“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. 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. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.” (1 Corinthians 1:11-15)
The one true church battle is on the earth today…
Mormons say, we have the one true church. Only we can baptize for we have proper priesthood authority. The Catholics say, the early church continues through us. Therefore, we are the one true church. The Jehovah’s Witnesses say that only their church is true and that you can know the true Jehovah God through them and enter heaven. So the message goes out that I am the one true church. No, I am. And this list goes on and on.
These same churches also say the following…
Follow Joseph Smith and our prophets for current teachings. Other churches will lead you astray. No, you got that wrong, you must learn from our priests and learn the creeds handed down from our popes. If you read the Bible yourself without proper instruction then you may very well misinterpret the writings. But what about the watchtower magazine? You cannot know God’s truth without it. We trust in it as scripture.
The books that churches use get them in trouble…
The Mormons hold the Book of Mormon above the Bible. They say that they can draw nearer to God through it then any other book. Making people think that the Bible is just an ordinary book. In Islam, they believe the Torah, but their Quran stands apart from it. Like the Book of Mormon, the Quran is studied far more then the Bible. Lastly, Jehovah’s Witnesses depend upon the watch tower magazine more so than the Bible.
“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.” (1 Corinthians 12:12-14) “And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” (1 Corinthians 12:26,27)
It doesn’t matter what church people attend. It is about their faith in Jesus that saves. You call your church by a specific name, but in reality Jesus is the head of all true churches. Religion means nothing but a real relationship with Jesus saves. People in this life can easily lead us astray that is why we are to follow Jesus. If we do so, then the Holy Spirit will come into our lives and lead us into all truth. We don’t have to rely on people or other books outside the Bible for truth. The moment we search the scriptures, our beliefs will become conformed to what God’s Word teaches. Beware of false prophets that come as wolves in sheep’s clothing. Trust in Jesus and you will not be led astray. Amen.
It’s not about an organization. It’s about our relationship with Jesus and others