Denominationalism
Did Jesus Envision a Denominated Church? by Dave Brown
How Do I Become a Member of the Lord's Church? by Bryan Gibson
Why Denominationalism is Wrong by Bryan Gibson
Can You Find Your Denomination in the New Testament? by Bryan Gibson
The Name of God's People by Dave Brown
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Did Jesus Envision a Denominated Church?
by Dave Brown
Definition of Denominationalism: the word denominate means to give a name to or designate. Thus American money may be denominated into nickels, dimes, dollars, etc. to distinguish the various units, and yet it is all money. Similarly, men have thought that they could divide the Lord’s church into various entities while claiming that collectively they are still the church belonging to Jesus Christ. This is what we are talking about when we use the word denominationalism. Having grown up in a denomination and been exposed to this concept for decades, this is not a definition that is being made up to denigrate anyone. We believe what we are discussing here is total reality.
Do not be deceived, Jesus is building His church on the rock of faith that Peter exhibited: “Thou are the Christ, the son of the living God.” Mat. 16:18: “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it.” This church is spoken of as existing after the events of Acts 2 (5:11, 8:1-3, 9:31, 11:22-26, 12:1, etc., etc.). Churches sprang up wherever the gospel of Jesus was preached and obeyed (Act 13, 14). There was no sanctioning authority for these churches — when people obeyed the truth and determined to work together in obedience to the truth, they were a legitimate church in the local sense of the word. Thus, in the bible we often read of “home churches,” e.g., churches that met in members’ houses, especially when they were in small groups (usually when first formed).
The word church in Mt. 16:18 is singular, and thus refers to no single local church (as opposed to Romans 16:16 and most other places, where local congregations are being discussed). We can call this the “church universal,” as opposed to the local church. While local churches are required to be organized (1 Tim. 3:1f; Tit. 1:5f), there is no organization specified for the church universal.
The autonomy of local churches displays the obvious wisdom of God and the sublimity of the scriptures. It is totally impossible for those with the denominational paradigm in their minds to conceive of local religious bodies that are not centrally organized. (After all, who tells them what they can and cannot do?) And yet, that is exactly what the bible teaches. For, unity is brought about by common obedience to the truth, not by any central organization contrived of human reasoning. Indeed, anyone who can open his eyes can see that the centralized organizations that control religious organizations are corrupting in their nature and ultimately self-serving. In most cases they freely admit to not being the organization of the church universal, admitting guilt of the sin of 1 Cor. 1:10 — that of dividing the Lord’s body by denominating.
One final note. There is a grave misconception among most denominational Christians that goes something like this: “Yes, it is true, we do not do all things according to the Bible, but most of what we do is scriptural.” Please consider this counter argument: “If you really did ANYTHING according to the Bible (i.e., for no other reason than that the Bible told us to do it), then you would do EVERYTHING according to the Bible.” This is true because of intent. Why would the intent to conform to the Bible in ONE area, not cause the group to have the strong desire to conform to the Bible in ALL areas. If you cannot give a reasonable answer to this question (and we do not believe that you can), then the logical conclusion is that NOTHING that denominations do is really Bible based. Thus, all that they do is Satan driven. Oh, they might, by chance, luck onto some things that are consistent with the Bible, but does that glorify God? If their intent were to glorify God they would abandon all doctrines of men and do nothing other than what the Bible teaches.
[Personal note. I learned the truth of Bible teaching when I was 18 years old in intensive discussions with a pure Bible believer. As we went over doctrine after doctrine, the realization suddenly hit me: NOTHING I had been taught in the denominational setting was Biblical. Virtually everything I had been practicing was not according to scripture, and even the things that were close, were not so because of a respect for the Bible, but they were being done because that was church tradition (they had always been done that way). But, I am just one person; do not listen to me, search the scriptures. -dbb]
How Do I Become a Member of the Lord’s Church?
by Bryan Gibson
Preface: It has been our experience quite often to encounter people who were searching around for the “right church.” They had the idea if they could just join up with this “right church,” that would take them to heaven. No wonder, since many religious organizations claim to be that “right church” in order to recruit new members – and while most reject these groups, they still accept that there is some mystical “right church.” It should be clear from a study of the Scriptures, many of which are reviewed on this page, that no one is saved by finding the “right church.” We can only be saved by doing what Jesus through the Holy Spirit has told us to do to be saved, and finding the right church is not one of them. Those acts of obedience will put us into the Lord’s church at the same time that His mercy gives us the free gift of salvation, as discussed in this article.
