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- Webmasters note:
- In the Bible the word "church" is referring to the people and not fancy buildings.
- That is why the top of article picture is about people.
Are you in the Right Church?
If you go to church regularly, have you ever asked yourself the
question - why? There could be a
number of answers to this:
- Social reasons
- Following the example of parents
- 'Feel good' factor - it seems the right thing to do
- Fear of the consequences (if I don't go)
I wonder how many people go to church because they have a deep
religious conviction based on a belief in God and a reverence for
the Bible as His Word?
For those who don't go to church
but may be considering it, the
choice is staggering. So whether
you already go to church or
whether you are still thinking about
it, which church is the right one?
Does it really matter anyway? Some
say, all roads ultimately lead to the
same place, but that is not true, for
Jesus himself made a clear
distinction in his teaching. He
offered two alternatives to those
who wished to follow him. For
example, his teaching in Matthew
chapters 5 to 7 known as "the
Sermon on the Mount" sets out the
only basis for the Christian way of
life. In chapter 7 Jesus draws a
simple but far-reaching lesson
based on everyday experience:
"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."
The message of Jesus is simple but
far-reaching - the path of discipleship
is not an easy one. It requires
real effort on the part of those who
wish to be Christians in the fullest
sense. Jesus then reinforced his
teaching by adding this:
"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. Many will say to me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied 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!”. "
This is a challenging and very personal message which gets to the
heart of Christianity. Jesus said that
only those who do "the will of my Father in heaven" will enter the
kingdom of God.
An example of a new (at the time of writing) church - this one in Australia.
Picture from Martingraf/Dreamstime.com
Why so many churches?
Almost 2,000 years have gone by
since Jesus was here and this long
period of time has seen great
changes in the Christian world.
Have you ever thought why there
are so many different churches? It
doesn't make sense, does it? There
are 45 main denominations listed in
the UK as part of an ecumenical
movement (source: www.cte.org.uk).
There are more than
two billion Christians in the world
today of which half are Roman Catholics. That's a very large
number, but how does that affect
you and me? There's no safety in
numbers as we have already noted
from the teaching of Jesus. The
ecumenical movement is just a way
of describing the move back
towards the ‘mother church’ from
where all the others broke away.
Roman Catholicism is still growing
whilst the Protestant churches are in
decline.
First Century Christianity lost
The history and development of
Christianity is just like a great river.
It begins as a mountain stream, pure
at its source but gradually becoming
more and more polluted as it makes
its way to the sea. Pure Christianity
existed 2,000 years ago when Jesus
and his apostles preached the
gospel (good news) about the
coming kingdom of God.
Then gradually it became polluted
by human ideas down through the
centuries, with the inevitable result
that the original teaching of Jesus
and his apostles has almost been
lost sight of altogether. They
warned that such things would
happen. For example the Apostle
Paul told the first century Christians
at Ephesus that:
"after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves"
- Acts 20.29,30 – see also Paul's words to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4.3,4
Warnings like this concerning a
departure from the pure teaching of
Jesus should make us think.
Millions of people are rushing
headlong down that broad way
Jesus spoke about. Are you among
them? Are you in the right church?
Am I ? The answer to these
searching questions is found in the
Bible yet how many Christians read
it for themselves?
The Old Testament is not
considered relevant by many
Christians today. It contains the
history of God’s chosen people, the
Jews. We learn how they departed
from the worship of God and
turned to idolatry. The prophet
Isaiah, whose mission was to warn
the nation of the consequences of
their idolatry, wrote:
"To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them"
Paul's teaching in his second letter
to Timothy, just like the message of
Isaiah, underlines the importance of
getting back to the pure source. He
wrote:
"continue in the things which you have learned"
and where had Timothy learned these things -
from the Rabbi or the Priest? No, he
had followed the good example of
his mother and studied the
Scriptures himself from an early
age, as Paul reminded him:
"...from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus"
These 'holy Scriptures' which
Timothy knew, were the books of
the Old Testament, for the New
Testament was not completed when
Paul sent this letter to him. Then
Paul emphasised the importance of
the Old Testament:
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work"
The Old Testament cannot be put
on one side for it is an integral part
of the divine message. Without the
Old Testament the New Testament
would be meaningless. The two
together constitute what is described
by Paul elsewhere as
"the whole counsel of God"
The importance of doctrine
Note the emphasis in Paul’s words
to Timothy on doctrine first.
