"Now I beseech you, brethren, by
the name of the 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."
1 Corinthians 1:10
Richard Bailey
To say, "Well after all, we Christians can't see alike, and therefore we couldn't all belong to the same church," is to contradict the plain Word of God. God has said with the simplicity that any humble heart will understand, that believers in Christ are to be one.If you and I believe from the heart on Christ, as our crucified and risen Lord, He has placed us both in "The church which is Christ's body." Ephesians 1:22-23. "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body." 1 Corinthians 12:13. All Christians are members of the same spiritual body.
Many acknowledge this, but fail to live by it. Hear the prayer of our Lord for us: "That they all may be one; as thou Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." John 17:21. The world can only see our walk. If you "belong" to your "church", and I "belong" to my "church", how is the world to know that we "belong to Christ?" Mark 9:41. The so-called Christian churches that men have made, present to the world a picture of division and confusion of which God is not the author. 1 Corinthians 14:33.
"Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 3:11. Christ's church is built upon the foundation. Matthew 16:18. It is in utter disregard for such plain Scripture as the above that sectarian builders erect counterfeit "churches". How absurd are these high towers and architectural wonders that pass in the world as "houses of God." The Scripture says of believers in Christ during this dispensation: "Ye are the temple of God." 1 Corinthians 3:16. The only church building God has is a group of blood washed believers in His Son!
God's Word has this to say about the "party", or "sectarian" spirit among His children: "Now I beseech you, brethren, (writes the inspired apostle Paul) 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. 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?" 1 Corinthians 1:10, 12-13. What more proof do you need to Scripturally outlaw denominations? Yet you hear the same thing today, "I am of the Methodists, I am of the Baptists, etc."
Man's "churches" are "works of the flesh," they all come under the head of "variance." Galatians 5:19-20. "For whereas there is among you (professing Christians) divisions, are ye not carnal (fleshly), and walk as men?" 1 Corinthians 3:3. "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: (no man- made church is free from hypocrites - unbelievers) for what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness, and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord has Christ with Belial, or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, 'I will dwell in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye separate, said the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, said the Lord Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:14-18. Obedience to the plain command of our Lord will bring us to Him in our walk. We will not forsake the "assembling of ourselves together" but our gatherings will be always and only in His Name (Colossians 3:17) and with the organization of divine love and life.
If you find it quite a shock to learn that God calls your "church" an "idol", remember that "the whole world lieth in wickedness." 1 John 5:19. True, denominations have a "form of godliness," but if you "prove all things," you "will know the truth and the truth will make you free." The whole secret of knowing the will of God is in humbling your heart and reading His Word. As the Lord Jesus Christ said, "Let these sayings sink down into your ears." Luke 9:44. Remember, "To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." James 4:17.