Denominationalism 
Often
times confusion reigns because of a lack of communication, so lets start by
defining a few words.
Definitions;
The
meaning of the word" denominational." "Under the control of a religious denomination." A denomination is any church organization
that holds itself separate from the rest of the Church. This division may be on account of a doctrine,
a difference of opinion, or any of many various reasons.
The
meaning of the word denomination.
a) Denominational principals.
b) A denominational system.
c) Acceptance or support of such principal or
system.
d) Division into denominations.
And
lastly the meaning of the word "divisions."
a) Being divided.
b) A difference of opinion; disagreement.
c) A separation into groups.
d) Anything that divides; partition; boundary.
e) anything separated or distinguished from the
whole.
Splits: "The condition of being divided, as in
opinion. "
(Webster's
College Dictionary used for word meanings.)
What does God's word have to say on this
subject?
1
Corinthians 1:10 - 16 Now I beseech
you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same
thing, and [that] there be no divisions among you; but [that] ye be perfectly
joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath
been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them [which are of the house] of
Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of
Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were ye baptized in
the name of Paul? I thank God that I
baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; Lest any should say that I had
baptized in mine own name. And I
baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. Please take note of the fact, that this is
the first letter to the Corinthian Church that God has kept for us to learn
from. In this letter, in the first
chapter of this letter, the Apostle Paul addresses the question of
divisions (denominations). To God and the Apostle Paul this is a very
serious problem! In the fifth chapter
of this book of the Bible 1Corinthians 5:1
the Apostle Paul addresses a different problem "It is reported
commonly [that there is] fornication among you, and such fornication as is not
so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife."
One would think that a problem such as this would be on top of the
list. To the Lord and Apostle Paul this
problem, however bad, was not as important as the problem of divisions
(denominations), for you see The Apostle started off in the first chapter verse
ten with the problem of divisions (denominations). As can be seen the Apostle Paul orders "that there be no
divisions among you." A
denomination is above all things a division of the Church of the living
God! Observe how God dealt with the
problem "Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I
of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
(Today you might hear I am "Baptist", I am
"Pentecostal", and I am "Church of Christ"!) Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for
you? Or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? Did the Lord think that division
was "OK", No! Divisions
(denominations) are a separation of believers, Let the Lord Jesus tell
us how the people in the world will recognize His disciples, John 13:35
By this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love
one to another. If honesty prevails we
who have ever had anything to do with a denomination, will have to admit that
love doesn't cross denominational boundaries very well, not the kind of love
God expects from us, "oneness" doesn't cross well either! One distinguishing trait of denominations is
an attitude of "our doctrines are correct, the other denominations are a
little off" etc. The problem of denominations started early in the
Church.
Remember
the birthing place of denominations is division, and divisions are caused by
men who do not allow the Spirit of the living God to lead them. In other words self-willed people getting
their own way in a matter, and not seeking and submitting to the will of
God! Christian brothers and sisters,
not able to agree on some point of doctrine or something of even less
importance! But instead of seeking the
Lord and finding His will in the matter, and becoming of one mind, they let the
division become so great that they can't even fellowship in the same building
any longer!
What
a pity, the great distinguishing trait of the early Church was this "being
of one mind." This is only
possible when each member of the Church is truly born of God, and is submitted
to God's Spirit! When carnality (self
will) reigns in the Church, division, and strife become evident, listen to
Luke's account of the proper way Christians are to be, Acts 4:32 And the multitude of them that
believed were of one heart and of one soul:
neither said any [of them] that ought of the things which he possessed
was his own; but they had all things common.
Now listen to the Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and [that] there be no
divisions among you; but [that] ye be perfectly joined together in the same
mind and in the same judgment. Someone might say "That's impossible,
no group of people can agree on everything." And I agree with this statement, if you are talking about carnal
men, men that walk after the flesh. But
the Church is supposed to be lead by God's spirit, not the flesh! If we are all lead by the Spirit of God, we
can be of the same mind, the mind of Christ!
The
first denomination.
The
first recorded denomination was the Roman Catholic Church. History records that this denomination
started in the year 325 AD, the Roman Church tells people that it started with
the apostle Peter, however neither history, nor the Bible support this. This subject (the start of the Roman Church)
is not the purpose of this tract, so I will not spend much time on this issue.
