The Narrow Path Ministries

Before we begin, I know that the scriptures teach that the body of Christ should be unified and love one another.

But my problem is:
I have Brothers/Sisters who love the Lord just as much as me, and they attend Baptist and Penecostal fellowships. My wife fellowships at the local Baptist church(I do sometimes). She doesn't feel comfortable in the Local Assembly of God church I attend because she thinks that there is alot of sensationalism going on. So wouldnt it logicly follow that there should be denominations where Christians can fellowship on the basis of a clean conscience? What are your thoughts on this?

I think it depends on what you mean by "wrong". There are theological differences. All of them cannot be right. So in that sense, some are "wrong". There are also different worship styles. These are neither right or wrong, but a matter of preferance and culture. They are different, but in most cases would not be considered "wrong". I think there are denominations where people can worship in a clean conscience. But there is a difference between a clean conscience and preferance for a particular church worship style and theological teaching. As a non-charismatic, I've worshiped in clean conscience in some very charasmatic settings. Doesn't mean I was comfortable there though.
D.

To me it's a matter of perspective. I think God looks down on a given city and sees all those who belong to him, wheverver they might be scattered. From a global perspective, I think God does the same thing and he calls this "the church." Denominations are simply groups of Christians that share similar secondary beliefs. The only scripture that immediately comes to mind when pondering this issue is, "let each one be fully convinced in his own mind." However, there were factions starting up even in the first century where some were following Paul and others Apollos. Paul rebuked this attitude and said we are all under Christ. The only difference now is that some follow Luther, some Calvin, others the Pope and most follow Darby.

For me personally, it would grieve my conscience to attend a denominational church that believes they are the only group with "the goods." This is a very cliquish attitude and is more like high school than the family of God. However, for better or worse, we are stuck with the current system of cliques and "only we have pure doctrine" groups. I take a more humble approach and consider that the people with whom I disagree on doctrinal issues might be more approved by God than myself. This is a sobering thought and brings the important things into focus. We are commanded in scripture to love out of a pure heart. We are not commanded to be correct on every doctrinal issue.

I do think healthy debate is good and hearing other views has strengthened my faith and sharpened my mind. I have the most difficulty relating to those who refuse to listen (and consider) another viewpoint just because it's foreign to them. What's important is that we all believe that Christ died for the sins of the world and will judge every living person at the appointed time. Paul seemed to think that was the main thing to grasp when debating with the men of Athens.

I will go out on a limb and take an extreme position. None of the denominations are right ... no not one.

No follower of Jesus the Christ can take the name of another without dishonoring the One to whom he belongs.

No assembly of believers can submit to a home office on earth and serve their Father in heaven.

No committee of men has the right to dictate to the conscience of those set free in Christ.

Sadly, it is not likely that denominations will dissolve. Too many people have too much at stake for that to happen. For my part, I am trying to live as a Christian only.

SamIam wrote:I will go out on a limb and take an extreme position. None of them are right ... no not one.

No follower of Jesus the Christ can take the name of another without dishonoring the One to whom he belongs.

No assembly of believers can submit to a home office on earth and serve their Father in heaven.

No committee of men has the right to dictate to the conscience of those set free in Christ.

Sadly, it is not likely that denominations will dissolve. Too many people have too much at stake for that to happen. For my part, I am trying to live as a Christian only.

Hi Sam,

Just because one attends a Baptist fellowship or one like that does not mean that they by default fall under the catogories you mentioned. While I agree with most of your statements, they paint a picture that just doesn't fit in all cases. I know many who attend denominational churches that do not submit to men in spiritual matters concerning there conscience. What name do you think should be on the front of an assembly of Christians? I personally dont think the name is all that important. The church is called many things in scripture. Also, if all denominations dissolved as you wish, who would decide whether or not one can speak in tongues in the assembly? Or who would determine whether or not we can use grape juice or wine? I hope you see my point. There would be nothing but division and strife amongst the congregation.

I also would like to point out that even in churches that claim to be the "only true church" there is problems that cause splits concerning conscience.. Consider the Church of Christ. There are some who accept instruments in worship, while others condemn them to hell with Nadab and Abihu. Or the SDA church that split over the infallability of Ellen G White. There is only one clear way to solve this dileema, you must make the claim that the congregation you attend is THE church, and that everyone should model there assembly like yours(which I dont think noone here will do), or you must accept that not all Christians are gonna agree on issues that are not as clear as we want them to be in scripture.

As always, these are just my thoughts.

Brody,

Christians often find themselves in denominational assemblies. This does not justify the existence of the denomination.

The name on the door of a meeting place should decribe the nature of the assembly inside. If that assembly is defined by a certain set of doctrines, that is also advertised in the name. The bible uses a number of names to describe the people of God. Any of them are fine with me. Unfortunately, a number of these perfectly good descriptions have been captured by sectarians.

