People often wonder that, if the path to salvation is narrow as the Bible seems to explain, how can there be so many Christian denominations And which denomination is the right one?
First I think it’s helpful to start with a definition to shape the discussion, the word denomination is often defined as “a recognized autonomous branch of the Christian Church”. One denomination will include many Churches that are usually spread over a broad geographical region. For example Hillsong’s, KICC and Redeemed are different Churches but they are all considered to be Pentecostal in regards to denomination.
The existence of denominations within Christianity has both positive and negative implications which I hope to explore, so let’s begin with considering why do so many denominations exist?
Doctrine
People break away from Churches and start new ones when they see doctrinal abuses. The Protestant Reformation is perhaps the most famous example of this, from which the Protestant Church was born. Martin Luther and John Calvin are often credited as being the leaders of the Reformation movement, they saw error in many of the practises of the Roman Catholic Church at the time, such as the system of indulgences where Catholics could pay for the forgiveness of their sins. instead, the Reformers argued based on the bible that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone and that there no amount of indulgences (works) that could get us in to Heaven.
On the other hand, new denominations are also created out of gross miss-interpretations of scripture. Have you seen the Church were the Pastor handles snakes during the service, inspired by verses such as Mark 16:18? It’s unlikely that any existing Church would tolerate the practise of snake handling so this interpretation of scripture necessitated the existence of a new Church where these beliefs could be accommodated. It also highlights how dangerous it is to interpret individual verses without appreciating the wider context of scripture.
Human nature
Paul explained in the book of Corinthians that the existence of division in the Corinthian Church had deep roots in the spiritual immaturity of the people in the Corinthian Church and this still has real implications for the existence of denominations even today.
“For you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?”
(1 Cor 3:3-4)
I’ve personally seen conflicts arise from a clashing of personalities and perspectives which caused divisions in a Church I used to go to, eventually causing the Church to break apart. It is often the case that an influential individual or group within a Church may have their own agenda which culminates in division and the creation of a new Church. Galatians makes clear that the deeds of the flesh are envy, factions and dissensions (Galatians 5:19-21). So it stands to reason that if we submit to the flesh rather than the spirit, that Church divisions and the existence of new denominations will persist.
Satan
We know that Satan has a strategic interest in stirring up division in the body of Christ. Jesus remarked in the NT that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand (Matthew 12:25) and God remarked in the OT that a people united are unstoppable (Genesis 11:6), so it’s understandable that the enemy would seek to stir up as much discord as he can to weaken the effectiveness of the body of Christ in fulfilling it’s objective of drawing men to Christ, to the Glory of God.
“…in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.”
(2 Corinthians 2:11)
So which denomination is right?
In order to answer this question it’s important for us understand first of all that the way the Bible defines “Church” is in some ways different from its normal use today. The greek word for “Church” in the New Testament is “Ekklesia” which means the “called out ones”, it is not a reference to a building, but rather to a people. The early Church consisted mostly of believers gathering in their homes to fellowship so when Paul wrote letters to a Church, like the one in Corinth for example, he was actually sending a communication to the the various believers that gathered in their various homes in Corinth, which constituted the “Corinthian Church”. Church in the New Testament is an assembly of people, not purpose built places of worship but rather, those who God has “called out” of the world to be his special people.
“The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 16:19
In a wider context the Church refers to all the people that God has “called out” across the world who share in common, faith in Jesus Christ (Mathew 16:18)
“All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.”
1 Corinthians 12:27
The thing which unites the Church (the body of Christ) is not the building we attend. The definitive unifying power, the standard of our salvation is authentic faith in Jesus Christ which produces in the believer, a heart that cherishes and honours him. It is not professing Jesus as an insurance policy against Hell, it isn’t the grace to continue indulging in sin, it’s not following him as and when we feel. Authentic faith is a dying to self, it’s a picking up of our cross and following him on a daily basis, it is a desire for his will to be done on earth and a willingness to surrender all things, up to and including our lives if required. Your denomination, geography, church size, skin colour, finances etc will not meaning anything on the day of judgement, only authentic faith will and that is what all true believers irrespective of denomination share in common.
So there is no “right” denomination per se. There are people from every denominational group who God will save because of authentic faith, and some that he won’t because of unbelief. Even in Churches where the most severe lies against the Gospel are taught, God is able to save those in who genuinely follow him because although men focus on the outer appearance, God is able to and will judge our hearts.
“…But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his”
2 Timothy 2:19
Beauty in variety
It’s also worth considering that the diversity that exists within the body of Christ is beautiful. Paul gives the analogy of the human body in Corinthians to explain that although the the human body has many distinct parts, it is still one body and those parts although different, all make an important contribution to the functioning of the body. In a similar manner, many Churches and denominations have a distinctiveness, yet we are still part of the same body and all have something meaningful to contribute.
“If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?”
1 Corinthians 12:17
It’s Christians that don’t go to the same Church as me, that don’t see things exactly the same way I do that have helped me the most in terms of growing and understanding the gospel. For example, I believe in speaking in tongues and that the charismatic gifting of the spirit is for today, I have friends that are cessationist and don’t believe in the gift of tongues. We discuss our differences, we challenge each other to go deeper into scripture and to better understand each others viewpoints. Whilst I believe that speaking in tongues is important, I certainly don’t think it’s salvation critical and speaking to people with different viewpoints has helped me arrive at that conclusion (please have a look at my article on the doctrinal errors of speaking in tongues inspired by conversations I’ve had with cessations). Despite our differences in certain areas of doctrine, we are able to rejoice in our unity in that we all subscribe to the foundational truth of salvation through faith alone in Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
As we’ve explored in this article, there are both posit ive and negative implications for the existence of various denominations, many of the differences are unavoidable. It’s clear that as a body, there is much work to be done in terms of achieving a greater level of cohesion and unity with Christianity but, rather than stumbling over the things that make us different we ought to learn to find joy and commonality in our faith in Jesus Christ who died so that would could all share in the inheritance of eternal life.
Obedience Founder