All
believers have Spiritual gifts that are important to the Church meeting, 1 Corinthians 12:4 through 12:12 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the
same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord
And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh
all in all. But the manifestation of
the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another
the word of knowledge by the same
Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by
the same Spirit; To another the working
of miracles; to another prophecy; to another
discerning of spirits; to another [divers] kinds of tongues; to another
the interpretation of tongues: ( But
all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. ( For as the body is one, and hath many
members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so
also [is] Christ. Notice the word "another" it is used over and over
in the preceding Scripture. Virtually
all denominations have followed the Roman Catholic form of worship, and have
completely changed God's pattern of worship, as a result, many other problems
have surfaced.
How
were the Churches named in the Bible?
Reference
# 1 1
Thessalonians 1:1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of
the Thessalonians [which is] in God the
Father and [in] the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace [be] unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the
Lord Jesus Christ.
Reference
# 2 2 Thessalonians 1:1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the
church of the Thessalonians in God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Reference
# 3 Acts 13:1 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets
and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon
that was called Niger, and Lucius of
Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch,
and Saul.
Reference
# 4 Romans 16:1 commend unto you Phebe
our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:
Reference
# 5 Ephesians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will
of God, to the saints which are at
Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Reference
# 6 Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus
Christ, to all the saints in Christ
Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:
Reference
# 7 Colossians 1:2 To the saints and faithful brethren in
Christ which are at Colosse: Grace [be]
unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
How
do denominations name their Churches?
Today denominations are named for many
reasons;
Reference
# 1 Lutheran, named after a man,
(Martin Luther)
Reference
# 2 Baptist, named after a command of
God!
Reference
# 3 Pentecostal, an experience of the
Holy Spirit!
Reference
# 4 Methodist, a name given to injure,
or slander.
In
the Bible, the Church was named or called, by the location, or region. It
wasn't named the Church of Paul, no not even the Church of Christ, but rather
"Church of the "Thessalonians."
The only difference the Bible used is the geographic location of the
Church! The word "Church"
means "An assembly of Christian believers" So God in His Bible allows the location of the believers to be
the only distinction of His Church.
Geographic location is a natural division, and the only one God will
sanction. Locations do not leave a
feeling of disunity, and believers can still be of one heart and of one soul,
even though separated by distance. In
the separation caused by denominations, I believe it can truly be said the
different denominations are not of one
heart and one soul! And who can argue
this statement!
Where
did the Church meet?
Today,
Church buildings are among the most expensive architectural structures built,
multiple millions of dollars are spent each year, as new Church buildings are
built on very expensive property. Is
this expenditure the will of God or the pride of man? Let's examine the Scriptures to find out.
Reference
# 1 Romans 16:5 Likewise [greet] the church that is in their
house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus,
who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.
Reference
# 2 Corinthians 16:19 The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and
Priscilla salute you much in the Lord,
with the church that is in their house.
Reference
# 3 Colossians 4:15 Salute the
brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his
house.
Reference
# 4 Philemon 1:2 And to [our] beloved
Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house:
It
is easy to see that the pattern God has given us is for the Church to meet in
someone's house! Not for us to go into
debt, and buy expensive property and build fancy buildings, which are used
twice a week. Instead our money can go
for the furtherance of the gospel, and taking care of the needy! Both of these needs are found in the Bible
pattern. Also, organizations (denominations) like to grow and maintain some
type of authority, this is easy when large property holdings, and debt are
incurred. God's authority doesn't
depend upon such things, He depends on the freewill obedience of His believers.
Who
do we imitate?
Why
is it that almost all denominations conduct their Church service in a similar
manner as the Catholic Church, I believe the answer to this question is simple,
denominations, for the most part, came out of the Catholic Church. Look at Martin Luther he was a Roman
Catholic Monk, and became incensed at the teaching of indulgences, and other
Catholic teachings that were wrong.
Resulting in his leaving the Catholic Church and starting the
denomination called The "Lutheran Church." When Martin Luther left the Roman Catholic Church, he left out
all of the practices that were objectionable, as far as he understood. The only
problem with this, is that he left in many other things that were wrong also,
but he didn't see the wrong. If Martin
Luther had looked into the Bible form of worship, and copied only that, it
would have been very good, but he copied many of the Roman Catholic practices,
without questioning them. And so we now
have two versions of the Roman Catholic Church, with a few differences, but
many of the same old problems!
Now
let us look at another birth of a denomination. The Methodist church. John Wesley was a very good organizer, as
well as a very dedicated man of God.