I am happy to let the elders/shepherds/overseers of each assembly set the policy. If they support speaking in tongues in the assembly, that may be the practice of that assembly. If I don't agree, I may find a different assembly. On the other hand, I may choose stay. I rather doubt I will find an assembly where I am 100% in agreement. No doubt these kind of differences will always exist. Denominations are not elliminating these differences.

Any "church" that claims to be "the only true church" is sadly mistaken. God saves individuals, He does not save "churches."

Your last sentence is correct. Christians will never all agree on all issues. Some of these disagreements are inconsequential. Some disagreements are a matter of taste. Some disagreements bring about divisions where they should not. Other disagreements identify those who are not holding to the faith.

On the whole, I think Christians disagreeing and agruing about issues will promote more truth than the home office telling us what to believe.

I think denominationalism is somewhat inevitable whether you use the term or not. People will always group together by location, personality, doctrine, etc. And once they group together, they become a distinct entity.

This isn't necessarily bad, it's just reality. I, for one, don't always know who is a 'true' Christian whether I see them in a local church building or at a house meeting. So I'm content to give everyone the benefit of the doubt until their actions prove otherwise.

I like to think of denominations as groups of Christians that tend to emphasize a particular aspect of the Christian life. In most cases, I am thankful for their emphasis even while I recognize things they, in my opinion, under-emphasize. This is a much more positive way of thinking of denominations than focusing on differences and competition.

Many people seem to have had horrible past experiences with a denominational church and so they are very negative about denominations. But one can have a negative experience in any setting. Bad things happen in denominational church, independant churches, and house churches.

I'm just glad there are so many different groups of people that love the Lord.

Fantastic summary, Matt. Amen to every word!!

Hi Brody (It's Earl, right?),

What stands out to me in your original post is this:

My wife fellowships at the local Baptist church(I do sometimes). She doesn't feel comfortable in the Local Assembly of God church I attend because she thinks that there is alot of sensationalism going on.

I think it's fairly easy to get past matters of taste in worship styles. But if it were me, I would want to find someplace that my wife and I could comfortably fellowship together. I can't imagine going to a different church than my wife.

I knew a guy who couldn't stand going to Pentacostal churches, but his kids went to school at one and his wife got saved there and was enthusiastic about going there. So in order to be together with his family in worship of God, he went ahead and started attending there. This particular church taught a little Word of Faith and he hated it. But he made the best of it for his family. I admired him for that. Sometimes us guys just gotta suck it up and take the lead in surrendering our own preferences. In that way, I think we exhibit that servant style leadership in our homes. The last thing I would want is for anyone in my family to dread assembling with the saints.

I think it's important to be together in this either way.

Just my two cents bro.

Lord bless

Christopher wrote:Hi Brody (It's Earl, right?),

What stands out to me in your original post is this:

My wife fellowships at the local Baptist church(I do sometimes). She doesn't feel comfortable in the Local Assembly of God church I attend because she thinks that there is alot of sensationalism going on.

I think it's fairly easy to get past matters of taste in worship styles. But if it were me, I would want to find someplace that my wife and I could comfortably fellowship together. I can't imagine going to a different church than my wife.

I knew a guy who couldn't stand going to Pentacostal churches, but his kids went to school at one and his wife got saved there and was enthusiastic about going there. So in order to be together with his family in worship of God, he went ahead and started attending there. This particular church taught a little Word of Faith and he hated it. But he made the best of it for his family. I admired him for that. Sometimes us guys just gotta suck it up and take the lead in surrendering our own preferences. In that way, I think we exhibit that servant style leadership in our homes. The last thing I would want is for anyone in my family to dread assembling with the saints.

I think it's important to be together in this either way.

Just my two cents bro.

Lord bless

Hi Christopher!

Yes, my name is Earl, but alot of people call me Brody.. When I was real little, my sister who is only 3 years older than me called me "Baby Brother", which in baby language sounds quite similar to Brody. LOL.

You are right about me and my wife needing to fellowship at the same church. We talk about it all the time, but to be completly honest, I don't think the Baptist church here in my town is somewhere I could go every Sunday and Wenesday. I go often to fellowship with everyone, I know everyone there real well. But staying there just isn't gonna happen. For one, they have Freemasons in leadership, I reject Freemasonry as a Non-Christian org. My wife doesn't like freemasonry much either, but still feels loved there and enjoys the women bible classes. Also, My wifes Boss is the choir director. And they are really close.
The Assembly of God church is a good place, I enjoy the fellowship. My cousin is the Pastor. But It tends to get word-faith quickly in meetings, and I often just read my bible through the sermons.. . I guess that I could start a home fellowship, which I have been trying. But then again, that would only be "just another division" in this area, and Lord knows we don't need that. My town is fairly small, and there are tons of churches around here. But all seem to be either one extreme. Legalistic or dead. None that I am aware of actually "study" the bible. Me and my wife often joke around saying "It will be a sad day when the local Lifeway publishers close, the churches around here won't have anything to teach!" lol.
Ofcourse I could always buy Steve a house here beside me and pay him a nice salary to be my "pastor". But something tells me that he wouldn't like living in the house that my salary could afford..lol God bless