Hello and welcome back my beautiful family! It's simply awesome to have you here with me again! I am particularly excited today because we are going to be discussing and answering a question that I often times see popping-up in christians forums... and one that many non-believers use as a mocking reason towards christianity (or any other religion for that matter). "Which christian church or denomination is the right one?" Have you ever asked yourself this question? After all, a quick study on the different denominations between the christian community will come to show that although we all are under the 'Christian' umbrella, there are different beliefs and traditions... and all claim to have the truth (!!!). This, of course, merits for the question to be asked... if we're all supposed to believe in the same God and use the same Bible, why the different beliefs? Someone must be right... someone must be wrong. The question is... who is?
Please note that this topic is NOT a "my church is better than your church" type of post. We will be discussing this topic STRICTLY using the Bible as a guide and WITHOUT any personal bias or opinion. Solely the Bible; there is no need to mention denominations by name. It is absolutely not my intention to offend anyone. Also, note that this post is not meant to compare between different religions but only denominations within the christian community. Perhaps we can talk about religions in another topic. For now... let's focus on christianity. Deal?
Now, before starting and as we have been doing for the past few posts, let's see the video for this week's post which is a summary of what we will be discussing in this post. Deal? Let's do it!
Saw the video? Have any comments, questions, or follow-ups? Please, feel free to reach out! I would love hearing from you and perhaps even help you answer any questions that you may have. If you did not see the video, then it's no problem! We will now proceed to study in full that which I have summarized in the video. Without further delay, let's answer the question once and for all: "Which christian church or denomination is the right one?"
Understanding the basics. God is love... also, God is just.
Yes, I could just answer the question of this topic right now, but much like many other questions out there, the final answer won't make sense without having studied some background information. This is no exception. Before we respond to the question "Which christian church or denomination is the right one?", it is extremely important for us to understand just how serious God is about His word and law. His seriousness towards His law and commands is an important part of His love for us. Just as traffic laws exist and are enforced to protect you and me from dying or having an accident, God's law exist so that love and harmony prevail in this fallen world and throughout the Universe. He just wants what is best for us. After all:
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord..."- Romans 6:23
and...
"Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness..." - 1 John 3:4
Short version: breaking God's law is a sin... and the consequence of sin is death. Obviously God doesn't want you to die, hence His law and the daily opportunity He gives all of us to repent and come to His feet. Just like in the real world, within the christian community we have 3 BIG problems:
People, in general, don't like to read but to take other people's word for truth
People, in general, love the good news but are somewhat selective as to what to listen when it comes to the "do's" and "don'ts"
People follow traditions
Problems usually lead to more problems, and again, this is no exception. Being a christian entails believing and knowing that the Bible is the word of God. In it we find everything that we need to live a life that honors God and that is of service to others. In it we find the truths about the character of God and His love. If all of the above is true (which is), then how can we develop a healthy and stormproof relationship with God if we don't read the Bible? Following family religious traditions and/or just taking Bible truth from the mouth of others without us actually reading and studying for ourselves is a VERY slippery slope. God wants us to study His word and reason with Him.
"'Come now, and let us reason together', says the Lord,..."-Isaiah 1:18
Why is this important? Well, because above all other problems, the three listed problems above have led many to misinterpret an essential truth about God, His character, and His ways. People love reading over the Bible verse that says that God is love (1 John 4:8), but seem to forget Jesus' Sermon of the Mount (Matthew 5,6 and 7) and His commandments as given in Exodus 20. They seem to forget that Jesus said:
"'If you love Me, keep My commandments.'" - John 14:15
and...
"'You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.'" - John 5:39
Friend, the problem with just reading (or hearing!) the "God is love" portion of the Bible is that many believe that BECAUSE God is love we are free to do as we please. That no matter what, we will all be saved regardless. That even if we 'get it wrong', God will do right for us... and friend, this is NOT true. Evidence for this is all over the Bible; evidence which is hard to come by if we don't read it. God is indeed love, but because He is love, He is just and He will rightly let those who disobey Him suffer the consequences of such acts. Please, do NOT be deceived.
