Denominational Study by Horizon Church

Introduction

How did these denominations come about?

Why so many?

and why are they not even completely in Unity

Beginnings

Acts 11:26 “26 ... And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.” - would have been about 42AD

Prior to that followers referred to themselves as brothers and sisters unified in Christ — a family term

Christian — the “ian” or “ean” means “belonging to the party of”

Outsiders likely meant it as a ridicule, but likely it was a label of honor to the early Believers

By 350 AD Christianity was a widespread movement

True believers are joined ONLY by Identity in Christ (Gal 3:28 “28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” )

Your membership starts simply with placing Faith in Christ

Church in Greek is ekklesia -ecclesiastical — the church

Prior to Christ on the Cross — their was a “nationality” of Jewish and a gathering place; the Temple.

The Jews lived in community with the Temple as the center of their World

Christians lived in community, but the Temple was inside them

Community was the Key, and Unity the Glue through the Holy Spirit

The Church was born on Pentecost in Acts 2

In the early church the thought was the Universal or Catholic Church - remember the study on the Creeds from the 200-400s

They would have been a sense of belonging and connectivity in the Christian World

By Acts 4 there were over 5000 Christians

Today there are over 300 major denominations in the United States with over 35000 world- wide

There is a major issue in the UNITY of the BODY of Christ

We need to make a difference and start the journey with a single mind and a single voice.

Denominations

Denomination is an association or fellowship of congregations within a religion that have the same beliefs or creeds, engaging in similar practices and cooperate with each other to develop and maintain a shared enterprise.

Denominations are relatively recent

Many early countries were bound by religious idealism

State church - “one king, one faith, one law”

The United States is likely the first country to promote “freedom of religion”

First Amendment is the right to religious freedom

President James Madison stated “the religion of every man must be left to his own conviction and conscience (are you being to see the issue and the drift from ONE CHURCH UNITED IN CHRIST.

As immigrants entered the US, there was no demand for religious unity, but rather they were free to worship as they believed.

The nature of man is to like what we like, and avoid that which we don’t

Difference of opinion created different beliefs and caused splits and disunity in the body.

Do you see the start of the potential issues?

Baptist

Calvinism

Catholic

Christian

Episcopal/Anglican

Jehovah Witness

Lutheran

Megachurch Movement

Mennonite

Methodist

Mormonism

Pentecostal

Presbyterian

Reformed

Seventh-Day Adventist