Sunday Sermons
Denominationalism
Denominationalism is defined by one religious authority as the following, “The system and ideology founded on the division of the religious population into numerous ecclesiastical bodies, each stressing particular values or traditions and each competing with the other in the same community under substantial conditions of freedom” (Jerald C. Brauer, Ed., The Westminster Dictionary of Church History, pp. 262-263). As Wayne Jackson noted, “Within this definition several flaws are revealed that mar the system”.
Founded on Division
When one reads the Bible one finds that the Scriptures do not endorse the religious diversity or division that is found among the denominations. Even in the Old Testament, David said, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1). If unity is “good” and “pleasant” then division must be evil and unpleasant. On the night that Jesus was betrayed, He specifically prayed, not that His followers would embrace some kind of love for religious diversity, but rather,“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:20-21). “Should not all of us daily reflect upon this fact, and to ourselves utter these words: “The Lord prayed for me when death for Him was but a few hours away” (The Gospel of John, Guy N. Woods p. 363). “When men come to respect God’s word as they ought agreement on the basis of its teaching is easy; but, it will never be possible to unite on the doctrines and commandments of men. Creeds, confessions of faith, church manuals constitute a perpetual barrier to the unity of religious people” (Woods p. 364). Notice that Jesus intentionally made unity among His followers a priority, for the only way that a person can really come to believe in Jesus is to hear the message from the apostles, “who believe in Me through their word”. We find the same truth mentioned in Acts 2:42 and 2 John 9. Those who say that unity among Christians is impossible end up accusing Jesus and His apostles of giving a New Testament that stands in the way of this prayer. “Even as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You”: This is not a superficial oneness or unity in diversity, neither is it mere verbal unity. “If we understand how that many believers can be ‘one’ (united with each other in doctrine, life, and practice), we thereby gain insight into how the Father and Son are ‘one’ (John 10:30). They are not one being, or person, as some contend; but the Father and Son are united in aim, purpose, and work” (Harkrider p. 116). “That the world may believe that You sent Me”: “The greatest barrier to the conversion of all mankind is the disunity which prevails in the religious world. The only really effective argument the infidel has against what is called the Christian religion is the disgraceful divisions that fracture and weaken it. Though denominational devotees freely concede that their organizations are human in origin and offer nothing peculiar to them that is essential to salvation, they nonetheless persist in maintaining them, thus perpetuating the division which our Lord deplored” (Woods p. 364).
1 Corinthians 1:10-13
“…that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment”. In this section of Scripture carefully note that God said, “that there be no divisions among you”. At times the denominational world will try to justify itself by saying, “Well, but we do agree on the essentials”. First, God never gave us a small list of essentials on which we must agree and then a large list of non-essentials on which we may divide. “Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, ‘I am of Paul’, and ‘I of Apollos’, and ‘I of Cephas’, and ‘I of Christ’. Has Christ been divided?” If God condemned dividing of the church along the lines of religious parties based on the names of apostles and other inspired men, then how much more would God condemn dividing up the church along the lines of following men who are not inspired? “Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” The only person that the believer can follow and adopt their name as a religious designation, is the One who died for us and into whose name we were baptized. In light of this verse, why do people today call themselves Catholics, Mormons, Baptists, Lutherans, Evangelicals and the like? The clear inference in these verses is that if I am a believer then I should only call myself a “Christian”.
The Church in Prophecy
Even in the Old Testament as we get glimpses of the church, the oneness of this body is stressed. Isaiah spoke of the coming of Jehovah’s “house” (Isaiah 2:2-4). Ezekiel wrote of the time when the Lord’s people would be “one nation” (37:22) under “one shepherd” (34:23). Daniel predicted the arrival of the Lord’s “kingdom” (Daniel 2:44). In like manner, when Jesus was on the earth, He spoke of a time when His people would be “one flock” (John 10:16). Paul, when he wrote to the Christians at Ephesus, declared that there is “one body” (Ephesians 4:4), and other passages note that this one body is the church (1:22-23; Colossians 1:18,24).
Ephesians 4:4-6
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all”. Some have argued that this is the only list of doctrines that Christians must agree upon to have unity, of course the verse does not say that and in addition, this list does not specifically mention any moral issues that other verses mention (Galatians 5:19ff). Neither does it give the qualifications of elders, how husbands are supposed to treat their wives, information concerning church discipline, or details concerning the nature of God. Yet note that the denominational world does not even agree on the seven “ones” found in this section, especially the statement, “one baptism”. Many denominations deny that baptism is essential for salvation (Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:21). The “one body” in the above verse is the church, which is the body that Jesus will save (Ephesians 5:23), and the body that Jesus purchased with His blood (Acts 20:28). Yet, if asked the question, “Is membership in some denominational body necessary for salvation”, most denominational leaders and members would probably say “no”. Such an answer admits that denominational bodies are not part of the “one body” mentioned in Scripture, for membership in the “one body” is essential for salvation.
