What’s Puzzling You?

Jesus established ONE church.

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said: “I will build My church.”

Jesus established ONE church. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said: “I will build My church.” In Ephesians 1:22-23, Paul says this church is Jesus’ body.

Jesus established ONE church. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said: “I will build My church.” In Ephesians 1:22-23, Paul says this church is Jesus’ body. In Ephesians 4:4, Paul says there is only one body.

Yet, in Christianity today there are many churches, not one.

It is estimated that there are over 1,200 denominations in America alone.

Yet, in Christianity today there are many churches, not one. It is estimated that there are over 1,200 denominations in America alone. Not only are there this many denominations, we have division within the denominations as well.

There are different kinds of Baptists, different kinds of Pentecostals, and different kinds of Anglicans and Lutherans. There are liberal and conservative Lutherans. Even in the Catholic Church, despite being one organization, there is a world of difference between a Bavarian Catholic Church and a Mexican Indian one which is a mixture of paganism and Catholicism. There are "quiet" Pentecostals and "noisy" Pentecostals; there are Pentecostals who worship holding snakes, others who drink poisons. There is every shade and color imaginable in both Protestantism and Catholicism. There are Roman Catholics and Greek Catholics, Armenian Catholics and Syrian Catholics. In America there are white Baptist and black Baptist Churches.

Only ONE church was established, but there are MANY churches today all claiming to be Christians.

I. Why is there so much division today?

The Scriptures predicted that men will divide the church.

I. Why is there so much division today? The Scriptures predicted that men will divide the church. –Act 20:29-30

I. Why is there so much division today? The Scriptures predicted that men will divide the church. –Act 20:29-30 There will be men who come into the church claiming to be Christians.

I. Why is there so much division today? The Scriptures predicted that men will divide the church. –Act 20:29-30 There will be men who come into the church claiming to be Christians. There will be men who come from the church.

I. Why is there so much division today? The Scriptures predicted that men will divide the church. –Act 20:29-30 There will be men who come into the church claiming to be Christians. There will be men who come from the church. Their purpose is to draw disciples away from the church.

I. Why is there so much division today? –1 Timothy 4:1-3

I. Why is there so much division today? –1 Timothy 4:1-3 Some will fall away from the church.

I. Why is there so much division today? –1 Timothy 4:1-3 Some will fall away from the church. They had turn aside to deceitful spirits and the doctrines of demons.

I. Why is there so much division today? –1 Timothy 4:1-3 Some will fall away from the church. They had turn aside to deceitful spirits and the doctrines of demons. –2 Timothy 4:3-4

I. Why is there so much division today? –1 Timothy 4:1-3 Some will fall away from the church. They had turn aside to deceitful spirits and the doctrines of demons. –2 Timothy 4:3-4 Not only will they turn away from the church, they will gather for themselves teachers who will teach what they want to hear.

I. Why is there so much division today? –1 Timothy 4:1-3 Some will fall away from the church. They had turn aside to deceitful spirits and the doctrines of demons. –2 Timothy 4:3-4 Not only will they turn away from the church, they will accumulate for themselves teachers who will teach what they want to hear. They have turned from what is true to what is pleasing.

I. Why is there so much division today? –2 Peter 2:1-3

I. Why is there so much division today? –2 Peter 2:1-3 These divisions are started secretly.

I. Why is there so much division today? –2 Peter 2:1-3 These divisions are started secretly. These divisions cause the true way to be maligned.

I. Why is there so much division today? –2 Peter 2:1-3 These divisions are started secretly. These divisions cause the true way to be maligned. The Scriptures tell us that divisions are caused by the opinions and doctrines of men.

II. What does God think about this division? Obviously God does not want division.

II. What does God think about this division? Obviously God does not want division. Unity among believers is very important to God.

II. What does God think about this division? Obviously God does not want division. Unity among believers is very important to God. –In John 17, Jesus gives one of His final prayers before dying on the cross.

