Why doesn't God just tell us which denomination is right?

Unofficial Reverand Alex said:

Seems like it would help us out a lot if God told everybody, "The Calvinists are right" (Or whichever denomination).

So many false teachings would be disproven in an instant, everybody would know which Church best aligns with God & His word...

So why not?

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Whatever the reason, the answer is the same for the existence of all other religious beliefs in the world.

Phil 1:21 said:

It seems to me the best solution is to stop carving out denominational turf and just...

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Seems like reading the bible is the cause of division rather than a cause of unity. What else did we learn in the Reformation or early Christological controversies?

Phil 1:21 said:

It seems to me the best solution is to stop carving out denominational turf and just...

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You can start with 2 Maccabees.

At the end of the day I can only trust in Jesus Christ, having faith in the God who graciously shows Himself in Jesus and gives Himself to the world in Jesus.

I don't know what God's judgment is going to be for every person. It's not up to me to say, "That person is saved, but that other person is not", I can only point to the hope I have in Christ, and the confidence I have in the Gospel that all who are in Christ belong to Christ and that in Him there is hope, salvation, and eternal life. Will there be many who called themselves Christians in this life but who will hear the Master say, "I never knew you?" Scripture seems to suggest that. Scripture also tells us not to be arrogant, the Master of the Feast gave the invitation to the prostitutes, tax collectors, and other sinners; while the "righteous" remained outside. I suspect there will be many, on that Last Day, who will be counted among the saints who we never would have expected; and there will be many on the outside who we may have seemed very devoted in this life.

Ultimately, I think we should allow ourselves to be surprised and moved by hope.

I am confident that wherever the Word is preached and the Sacraments administered, there Christ's Church is. And all who are baptized, born of God in Christ Jesus by the power of the Spirit, are indeed members of Christ's Holy Church.

We can concern ourselves with who is right, in this life, because we have been commanded by the Lord Christ to be the people who bring His Word to the nations. The question of who is right and who isn't, ultimately, isn't a matter of who is and isn't saved, since our salvation does not depend on our passing a theology examination--it depends on the gracious God who condescended to encounter the world in and through Jesus Christ.

The topic matters, but it should not be something that causes us despair--for no one in this world has perfect knowledge or understanding. Our salvation is not a matter of epistemology, but the Gospel. As long as the Gospel is being preached, God is at work transforming broken sinners into children and heirs; and even in the secret places we don't know about, we should not assume God is not at work in ways we may never know.

So that, always, we can do nothing other than trust and hope in Christ. At the end of this life we are all but beggars; and Christ alone our Treasure.

-CryptoLutheran

Unofficial Reverand Alex said:

Seems like it would help us out a lot if God told everybody, "The Calvinists are right" (Or whichever denomination).

So many false teachings would be disproven in an instant, everybody would know which Church best aligns with God & His word...

So why not?

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He did, it's called a conscience. When the Rabbi Hillel was challenged by a Gentile to explain the Torah to him while he was hopping on one foot, Hillel responded by saying: "Love God and your neighbor; the rest is just commentary." The same thing Jesus says.

Intellectual pursuit and the like that divides denominations (e.g. Calvinist debates with Arminians over free will) are just that - commentary.

He did it is called the Gospel, the question why don’t we get the Gospel.

gordonhooker said:

He did it is called the Gospel, the question why don’t we get the Gospel.

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I didn't realize the Gospel was a denomination.

I also like that your avatar attempts to make you look like a bishop.

Unofficial Reverand Alex said:

Seems like it would help us out a lot if God told everybody, "The Calvinists are right" (Or whichever denomination).

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Calvinism is not a denomination. God never commands us to follow after denominations. And there are no denominations in Heaven.

God commands us to follow Jesus Christ and His truth.

Unofficial Reverand Alex said:

So many false teachings would be disproven in an instant, everybody would know which Church best aligns with God & His word...

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God never appointed any church or organization as the final authority. The word of God is the final authority. However, that does not mean that there are not other authorities, but they are not ultimate, nor are they equal to or greater than the word of God. All other authorities that Christians submit to must submit themselves to the word of God.

