Living in California allows me to experience my Christian faith in a very unique way. The number of Christian denominations are in far greater number here than in any other place in the world. I drive down the road and see the numerous churches on opposite sides of the road all claiming to proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ, and yet they are in disagreement as to what the Truth of Jesus Christ consists of. Churches pop up on a regular basis with a new version of Truth being made readily available to all who are willing to hear it, creating yet another division amongst God’s people. It seems that this has just become a way of life here, but I can’t imagine that I am the only Christian living in California asking myself why these divisions between Christians, seem to have become so accepted and in many cases promoted?
Matthew 4:12-25
(Small excerpt)
… “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” …
Reading through the book of Matthew, I see an exciting scene being presented towards the beginning of the Gospel where we see Jesus starting His earthly ministry. Jesus comes reaffirming a long held belief of the coming of a Messiah while also introducing new unexpected dimensions that not all people would be willing to accept. The message brought to light new standards of righteousness and holiness. For His ministry, Jesus elects a chosen few that He teaches and trusts to spread His message to the ends of the world. These men are given one message, one faith to pass on. As Jesus called, the people responded, with either an acceptance or a denial of His proclamations. Some followed Jesus for long periods of time and stayed with Him while others left Jesus when they realized what Jesus was asking of them.
When I see passages in the Bible like the one above, they always spark a variety of questions that I sometimes can’t wrap my brain around completely. Thoughts that make me question whether anyone else sees similar issues between what we see in the Gospels and what we are seeing today, especially here in California. In the Gospels we see only one message, one Truth being attributed to Jesus. In California, depending on what part of the state one lives in and what street one is driving down, we see hundreds of varying versions of Truth being attributed to Jesus. The Gospel shows us Jesus intended to present His people with one version of Truth because that is all He left for His people. His people, particularly the apostles, the first fishers of men, were entrusted with the one Truth by Jesus to spread to the world. But today, we see many men (and now many women) claiming to be fishers of men all preaching their versions of Truth and yet their messages differ.
I am truly saddened and just flabbergasted by how the acceptance of divisions between Christians has seemingly crept up on all of us and apparently most people seem to be unaffected by it. Am I the only one asking at what point did these divisions between Christians become acceptable?
(Long sigh…)
The Bible reminds me that if someone changed even the littlest of what was being proclaimed as the Word of God, that person (or group of people) was exiled from the Christian communities. Divisions within the Church were not acceptable by any means. There was one faith, one message, one Truth, not many versions of the one and only truth.
This, to me, is something especially critical for all of us Californians to keep in mind. I pray constantly that everyone takes a few minutes out of their lives to look around while driving down the road and ask questions like I can no longer not do. My prayer doesn’t stop there though; I also pray that everyone searches for the answers to the questions. Ask yourselves whether the current situation we Christians find ourselves in would be acceptable to not only the early Christians, but to Christ Himself and how this affects everyone’s ability to respond to Christ when He calls.
Be not afraid to ask questions and find answers :-) We must be ONE, as Christ and the Father are ONE!
I disagree with your assessment that churches on a given street are in disagreement as to what the truth of Jesus Christ consists of. You first need to identify what is the essential core of the Gospel and who Jesus Christ is. Churches may have different traditions. Do you actually know what these other churches are preaching and what they believe?
ReplyDeleteThe saying "you can't judge a book by it's cover" would apply in this situation. You're on the right track about one faith, one message, one Truth. Jesus did say that He "is the Way, the Truth, the Life." (John 14:6).
There are many reasons why there are different denominations, but it all boils down to the fact that we're fallen beings living in a fallen world. I look at different denominations as being similar to people with different personalities. Even within a particular denomination you will see differences between churches! It shouldn't be all one way and the same.
There is a saying that expresses what I'm trying to say, "In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity."
