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TACKLING RELIGIOUS MYTHS

The Myth:

All Churches Are Acceptable to God

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.     We are two thousand years removed from the first century.

1.       It is hard for us to comprehend a world wherein there were no man-made religions.

2.       It is hard for us to grasp the entrance of the church into a world ruled by Rome and filled with Judaism and idolatry.

 

B.      Most only accept what exists today.  In their minds, all churches are acceptable to God.

1.       They are just different paths to the same place.

2.       They only have a few minor differences between them.

3.       They all believe in Jesus and accept the Bible as the Word of God.

4.       They are all preaching the good news of salvation found in Jesus Christ.

5.       Each church is filled with sincere people who love God, believe in Jesus, and seek to live out their faith in Christ.

 

C.     If they ever teach that there is one body, they see that body as being composed of all the denominations.  NOTE:  They never try to go back in their minds to the first century and try to see a time when a church existed without any denominations being present.

 

D.     If one church ever proclaims that it is the true church,

1.       They call it a cult.

2.       They reject the message and speak evil of the group that makes such a boast.

3.       They refuse to examine any evidence that supports the claim that is made.

 

E.      My friends, it is a myth to believe that all churches are acceptable to God.

 

I.                    MANY CHURCHES CONTRADICT CLEAR NT TEACHING ABOUT ONE CHURCH

 

A.     When a person reads the New Testament, there is not one denomination that can be found therein.

 

B.      But, the New Testament clearly teaches that there is one church.

1.       Jesus promised to build only one (Matt. 16:18).

 

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

 

2.       Paul teaches us that “there is one body” (Eph. 4:4).  He also teaches us that the body is the church (Eph. 1:22-23).

 

And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.

 

II.                 MANY CHURCHES PROMOTE RELIGIOUS DIVISION

 

A.     As long as many churches exist, there will be religious division in the world.

 

B.      The denominational world has accepted this division. 

1.       They would have us to believe in a concept called “unity-in-diversity.” 

2.       The problem is that the Bible never teaches such a concept.

 

C.     The Bible does not teach division among God’s people.  It exhorts us to be unified.

1.       Ephesians 4:3

 

Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

 

2.       I 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.

 

III.              MANY CHURCHES POSE CONFUSION TO A LOST WORLD

 

A.     When those in the world see the religious division among us, they are confused by the division that exists.

1.       Why are there so many churches?

2.       Who is right?

3.       How can they all be right and teach different things?

4.       Why can’t you all understand the Bible alike?

 

B.      I Corinthians 14:33

 

For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

 

C.     Jesus taught that when His followers are one, then the world will believe that God sent Him into the world (John 17:20-21).

 

Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 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.

 

IV.              MANY CHURCHES RUIN THE TYPES OF THE OT

 

A.     One ark of Noah

1.       In Noah’s day, he built only one ark wherein people could be saved (Gen. 6:14).

 

Make thee an ark of gopher wood…

 

2.       That ark is a shadow.  It is the shadow of the church wherein salvation can be found today (Acts 2:47). 

a.       There were not many arks.  Neither are there many churches.

b.      If many churches are acceptable to God, then many arks could have saved men in the day of Noah.  If not, why not?

 

B.      One kingdom of Israel

1.       God established only one nation of people in the days of Moses (Exo. 19:5-6).

 

Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people:  for all the earth is mine.  And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.  These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

 

2.       The kingdom of Israel was a type of the kingdom of God under the New Covenant.

a.       There were not many kingdoms that belonged to God.  Neither are there many nations that belong to Him today (See I Pet. 2:5, 9).

b.      If many churches are acceptable to God today, then many nations should have belonged to God under the Old Covenant.

 

C.     One holy place in the temple of God (Heb. 9).

1.       God authorized only one tabernacle to be built as His dwelling place (Exo. 25:8).

 

And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

 

2.       The Old Testament tabernacle was a type of the church (Heb. 9:8-9).

a.       There were not many tabernacles authorized to be built.  Neither are there many sanctuaries that are supposed to exist today (See Heb. 8:2; 9:11).

b.      If many churches are acceptable to God today, then many tabernacles should have been acceptable to Him in the past.  (NOTE:  We know that God did not approve of Dan and Bethel in the days of Jeroboam).

