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If you are like most people, your initial response to this question is,
"Which church?" But when we examine the New Testament we find that Jesus
promised to build only one church. (Matthew 16:18). When Christ said, "Upon
this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it," he assured Peter and the other apostles that not even his own
death would prevent its establishment. With that statement, Christ also
pronounced an oft-missed eternal truth—he was going to build only one
church. Jesus made good on His promise in Acts 2 when the church or kingdom
was inaugurated and those who obeyed the gospel were added to it. (Acts
2:41)
When we ask the question, "Are You A Member Of The Church?" we are asking if you are a member of the same church Jesus established. Now, of course, we know you don't live in Jerusalem where the church was founded. The New Testament speaks of the Lord's church in different places, such as the church at Philippi and the church at Ephesus. One does not have to live in Jerusalem to be a member of the church Jesus built. So, "are you a member of Christ's church?" Many Different Churches There are many different churches in the United States, all claiming to exist by Christ's authority and to follow him. These denominations wear different names, teach different things, and worship differently, yet they all claim to be Biblical. This causes a great deal of confusion. Didn't Jesus promise to build only one church? Indeed, he did. Yet, most people today think that belonging to a denomination is the only way to be a Christian. For example, a couple of years ago my family and I were in a waiting room during my sister's surgery. As we waited, my father read a book of sermons. This caused a woman sitting beside him to ask if he was a preacher. When he answered that he was, she asked, "Which denomination?" Her only conception of Christianity was denominationalism. It occurred to me that if this woman had lived back in the first century when the apostles were still alive and teaching, she never would have asked that question. Do you know why? Because back then denominations didn't exist! So, why do they exist now? Why Denominations? Paul the apostle predicted a falling away by the Lord's church in some of his New Testament writings. Passages such as 1 Timothy 4:1-3 and 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 bear this out. The falling away did come in the form of the Catholic Church. In the 15th and 16th centuries men began to go to the Bible and see that the teaching and practices of the Catholic Church were opposed to the teaching of God's word. Out of this came what was known as the Reformation. Men such as Martin Luther and John Calvin tried to reform the Catholic Church by taking out false Catholic doctrines and inserting doctrines they deemed appropriate. This was a noble effort, but it did not go far enough. Instead of simply going to the New Testament and restoring the church contained therein, they attempted to reform something that was never right to begin with. By stopping short, they still did not have the church of Christ. Their efforts resulted in the confusion we know today as denominationalism. These man-made churches plague the world and are a great hindrance to the cause of Christ. Which One Is Right? With all the different churches floating around today, how do we know which one Jesus built? Well, how do we identify a car? By its make, model and number - also known as "identifying marks." The church of Jesus Christ also has its identifying marks. They are as follows:
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