why do I say that?  Because on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 when Peter preached Jesus to the Jews he did not once command them to have faith in Jesus.  Why not?  He did not need to for their faith became evident when they cried out to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’” (Acts 2:37 NKJV)  Make no mistake about it these Jews believed everything Peter preached that day in preaching Jesus.

Here is my point—if we are saved by faith alone why not dismiss that crowd on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 and go home?  If we are saved by faith alone there is no need for any further instructions as to how to become a child of God, a Christian.  There is no need for further instruction on what is necessary to be saved.  When the men ask “what shall we do” why not tell them to go home now and just continue to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and Savior of the world?

The answer is simple enough for an honest man.  Faith was not all that was necessary.  Peter tells them to, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” (Acts 2:38 NKJV)  There are many who say that yes, in order to be saved, one must also repent of one’s sins.  However, that is where they want to stop.  They want to separate repentance from baptism in the passage and gladly ignore the fact there is a coordinating conjunction there, the word “and,” that joins the two words making one just as essential as the other.   It simply will not work.  Peter said they must do both.  If repentance is essential for the remission of sins the passage teaches that baptism is also.

Denominations do not practice this nor do they believe it.  But, remember this article is not about how to get into a denomination.  It is how to get into Christ which is the same thing as getting into his body, the church.  None of us should care how to go about getting into a denomination.  Who needs one?  It is the church Christ built into which one must enter for salvation.

The only man prepared to enter into Christ where salvation is found, to enter his body which is the church, is a penitent obedient believer.  He/she is obedient in the sense the person is willing to obey as he/she learns the Lord’s will which at this point is repentance and baptism.

In the Great Commission, the apostles were instructed to baptize only one group of people--those who were made “disciples.” (Matt. 28:19 NKJV)  One can only know whether or not a person who presents himself for baptism is a believer by asking him.  This brings us to another element essential for salvation--the confession of Christ.  “With the mouth confession is made to salvation.” (Rom. 10:10)  Timothy was said to “have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Tim. 6:12 NKJV)  It is the good confession Christ witnessed before Pontius Pilate (1 Tim. 6:13) which was that he was “the Christ, the Son of the Blessed” (Mark 14:61-62).  See also Acts 8:36-38.

Thus the steps into Christ are (in order) faith, repentance, confession of Christ, and finally baptism into Christ.  How does one get into the body of Christ the church?  “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” (1 Cor. 12:13 NKJV)  “Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus .... .” (Rom. 6:3 NKJV)  “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Gal. 3:27 NKJV)  There is no such thing as a Christian in the New Testament that was not baptized for the remission of sins.  Why do I say that?

(1) Baptism was for the remission of sins.  (2) It was into Christ.  (3) Christ commanded it (Mark 16:16, Matt. 28:18-20, John 3:3-5) (4) Peter commanded “every one of you” to do it.  No exceptions on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2.  Paul said to the Corinthians “we were all baptized into one body” (1 Cor. 12:13 NKJV), no exceptions.  (5) The churches of Judea were “in Christ” (Gal. 1:22, 1 Thess. 2:14).  A church can only be in Christ as the membership is in Christ, that comes by way of baptism.

The individual who complies with the conditions that God gave will be added by God to the church for the same process that makes one a Christian adds him to the church when done from the heart.  Only God can know whether or not one truly believes in Jesus from his heart.  Only God can know if a man has repented from the heart of his sins.  These things being true a man can by all appearances go through the steps essential to salvation but God only knows the sincerity of the heart.  I cannot add you to the church even if you by all appearances seem to meet God’s qualifications.  That is God’s business, not mine nor man’s.  Since I cannot know or judge your heart I have to assume your sincerity and honesty and accept you as a child of God, a living stone in God’s church.  I would want the same treatment from you.  A faithful Christian will never deny such a one the right hand of fellowship.

I would remind the reader in closing that to be in Christ is the same as being in his body, in his church, and that is where salvation is found, in the body of Christ.  “He is the Savior of the body.” (Eph. 23 NKJV)  How does one get into the church Christ built?  The Bible provides the answer.  Denominations do not. 

[To download this article or print it out click here.]