Just to drive the point home, let's now take a look at several Bible stories and verses that come to show just how serious God is about His word and commandments. The evidence has always been there, we just need to study for ourselves, ask questions, and ask God for guidance. He WILL show the way for those who ask. Let us open the Bible.
Bible, God, and law
There are many, many stories in the Bible that come to show that (1) God is love, and that (2) because He is love He holds everyone accountable to the standards of His law and commandments. Have you ever heard statements like: "as long as you go to church, you will be 'ok' with God" or "it doesn't matter which day you worship Him, as long as you do"...etc.? Well, I'm here to tell you that these and many more along the lines of "God is love and He will save you no matter what" are just flat out lies. That is not the way God operates and He has left us the evidence of His character in the Bible; evidence that we cannot find if we don't read the Bible. Now, let's read and study the evidence.
Case #1: Nadab and Abihu
For the sake of time I cannot go through all the background and story, please feel free to read on your own time but, long story short, Nadab and Abihu were two men that had been set aside for priesthood which was a great honor and position to have amongst God's people. Certain day, however, they decided to enter the sanctuary and offer incense to God... and incense that God had not commanded them to give. Let's take a look:
"Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord." - Leviticus 10:1-2
Now you might ask the same thing I did once... why did God killed them? Couldn't God just have given them a warning? The story in the Bible doesn't give much details but it does say that they disobeyed the commandments of God.
"...and when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. You shall not offer strange incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it."- Exodus 30:8-9
God had commanded the priest not to offer strange incense...Nadab and Abihu did and suffered the consequences of it. Two things we learn from this story:
There is no such a thing as a 'small' sin. Disobeying God is disobeying God.
How we worship MATTERS. The incense was to be an act of worship and reverence towards God... they clearly decided to do it their own way and suffered the consequences.
Case #2: The Arc of the Covenant
The first time I read the story and Bible verses that we're about to read, I was a kid and I was mind-blown. I totally thought at the moment that God had kind of overreacted. In this story, the Ark of the Covenant (where God's Law was and where God dwelt in the sanctuary - located in the Most Holy place) was being transferred to Jerusalem. Along the way the Arc almost fell to the floor and this is what happened:
"...and when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God." - 2 Samuel 6:6-7
Uhhh, what? He died for trying to prevent the Arc of the Covenant from falling to the floor? Yes he did. The Arc was a holy artifact of the Sanctuary and was only to be carried and touched by certain people as God had commanded. Uzzah disobeyed that commandment... and suffered the consequences. Once again we learn:
There is no such thing as a small sin
God is VERY serious about His commandments
Case #3: Adam and Eve
Who doesn't know this story? I don't even need to reference any verses here, we all know the story. God had told Adam and Eve to eat from every tree BUT from one single tree. Eve gave way for temptation to enter, ate... we know the rest. It was a simple fruit, one fruit, but God had said that the fruit was not to be eaten.
Case... do we even need more (there are many more cases)?
My friend, God is VERY serious about His law and commandments. Jesus told many parables to illustrate that God's final judgement over this world will separate the wheat and the tares (Matthew 13:24-30); the tares will be cast out of the Kingdom of heaven. Do not be deceived, God is love, yes He is, but He also is just and has law that we all must obey. God will by no means spare the guilty. There's yet one other warning in the Bible:
“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, cast out demons 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!’" - Matthew 7:21-23
Do you know what this means? Many will live their lives deceiving themselves into thinking that they are honoring God... yet, not once they did. They deceived themselves and will ultimately suffer the consequences of such acts. Read, study and pray so that you are not deceived.
So, which is the 'right' denomination or church?
Hopefully we all now understand that God IS love, and He is ALSO just. Hopefully now we understand that God will not clear the guilty and that He holds everyone accountable to His commandments and law. God is love and His law is love, this is the main message God left for us all throughout the Bible.