“I will build My church”—that’s the promise Jesus made in Matthew 16:18. Jesus was not talking about a building, or some centralized organization. He was talking about people. He was talking about building a temple, not a physical one, but a temple made up of “living stones” (1 Peter 2:5). With all the preparatory work done, the actual work of building His church began in Acts 2, where we first read of souls being “added to the church” (Acts 2:47—note: the word church is not found in all translations, but it is clearly intended). Do you want to be a member of the church Jesus built, or of some church that man built (and man has built quite a few)? Hopefully, your sincere desire is to be a member of the church Jesus built and continues to build. If so, you can be a member of this church and still have no denominational ties whatsoever.
How do you become a member of this church? The only way to get the right answer to this question is to go to the Scriptures, to the New Testament specifically. The passage in Acts 2:47 was mentioned earlier, where certain ones were “added to the church.” What did these people do? In v. 37 of this same chapter, they asked Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” These people wanted to know what to do to be saved. Peter, through his preaching, had convicted these people of sin. They knew now that this Jesus whom they had crucified was the Christ, the Son of God. Now they wanted to know what to do to be saved from their sin.
This is the answer Peter gave: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…” (v. 38). The response is recorded in v. 41: “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.” When these people obeyed Peter’s instructions, they were saved from their sins, and the Lord added them to His church (v. 47). If you do the same thing they did, you too will be saved from your sins, and the Lord will add you to His church. After all, that is what the church is—His called out people, those who have been saved from their sins. Please understand this, too: in obeying these instructions, you will not become a member of any denomination. Clearly, these people were not, and neither will you be.
But what if you did something different than what these people did? Perhaps you were taught to “ask Jesus to come into your heart”; or, “pray the sinner’s prayer”; or maybe you were taught that belief was all that was necessary to be saved. Please examine what you were taught against what the apostle Peter said in Acts 2. Those people had already come to believe in Jesus, but they were further taught to repent and be baptized “for the remission of their sins.” Many people leave baptism completely out when talking about what one must do to be saved, but even Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16). To further strengthen the point, consider 1 Corinthians 12:13: “…we were all baptized into one body.” The body is simply another description of the church (Ephesians 1:22-23), so we are baptized into the church. That is certainly consistent with what we read in Acts 2, because when those people were baptized, the Lord added them to His church.
Let’s not make this any more complicated than it is. When we’re talking about the Lord’s church, we’re simply talking about those who have been saved, those whose names are written in heaven (Hebrews 12:23). Certainly, you need to be numbered among the saved, and you can be, if you do just what those people in Acts 2 did. If you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and are willing to confess Him (see Acts 8:37; Romans 10:9-10), then please repent of your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Upon obeying these commandments, you will be saved and the Lord will add you to His church. (For additional study on this subject, please read Acts 8:12-13; 8:35-39; 16:14-15; 16:31-34; 18:8; 22:16; Romans 6:3-4; Galatians 3:26-27; Colossians 2:11-13; 1 Peter 3:21.)
Why Denominationalism (Formalized Religious Division) Is Wrong
by Bryan Gibson
The "Christian" religious world is divided. Thousands of different denominations exist today. Is that a good thing, or a bad thing? More importantly, is it God’s will, or is it contrary to God’s will? What we want to show in this article is that denominationalism is not a good thing—that it is contrary to God’s will. Please consider carefully the points made in this article.
The way denominations are organized is foreign to the simple New Testament plan. A denomination is a group of congregations joined together under some governing body (conference, association, convention, in some cases, even an individual, etc.). By contrast, in the New Testament, local churches were never joined together to form anything larger than their local congregations. Each local church was independent from all others, each having its own elders (overseers, bishops, pastors). These elders were to oversee only the congregation of which they were members (Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Peter 5:1-2). The only authority to which these churches had to submit was the authority of Christ. [See God’s wisdom in this: Hebrews 8:11. If one church goes into apostasy, it only affects those who stay with it, and that is of their own choosing. – dbb]
Denominationalism is completely contrary to the message of the New Testament. It is contrary to the prayer of Jesus for unity among His followers (John 17:20-23). It is contrary to passages like 1 Corinthians 1:10-13; 3:1-4, where division among the people of God is clearly condemned. It is contrary to Jesus’ purpose for dying on the cross, that being to break down the wall of division, to reconcile man to God in ONE body (Ephesians 2:14-16).
Denominationalism is harmful to the cause of Christ. One of the reasons Jesus prayed that His followers might be united was so that “the world may also believe…” (John 17:21). We should not be surprised when unbelievers are slow to accept the gospel, when it comes from a divided religious world. In fact, atheists often use religious division as an excuse to not believe in God. Many people don’t want to bother studying the Bible and learning God’s will, because “so many different things are taught by so many different groups.” Some turn to religions that do not believe in Jesus as the Son of God (like Islam, Judaism, etc.) because they see all the division among professed followers of Christ. We cannot escape the fact that denominationalism has brought a lot of harm to the cause of Christ.