Behold The Judge Is Standing At The Door

It is sometimes hard for Christians to grasp emotionally that they will be judged by Christ on the Day of Judgment.  So much has been made of the grace of God and God's love that it is hard to come to grips with the idea of judgment but James in writing to Christians says, "Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned.  Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!" (James 5:9 NKJV)  So he is.  "We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.  For it is written:  'As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.'  So then each of us shall give account of himself to God." (Rom. 14:10-12 NKJV)

If the Bible is true, and I say that without a doubt in my mind, then every person who has ever lived or will live in the future, or who lives now, will someday be found on their knees at the feet of Jesus the creator of the heavens and the earth and all that is.  I cannot imagine the terror of one who is forced into that situation knowing that he or she has lived a life of rebellion against God.  Terror is too mild a word for that experience.

Can a man fight against God and hope to win?  If not should we not consider the life we ought to be living?  We have today.  We ought to make use of it for "behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (2 Cor. 6:2 NKJV)  Today is the day God will accept us if we willingly accept him by faith and obedience to the gospel.  But as life has well taught us today is here and gone tomorrow.  We have all been to the cemetery too many times to fool ourselves into thinking that today will last indefinitely.  Our last day on earth shall arrive gradually with expectation or come as a surprise like a bolt of lightning out of the blue but when that day does arrive, as it will, then we pass from today into tomorrow and into too late--too late to obey the gospel and live life eternally with God in heaven. 

If I could beg you to obey the gospel and it would do any good I would do it but that is not how it works for obeying the gospel to please me would do you no good.  Gospel obedience must be from the heart, sincere in its desire to please God, not a man.  As Paul wrote to the Romans "You obeyed from the heart" (Rom. 6:17 NKJV) and so it must be with us all.  In Christianity, it is folly to think of using force of any kind to convert people.  In the Muslim world that might work but not in the faith God requires as found in the Bible.

Where does a man run to get away from God?  "Where can I go from your Spirit?  Or where can I flee from your presence?  If I ascend into heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, you are there." (Psalms 139:7-8 NKJV)  Jonah tried running away from God but did not get far.  I guess one could say though that he got far enough away to realize he could not flee.  It is hard for me to understand how people with advanced degrees, and great innate intelligence, think they can escape from God but it is as common with them as it is with the ordinary everyday man or woman.  Who can understand it?  Yes, we can run from God but we can’t outrun him, cannot hide from him. 

When the Lord returns in judgment he "will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts" (1 Cor. 4:5 NKJV) for "he knows the secrets of the heart." (Psalms 44:21 NKJV)  Yes, he knows your evil thoughts (Matt. 9:4) and we will be judged for ours as they are listed in a list of sins as found in Matt. 15:18-19.  "God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ." (Rom. 2:16 NKJV)  "All things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must give account." (Heb. 4:13 NKJV)

What I have written so far I have written both to the saint (the Christian) and to the sinner (the one who has never obeyed the gospel).  But, I want to direct my words now to those who are Christians.  Be forewarned, "The Lord will judge his people." (Heb. 10:30 NKJV) 

“If we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins." (Heb. 10:26 NKJV)  The writer here is speaking to those who are guilty of "forsaking the assembling of ourselves together." (Heb. 10:25 NKJV)  The entire book of Hebrews is directed primarily to a Christian audience.  The writer closes this section of his writing by saying, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Heb. 10:31 NKJV)

In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul begins by talking about the journey out of Egypt to the Promised Land.  He speaks of some of the sins God's people fell into during that period and of the consequences of those sins saying, "With most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness." (1 Cor. 10:5 NKJV)  Then after recounting a number of those sins, he says, "Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come.  Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." (1 Cor. 10:11-12 NKJV)  Paul is writing to Christians when he makes this statement.  The book of 1 Corinthians is addressed "to the church of God which is at Corinth." (1 Cor. 1:2 NKJV)

So all of mankind, saint and sinner both, shall stand before Christ on the day of judgment and give an account of their life. (2 Cor. 5:10)

Salvation is free in that we do not earn it nor do we deserve it but neither can we take it for granted or be indifferent toward it.  The Hebrew writer makes this clear when he speaks of "a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.  Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.  Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?”(Heb. 10:27-29 NKJV)

In the letter that was to be delivered to "the angel of the church in Thyatira" (Rev. 2:18 NKJV) Jesus said, "I am he who searches the minds and hearts.  And I will give to each one of you according to your works." (Rev. 2:23 NKJV)  Yes, the message is to Christians and I could not help but be reminded as I read this passage, reminded again of what I have heard over and over again, that works do not matter, it is all grace.  Jesus did not teach that. 