"In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." - 1 John 4:9-11
I guess the ultimate expression of God's seriousness towards His law and commandments is Jesus' death at the cross. He came to pay the price that the His law demanded. Not even God could make an 'exception' for Himself. He paid the price in our place so that you and I can now have access to eternal life. Now isn't that an extraordinary and amazing love?
Now, let's just answer the question. Which is the 'right' denomination or church? If it has not been clear by now, let's make it so. The 'right' church or denomination is that which honors God the way God asks from us through the Bible, His word. No need to mention any specific denomination. If you want to know my personal opinion on the subject and what I believe based on my studies, then please feel free to send me an IM and I will respond. Regardless, it is up to YOU to study, ask questions, pray, and reach conclusions.
Easier by process of elimination...
With so many denominations out there it might be easier to find 'the right one' by process of elimination. Simply study, compare what you know with what a particular denomination teaches and if the church does not believe or profess according to what the Bible teaches... then you already know your answer. I did the same and was able to significantly narrow down the list just by evaluating what certain denominations profess vs. what I knew to be true from the Bible. Let me review with you some of my thought process.
So first thing I did was select "big" questions that are talked about within the christian community and that clearly mark differences between denominations. Then, I went and studied what the denomination was teaching vs. what the Bible teaches... and on and on it went until I hada pretty clear picture about which denominations are, sorry for the strong language here, deceiving their fellow members. Let me share some of the questions I went looking for answers to:
Which day God truly blessed and set aside for us to worship the Creator in?
This is a BIG one and answering it helps chop down the list of denominations significantly. Some denominations state that Sunday is the day of worship, others say Saturday. The question is, what does the Bible say? I have already written a topic about this (which you can read here) so I will not be entering into details. Short answer? Saturday. The Saturday is the day God asks from us to worship Him and keep holy. There is not ONE single mention of keeping the Sunday in the Bible.
Easy, no? Any denomination out there that does not teach the Sabbath should be kept... crossed off the list. Now the list is shorter.
What happens when one dies?
Another big one. Some denominations teach that as soon as we die we go to heaven, others say to hell, others mention a "purgatory", others even believe in a flying soul over he earth... but, what does the Bible say? Again, I have already written a topic about this (which you can read here) so no details. Short answer? The dead know nothing and simply go back to dust until Jesus' 2nd coming just as it is described in the Bible. Any denomination teaching otherwise... crossed off the list.
Who is Jesus?
Some denominations teach that Jesus was not more than a prophet, others that He was just a good man, others that He's central to the plan of Salvation and He's the Son of God. Honestly I don't know how the identity of Jesus can get misinterpreted because, lucky for us, the Bible is VERY clear as to who is Jesus. I wish I had time to develop this but I'l stick to the short version. Jesus IS God. Jesus IS the Son of God. Jesus is ONE with the Father. That much is clear in the Bible. Any denomination teaching otherwise... crossed off the list.
"Philip said to Him, 'Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.' Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?'" - John 14:8-9
I challenge you to find other verses where it is made clear that Jesus and the Father are one.
...and on and on it goes. Hopefully you get the idea. Ask a question, find the biblical answer, and then go compare with what the denomination/church is teaching. Is there a mismatch? Then you have your answer. You might not know then which one is the right one, but for sure you know that one you're evaluating isn't. Get it?
Closing
Friend, I have great news. The great news is that this process is NOT something that you have to go at it alone. Jesus is more than willing to help guide you in your journey to understand Bible truth if you only ask for it. He knows you better than you know yourself and He will never hide the truth from those who seek it. He's our friend, brother, Creator and intercessor.
"‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’" - Jeremiah 33:3
Be careful with false Pastors and denominations. Jesus made it clear that many will get to that day when He returns thinking they had honored God when in reality the didn't... not even for a day. Be careful that you are not part of that deceived group.
Until next one my friend!
Comments