WHAT CHURCH SHOULD I GO TO?

WHAT CHURCH SHOULD I GO TO?

Jacob Hisaw

INTRODUCTION:

1. Division is a good thing.

a. That may sound incredibly strange and unscriptural.

1.) Doesn’t Jesus pray for unity amongst His people in John 17?

2.) Doesn’t Paul condemn division in 1 Corinthians 1?

b. Those are all sound points, and points that I would 100% agree with.

1.) It’s God’s desire that His people are united.

2.) And it makes sense logically that we should desire to be united with people—you accomplish more together.

c. In 1 Corinthians 11:18-19, Paul is talking to the church at Corinth about the way they’re eating the Lord’s supper. Here is what he says, “For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.”

DISCUSSION:

I. CATEGORIZING DOCTRINES.

A. This point is incredibly important.

1. When Paul was commending division, he did so based on the principle that it’s necessary so that the genuine may be recognized.

2. Well, recognized by what?

a. In the context of 1 Corinthians 11, they were to divide based on how someone practiced the Lord’s supper.

1.) If they practiced the Lord’s supper properly, they went one way.

2.) If they practiced the LS incorrectly, they went another way.

b. They were recognized by their practice.

3. In the same, a churches doctrine (what any church basis it’s practices on) is what makes one church differ from another—it’s how one can identify a, to use the language of Paul, genuine church.

B. That being said, there are many doctrines and ideas out there so it’s important that we categorize them.

1. The Bible is clear that every word of God is valuable and significant (Mattew 4:4, “…’It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (NIV)).

2. That being said, there is a sense in which some teachings aren’t as important as others.

a. Matthew 23:23 says, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”

b. So, from this we can tell that there are doctrines that are “essentials.”

3. In 1 Corinthians 15:3 Paul says that the facts of the gospel (the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus) are of “first importance.”

C. So, what are some good categories that we can use to decipher what’s important? We’ll categorize them as follows:

1. Christian Doctrines.

2. Church Doctrines.

3. Conscience Doctrines.

D. Christian Doctrines:

1. This is the most important category.

a. We can label these as “essentials” or “non-negotiables”.

b. These are the types of doctrines that you base church cooperation on—meaning, whether or not we help each other/have fellowship/etc.

2. These are things that directly relate to becoming a Christian.

3. What are some of these things? (Belief in God, deity of Christ, DBR of Jesus, one faith & baptism)

a. First and foremost, this would include a belief in God.

1.) Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (NIV).

2.) Belief in God is essential—which is kind of common sense.

b. Second (and from here these are in no particular order) would be the deity of Christ.

1.) Believing that Jesus is divine is an essential Christian teaching.

2.) John 8:24 says, “I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”

a.) The “he” here is supplied by the translators to make a smoother reading.

b.) The text literally says, “unless you believe that ‘I Am’ you will die in your sins.”

c.) This comes from Exodus 3:14, where God tells Moses the name of God.

d.) Here, Jesus is making it very clear that unless you believe that He is God, THE God, you will die in your sins.

c. Third, would be the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

1.) Paul makes this abundantly clear in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.

2.) Paul claims that these things are of “first importance” and without this fact our faith is in vain—without this we have no reason to believe in Jesus.

3.) This is the one faith mentioned in Ephesians 4:5.

4.) Given the significance of this truth, it is obviously a necessity and any denial of this would be a denial of our hope—they couldn’t be a Christian.

d. Fourth, one baptism.

1.) This is an important part that so many in the religious world leave out.

2.) We’re commanded to be baptized—Acts 2:38, “And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

a.) It is in baptism that our sins are removed and we are given the Holy Spirit.

b.) (ASK WHAT BAPTISM DOES)

c.) So many in the religious world say that baptism doesn’t save, but the text doesn’t say that—are we to believe people or the Bible?

3.) One argument that people make against this is that we’re saved by faith and not by works (Ephesians 2:8, 9).

a.) This is true—faith is essential.

1. Baptism only works if there is faith in God and believe in the gospel.

2. This is what separates baptism from a bath (1 Peter 3:21).

b.) From Ephesians 2:8-9, it seems like what Paul is saying that the works in question are things done that you boast about—“how great am I.”

1. Baptism is not something that we can boast in because of anything we’ve done—baptism is God’s work, we merely submit to Him in faithful obedience.

2. Colossians 2:11-13, “In him also you were circumcised with a. circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,”

4.) Let’s look at the Great Commission where Jesus gives the formula to His apostles as how one makes a Christian.

a.) Matthew 28:18-20, “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, (HOW?) (1) baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (2) teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

b.) Baptism is the transition.

c.) If baptism is the line you have to cross to become a Christian, what can we say about those who haven’t crossed that line? What are they prior to baptism?

5.) It is clear that baptism is an essential core doctrine.

4. A denial of any of these teachings or if one were to disobey one of these commands would mean that one isn’t a Christian (1 John 2:22-23).

E. Church Doctrines:

1. This category consists of very important doctrines which one can deny and still be a Christian; but these will keep one from fellowshipping a local church.