God " ’will render to each one according to his deeds’:  eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil." (Rom. 2:6-9 NKJV)  Jesus is "the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him." (Heb. 5:9 NKJV) No person can be saved without the grace of God but to imply the Christian has no obligations to meet for salvation, God's grace will just cover it all, is a perversion of the truth. 

Matt. 7:22-23 ought to be an eye opener to all who will give it serious consideration.  Jesus says, "Many will say to me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name?'  And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!'" (NKJV)  He is speaking, of course, of the Day of Judgment.  Here is a group of men who had some religion about them.  Were they lying to Jesus about the things they had done?  I cannot conceive of a man who would be that big a fool at the Day of Judgment to lie to Jesus knowing what was at stake and knowing with whom he was dealing.  I thus take them at their word as did the commentators I consulted on this passage.  Furthermore, Jesus does not take them to task for lying to him.

So, what is the point?  Simply this--a man may claim to be on the Lord's side, he may do things that appear to be good and positive and they may be that up to a degree, and yet the bottom line is despite appearances, despite one's own I am satisfied with my religion, the man is lost.  Yes, a regular churchgoer (figuratively speaking), a religious man, who is lost.  Why is he lost?  Because he practiced lawlessness.  What is lawlessness?  "Sin is lawlessness." (1 John 3:4 NKJV)  Now note the text in Matthew says nothing about whether or not this sin was deliberate or not.  Sin does not have to be deliberate to be sin.  Many who crucified Christ or were in favor of it did it in ignorance, Peter says so in Acts 3:17, but it was nevertheless a sin as was Paul's later persecution of Christians before his conversion.

Who will be saved on the Day of Judgment?  "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my father in heaven." (Matt. 7:21 NKJV)  Note this is the verse just before Matt. 7:22-23 quoted above, just before Jesus denies entry into heaven of those who had done many good works in his name but who practiced lawlessness.

It is time to give this line of thought a practical application to our own time.  There are hundreds and hundreds of denominations today each teaching a different doctrine or doctrines.  I would as soon believe that two plus three equals four the same as does two plus two as to believe that one can be saved in just any church of your choice.  It is just as logical to believe one as it is the other.  Everyone cannot be teaching truth while contradicting one another.  Now honest, how smart do you have to be to figure that out?    Yet, we hear it all the time we are all going to the same place, choose the church of your choice, and other such things.  There are not thousands of different truths out there.  Jesus said, "You shall know the truth" (John 8:32 NKJV) "the truth," one truth, not one thousand truths.

Modern-day denominationalism partakes of postmodernism in that each has his own truth.  If it is contradictory it matters not.  Each is true anyway.  Nonsense?  Yes, absolutely but that is postmodernism, that is denominationalism.

If we approached our secular educations the way we approach Bible study there would be no graduates, no degrees handed out.  Our instructors would rebuke us and rightly so for our lack of common sense and reasoning and for letting our emotions run wild overwhelming our ability to think rationally.  We are ruled by our traditions and emotions just as much as the Pharisees and until we get over that we will like them find truth hard to come by all the while convinced in heart and mind we have it.

The bottom line is every person ought to be reevaluating their life in light of what the scriptures say, not what their church (denomination) says.  Who cares about "their church" on the Day of Judgment?  In the first place, you do not have a church in any scriptural sense for the church belongs to Christ, not to you or me.  In the second place, we are not saved collectively but individually.  The vast majority ought to be getting out of what they call "their church" right away anyway for if we would reason correctly and study the scriptures with the reason and logic we do textbooks we would soon see the error in the one we hold allegiance to and begin to search wholeheartedly for a congregation that taught and practiced the truth. 

One advantage to getting older is that you are no longer concerned about what people think about you.  You are reaching the point where reality (death) is beginning to stare you in the face and you can truly say, "I will not fear.  What can man do to me?" (Heb. 13:6 NKJV)  Not to offend anyone deliberately but when you start getting older you have bigger fish to fry than what people think of you or will say about you.  Where you are headed they are not going, at least not so soon, but you can see you are.  Truth ought to become utmost in our desires then.  It ought to be that way all through life but often it is not.