II. What does God think about this division? Obviously God does not want division. Unity among believers is very important to God. –In John 17, Jesus gives one of His final prayers before dying on the cross. In 6-19, He is praying for His disciples. He expresses His desire for them to be one in verse 11.

II. What does God think about this division? Obviously God does not want division. Unity among believers is very important to God. –In John 17, Jesus gives one of His final prayers before dying on the cross. In 6-19, He is praying for His disciples. He expresses His desire for them to be one in verse 11. In 20-26, He is praying for all future believers. In 21 and 22 He expresses His desire that all future believers should be one as well.

II. What does God think about this division? Obviously God does not want division. Unity among believers is very important to God. –In John 17, Jesus gives one of His final prayers before dying on the cross. In 6-19, He is praying for His disciples. He expresses His desire for them to be one in verse 11. In 20-26, He is praying for all future believers. In 21 and 22 He expresses His desire that all future believers should be one as well. If we want to be pleasing to God, we must put aside all divisions and strive for unity

III. What is the solution to this puzzle?

The common solution professed to solve this problem today is tolerance.

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? The common solution professed to solve this problem today is tolerance. –The idea that even though we teach and believe different things, we should include all who profess to be Christians in our fellowship.

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? The common solution professed to solve this problem today is tolerance. –The idea that even though we teach and believe different things, we should include all who profess to be Christians in our fellowship. –If we were just more forgiving and lenient with each other there would be no more division.

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? Hal Hougey, The Quest for Understandable Hermeneutic, p. 35): The dilemma is simply this: The more emphasis we put on unity, the more we will neglect doctrine; the more emphasis we put on doctrine, the more we will neglect unity. It is easier to achieve unity if we do not demand too much conformity to Scripture; conversely, it is easier to demand conformity if we are willing to neglect or abandon the goal of unity.

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? This will only bring an appearance of unity. Tolerance is not true unity.

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? This will only bring an appearance of unity. Tolerance is not true unity. –Just because we tolerate something does not mean we are united with it.

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? This will only bring an appearance of unity. Tolerance is not true unity. –Just because we tolerate something does not mean we are united with it. –I tolerate Canadians, but that does not mean that I am a Canadian.

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? We must have unity the way God intends for us to have unity.

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? We must have unity the way God intends for us to have unity. –Jesus defined unity in John 17 as being one as the He and the Father are one.

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? We must have unity the way God intends for us to have unity. –Jesus defined unity in John 17 as being one as the He and the Father are one. –Our unity must be like the unity between the Father and the Son.

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? –Our unity must be like the unity between the Father and the Son. They have the same purpose (Jhn 8:42, 10:17).

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? –Our unity must be like the unity between the Father and the Son. They have the same purpose (Jhn 8:42, 10:17). They are working together (Jhn 5:17, 14:10).

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? –Our unity must be like the unity between the Father and the Son. They have the same purpose (Jhn 8:42, 10:17). They are working together (Jhn 5:17, 14:10). They are doing the same deeds (Jhn 5:21).

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? –Our unity must be like the unity between the Father and the Son. They have the same purpose (Jhn 8:42, 10:17). They are working together (Jhn 5:17, 14:10). They are doing the same deeds (Jhn 5:21). They posses the same attributes (Jhn 5:26, 17:5).

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? –Our unity must be like the unity between the Father and the Son. They have the same purpose (Jhn 8:42, 10:17). They are working together (Jhn 5:17, 14:10). They are doing the same deeds (Jhn 5:21). They posses the same attributes (Jhn 5:26, 17:5). They testify together (Jhn 8:18).

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? –Our unity must be like the unity between the Father and the Son. They have the same purpose (Jhn 8:42, 10:17). They are working together (Jhn 5:17, 14:10). They are doing the same deeds (Jhn 5:21). They posses the same attributes (Jhn 5:26, 17:5). They testify together (Jhn 8:18). They teach the same things (Jhn 6:45, 8:28, 12:49- 50, 14:10, 14:24).