Churches today are divided on
doctrine, but in the first century this
was not so. Sound doctrine no
longer has its place in the teaching
of the churches and for many it is
not even regarded as important. The
teaching of the Bible has been
undermined by the ideas of modern
theologians. More recently the very
foundation stones of the Christian
faith have been questioned,
including denial of the literal resurrection
of Jesus Christ. Without
this as a basis of faith there is no
hope, as Paul told the Christians at
Corinth:
"if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith"
In the first century, the followers of
Jesus were united in doctrine and
practice. There was only one church –
one united body of believers who
upheld the teaching of Jesus. Purity
of doctrine and practice was
something which characterised the
first century church.
However, as time went by the pure
source became polluted with new
doctrines, some of which had their
origin in the pagan ideas of the
ancient world. In the fourth century
AD the power of pagan imperial
Rome united with the Papal Church,
a development foretold by the
Apostle Paul in his letter to the
Thessalonians (see 2 Thessalonians 2). In this way the Roman
Catholic Church became firmly
established, although by that time
many unscriptural ideas had
become part of the teaching of the
church.
There is one doctrine which most
churches readily accept but is not
taught in the Bible. We refer to ‘the
doctrine of the Trinity' which is
almost universally accepted by the
churches today. But the true
relationship between God the
Father and His Son Jesus is
expressed very clearly in Paul's first
letter to Timothy. Concerning God he wrote:
"who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all."
Note the contrast here between the
Word of God and the ideas of men –
ONE GOD and ONE MEDIATOR, not
God the Son as Trinitarians believe
but THE MAN CHRIST JESUS. The
doctrine of the Trinity completely
undermines the true Christian hope
of salvation from death through the
work of THE MAN Jesus Christ.
A divided religious world
The large number of different
churches that exist today are
themselves a result of changes that
have taken place over many
centuries. We have indicated that
the original message of Christianity
has been lost – the pure source has
been muddied by the ideas of men.
The true gospel of the coming
kingdom of God has been replaced
with another gospel not based on
God's Word, as Paul warned
Timothy:
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine ... and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables"
Muslims worship in front of the Dome of the Rock at the end of Ramadan. Jewish prayer here is forbidden.
The news media make us realise
how many of the current problems
in the world are caused by, or
influenced by, religious differences
of one kind or another. These
include the problems in the Middle
East – Judaism versus Islam coupled
with the cur rent upsurge of
fanaticism in a divided Muslim
world. Closer to home – there are
deep-rooted divisions in the Church
of England brought to a head by the
decision to allow women priests
and other issues.
One world religion
Can you imagine a world with only
one religion common to al l
mankind? No Muslims, no Hindus
or Buddhists and no more Christian
denominations and cults such as we
have today. Just think about it – the
implications are tremendous aren't
they? The good news is that we
believe it will soon be a reality.
Jesus is to return as he promised, to
establish the kingdom of God on
earth, to cleanse the world of all
that is wrong and to make way for
the great changes that have been
promised by God.
The Apostle Paul reminds us of this
in powerful words which present a
terrifying prospect, but not to those
who have come to put their trust in
the one true God. Paul encouraged
the believers at Thessalonica who
were undergoing a time of
persecution for their faith, not to
worry but to patiently await the time
when:
"the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ"
Notice the emphasis in Paul's words
– vengeance on those that do not
know God and on those who refuse
to obey the gospel. God is just and
His Word tells us how we can obtain
the salvation which He offers to all
men and women, yet few accept His
gracious offer.
The Old Testament prophet Isaiah
painted many word pictures of this
time of blessing for the nations of
the world. He saw a vision of the
time when a pure religion will be
practiced by all people:
"Many people shall come and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; he will teach us his ways, and we shall walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem."
There will be one house of prayer
for all people, not the diversity of
chapels, churches and cathedrals of
Christendom today and no more
mosques, temples and shrines to
gods old and new. But in contrast
all people will worship the only
true God and there will be one
temple in God's holy city, Jerusalem.
It will be a universal religion under
the wise leadership of the Lord
Jesus Christ.
A personal message
God has a plan to cleanse this world
from evil, but He is also a God of
mercy, as Peter wrote,:
"not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance"
He has shown us how we can
share the great blessings of the
coming kingdom of God and He has
provided the way to achieve it
through faith in Jesus.
Are you in the right church?
Perhaps we should re-phrase that
question. Do you believe the right
things? The message of God's Word
is clear - get back to the source and
read it afresh with an open mind,
carefully and prayerfully. You will
find peace of mind now and if you
follow its teaching, you will be
taking the first steps through the
small gate along the clearly defined
path. True believers have all walked
this path before, one which will lead
to eternal joy and peace in the age to come.
Author Colin Dryland
Country Kent, UK
Source Light on a New World reprint from Volume 28.2.X
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