2. Church doctrines are doctrines that the NT is specific about concerning the practices of the local congregation.

a. We can see a Biblical example of church that was made up of Christians but their practices couldn’t be endorsed when we look at the church at Corinth.

b. Paul makes it clear in 1 Corinthians 1:2 that this is a group of Christians (“saints”) at Corinth.

c. The church at Corinth had a problem with the Lord’s Supper in that they were divided in the way that they would take it, and it was because of this alteration of the Lord’s Supper that Paul didn’t condone what they did (1 Corinthians 11:17-34).

3. Here are some of these doctrines:

a. Elders.

1.) Passages concerning the qualifications, work, and role of the eldership can be found in 1 Timothy 3:1-7; 5:17; Acts 14:23; 1 Peter 5:1-5.

2.) Some denominations have a pope, or a group of overseers over many churches, or female elders as opposed to 2 or more men governing the work of a local church and shepherding its members.

b. Lord’s Supper.

1.) Passages concerning the Lord’s Supper can be found in Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 10:16-22; 11:23-26; Acts 20:7.

2.) Some denominations observe the Lord’s Supper monthly or yearly as opposed to the example of every Lord’s Day as the NT shows.

c. Women’s Role.

1.) Some passages concerning the role of women in the assembly are 1 Timothy 2:11-15; 1 Corinthians 14:34-35.

2.) Some denominations allow women to serve as elders, preachers, and deacons when the NT limits those roles to men and forbid women from teaching in the Sunday assembly.

d. Music.

1.) Passages concerning our musical expression in worship can be found in Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; and others.

2.) Most denominations in the world today include instruments (guitars, drums, piano, etc) as opposed to acapella music as the NT authorizes and as history attests to the practice of the first century church.

4. To be clear, these doctrines aren’t matters of opinion.

a. These are doctrines that have clear teachings found in scripture.

b. But these doctrines are not necessary to fully understand when one becomes a Christian.

c. That being said, to practice one of these things incorrectly would be sin (1 John 3:4).

F. Conscience Doctrines:

1. This category consists of teachings that are important because God’s word teaches them; however, on can hold a wrong view about these issues and still be a Christian and not be worried about their soul.

2. Conscience Doctrines are typically issues that the Bible just isn’t clear on and it ultimately doesn’t violate the clear passages of scripture.

3. These issues would be things like:

a. Preferring to have one cup and one loaf of bread for the Lord’s supper as opposed to multiple cups.

b. Belief in evolution as long as God is behind it.

c. Belief in a hyper spiritual (strumming a harp on a cloud) view of heaven as opposed to a more physical view of heaven.

4. Paul’s teaching concerning meat and observing days in Romans 14 gives ground for this category.

a. Paul stated the truth concerning eating meat offered to idols, but he expected that some believers would still hold error about the subjects.

b. He called for unity in the midst of the doctrinal diversity and forbad either side from trying to cram their view down (whether truth or error) down the other’s throat.

II. EVALUATING CHURCHES.

A. So, we have these doctrinal categories, and with these categories we can analyze churches and fit them into one of 4 categories.

B. False Churches.

1. This category of churches corresponds to the doctrinal category of Christians doctrines.

2. Since these doctrines are necessary to becoming Christians, having wrong beliefs in this category keeps one from becoming a Christian.

3. This is a VERY important question: What is the smallest building block of a local church?

a. It’s a Christians (1 Corinthians 1:2; 12:13).

b. If you have a “church” that is made up of people who believe error on Christians Doctrines—who don’t believe these core tenant on how to become a Christian—then you have a “church” made up on non-Christians.

c. In other words, they are NOT churches by the Biblical definition.

4. Paul spoke of Judaizers as “false brothers” who had infiltrated the true church in Antioch (Galatians 2:4).

a. What if the whole congregation followed the false gospel of these “false brothers” (Galatians 1:6-9)?

b. Then they all would be false brothers and the congregation would be a false church.

C. Wrong Churches.

1. This category corresponds to the doctrinal category of Church Doctrines.

2. Since getting one of these issues wrong doesn’t keep someone from becoming a Christian, these churches, made up of Christians, are REAL churches; however, their wrong views prevent them from being considered FAITHFUL churches.

3. There are plenty of examples of this in the NT.

a. Corinth as we said.

D. Immature Churches.

1. This category of churches corresponds to the doctrinal category of Conscience Doctrines.

2. Since errors in this category don’t hinder one from being a Christian, these churches, made up of Christians, are REAL churches.

a. And since error in this category doesn’t affect the organization, worship, and work of the church, they are doing what the Lord commands, and are thus faithful churches.

b. The issue is that they have not matured through sound doctrine to adulthood as churches (Ephesians 3:7-16).

c. To one degree or another, all true churches fall into this category.

III. APPLICATION.

A. This is all good info, but what does it mean, practically speaking?

1. You all are getting to the age where your faith is supposed to be becoming your own.

2. Assuming that you all go to church after high school, you all are going to have to decipher these things and figure out what church you need to go to.

B. Your friends probably won’t see a problem worshipping at any church because most people in the religious world are immature relative to their knowledge of scripture.

1. This cannot be our attitude.

2. These issues are important!

C. We have no business worshipping or being a part of false churches.

CONCLUSION:

1.

2.