So Many Denominations.

[Anguspure]

As i study God's Word, i can't help but notice that the early church did everything together as one, and where told to be likeminded.

Philippians 2:2 KJV — Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

Acts 2:44,46
44 And all that believed were together, and had all things in common; 46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.

Acts 15:25 KJV — It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

Romans 15:5 KJV — Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:

Acts 4:32
And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of these things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things in common.

We are pretty much commanded to be of the same mind. Here is what Apostle Paul wrote on the matter.

1 Corithians 1:10-13
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.
11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
12 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.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

Is Christ divided?

Mark 3:24-25
24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

The only purpose for these different denominations, to me, is confusion, and scriptures state:

1 Corinthians 14:33 KJV — For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

I personally long for the way the church operated in the Book of the Acts. The only way that is possible is for everyone to go back to the source, that is the Word of God. Remember:

2 Timothy 3:16 KJV — All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Isaiah 48:17 KJV — Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.

With Love, In Christ

Demoninilisation is the first heresy by definition.

 

[Dave L]

You can pick the right church if you know what to look for. There are only 3 possibilities in salvation. 1) God alone saves sinners = salvation by grace. 2) God and sinners work together to save sinners = salvation by grace and works. and 3) sinners save themselves = salvation by works. Depending on your understanding of salvation, it's easy to narrow the field to one search area.

 

[rockytopva]

Out of the Spirit
Into the Flesh
Ego substituting the Anointing
Leadership set in cold ways

It is important, for the sake of spirituality, that we divide the man into three parts… Physical, Spiritual, and Intellectual. If E = mc2 then we can divide and conclude that...

Mass (m) = Energy (E/c2) And there are three varieties...

Natural E/c2 - All mass is basically cooled plasma, the sun is the visible form of E/c2
Mental E/c2 - Our thinking can produce creativeness, light, and good things
Spiritual E/c2 - E (motivation, warmth, love) / c2 (faith, hope, charity, joy)

The Natural E/c2 in the form of mass produces a gravity that attracts other objects
The Intellectual E/c2 produces a gravity that draws us to study
The Spiritual E/c2 also has a gravity that draws and makes religion attractive

Just Because....

1. Natural E/c2 - You were once upon a time physically fit does not mean you are so now.
   
2. Intellectual E/c2 - You were once intelligent does not mean you are so now.
   
3. Spiritual E/c2 - You were once filled with the Holy Spirit does not mean you are so now.

The light and the energy must be maintained and updated on a daily basis. This light also makes for a fire on the inside....

And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.... - Hebrews 1:7

 

[BABerean2]

You can pick the right church if you know what to look for. There are only 3 possibilities in salvation. 1) God alone saves sinners = salvation by grace. 2) God and sinners work together to save sinners = salvation by grace and works. and 3) sinners save themselves = salvation by works. Depending on your understanding of salvation, it's easy to narrow the field to one search area.

If you are attempting to promote Augustine's version of regeneration, by denying free-will, and foreknowledge, you would have to erase the following text from your Bible.

Act 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.


Act 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

Act 11:15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
Act 11:16 Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.

.

 

[Gregory Thompson]

A love for the word of God is precisely what created this mess of tens of thousands of denominations.

The fact is that Our Lord founded one visible Church and He prayed that it would always be unified in actual fact rather than the horrible situation we have to deal with today. A huge percentage of Christians thumb their noses at His prayer every single day.

No. Not a love of the word of God. That is not a wrong love. That is a good and proper love. A love we as Catholics endorse. So much so that you can gain an indulgence just for reading the Bible.

But an expectation that the Bible alone was the answer key for everything doctrinal and liturgical and moral, now that is a flawed understanding. The Bible never was supposed to be that in the first place. So the cure to the ailment of so many contradictory denominations isn't to double down on Bible reading as if therein was the cure. It is to read the Bible in keeping with the Tradition and in keeping with the Community of faith called the Church. It's the three legged stool. Not the one legged stool of Bible alone.

We love the Bible within the environment it was written in and written for, the Church which follows Tradition and speaks with Authority. Within that more Bible is better. Outside of that more Bible means more division.

This will offend some people. Not my intent to offend. Yet there is a way out of the mess, which is to look to the Fathers, to the bishops, and to the Bible, all at the same time. We Catholics should have been extinct many times over, but it does work as we are still here.

I think the three legged stool is missing the guidance of the Holy Spirit, which may have lead to the one legged stool.

 

[BABerean2]

double

 

[JacksBratt]

As i study God's Word, i can't help but notice that the early church did everything together as one, and where told to be likeminded.

Philippians 2:2 KJV — Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

Acts 2:44,46
44 And all that believed were together, and had all things in common; 46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.

Acts 15:25 KJV — It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

Romans 15:5 KJV — Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:

Acts 4:32
And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of these things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things in common.

We are pretty much commanded to be of the same mind. Here is what Apostle Paul wrote on the matter.

1 Corithians 1:10-13
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.
11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
12 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.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

Is Christ divided?

Mark 3:24-25
24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

The only purpose for these different denominations, to me, is confusion, and scriptures state:

1 Corinthians 14:33 KJV — For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

I personally long for the way the church operated in the Book of the Acts. The only way that is possible is for everyone to go back to the source, that is the Word of God. Remember:

2 Timothy 3:16 KJV — All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Isaiah 48:17 KJV — Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.

With Love, In Christ

Christ does not wish for us to be divided.

All religions and all sectors within a religion are "man made" and, as a result, are flawed.

You will see, the more threads on this forum that you read, all the varied ideas and views inside the varied denominations.

That is man's error.

Christ just wants a relationship with you. He wants you to love and believe in Him and treat others like you want to be treated....

The rest is up to you as you follow Christ's ways and examples.