Yes, "the Judge is standing at the door!" (James 5:9 NKJV)  He is expecting you.  He "was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead." (Acts 10:42 NKJV)  The day is appointed (Acts 17:31).  Christ will be there.  You will kneel and confess that Jesus is Lord and answer for your life.  Are you ready?  If not what are you going to do about it?  Surely you are not going to fritter away the time you have, are you? 

[To download this article or print it out click here.]

 

One Church—A Thing Hard to Accept

Many older Americans alive today can remember years ago when O. J. Simpson was arrested and put on trial for the murder of his ex-wife and Ron Goldman.  I remember a comment I heard on TV at the time that simply astounded me.  One lady that was being interviewed, for what reason I no longer recall, made the comment that if she had seen O. J. commit the murder with her own eyes she would not believe it.  I guess her idea was that she could not trust herself, she would have to be hallucinating, her mind would have to be playing tricks on her.  Assuredly, her mind was made up on the subject and any truth brought to bear upon it contrary to what she wanted truth to be would bounce off it like a rubber ball dropped on a hardwood floor.  Truth to her was what she already believed, what she wanted the truth to be, and do not bother me with any contrary facts even if they exist.  I will not believe them.

Is it any wonder people cannot or will not accept truth in religion?  Is it any wonder they will not accept clear statements made in scripture on various subjects?  There was a time in my life when I was yet relatively young and naive that I thought if a person was in error as it related to a religious matter correcting him or her would be as easy as going to the Bible and finding the book, chapter, and verse that told them the truth.  I learned over time that the real problem is not a matter of the mind but one of the heart and thus much more difficult to deal with. 

The kind of people I am talking about will not be convinced of the truth no matter how many scriptures you show them.  They would flunk out of a high school or college class for they will not accept factual statements or any kind of sound reasoning.  Show them a passage like Acts 2:38 on baptism for the remission of sins (add to that Acts 22:16 and 1 Peter 3:21) and they will say the text cannot mean what it says, that would be impossible from their point of view, for like the lady with O.J. it simply cannot be so.  It cannot be so for the heart has already made up its mind and evidence will not change it.  That was the way it was with Jesus' miracles, even his resurrection did not convince those who had already made up their mind that he could not be the Son of God (Matt. 28:11-14).  

In his last recorded meeting with the Jews in Rome during his imprisonment there Paul made this charge against the Jews, not all but some:

“So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: ‘The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, saying, 'Go to this people and say: "Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you will see, and not perceive; for the heart of this people has grown dull.  Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their heart and turn, so that I should heal them.”  Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!’ ” (Acts 28:25-28 NKJV) 

Who had closed the eyes of these Jews who would not see?  Had God done it?  The text says "their eyes they have closed."  Why would a person do that?  Could it be they did not want to see?  Could it be they did not want to know?  Well, why would a person not want to see or not want to know?  Could it be because he or she was happy and satisfied with where they were at and had no desire to change, did not want change?

But this was not the first time the Jews had done such a thing.  Zechariah in talking about the Jews before the Babylonian captivity said of them, "They refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear.  Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit." (Zech. 7:11-12 NKJV)  It was not a matter of they couldn't hear but rather that they wouldn't hear. 

When Paul says the Gentiles "will hear it" (the reference being to the gospel) it is the same as saying to those Jews to whom he was speaking in Rome "you won't hear but they will."  Both could have heard.  The only difference between the two parties was the heart.  The Jewish heart had grown dull.  The New Living Translation uses the word "hardened" rather than the phrase "grown dull."  The Jewish heart had been hardened but it was of their own doing, of their own will.  Man hardens his own heart and we are warned against doing that, "Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." (Heb. 3:15 NKJV)  The Jewish heart was that way because they were happy with their present state of affairs, their present state of being, and hardened against any disruption of what was satisfying to them.  It is hard to get a satisfied person to change. 

One also must remember that the human mind, one’s thinking, is influenced strongly by the emotions and will of man.  The heart the Bible speaks of consists of a man's mind, emotions, conscience, and will collectively (depending on the context).  It is hard for the mind to overcome the emotions.  Many marriages that have failed would never have been made in the first place had the mind ruled over the emotions and will.  Many have been able to see a failed marriage before the ceremony but the bride or groom couldn't see it for the emotions overrode rational thought and the will was strong.  The eyes were deliberately closed.   