But is it even possible to serve the Lord without being a member of a denomination? It most certainly is. The Christians we read about in the New Testament served the Lord, most of them very faithfully, and they were not members of any denomination.
Can You Find Your Denomination In the New Testament?
by Bryan Gibson
We would like to issue a challenge to our readers, particularly to those who are members of a denomination. Can you point to a passage or group of passages in the New Testament and say, “That’s where you can read about my denomination”? After all, we say that the New Testament is our source of authority, and if we can’t find it there, we should obviously be very concerned. Do your own study, and see if you agree with the points made in the remainder of this article. Please feel free to reply if you have any objections to what is said. It will do us all good to discuss this matter openly.
When you look carefully through the New Testament, you will not find a word about Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, etc. What we do find in the New Testament is that individually, the people of God were referred to as Christians (Acts 11:26; 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16), disciples (Acts 6:1; 9:1, 19), saints (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2), believers (1 Tim. 4:12; 6:2), etc. Groups of Christians who worked and worshipped together (local congregations) were likewise described in various ways: a) sometimes simply by their location (e. g. “church in Ephesus”—Rev. 2:1); b) sometimes by whom the church was composed (“church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”—1 Thessalonians 1:1); and then c) other times by their relationship to God and to His Son (“churches of Christ”—Romans 16:16; “church of God” (1 Corinthians 1:2). As would be expected of fallible men, there were some divisions that developed in the New Testament, with different party names, but these were strongly condemned (1 Corinthians 3:1-4; 1:10).
Perhaps this will make the point even clearer. Could someone today follow only the New Testament and become a Baptist, or Methodist, or Lutheran, or Catholic, etc.? The answer is clearly no. If you followed only the New Testament you would be just what those people in the New Testament were—simply Christians with no denominational ties whatsoever. To become anything else, you would have to do something not found in the New Testament.
The good news, though, is that each one of us can be a member of the church described in the New Testament, the one Jesus promised to build (Matthew 16:18). You can be part of something where your only allegiance is to Jesus Christ, not to any denominational creed or doctrine. You can be part of a local church like the ones described in the New Testament. The next few articles will go into more detail about exactly how that can be done.
The Name of God’s People
by Dave Brown
Since denominating is naming, it seems only right to conclude this series of articles on denominationalism with one that deals with Scriptural names and descriptors. A name is a designation that distinguishes one entity from another. A descriptor is a word or short phrase that describes something. Quite often terms that start out as descriptors become names. Typically names become so associated with the entity they label that their original descriptor value (if any) is lost, and it no longer is seen to necessarily describe the entity. The name Christian is an excellent example of this.
Christian
Our society uses the word “Christian” in a wide variety of ways. Before commenting on this, let us look at how the bible defines this word. This is simple, since it only appears only three times in the bible (all in the New Testament). Formally, the word Christ means Messiah. Thus, a Christian would be one who believed that the Messiah had already come, and specifically, that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16:16).
The first appearance of the word Christian is in Acts 11:25-26: “Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul: And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”
The writer (Luke) was making a major point about the church in this predominantly gentile city of Antioch. The church at Antioch would soon send out Paul and Barnabas on what is generally called Paul’s first missionary journey (Acts 13). There was something special about the work that was going on there, and this church was honored to be where disciples were first called Christians. However, Luke does not say who called them this, nor who coined the name. Many scholars believe that it was a name of derision assigned by the gentile populace of Antioch to emphasize that the Jews would never recognize that the disciples of Jesus were followers of the true Messiah. The text supports this, since it just says that they “were called Christians,” and not that any follower of Christ invented the name.
We do not gain too much more insight on this from the second reference. This one is found in Acts 26, many years later when Paul was giving his defense after returning for the final time to Jerusalem. He presented the truth of the gospel to Festus the Roman governor of the region and to King Agrippa. In the process, the following exchange occurred (Acts 26:27-28: “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost you persuade me to be a Christian.”
This usage does not help us to understand if it had its origins in derision or not. However it does establish the fact that it was a well-established and accepted name by this time. Agrippa could use the word knowing that Paul would understand his meaning. And further, it is clear that Agrippa himself was not using it in derision since he was definitely entertaining the prospect of becoming one himself. (We have no evidence that he ever did become a Christian, and we must allow for the fact that Agrippa could have stated this sarcastically.)
The final use of the word is probably the most enlightening. Again, well after the word had become established in identifying disciples of Christ, Peter made the following statement (1 Pet 4:14-16): “If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. By no means let any of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if {anyone suffers} as a Christian, let him not feel ashamed, but let him glorify God in this name.”