The essential that I identify that we should be unified is this - we are all sinners in need of a savior. God, in His supreme wisdom and mercy gave His Son, Jesus the God/Man, who lived a sinless life and died on the cross. He rose three days later and ascended into Heaven. Those of us who are trusting what Jesus did on the cross are saved by faith (Trusting in Christ alone for salvation) and are one with Him.
Although I currently attend a Presbyterian church, I've attended a non-denominational church, a Baptist (ABC), and an Evangelical Free church. I have friends that are Methodist, Charismatic, Baptist, Church of Christ, Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal, 7th Day Adventist - you get the picture? We may worship in different styles but we believe the same things about who Jesus is and our need for a savior. I consider them brothers and sisters in Christ.
Hey Scott, thanks for commenting ☺
ReplyDeleteI’ll start by saying that I guess we would have to define what the “truth of Jesus Christ” consists of. To me, the “truth of Jesus Christ” consists of anything and everything that Jesus taught while He was on earth, no matter how big or small. You used the phrase “essential core” when referring to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I immediately started thinking about whether Jesus ever specified which elements (relating to His preaching and teaching) were essential and non-essential elements. Surely I would have guessed that as Christians, we would take everything that Jesus passed on as essential elements of Christianity.
I absolutely agree that Churches have different traditions, but I think that this is where we have to take a look at which traditions are traditions that are good and appropriate traditions to continue and those traditions that are bad traditions that should have no place within the Christian context. I have actually taken much time to research what many Churches preach and believe. I listen to many pod casts and watch online videos of different pastors preaching and look at their belief mission statements either online or ask friends who attend those churches in person. I have attended various Churches to get a sense of what they believe as well.
I enjoy learning about what other Churches believe because it allows me to have conversations about these sorts of things with people from many different denominational backgrounds. After all, what better way is there to learn about what someone else believes than by going straight to the source? Although I agree that I haven’t had enough time to research all Churches on every street corner, I wouldn’t necessarily agree that the “judging a book by its cover” applies in this situation. I would say it is a pretty well calculated assumption that I am making out of the sample group I am exposed to.
I agree that denominationalism is caused by our fallen nature but I don’t think that I would go as far as saying that the personalities of different individuals are the cause for new denominations forming if that is what you are trying to convey (because I don’t want to put words in your mouth). I would however say that the differences between people’s personalities are the reason why different Church services are provided for the people who attend a particular church. For example, a quieter person may attend a more traditional service and a more outgoing person may attend a later service at the same church where perhaps more vibrant form music is used for worship.
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... I think I would say that denominations can be better compared to divorces within a family context. For example, People don’t leave their families because they have differing personalities; people leave their families because they can no longer be in communion with one another. Likewise, a person wouldn’t leave their Church unless they no longer agreed with a doctrinal issue and felt separation was necessary. For example, lets say a Baptist attends the First Baptist Church of Fresno. He then decides that he no longer believes in Salvation by faith alone. He becomes a pastor, and then proceeds to start his own Church and names it the First Baptist Church of Clovis where he preaches that people are not saved by faith alone but continues to agree and preach in accordance with other beliefs commonly associated with Baptist denominations. See how there is a doctrinal issue and not necessarily a personality clash?
ReplyDeleteYour quote, “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity,” again brings to mind the question about whether there are such things as essential and non-essential elements in relation to the preaching and teachings of Christ. And if there are, who gets to determine what is and is not essential. I would say that there are some things that are definitely greater than others but I wouldn’t say that even the least greatest of all things are to be seen as disposable for the sake of unity. As far as I am aware, the early Christian Church was more than willing to accept separation for the sake of preserving all the “truth of Jesus Christ.” The people that separated were called heretics because they attributed doctrines to Jesus that were not the “truth of Jesus Christ.”
You give what you consider to be essentials, and I agree that what you identify is very important indeed, but like I said, I don’t think that any part of the “truth of Jesus Christ” is to be considered disposable for the sake of unity. You bring to light many great questions, I love contemplating about these issues and love to discuss them with others.
Hope to hear more from you soon. God Bless!