[Staff edit].

God never appointed any church or organization as the final authority. The word of God is the final authority. However, that does not mean that there are not other authorities, but they are not ultimate, nor are they equal to or greater than the word of God. All other authorities that Christians submit to must submit themselves to the word of God.

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No where does the bible say it is the final authority. Jesus left His apostles with his authority and we know they passed that authority onto other men.

Thomas Schular said:

I didn't realize the Gospel was a denomination.

I also like that your avatar attempts to make you look like a bishop.

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Obviously the subtlety of the response was lost on you I can only try.

I am not trying to look like a bishop at all. The cross is the profession cross for a Franciscan tertiary in the Third Order of the Society of St Francis.

Unofficial Reverand Alex said:

... it would help us out a lot if God told everybody, "The Calvinists are right" ...

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I so agree

[Staff edit].

Thomas Schular said:

No where does the bible say it is the final authority.

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2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, (17) that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

Psalms 119:89 Lamedh Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.

Matthew 22:31-32 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: (32) ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.”

1 Thessalonians 2:13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

et. al.

Thomas Schular said:

Jesus left His apostles with his authority and we know they passed that authority onto other men.

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Perhaps you need to read my statements more carefully. I never denied that there are other authorities that God designates. But those other authorities are not final, and they submit to the word of God.

Unofficial Reverand Alex said:

Seems like it would help us out a lot if God told everybody, "The Calvinists are right" (Or whichever denomination).

So many false teachings would be disproven in an instant, everybody would know which Church best aligns with God & His word...

So why not?

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God did tell us in his word

Revelation 14:12
Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Ignatius the Kiwi said:

Seems like reading the bible is the cause of division rather than a cause of unity.

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I think it's more a case of people making secondary things primary things.

As long as a church isn't a cult or they're teaching that Jesus isn't God or that the Trinity isn't real or something major like that, I'd consider all denominations to be almost the same.

There isn't a single denomination out there that doesn't teach at least some of the truth or some of the lies. So honestly, as long as a Church goes with the Bible it's considered a good and valid church in my opinion. But then again, I don't go to church so I really don't know what I'm talking about.

The divison of the church has been created by man, therefore God can not tell you which denomination is best, because the Word of God was not ment to be divided in the first place.

Ignatius the Kiwi said:

By earthly leaders do you also mean the Apostles when they were around? Was communion merely an option among many to follow?

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If, as I think, apostles taught what Jesus had sent them to speak, they were not like earthly leaders in new denominations, they were only messengers of Jesus, without new sections or denominations (that are actually not good according to the Bible).

Now the works of the flesh are obvious, which are: … rivalries, divisions, heresies…
Gal. 5:19-20

Unofficial Reverand Alex said:

Seems like it would help us out a lot if God told everybody, "The Calvinists are right" (Or whichever denomination).

So many false teachings would be disproven in an instant, everybody would know which Church best aligns with God & His word...

Click to expand...

He did tell us, by setting up the correct denomination in the first place. The Orthodox Catholic Church that God started on the Day of Pentecost. It wasn't until 1,500 years later that other men (and women) began starting up various other denominations.

HMMM, 2,000 years or 500 years. Which would you believe??

1213 said:

If, as I think, apostles taught what Jesus had sent them to speak, they were not like earthly leaders in new denominations, they were only messengers of Jesus, without new sections or denominations (that are actually not good according to the Bible).

Now the works of the flesh are obvious, which are: … rivalries, divisions, heresies…
Gal. 5:19-20

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What were they leaders of if not a community united by their common practice, allegiance to Christ (and one another) and belief? If communion with them was essential to being a Christian, why does that reality cease in the community they established after their deaths?

Phil 1:21 said:

I think it's more a case of people making secondary things primary things.

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What does this mean? Will reading the bible not cause you to put one meaning in front of another which will necessarily contradict other readings of the same text thus causing in the most extreme of cases further division? My point is that reading the bible is not a solution for unifying Christendom. The reformation proved that.