This brings me to what I really want to talk about it.  I have recently taken an interest in reading books on the history of Christianity from the first century up to the present.  The most recent book I have completed on the subject was a book by Stephen Tomkins who has a Ph.D. in church history from the London School of Theology.  In his book entitled A Short History of Christianity, copyrighted in 2005, he states on page 245 that "there are 34,000 Christian denominations worldwide."  In doing a little Internet search on the subject of numbers I came up with an even greater number—38,000.  The number you come up with will vary due to the criteria you use to distinguish one denomination from another.

Why is it and how is it that when Jesus said "I will build my church" (singular, Matt. 16:18) and when Paul speaking by the Holy Spirit says "there is one body" (Eph. 4:4 NKJV) and has told us in two different places that the church is the body of Christ (see Eph. 1:22-23 and Col. 1:18) that men seem to think that one is equivalent to thirty some thousand?

How is it we have here in the Bible a plain statement of scripture as plain as anything Paul spoke to the Jews in centuries gone by and yet the eyes are closed today and the ears are hard of hearing and the hearts are grown dull so the plain statement of scripture cannot be understood and all mathematical laws are thrown out the window so that one is no longer equal to one but to thirty some thousand?  Yet, we think we are better than the Jews of old.  We think we are more rational.

Yes, I know the argument that all the thirty-some thousand different denominations make up the one church.  Where do you read that in your Bible?  What book is that in, what chapter, what verse or verses?  It is not in the parable of the vine and the branches as is sometimes said.  That parable is found in John 15.  Jesus was talking to individual disciples not denominations.  There was not a denomination on the face of the earth at that time.  When Jesus said "I am the vine, you are the branches" (John 15:5 NKJV) he was not speaking to a phantom that did not exist.

If it be said that the disciples Jesus spoke to at that time were representative of all future believers even though they are scattered throughout all the denominations I deny it.  Why?  Because the disciples Jesus spoke to on that occasion were the 12 apostles and the occasion was the Last Supper (compare Mark 14:17-18 with John 13:1-18:3).  Were the apostles divided in doctrine like the denominations?  It is the disciples united in doctrine, not divided, who are the branches in that account.  It is disciples who are in full fellowship with one another who are the branches, disciples who are unified, not divided.

The one church has one doctrine, not thirty-some thousand different doctrines.  When John, Peter, or Paul, or any of the apostles went anywhere preaching one did not contradict what the other one taught for every one of them was guided in his speech by the Holy Spirit (see Matt. 10:19-20, John 14:16-17, 26, 16:13, Gal. 1:11-12, 2 Tim. 3:16, 1 Cor. 7:40, etc.).  The idea that we have thirty-some thousand faithful denominations all chockfull of saved Christians is the thinking of hearts that have been hardened to the point they can no longer reason rationally.

If denomination A believes one thing, denomination B believes another, and denomination C believes something else and yet I have concluded that a man can be saved in any denomination then the reality is truth no longer matters.  Error is as good as truth for one will be saved either way—by believing and obeying truth or believing and obeying error.  Hardened hearts no longer think rationally.

It is sometimes said that all that really matters is that one believe in Jesus.  That sounds good until you ask people to define what that means.  What does it mean to believe in Jesus?  Does it just mean that all one must do is believe with the mind that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God?  That was the confession Peter made in Matt. 16:16 and Jesus said that he would build his church on that rock.  Are all such believers then in the "one church" Jesus built?

If so what do you do with a passage like John 12:42 where John says, "Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue"? (NKJV)  Granted this was before the one church was established on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 but just for the sake of our discussion let us say we have a similar group of men or the same group of men do the same thing after Pentecost.  What then?  They are believers that Christ is the Son of God.  Is that all that matters?  Are they then in the "one church?"  Are they saved?  The failure to confess Jesus is the same as denying him.

I think you can see you have to be very careful in defining what it means to believe in Jesus when you talk about saving faith or belief.  When you begin to define saving faith in stricter terms than just an intellectual faith then you are putting yourself into a position where you are saying that doctrine does make a difference after all and if doctrine does make a difference then you do not and cannot have thirty-some thousand denominations with different doctrines making up the "one church."  The one church most of the denominational world today believes in cannot exist if doctrine matters.  

