The New Testament teaches some very clear and important doctrines. Those include the way in which sins are forgiven, what constitutes correct worship, the way the church is to be organized, and various teachings concerning the way that Christians must conduct themselves. The New Testament is the only authority we have to determine what truth is.
Some try to reach back into the Old Testament,which God made with the Israelites, as a basis for us to follow today. As Paul points out in Galatians 5:1-4, anyone who does so is required to abide by the entire Law—and has fallen from grace. While some appeal to the Old Testament, many of us object, knowing that we have another covenant that God made with all mankind today through Jesus, who is the Mediator of a new and better covenant (Heb. 8:6-7).
Occasionally, some man tries to set himself above the Scriptures. It may be one who calls himself pope or the head of a cult, such as Joseph Smith or Jim Jones. Anyone who claims a higher authority than the Holy Scriptures (inspired) of God cannot be one deemed worthy to follow. We can all agree that the Scriptures teach truth; we cannot all agree on following a mere mortal that some group desires to set forward. The New Testament is our only authority; anyone who contradicts what it teaches is wrong!
Likewise, we cannot have confidence in, nor trust everyone who says, “I have a message from God.” Why not? The first reason is that anyone can make a claim regarding heretofore unrevealed truth. Can we believe all such individuals—especially since they contradict each other? God is not the author of confusion and obviously did not inspire men with conflicting messages regarding fundamental matters.
Joseph Smith, for example, claimed monogamy was the only valid form of marriage, but within a short period of time reversed himself to allow for polygamy—especially for himself. He claimed the Lord told him to take more wives. How convenient! Consider all of those who have made predictions concerning the return of Jesus. Every one of them has failed to occur. Yet some people mistakenly believed each prediction.
The second reason we can dismiss all modern-day “revelations” is that the New Testament teaches that “the faith” was delivered once for all to the saints—in the first century (Jude 3). No one has successfully added a single truth to the Bible’s teaching since then. God gave the church “all things” that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). We can all agree that what the Scriptures teach is correct and profitable (2 Tim. 3:16-17); we will never achieve unity on what today’s claimants try to foist upon us. They cannot even agree amongst themselves concerning new “revelations”; are we supposed to share in their disunity?
Third, if revelation had continued since the first century, then why is there no collection of those sacred writings for all to study? People today are not bashful about saying they received messages from the Holy Spirit; why are such revelations not collected into book form and distributed for the edification of all? The answer is simple; they do not exist—despite frantic efforts to convince the public that they do. The charismatic movement has existed for more than five decades, and they claim spiritual gifts, as do various “Pentecostals,” who have been around twice as long. Yet no one has dared print a volume of such Scriptures,” for they know full well how much trouble they would be in when such a presumptuous work was scrutinized.
One of the most fundamental teachings of the New Testament regards the followers of Jesus. He prayed that all of His disciples—even those who became such through the apostles’ teaching—might be one (John 17:20-21). He did not have in mind some so-called unity-in-diversity gimmick; Jesus desired that Christians be as united as the Father and the Son, which is complete agreement. If anyone thinks otherwise, perhaps he could tell us what matters the Father and the Son disagree over.
Paul continued this same line of reasoning in 1 Corinthians 1:10 when he exhorted a congregation divided in many ways “to be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” As it was, they were claiming to follow different men such as Paul himself, Peter (Cephas), and Apollos (1 Cor. 1:11-13). Since these facts are unarguable, therefore the challenge is offered for anyone to defend the concept of division that currently exists in “Christendom.”
Not only do various denominations exist, most of them are quite proud of their history. Some of them are just arriving at their 500th birthday, which is impressive—until one realizes Jesus established the church nearly 2,000 years ago. Half a millennium is not nearly old enough! Therefore, the challenge is repeated: Who has an argument? Who has a defense of the division Jesus prayed would not occur? Let’s see it! Who will refute the teachings of Paul? Who dares to set forth a logical argument, the conclusion of which is, “It is acceptable to God to have dozens, if not hundreds, of denominations—all of which Jesus established and which He heartily approves of”?
No one will hold his breath in anticipation of ever seeing such an argument because it would contradict a fundamental teaching of the New Testament—namely that Jesus established His church. On what basis can anyone disagree with the following teachings of the New Testament? Each point is accompanied by the passage that teaches it.
