Thinking about the Death of Christ/What Denomination Do You Follow?
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Straight to the Cross
COLUMN: Fidelity
Thinking about the Death of Christ
by Phil Sanders
No doubt many of you have seen or heard about Mel
Gibson's movie, The Passion of the Christ. This
film graphically tells the story of the suffering
Jesus endured during his last twelve hours of
life. When Jesus died on the cross, He
accomplished many things:
1. He died for our sins (1 Cor. 15:3; Gal. 1:3-5;
1 Pet. 2:24).
2. He purchased the church with His own blood
(Acts 20:28). The church is identified in Rev.
5:9,10 with the "kingdom".
3. He brought both Jews and Gentiles near to
himself by his blood (Eph. 2:11-16).
4. He broke down the dividing wall between Jews
and Gentiles, that is, the law of commandments
contained in ordinances, that he might reconcile
both of them in one body to God (Eph. 2:15,16).
5. He became the propitiation (the atoning
sacrifice) for the sins of the whole world (1 John
2:1,2).
6. He fulfilled the will of His Father and set an
example of suffering with patience (1 Pet. 2:18-
25).
7. He demonstrated the depths of the love of God
(Rom. 5:6-8).
8. He redeemed us from the futile life of our
forefathers (1 Pet. 1:18,19).
I am so thankful He was willing to die for me.
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COLUMN: Fidelity
What Denomination Do You Follow?
by Mike Benson
Question: "I am incarcerated. A lot of times I am
asked the question, 'What denomination do you
follow?' I always say, 'I am just a Christian — a
member of the church of Christ.' Then after that
it's hard for me to explain. Would you please tell
me how I can discuss this and make it clear to
others?"
Answer: This can be a sensitive question. It is
difficult to talk about the concept of one church
with those who are only acquainted with
sectarianism and division. No one likes to think
of his religious affiliation as anything less than
adequate. Everyone who belongs to a church
sincerely believes that his faith is just as
acceptable to God as his neighbor's.
It is easy to become uncharitable and appear
arrogant in a discussion on the Lord's church (2
Tim. 2:23-25). Our mandate is to lovingly, yet
firmly, communicate the truth in this realm (1
Pet. 3:15; Eph. 4:15). While not everyone will be
receptive, this should not deter us from our task.
Please consider the following:
1. An illustration. You might ask your cell mates
to define the word "denomination" and then
inquire, "What are some possible divisions of a
U.S. $100 bill?" A single $100 bank note could be
divided into the equivalent of one hundred dollars
with a $50 bill, a $20 bill, a $10 bill, a $5 bill
and five $1 bills. Point out that any of these
nine bills are but a part of a whole.
2. New Testament teaching. The Lord's church is
presented in Scripture as the whole thing. It is
"the FULNESS of Him who fills all in all" (Eph.
1:23b — emphasis mine, mb). It is never spoken of
as a "segment" or "part" of a larger religious
entity. In fact, the word "church" is used only in
two senses in the Bible: 1) as the UNIVERSAL
church over which Christ is Head (Matt. 16:18;
Eph. 1:22,23; Col. 1:18), and 2) in reference to
LOCAL churches [i.e., congregations] in a given
geographical area — "the church of God which is at
Corinth" (1 Cor. 1:2), "the church of the
Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ" (1 Thess. 1:1), "the churches of Galatia"
(Gal. 1:2), and "the churches of Christ" (Rom.
16:16; Cf. Acts 14:23; 20:28). "Christians" (Acts
11:26) "were of one heart and one soul..." (Acts
4:32a); they were not denominated or divided
(Phil. 2:2; 2 Tim. 2:2). They followed "one faith"
(Eph. 4:5), they adhered to the same doctrine (1
Tim. 1:3,10; 2 Tim. 1:13) and contended for the
[singular] faith (Jude 3).
On the other hand, denominationalism — by its own
admission — is composed of more than 1,600
religious groups, often wearing different (man-
made) names, teaching conflicting religious
doctrines, and endorsing contradictory practices.
Note this statement from The Standard Manual For
Baptist Churches by Edward T. Hiscox:
"It is most likely that in the Apostolic age when
there was but 'one Lord, ONE FAITH, and one
baptism,' AND NO DIFFERING DENOMINATIONS EXISTED,
that baptism of a convert by that very act
constituted him a member of the church, and at
once endowed him with all the rights and
privileges of full membership. In that sense,
'baptism was the door into the church.' NOW, IT IS
DIFFERENT..." (p. 22 — emphasis mine, mb).
You might want to ask your peers as to why things
are different today. Religious plurality is
obviously not in harmony with either the Lord's
prayer (John 17:20,21; cf. Matt. 15:1-14), nor the
standard practice (Acts 2:42,47; Col. 3:17) of His
disciples (John 16:13). In fact, on those few
occasions when weak and immature brethren in the
first century attempted to denominate and fracture
themselves (1 Cor. 1:11-13), they were hastily
condemned as "carnal" and "unspiritual" (1 Cor.
3:1ff; cf. Gal. 5:21).
3. Some questions:
. How many churches did Jesus promise to build
(Matt. 16:18)?
. How many churches did Peter try to build (Matt.
17:4)? What was he told (v. 5)? How did he and his
friends react when they were told to listen only
to Christ (v. 6)? How should men react today when
they consider building a church not sanctioned by
the Father?
. How many different churches or choices of
churches can we have today without dividing the
body of Christ?
. Can you read of any "hyphenated" Christians in
the Bible (1 Pet. 4:16; Acts 11:26)? Was Paul a
Southern Baptist-Christian? Was Peter a Methodist-
Christian? Was John a Lutheran-Christian? Was
James a member of a Jehovah Witness group or any
of the other hundreds of religious sects we find
today?
. How many approved denominations can you read
about in the New Testament?
. Did John, Peter, or Paul ever encourage men to
join the church of their choice (Gal. 3:27)?
. Does Jesus desire a $50, a $20, a $10, a $5, and
five $1's, OR does He desire a $100 bill (John
17:20,21; Acts 4:12; John 14:6)?
I appreciate your sincere question, as well as
your desire to share the Gospel to your fellow
inmates (Rom. 1:16; Matt. 28:19,20). In closing,
you might ponder the words of John Wesley, noted
Methodist leader of long ago. He wrote, "Would to
God that all party names and unscriptural phrases
and forms which have divided the Christian world
were forgotten: and that we might all agree to sit
down together as humble, loving disciples at the
feet of a common Master, to hear His word, imbibe
His Spirit, and transcribe His Life in our Own"
(Wesley's Notes on the New Testament, p. 7). To
that we might add a hearty, "Amen" (1 Cor. 1:10)!
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