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? –Our unity must be like the unity between the Father and the Son. They have the same purpose (Jhn 8:42, 10:17). They are working together (Jhn 5:17, 14:10). They are doing the same deeds (Jhn 5:21). They posses the same attributes (Jhn 5:26, 17:5). They testify together (Jhn 8:18). They teach the same things (Jhn 6:45, 8:28, 12:49- 50, 14:10, 14:24). They are undividable (Jhn 10:37-38, 16:32).

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? –Our unity must be like the unity between the Father and the Son. They show love for the same people (Jhn 14:21).

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? –Our unity must be like the unity between the Father and the Son. They show love for the same people (Jhn 14:21). They abide in the same people (Jhn 14:23).

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? –Our unity must be like the unity between the Father and the Son. They show love for the same people (Jhn 14:21). They abide in the same people (Jhn 14:23). They receive the same honor (Jhn 5:23) and the same hate (Jhn 15:23).

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? –Our unity must be like the unity between the Father and the Son. They show love for the same people (Jhn 14:21). They abide in the same people (Jhn 14:23). They receive the same honor (Jhn 5:23) and the same hate (Jhn 15:23). They know that they are one (Jhn 10:30, 14:11).

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? –Our unity must be like the unity between the Father and the Son. They show love for the same people (Jhn 14:21). They abide in the same people (Jhn 14:23). They receive the same honor (Jhn 5:23) and the same hate (Jhn 15:23). They know that they are one (Jhn 10:30, 14:11). –We must imitate their unity.

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? –We must imitate their unity. We must be united with one purpose.

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? –We must imitate their unity. We must be united with one purpose. We must work together.

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? –We must imitate their unity. We must be united with one purpose. We must work together. We must have the same actions.

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? –We must imitate their unity. We must be united with one purpose. We must work together. We must have the same actions. We must testify the same things.

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? –We must imitate their unity. We must be united with one purpose. We must work together. We must have the same actions. We must testify the same things. We must teach the same things.

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? –We must imitate their unity. We must be united with one purpose. We must work together. We must have the same actions. We must testify the same things. We must teach the same things. We must be undividable.

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? –We must imitate their unity. We must be united with one purpose. We must work together. We must have the same actions. We must testify the same things. We must teach the same things. We must be undividable. We must accept or reject the same people.

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? –We must imitate their unity. We must be united with one purpose. We must work together. We must have the same actions. We must testify the same things. We must teach the same things. We must be undividable. We must accept or reject the same people. We must be certain that we are united.

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? It is impossible to be united in this way and still be holding on to our own opinions and manmade doctrines.

III. What is the solution to this puzzle? It is impossible to be united in this way and still be holding on to our own opinions and manmade doctrines. Such unity is only possible if we cast aside our own opinions and feelings and stand on the Word of God alone.

What’s Puzzling You? It is puzzling today that there are so many denominations, when Jesus only started one church.

What’s Puzzling You? It is puzzling today that there are so many denominations, when Jesus only started one church. –The Scriptures predicted that many people would be divided through false teaching and selfish desires.

What’s Puzzling You? It is puzzling today that there are so many denominations, when Jesus only started one church. –The Scriptures predicted that many people would be divided through false teaching and selfish desires. –God is opposed to such division and wants all believers to be one

What’s Puzzling You? The unity that God desires for believers today is the same as the unity which the Father and the Son possess.

What’s Puzzling You? The unity that God desires for believers today is the same as the unity which the Father and the Son possess. We must be united with the same purpose, work together, and teach the same things.

What’s Puzzling You? Such unity cannot be obtained if we persist on holding to our own opinions and the doctrines of men.

What’s Puzzling You? Such unity cannot be obtained if we persist on holding to our own opinions and the doctrines of men. It can only be obtained when we cast these things aside and only hold on to the Word of God—The Bible.