When he saw problems with the Church of England, he didn't start out to
establish another new denomination. Instead, he went about preaching God's
Word, and called the people to his weekly meetings to learn how to grow in
grace and be useful to the living God, while continuing to go to the Church of
England. John recognized the growing
problems of the Church of England, the meetings on Sunday were all but dead,
and very boring, not very instructive in the way of Christ. John's group were called
"Methodists" a title not very complimentary. In the eighteenth century the name
"Methodists" was intended as an insult! John Wesley had accomplished the same thing that Martin Luther
had. Eliminating the bad and
encouraging the good. But in the end, after all of John's many attempts to
remain in the Church of England, a new denomination had been born. Let us not forget how the Church of England
came about. The King of England saw the
harm of a Pope in Italy dictating church as well as political conduct in England! Enter a new denomination . . the Church of England. Which imported most
of the heresy of the Roman Catholic Church, with this one very important
difference, the King of England, not the Pope was in charge of this new
denomination. None of the heresy was
challenged, but most of it was imported into this new denomination, God's Word
wasn't consulted, and so we have another split in Christendom.
We
can continue on and on but haven't the space in this little work, but if you
are interested, there are many books that present a very thorough view of this
subject. Please take the time and look
into the different splits.
A
brief list of the results of denominations
While each denomination may differ in many
ways, the similarities are evident.
A
practice of following the teachings of man instead of "God's Word." You will find great prejudice, they will
not look at the Scripture, or anything that disagrees with the view that their
denominations holds of the subject.
This is the greatest harm, control of the Church (the individual members)
by mere men instead of the Holy Spirit!
We can see the fruits of this now, look around you, no matter what
someone believes, they can find a Church that will support that belief, no
matter how strange or ungodly! There
are churches that admit homosexuals in good standing without repenting of their
sin! Bible reference; Romans 1:27 And likewise also the men, leaving the
natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men
working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of
their error which was meet.
Instead
of conforming to the will of God, they substitute the teachings of men and
ignore the teachings of God!
Bible
reference; Mark 7:7 Through 7:9 Howbeit
in vain do they worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye
hold the tradition of men, [as] the washing of pots and cups: and many other
such like things ye do. And he said
unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your
own tradition.
Buying
or building expensive buildings, and incurring debt. It is shameful, to see expensive land bought, and expensive
buildings built, for the denomination to meet in! The early Church assembled in the members houses. In this way money was available to further
the Gospel, and help the needy saints.
The
necessity of teaching the law of Moses, to the Gentile Church. When we do things our way, instead of God's
way, we find that more and more the inventions of men start to be born and
used, instead of the will and ways of God!
What
a shame!
Why
not conduct the Church service according to God's pattern in 1 Corinthians
14:26. Remember strength is in
unity! God wants His Church united. His
people of one mind and one heart. I
know that with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. The early church was of one mind and heart,
and when this condition failed to be, God sent a reproof to the Church.
If
you are in a denominational Church now, challenge the "teachings of
men" that are in conflict with the teachings of God in His Bible. If the denomination responds; well and good,
but if not get yourself up and out of that place and find an assembly of
believers that respect the will and ways of the living God! But above all things don't, please don't
start another denomination!
I believe
things would be different now if Church splits were not the rule of the
day. Remember a small handful (Peter
John, Paul etc.) of dedicated believers turned the world upside down, what
would be happening now? Would the world
be converted to Christ even now? Could
the Lord's return have been accomplished already?
Denominational
Churches are made up of all sorts of people, some truly born again, others just
religious. Do not lose sight of the
fact that the problem is divisions (denominations) not the people in them!
Even
though denominations within Protestantism have come to be the largest
expression of organized Christianity beyond the level of the congregation,
there has never been much theological reflection on denominationalism. A look
at theology textbooks or church creeds confirms this. Probably the simplest
explanation for this omission is that the Bible in no way envisages the
organization of the church into denominations. It instead assumes the opposite,
that all Christians, except those being disciplined, will be in full fellowship
with all others. Any tendencies to the contrary were roundly denounced (I Cor.
1:10-13). Paul could write a letter to
the Christians meeting in various places in Rome or Galatia with every
assurance that all would receive its message. Today, for any city or country,
he would have to place the letter as an advertisement in the secular media and
hope.
Denominationalism
is a comparatively recent phenomenon. The theological distinction between the
church visible and invisible, made by Wycliffe and Hus and elaborated by the
Protestant Reformers, underlies the practice and defense of denominationalism
that emerged among seventeenth century English Puritans, who agreed on most
things but not on the crucial issue of how the church should be organized. The
eighteenth century revivals associated with Wesley and Whitefield
greatly encouraged the practice, especially
in America, where it became dominant.
Denominationalism
frequently thinks itself to be the best expression, the most faithful to the
Scriptures and to the present activity of the Holy Spirit. Had it not thought
so, at least when beginning, why else would it have gone through the trauma of
separating from (or not joining with) an older denomination