Jesus Commanded Go & Teach Matthew 28:18-20, “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore [a] and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age”a

– We will be rewarded, if we work, 1Corinthians 3:8 “that each one will receive his own reward according to his labor.” – No Work, No Reward

God never based the value of one’s work on a quota system or “counting of coup”. Paul did not keep score, 1Corinthians 1:16-17, “Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel.”

However, being prepared is essential to fighting error and pleasing God One view we may encounter is that of Denominationalism

Denominationalism Usually, this view manifests itself in these statements: There are many, many different churches, but we’re all going to the same place, just by different roads.” You believe what you want to believe, I’ll believe what I want to, as long as we’re believing in the same God. Choose the church of your choice. Is this error, and if so how do we counter it?

Denominationalism defined: Merriam-Webster, Denomination: “a religious organization whose congregations are united in their adherence to its beliefs and practices.” Its origin: No denominations in Act 2 when the church was started However, departure from truth, resulting in denominations, was prophesied

Acts 20:28-31, 2Thesselonians 2:1-5, 1Timothy 4:1-3 Eventually, the Catholic church was formed by these very methods that Paul prophesied about – The elder arrangement was distorted, Acts 20:28, Titus 1:5, 1Peter 5:2 – A central bishop was appointed in local churches – These bishops eventually oversaw other churches in other cities

Synods were held to write policy and doctrine, undermining the authority of the Scriptures (2Timothy 3:16-17) Ultimately, Boniface III was named the first Roman Catholic pope in 606 AD

Shortly thereafter, other denominations sprang up – Greek Orthodox church in Greece in 1053 – Moravian Church in Kunwald, Bohemia in 1457 In the 1500’s, resistance arose against the Catholic church’s perversion of the Scriptures – Unfortunately, men like Martin Luther only tried to “Reform” the corrupt Catholic church instead of “Restoring” the respect of the One True Church established on the day of Pentecost

Manmade Creeds, manuals & methods resulted in more denominations being formed

Baptist Church, 1607 in London by John Smyth Methodist Church, 1729 in London by John Wesley Mormon Church, 1830 in Seneca, NY by Joseph Smith Christian Church, 1859 in Midway, KY Jehovah’s Witnesses, 1874 in Pennsylvania by Charles T Russell Christian Science, 1879 in Boston, MA by Mary Baker Eddy Assembly of God, 1914 in Hot Springs, AR And thousands more and variations of those thousands exist today.

Denominations are so commonplace today that their existence isn’t hardly questioned anymore If you do, people often accuse you of being narrow minded, bigoted, mean spirited, unloving, judgmental, legalistic…

John 15:5 used in an effort to defend different denominations – “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

John 15:5 “vine…branches” Context shows that Jesus was talking to individuals, not denominations Assuming for a moment that He was talking to denominations, what an odd vine He would have made – One kind of vine, many different kinds of fruit (Matthew 7:15-20) – Often their teachings run in direct opposition to each other.

John 15:5 “vine…branches” When Christ’s teachings are followed, people become Christians, not hyphenated Christians – Baptist-Christian, Methodist-Christian, Presbyterian-Christian… – Just simple Christians

How Do We Counter? Ask for examples of denominations in the Bible Show them that there is only – One Body, Ephesians 4:4-5 – That the One Body is THE Church, not a denomination or variation, Ephesians 1:22-23, Colossians 1:18 – God wants His followers UNITED in truth, not divided and not united in diversity, Ephesians 2:13-22 – There is only ONE method of entry into this body, Baptism into Christ, Galations 3:26-28

(Side Note on Galatians 3:26-28) – Acts 4:12, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” – Some denominations teach that we can be saved without baptism. If that’s true, then we can be saved without Jesus!

God’s people are to speak the same thing and have no divisions, 1Corinthian 1:10 – Not to speak different things, be divided in message, but say that we’re all right with God

Conclusion Why deal with these kinds of issues? – Because we want people exposed to and saved by the ONE true gospel that God delivered to us, Jude 3 – We don’t want people comfortable being members of something other than Christ’s body

There is only ONE way to Heaven, only ONE church that membership in ensures salvation, Christ’s church – Abandon the denominational mentality – Believe (Romans 10:17), Repent of your sins (Acts 2:38), Confess your Faith in Jesus as the Son of God (Romans 10:9), Be Baptized into Christ for the remission of your sins (Galatians 3:26-28, Acts 2:38), Devote your Life to Him till death and you will receive a crown of righteous for eternity (Revelation 2:10)