The same process, for want of a better word, that makes one a Christian also adds him to the one church Jesus built.  God adds you when you obey the gospel.  The Bible says, "The Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2:47 NKJV)

Well, who was being saved?  In Acts 2 in the verses prior to verse 47 (just quoted) we have Peter preaching the first gospel sermon ever to be preached.  It was the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit that had been promised to the twelve (Acts 1:1-5) had arrived, and Peter via the Holy Spirit preached the first gospel sermon ever to be preached by man in which by belief and obedience to it men were saved and added to the one church of which Jesus is the Savior (Eph. 5:23).  Added by the Lord.

What did Peter preach?  He preached Jesus concluding that part of his sermon with the words "God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:36 NKJV)  Based on the next verse, verse 37, it is clear men were brought to faith in Christ by what Peter had preached.  Did Peter then tell them their sins had been forgiven and to go on home and henceforth remain faithful?  Had he told them that we could safely conclude the Lord had added them to the one church and that an intellectual faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Lord and Savior, is all that is required for salvation.  If that is what had happened then the idea that all who believe in Jesus no matter what denomination they are in are in the one church and are saved would be a truthful doctrine but that is not what happened.  He next tells them to "repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38 NKJV)

Here is the point where men who claim to believe in Jesus get their back up and refuse to believe Jesus' words (John 16:13-14) spoken via the Holy Spirit through Peter.  So you have a situation where men supposedly believe in Jesus but won't believe what he says.  That is why I said earlier you have to be very careful about how you define "belief in Jesus."  There is such a thing as belief in Jesus that does not save (see John 12:42 again as just one example).  No one wants that kind of faith.  We are interested in saving faith, in the faith where the Lord adds us to his one church because of our faith.

Men will generally accept what Peter said about repentance as essential for their salvation but not baptism and that despite as plain a statement as one can find in scripture on any subject.  You can point them to other scriptures that say the exact same thing as what Peter said in Acts 2 (Acts 22:16, 1 Peter 3:21, John 3:5, Mark 16:16) but a thousand plain scriptures on the subject will not change their minds.  They have closed their eyes and hardened their hearts.  It will take far more than a few passages on baptism or a few passages on the one church to get them to believe either.  They will only believe "one church" if the number one can somehow be made the equivalent of thirty-some thousand.

I would like to ask a question.  Sometimes we cannot wrap our minds around concepts because the concepts are too big for our finite minds to comprehend and when that happens our defensive mechanism is to cast thoughts about such matters aside.  Here are some examples:  the universe, distances in space, the national debt, our own death, hell, eternity, etc.  These are some things that are hard to grasp hold of.  These are the kinds of things our minds do not dwell on long because they overwhelm the mind.

Now to my question.  Which concept is the hardest for the mind to believe, that there are 30,000 plus churches all of them right and in which any person can be saved in any one of them even though none agree and all teach different doctrines or on the other hand that there is only one church?  I grant you both concepts are kind of mind-boggling.  It is hard to believe there is only one church when the world has such a diversity of churches but is it any harder to believe that than to believe there are 30,000 plus churches all teaching different doctrines and yet it doesn't matter in the least to God and you can be saved in any one of them?  Which is the most outlandish belief?

The Bible does not teach what denominationalism teaches on the subject of the one church.  I include Catholicism as just another denomination.  It is true in the New Testament many of the congregations were not what they ought to be (check out the 7 churches of Asia for both the good and the bad).  But, this much they all had in common, in every congregation the membership had obeyed the gospel Jesus taught via the Holy Spirit through Peter (on the Day of Pentecost) or through the other apostles and inspired teachers and prophets and were thus made up of people who were a part of the one church Jesus built.   That is simply not true of modern-day denominationalism.

The doctrine taught by the apostles and inspired prophets and evangelists was a unified doctrine.  Every congregation was to abide in it.  There was no such thing as every man having a church of his choice each differing in doctrine.  It is not man's choice to make when it comes to the church.  It is God's choice and he has said there is but one church.  If that church is not found in your community why not restore it?  You will find the pattern for it in the pages of your New Testament, not in a book on the history of Christianity which is more the history of apostasy than of New Testament Christianity.

[To download this article or print it out click here.]