 

[Albion]

As i study God's Word, i can't help but notice that the early church did everything together as one, and where told to be likeminded.

Actually, no. There were dozens and dozens of branches or sects of Christians in the first century. It is just that Scripture doesn't record all of their doings, so we think in terms of the assemblies, etc. that are recorded in the New Testament. For several hundred years, the goal was to pull these together and stay away from the ones that were irreconcilable or taught something too far from the norm.

 

[rockytopva]

Actually, no. There were dozens and dozens of branches or sects of Christians in the first century. It is just that Scripture doesn't record all of their doings, so we think in terms of the assemblies, etc. that are recorded in the New Testament. For several hundred years, the goal was to pull these together and stay away from the ones that were irreconcilable or taught something too far from the norm.

300 years of Roman persecution divided the church, as you say, into many branches and sects.

 

[Albion]

That probably accounts for some of it, but there was room for disagreement on many items of faith, Romans or no Romans.

Consider that when the church started, the faith consisted of little more than acclaiming Christ, Baptism and the Supper, a certain lifestyle, evangelism--and most of the followers were Jews with that legacy. There was, in other words, a lot of room for speculating on all sorts of questions that logically came up.

 

[BrotherD]

A love for the word of God is precisely what created this mess of tens of thousands of denominations.

A love for the word of God would actually do the opposite. Because out our love for him would we be obedient to his commands. One thibg is for sure though, men love power and influence, and most hate the truth. My take on so many splits is men cherry pick which truths they want and discard the ones they don't agree with.

 

[BrotherD]

I sense most Christians feel the same way you do. Good thing the Church does not dwell in denominations, it resides in the true believer who hears His voice. Those sheep make up the Kingdom of God and walk towards the narrow gate where they will one day meet their King. For now, while we are in our flesh, we are commanded to love and forgive one another regardless of Spiritual maturity. After all ,it is the mature Christian who walks with the Holy Spirit daily spreading the Good News in truth and conviction growing the true Church for the Kingdom of God.
Blessings

I agree. I read stories in the Bible about David and his passion and love for God. I read about Elijah and Elisha who obeyed every command that the Lord gave them. I read about Nehemiah and his zeal to pleases the Lord. Many, many more people in the scriptures who were all in. Its that kind of love that makes you want to do anything to please our Father in heaven. I am a simple man, so all this division does is confuse people. Thankfully i have a desire to read and find out exactly what he wants for me. Although i do long to fellowship with likeminded people. Thank you for your input and as i stated i do agree with your statement.

God bless

 

[BrotherD]

The entire book of Acts has one main theme "The Jews as a nation have rejected their Messiah".

The early "church" in Acts 1-4 only had Jews. It is not supposed to be a model of what the current church comprising mostly of Gentiles, are to be.

There is neither Jew nor Greek in the kingdom of heaven, we will all be one. Jews and Greeks fellowshiped together in the latter end as well.

 

[thecolorsblend]

Wrong. The "New Testament" needs to be interpreted by the Light of the "Old Testament" and not according to man's tradition, aka, science...schizo...schism...

Yeah, but not really though.

The Church provides the authoritative teachings and she should be listened to and submitted to.

 

[BrotherD]

Actually, no. There were dozens and dozens of branches or sects of Christians in the first century. It is just that Scripture doesn't record all of their doings, so we think in terms of the assemblies, etc. that are recorded in the New Testament. For several hundred years, the goal was to pull these together and stay away from the ones that were irreconcilable or taught something too far from the norm.

Scriptures state:
1 John 2:19 KJV — They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

It was and will always be only one sheepfold:
John 10:16 KJV — And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

 

[Tone]

Yeah, but not really though.

The Church provides the authoritative teachings and she should be listened to and submitted to.

This is exactly why you do not understand that I have said just that...you separate "The Church" from Torah. Are you aware that Moses was with the Church in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 10:4) Strong's Hebrew: 6951. קָהָל (qahal) -- assembly, convocation, congregation? Any "church" that is not rooted in Torah...is not His Qahal.

 

[PaulCyp1]

Of course they did everything as one! The plainly stated will of Jesus Christ concerning His followers was and still is "that they all may be one, even as I and my heavenly Father are one". Jesus insisted on unity because that is the only way we can be assured of truth. Truth cannot conflict with truth, therefore as soon as you have two people, or two churches, whose beliefs conflict with each other, at least one of their beliefs has to be false. Which is why Jesus Christ founded one Church, said it was to remain one, and promised that one Church "The Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth", and "Whatsoever you bind upon Earth is bound in Heaven", and "He who hears you hears Me". Which is why that one Church remains one in belief, one in teaching, one in worship, one in biblical understanding throughout the world after 2,000 years, while unauthorized manmade churches that have defected from His Church have fragmented into thousands of conflicting denominations teaching thousands of conflicting and therefore false beliefs in just a few hundred years. You just can't beat God's plan.

 

[Albion]

Scriptures state:
1 John 2:19 KJV — They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

It was and will always be only one sheepfold:
John 10:16 KJV — And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

I wasn't commenting on which of the many varieties of Christianity in the first century was the right one, which correctly understood the Gospel, or any of that...just that there were many of them.

 

[BrotherD]

I wasn't commenting on which of the many varieties of Christianity in the first century was the right one, which correctly understood the Gospel, or any of that...just that there were many of them.

Oh ok, i understand you.

 

[thecolorsblend]

This is exactly why you do not understand that I have said just that...you separate "The Church" from Torah. Are you aware that Moses was with the Church in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 10:4) Strong's Hebrew: 6951. קָהָל (qahal) -- assembly, convocation, congregation? Any "church" that is not rooted in Torah...is not His Qahal.

Oh boy.