By David Phillips
There is a proliferation of religious bodies, churches, all around us today, and the conventional wisdom is that pretty much any of them would like to have you as a member. It is also a fact that many sincere religious people operate on the premise that it really doesn’t matter which church one belongs to, so long as it is under the general umbrella of “Christendom”.
There are a couple of problems with that premise, and the first one is based on simple logic. It is a well established fact that many of the current assortment of religious bodies of today teach doctrines that are widely contradictory to one another, and that is highly illogical. For example, one teaches that congregations are autonomous, while another teaches that congregations are under authority of councils, boards and associations. One teaches that baptism is essential to salvation while another teaches that baptism comes after salvation. One says a Christian can fall and be lost while another says he cannot. On and on we could go, but those examples sufficiently illustrate the point. But in view of all that contradiction, and all of it claiming to be associated with Christ, many conclude that the division doesn’t matter. We’ve even adopted a term for it: denominationalism, and we’ve declared it to be wholesome, inviting one and all to “join the church of your choice” for it doesn’t matter. How illogical.
The second problem with the doesn’t matter premise is that it represents a situation that is diametrically opposed to the instruction and examples we find in the New Testament pertaining to serving God. Thus, we are left with the very limited options of (1) follow our choice and desires to our own satisfaction, or (2) follow the instruction and examples of the New Testament.
We might ask, “Just how important is the church, anyway?”. The New Testament indicates that it is of major importance. It was part of God’s divine plan from eternity (Eph.3:10-11). It was purchased by the blood of Jesus (Acts 20:28). The church is the body of Christ, over which He is head (Col.1:18). If the church is that important in the New Testament, wouldn’t it still be that important today? And wouldn’t its importance be justification for wanting to get it right today, and wanting to be the same church we find in the Bible? Are there features, distinctive characteristics by which we can identify the Lord’s church in New Testament times? Certainly, there are. We must search them out and use them today to pattern ourselves by, in order to be that same church, the church of God’s eternal plan, the church purchased by Jesus’ blood, the church which is His body. By studying the Scriptures, we can determine:
- When the Lord’s church was established: (Acts 2)
- How the Lord’s church is organized: (Eph.1:22–23) (1 Tim.3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9)
- How the church in the New Testament worshiped: by singing (Eph.5:19), by teaching (Ac.2:42), by observing the Lord’s Supper (Ac.20:7) by praying (Ac.2:42) and by giving (1 Cor.16:2).
- What it was called: it is referred to as the church of God (1 Cor.1:2) because God planned it; congregations of His church are called churches of Christ (Rom.16:16) because Christ purchased it; Jesus called it My church (Matt.16:18) and most frequently it is referred to as the church, because Jesus only built one. The church in scripture is never referred to by any man’s name or any practice.
- What one must do in order to become a Christian: one must have faith as set forth in Heb.11:6, one must repent of sin (Ac.17:30), one must confess that he believes Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Rom.10:10), and one must be baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). One is thereby a Christian, he is saved, and the Lord adds him to the church (Ac.2:47).
Which church? Does it really matter? If it doesn’t matter, then it doesn’t make sense. If it doesn’t matter, then New Testament doctrine doesn’t need to be followed. If pleasing God is important, then yes, it really does matter. If following the New Testament teaching is important, then yes, it really does matter.