FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
What is the One True Church?
By
CBN.com
CBN.com
-- The one true church is the universal body of believers everywhere who
have given their hearts to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. That is the only true
church (see Ephesians 1:22-23, Colossians 1:18). The Bible teaches us that
we must maintain the unity of the Spirit (see Ephesians 4:3) until we come into
unity of faith (see Ephesians 4:13). In other words, spiritual unity is something
that all Christians can have. Complete unity of knowledge is something for the
future. The fact that there are many different denominations reflects a lack
of knowledge in the church. In many instances, it also reflects pride. People
are unwilling to meet together with others and submit their concepts to the body
of Christ. And many denominations have come about because of doctrinal error.
What begins as a beautiful and fresh revelation of God often degenerates into
lukewarmness and then into fighting what God is doing. Many times those who
claim to know God persecute those who really do. It becomes necessary for the
Lord Himself to come back with a fresh revelation to break through the solidification
of the orthodox believers. This happened in Israel. Israel had lost sight of the
Lawgiver in their exaltation of the Law. They killed Jesus, who was the manifestation
of God, in the name of their law. In the Middle Ages, when the church had gained
political as well as religious power, it began to grow corrupt. Then a reform
movement came about through Martin Luther and others, who were persecuted severely
by the church. Later on, Lutherans began to persecute Calvinists. Then Calvinists
began to persecute Anabaptists, who brought out truth from God on baptism. Still
later, Baptists persecuted Pentecostals, who brought out a different truth about
the baptism in the Holy Spirit. There have been succeeding waves of truth that
God wants to restore to the church. These revelations of truth have been the seed
for some of the major denominations which many times began as despised and persecuted
sects. The new Christian needs to find a fellowship of believers who love the
Lord and who believe the Bible. There are Episcopal priests who love God with
all their hearts, who are filled with the Holy Spirit, who serve Jesus, and whose
churches are beautiful places of worship. In some Catholic churches born again
Christians could feel at home. There are Baptist churches where members love God,
Presbyterian churches where the members love God, as well as Methodist, Assemblies
of God, Nazarene, and Holiness churches and many others where the members love
God. When you are looking for a church home, the first thing to do is to ask
the Lord to guide you. Ask Him where He wants you. Find a church that is true
to the Bible, one where the people love Jesus Christ and serve Him as Lord. Are
the doctrine, teaching, and practice of that church in accordance with the Word
of God? Do the members try to live out the doctrine they profess? If you find
those characteristics and a warm fellowship, the church may be for you. More
teaching sheets from CBN.com. Other inspirational teaching on CBN.com
CBN IS HERE FOR YOU!
Are you seeking answers in life? Are you hurting?
Are you facing a difficult situation?
A caring friend will be there to pray with you in your time of need.
|