Have you counted all of the churches listed in the yellow
pages of your telephone book?
The library is full of books about these churches:
Baptist
Episcopal
Catholic
Lutheran
Witnesses
Greek Orthodox
Methodist
Mormon
Calvanism
1000 Denominations
United Churches
A.M.E.
Presbyterian
Pray to
Mary.
Don't pray to
Mary.
Baptize babies.
Don't baptize
babies.
Priests can marry.
Priests can't
marry.
The work of the
church is social.
The work of the
church is spiritual.
There is no life
after this one.
There is a life
after this one.
Where did all
these churches come from?
They all go back
to various dates:
.......30AD,
500AD, 1000AD, 1500AD, 1900AD, Today
However, Jesus
said, "...I will build MY church.." Matthew 16:18
That must mean
that the church belongs to Jesus because he is the one who built it!
At least, that is
what the Bible says.
I wonder what else it has to say about Jesus' church.
Ephesians 1:22-23
says, "...and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which
is His body..."
Col 1:18, "And He
is the Head of the body, the church..."
Decides,
Controls & Guides
Ephesians 4:4
tells us that there is:
Ephesians 4:4 also
tells us there is:
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.
In John 10:27,
Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."
John 10:16,
"...and there shall be one fold and one shepherd."
We see that in the
New Testament that there was only 
Jesus condemned
man teaching his own ideas and doctrine in Mark 7:7-9.
"In vain do they
worship me, teaching as doctrine the commandments of men..."
Doctrines of MEN
However, men did
change the simple teachings of Jesus, and now we have DENOMINATIONS.
Let's compare some
of these "teachings of men" with what Jesus and the
apostles taught in the New Testament.
Men say, "We
painted the church." or "Let's go to church."
Is this Jesus'
body, His church?
The church is the people!
Acts 8:3 tells us
that "Saul made havoc of the church and committed men and women to prison."
Are all of the
different denominations branches of Jesus' church??
Get the bible.
Look at Jesus' words in John 15:5-6
"If a man abideth
not in me..."
In Mark 16:16,
Jesus said the following:
"He that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved."
But same say: "He
that believeth NOT and is baptized shall be saved."
and others say:
"He that believeth and is NOT baptized shall be saved."
GOD'S WAY...
Matthew 23:8 and 11 "... All ye are brethren...He that is greatest shall be
your servant."
MAN'S WAY is
geared toward giving honor to priests and ministers.
GOD'S WAY - ONE
FAITH
About AD 67, Jude
wrote,"...ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered
unto the saints."
MAN'S WAY - MANY
FAITHS
Creeds, Baptist
manual, book of Mormon, Methodist, Episcopal, WatchTower, Catholicism.
In 2 John 9, we
find these words, "Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine
of Christ hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he
hath both the Father and the Son."
We cannot
go beyond, add or change what God has written in the Bible. If we
teach or believe something in our religion it must agree with the Bible or
we do not believe the Bible to be God's Word.
When the doctrine
of Christ is polluted with the doctrine of men, it makes man's worship of
God empty of value. It is vain.
Are you following the doctrines of men
that make worship vain or are you abiding in the doctrine of Christ?