“Each stressing particular values or traditions”
First, the church that Jesus established is commanded to stress all of God’s values and the whole counsel of God and not merely some aspect of it (Acts 20:27; 2 Timothy 4:2 “preach the word”). God did not set up an arrangement where one religious body stresses one aspect of His will while another stresses something else. In fact, when Jesus inspected the local churches in Asia Minor, He condemned a number of them for not teaching everything. Being “good” at one thing was not good enough (Revelation 2:2-5). Secondly, while denominations often celebrate their unique traditions, Jesus actually condemns human religious tradition, because it inherently gets in the way of obeying God, “And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition” (Matthew 15:6). At this point someone may say, “But the denominations exist to accommodate different personalities”. Actually, the church that Jesus established accommodates all personalities, both type A and type B. There is plenty of room in the “one body” for people who are leaders, people who have empathy, people who are detail oriented, or people who are the organizers and net-workers. The real truth of the matter is that the denominational world does not exist to accommodate the wide range of wholesome personalities, rather the denominational world actually exists to allow people to shop for a church that embraces the doctrines they want to accept, and either rejects or ignores the Biblical truth they prefer to skip. Jackson notes that he has heard denominational clerics praise God for the different churches wherein folks may find a doctrine and practice that suits each individual’s taste. Of course, this is not something good, rather this is apostasy, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires” (2 Timothy 4:3). Sadly, we live in a time when religious groups exist that reject all sorts of biblical teachings, yet they give a false comfort to people that they are still “Christians”. “Far too many imagine that the church is a democracy in which the people decide what is permissible procedure, rather than recognizing that Christ’s church is a kingdom. And the King is the author of its law” (Jackson).
“Each competing with the other”
When one reads the New Testament one does not find rivalry or competition among congregations (of course no denominations existed), rather the stress was upon cooperation (1 Corinthians 12:12ff). “This principle is well illustrated in the book of Acts. In Luke’s record of the growth of the early church, he periodically uses summaries to highlight the spirit of cooperation that adorned the Christian community (see Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-35; 5:12-16). Common to these sections are such expressions as: ‘fellowship’, ‘together’, ‘shared’, ‘one accord’, ‘one heart and soul’” (Jackson).
The true nature of the Church
The denominational world defends its existence by claiming each denomination composes a segment of the true church or one body, that each denomination is a part of the whole. Of course the problem with this view is, according to the Bible, individual Christians compose the one body, not whole and distinct religious bodies (Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 12:27). The above claim is forced to admit that whole religious bodies are baptized (1 Cor. 12:13); and that each denomination has only one gift(Romans 12:7). They also try to argue that the "branches" of John 15 are the various denominations, but such a claim does not fit the actual wording of the context. Jesus said, “if a man” (John 15:6), and Jesus did not say, “abide in a branch”, rather He said, “ye are the branches...abide in Me”. The word "church" is used in a universal sense, of all Christians everywhere(Matthew 16:18), and the word is used to refer to Christians in a definite location (Acts 8:2; 2 Cor. 1:1). Denominations do not fit either Biblical usage of the term “church”. One denomination does not include every Christian, even the denominations admit this, but the term “church” does. Secondly, every denomination has far more earthly organization than is seen at the local congregation, while all earthly structure ends at the local level for the church that Jesus established (1 Peter 5:2; Ephesians 1:22-23; Phil. 1:1).
Objections
· “It cannot be done”: Yet it was a reality in the First Century. All Christians were part of the same church in Bible times. Christianity flourished (Colossians 1:23) without the existence of even one denomination.
· “People are imperfect”: Yes they are (Romans 3:23), but the imperfect Christians of the First Century were united. In fact, seeing that Christians are imperfect, how much more do we all need to be part of the one body of Christ!
· “But they had the apostles to solve all their problems”: But the apostles could not personally be in every congregation, rather congregations were expected, as we are to follow their teachings (1 Corinthians 14:37). When Paul sought to solve the problems in Corinth—he wrote them a letter. Jesus said we could have unity based upon “their word” (John 17:20-21).