                       

D.     Marriage of God to one bride

1.       Israel shared a relationship with God as a husband and bride (Isa. 54:5-6).

 

For thy Maker is thine husband; for the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall he be called.  For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.

 

2.       This relationship between God and Israel was a shadow of the relationship that would exist between Christ and the church (Rom. 7:4; II Cor. 11:2. Eph. 5:32; Rev. 21:2).

a.       God did not have many brides under the Old Covenant.  And, Jesus does not have many brides under the New Testament.

b.      If many churches are acceptable to God today, then He should have had many brides under the Old Testament.

 

V.                 MANY CHURCHES INDICATE DOCTRINE IS NOT IMPORTANT

 

A.     Many churches exist because their doctrines do not agree with one another.

 

B.      Those in denominations tell us that some doctrines are peripheral or insignificant.

 

C.     Three problems:

1.       The Bible never refers to insignificant doctrines.

2.       What man is going to decide which doctrines are vital and which are nonessential?

3.       The Bible teaches us to hold onto and speak only sound doctrine.

a.       II Timothy 1:13

 

Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

 

b.      Titus 2:1

 

But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine.

 

VI.              MANY CHURCHES MEAN THAT THE CHURCH REALLY DOES NOT MATTER

 

A.     If a person can be a member of any church, then the church to which a person belongs really does not matter.

1.       Do I have to be a ____________________?  The answer is usually:  “No.” 

2.       If it doesn’t matter, then it is not important.

 

B.      The Bible teaches that the church of the first century was important, essential, and extremely significant.

1.       Jesus built it (Matt. 16:18).  He would not build something that is meaningless.

2.       Jesus died for it (Acts 20:28).  Jesus did not die for something that was not important.

3.       Jesus is the Savior thereof (Eph. 5:23).  If Jesus saves it, then it is valuable.

 

VII.           MANY CHURCHES PERVERT TEACHINGS OF THE NT

 

A.     The vine and branches

1.       When discussing whether denominations are scriptural, some will turn to Jesus’ teaching on the vine and branches in an attempt to justify them (John 15:1-8, esp. v. 5).

 

I am the vine, ye are the branches…

 

2.       The contention is that the branches are denominations.

3.       Answer:

a.       #1:  Jesus is not speaking of denominations.  He has reference to individual disciples (John 15:8).

b.      #2:  To hold true, the one vine would have to bear many different kinds of fruit.  This is an impossibility. 

 

B.      The body and its members

1.       Those in denominations will also argue that there is one body and many members (Rom.12:4-5; I Cor. 12:12).

 

For as the body is one, and hath many members…

 

2.       Their contention is that the denominations are the members that make up the one body.

3.       Answer:  Paul is not referring to denominations.  He is confronting division in the church of Corinth over spiritual gifts.  Each person had a different gift just as the physical body has different members.  They were all to work in unison one with another (I Cor. 12:25).

 

That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.     The idea that many churches are acceptable to God is man-made, not God ordained.

B.      The idea that the church does not matter comes from man’s imagination, not the mind of God.

 

C.     The idea that one church is just as good as another is as foreign to the Bible as is Eve eating an apple in the Garden of Eden.

 

D.     One church existed in the first century and one church exists today.

1.       It is the true sanctuary.

2.       It is the bride of Christ.

3.       It is the holy nation of God.

4.       It is God’s ark of refuge from sin.

 

E.      Whatever a man does to become a Christian also makes him a member of the Lord’s church.  Those on the day of Pentecost heard Peter’s words (Acts 2:22), responded to them with a question (Acts 2:37); received an answer (Acts 2:38); obeyed the words of Peter (Acts 2:41); and were added by the Lord to the church (Acts 2:47).