The Only Name Given
The word “name” in the American Standard versions comes from the Greek onoma, which Strong defines as follows: “3686 onoma (on'-om-ah); a "name" (literally or figuratively) [authority, character]. The passage starts “if you are reviled for the name of Christ …” and ends “but in that name [referring to the word Christian] let him glorify God. The implication is that “suffering as a Christian” is synonymous with being “reviled for the name of Christ.”
Here Peter clearly establishes that “Christian” is an honorable name and one that we should wear to glorify God. It is thus a God-given name, as Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, has not only authorized it but commanded us to wear it. Peter’s admonition to “let him not feel ashamed” adds weight to the argument that this name originated in persecution.
Those who understand the biblical meaning of the word Christian and who want to please God will not misuse or abuse the name. Turning the word into an adjective in order to imply some scriptural basis for a work of man would be an example of an abuse of this word. We fear that it has been so misused and abused by our society that it would be better if it were still a name called in derision. At least then it would preserve it original meaning. Those who misuse it to imply Scriptural authority for something that obviously is not, are clearly in the sinfulness of deceit.
Other Descriptors
We see from the bible that this was the approved name by which disciples of Christ were called. There were other descriptions given to Christians, e.g., "believers" (Acts 5:14; 1 Tim 4:12), "saints" (Acts 9:13,32,41; Rom 1:7), "brethren" (Acts 6:3; 10:23, etc.), "The elect" (Col 3:12; 2 Tim 2:10), "the church of God" (Acts 20:28), "servants (slaves) to God" (Rom 6:22; 1 Pet 2:16); "servants (slaves) of Christ Jesus" (Phil 1:1), and several others. The distinction between these and the word “Christian” is that these other terms all have descriptive meanings in and of themselves, and none of them is ever called a name in the Bible.
The word translated to our bibles as “church” is from the Greek word ekklesia. The following is from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words (Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers:
ekklesia NT:1577, from ek, "out of," and klesis, "a calling" (kaleo, "to call"), was used among the Greeks of a body of citizens "gathered" to discuss the affairs of state, Acts 19:39. In the Sept. it is used to designate the "gathering" of Israel, summoned for any definite purpose, or a "gathering" regarded as representative of the whole nation. In Acts 7:38 it is used of Israel; in 19:32,41, of a riotous mob. It has two applications to companies of Christians, (a) to the whole company of the redeemed throughout the present era, the company of which Christ said, "I will build My Church," Matt 16:18, and which is further described as "the Church which is His Body," Eph 1:22; 5:23, (b) in the singular number (e. g., Matt 18:17, RV marg., "congregation"), to a company consisting of professed believers, e. g., Acts 20:28; 1 Cor 1:2; Gal 1:13; 1 Thess 1:1; 2 Thess 1:1; 1 Tim 3:5, and in the plural, with reference to churches in a district.
This word has become part of the names of many churches, and, as such, has acquired a special sacred and religious meaning in our day and age. This should not be so. The word should have merely been translated directly to us as “called out” or possibly as “assembly” or “congregation.” When you read the word church, just think “called out” and your thinking will be scriptural.
With regard to the use of the word church in conjunction with the descriptions of God’s people in the New Testament, Bryan Gibson has assembled the following list of how local churches were described …
Sometimes simply by their location:
- church in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1; 11:22).
- church at Antioch (Acts 13:1).
- church in Cenchrea (Rom. 16:1).
- church in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, etc. (Rev. 2-3).
- churches of Galatia (1 Cor. 16:1; Gal. 1:2).
- churches of Asia (1 Cor. 16:19).
- churches of Macedonia (2 Cor. 8:1).
Sometimes by their relationship to God and to Jesus Christ:
- church(es) of God (Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 10:32; 11:16, 22; Gal. 1:13; 2 Thess. 1:4; 1 Tim. 3:5, 15— “living God”).
- churches of Christ (Rom. 16:16).
- churches of Judea which were in Christ (Gal. 1:22).
- church of God which is at Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1).
- churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus (1 Thess. 2:14).
And sometimes by whom they were composed:
- churches of the saints (1 Cor. 14:33).
- church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 1:1; 2 Thess. 1:1). Note: This description shows their relationship to both the Father and the Son.
- church of the firstborn (Heb. 12:23).
From this list we can see that there is no unique scriptural “name” for our Lord’s church – the one that He promised to build in Matthew 16:18. It is correct and proper to describe a local congregation consistently with any of the applicable examples given above. It is wrong to invent a name that is foreign to the New Testament.
What are the conditions of salvation given by Jesus?
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