1. Jesus prophesied that He would build His church (Matt. 16:18). Note that the word church is singular and that no hint of various churches can be found in the text.
2. Paul taught that Jesus purchased the church with His own blood (Acts 20:28). Nowhere does he indicate that this church is some sort of conglomerate of different religious groups with doctrines that disagree with each other. The church is as singular here as in Matthew 16:18.
3. Paul taught that Jesus is the Head over the body, the church (Eph. 1:22-23). Notice the consistency of the Lord’s body being called the church. Does someone really want to affirm that by the church Paul means dozens of religious groups, each with their own creed, manual, or catechism?
4. Just a few verses later, Paul teaches that all Christians must strive for unity and lists seven reasons why that unity must exist. The very first one listed is that there is one body (Eph. 4:4). The body, as noted in Ephesians 1:22-23, is the church. What kind of a plea for unity would Paul be making if the one body really consisted of 25 denominations scattered throughout the Roman empire? And if there were even three different “churches” when Paul stated unambiguously one, how many different Lords would “one Lord” be? How many different baptisms would “one baptism” imply? How many different “faiths” does “one faith” suggest?
5. Just a few more verses later Paul proclaims that Jesus is “the Savior of the body” (Eph. 5:23). How many bodies does Jesus have? He promised to build one church, purchased one church with His blood, is Head over one church, and will be the Savior of that one body (the church).
Can any religious body be that one church today? It would be hard to imagine anything other than two possible answers to this question—yes or no. If the answer is no, what does that mean? It would mean that Jesus built and died for the church—but that no one can be a part of it. Does anyone actually believe that? It would be absurd to make such a claim. The New Testament would have no meaning to us. If the gospel can still be preached, and people can still obey that gospel, then they can still be added to the church (Acts 2:38, 41, 47).
Surely, all must agree that the church for which Jesus died still exists and that people can become a part of that body which He will save. But what of all the religious groups that claim to be a denomination and are content to be divided? Jesus did not die for that, and He did not pray for it, either. Since division violates the very purpose of the church, it can’t be right.
Therefore, all who want to be Christians must seek out the church. How can that church exist? No church can provide a continuous history going back to the first century except Catholicism, and it is the apostate church bearing no resemblance to the church that Christ established. However, no one needs to trace themselves back to the first century through times where true brethren were persecuted and killed and historical records were destroyed.
Another way of being the church Jesus built exists, and it is not complicated. First, don’t try to be a denomination, recognizing that such thinking runs counter to the Lord’s expressed will. Throw away man-made creeds and be governed by the New Testament. Some will call this action forming a new denomination, but these remarks lack honesty and will come from people who are content in a denomination though they cannot defend it. When people decide to abide simply by the teaching of the New Testament, they are seeking nothing other than to be the one church Jesus established.
Second, teach what Jesus and the apostles taught concerning salvation. The Bible contains no sinner’s prayer. That idea was developed about a century ago. Some have become spiritual contortionists in an effort to get out from under the clear teaching of Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, and Acts 22:16. Jesus said, for example, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.” They say, “He who believes and is not baptized shall be saved.” Which one is right? Is it right to contradict the verse?
Third, worship God in the way the New Testament describes. The church in the New Testament did not put on shows. Worship was directed to God. The Word of God was preached. Each Lord’s day, brethren met to honor the death of Jesus for their sins (Acts 20:7). No congregation used instruments of music. How many denominations fit this pattern?
Fourth, let the church be organized the way New Testament Scriptures describe it. Elders (notice the plural) and deacons were appointed (Acts 14:23; Phil. 1:1), and their qualifications are given in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. No one was called, “The Pastor.” Why don’t religious groups go by the teaching of the New Testament today? Where is the authority for dioceses or positions greater than elders? Where do we find annual conventions authorized in the New Testament?
Many of us are trying to avoid denominationalism and simply be the church of the New Testament. We believe if we follow the teachings concerning salvation, worship, church organization, and so on, we are that church Jesus built. Why doesn’t everyone else try to do the same thing? Many are too caught up in a long denominational history with traditions they are not willing to forsake. Many cannot bring themselves to humbly accept New Testament teaching. Many do not have a love of the truth (2 Thess. 2:10). The truth is not out of reach—but some men’s hearts are.