Did Jesus build His church? Or many denominations?

The question has become; "Did Jesus just build one church....His Church?...or, did He build numerous denominations each with their own twist on truth?"

This question has been answered in many ways. Some people say; "Well, all churches have some truth but no church is perfect." Others say; "My church is the only right one. All others are wrong!"

So how do Seventh Day Adventist Christians answer this question; "Which church is the right church?" In this short article I will try and give you some Biblical rules to follow in finding the true Christian church.

First, it is very sad that when many find the Truth they begin to beat and hit people over the head with it [metaphorically speaking]. Just because a person has the intellectual understanding of God's word, this does not give liscense to "show off" about it. True faith will be seen in living the Word of God...not just talking about it. As Christians we are commanded to share the word of God but many are even unable to share it to the end of their own block. How sad.

One thing to keep in mind, true Christianity will result in some persecution. There is no getting around this issue. So if your faith is too weak to be hit with sarcasm or insult it is best to wait until you are more grounded in your faith. Truth has never been popular.

So here we go...let's look into this issue a bit more carefully;

In the United States of America there are more than 6,000 different Christian denominations. Most of these churches claim to be the "true church" Jesus established, or at least one of the “branches” of the true church. But the Bible states that Jesus came to build His church. He only built one church. He did not build hundreds or thousands of churches. If Jesus only built one church, why are there so many different churches?

We must understand that much of the confusion has occured by the humans tampering with God's law, his Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are the moral foundation of the church and constitute an outline of God's character. Jesus came to this earth because the moral law was broken, not changed.

Here is a very important rule: "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." [Isaiah 8:20] Jesus warned us that He did not come here to destroy God's law but to fully live it. [Matthew 5:17,18] So we must understand that any church organization that has changed even one of God's commandments is a church full of lies.

We must also understand that Satan hates the people that recognize God's holy commandments. [see Revelation 12:17] The Bible also tells us: "He that saith, I know him [God], and keepeth not his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him." [1 John 2:3,4]

Grace and Truth does not remove the character of God. We are not and shall never be saved by the moral law of God, the Ten Commandments. But thank God for his commandments…for in them we see Jesus! Jesus was perfect. He never broke one of God’s commands. He is our example.If we only had the moral law we would be in trouble. Why? Because we are sinners. We need mercy from God. We need direction from God. We need forgiveness from God. This we have through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus the Christ. “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” [John 1:17]

Through God’s forgiveness we uphold the moral law. “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” [Romans 3:31] Thank God for His Holy Son, Jesus the Christ. Through Jesus we have forgiveness and redemption. “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin.” [Hebrews 4:15]

The apostle Paul tells us that the moral law is not destroyed through the Christian faith but instead it is properly understood. “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, working death in me by that which is good [the moral law]; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.” [Romans 7:12,13]

Another important fact to remember is that God's word, the Holy Bible, is where we as Christians find the final answer. We do not find absolute truth in human philosophy.

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.” [Apostle Paul, Colossians 2:8-12]

The Christian churches in Colosse had a full plate when it came to problems of the deceptive spiritual kind. Paul delt with the problem of Gnosticism in this letter. It is true that full blown Gnosticism did not come into power until after Paul’s lifetime but the seed’s of this power were already manifesting. Paul immediatley addressed these issues. They began with some of the Greek philosophy.

This is why Paul states; “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. ” It appears that this strange new philosophy was being mixed with Judaism, forming a sort of New Age idea of Jesus.

These false Christians believed in the immortality of the soul which lead to praying to saints and fighting spiritual forces through the veneration of angels and past saints, much like some of the modern Roman Catholic teachings. These false mixed up Christians also were practicing strict asceticism and the observance of special holy days.

Some had incorporated the ceremonial Sabbath systems that the Jews kept into their worship. All of these ideas came from and were influenced by much of the Hellenistic period. Let’s look a little closer at some of these issues that the Colossian church had. After correcting the Colossians on such issues as the Deity of Christ, Paul goes on;

“Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a[the] Sabbath day[s]. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.” [Colossians 2:16-18 (NIV)]

The first issue that the apostle Paul addresses with these Gnostic Christians is the elaborate worship system which involved ceremonial sabbath days. The word for sabbath used here is the Greek word ‘sabbaton‘ and in this context is plural. These sabbaths had nothing to do with the fourth commandment of the Decalogue but were ceremonial. This differentiated them from the fourth commandment which is moral.

Not only that but these false teachers had added a strict asceticism to the observance of these days. Paul states that the original purpose of these Jewish feast days pointed to the greater fulfilment of Truth and that they foreshadowed the sacrifice of Christ by stating; “These are a shadow of things that were to come.”

Paul further stated that those practicing such things were involved in “false humility” and the “worship of angels“. This can all be compared to modern day New Age doctrines and even certain forms of Roman Catholicism. It is true that the way in which the apostle Paul used the Greek word “philosophy” and his warnings against it, was a direct attack on occultism.

We now know that some of the ancient Christian Jews had merged false angels with astral powers which were thought to be protecting the planets. These teachings, partly Christian, partly Jewish, and partly pagan developed into full blown Gnosticism. Today modern astrology is the fruit of this pagan doctrine.

We can learn a lot from this inspired letter that the apostle Paul wrote to the churches in Colosse. Let us never fall into the trap of “spiritism“ and let us never play with the false New Age message.

As I said earlier, one of the main points to remember when looking for Christ's true church is that it will uphold the Ten Commandments and keep them. God's people will not distort, change, or twist God's commandments. Christian author Ellen G. White has rightly pointed out;

"The time is not far distant when the test will come to every soul. The mark of the beast will be urged upon us. Those who have step by step yielded to worldly demands and conformed to worldly customs will not find it a hard matter to yield to the powers that be, rather than subject themselves to derision, insult, threatened imprisonment, and death. The contest is between the commandments of God and the commandments of men." - Ellen G. White 5 Testimonies 81.

Remember, Jesus only promised to build one church, therefore, the rest of the churches that are here today were started by men, not by God. The way we can be sure the church we are in is the church Jesus built is to look at the characteristics. We find the last-day characteristics of God's church listed in His word, the Holy Bible. Look at these two important and foundational characteristics:

Rev. 12:17: "And the dragon [the Devil] was wroth [angry] with the woman [church], and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

Rev. 19:10 "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit [gift] of prophecy."

We interprete the term "spirit of prophecy" to mean the "gift of prophecy". You can see a list of all the gift's given by the "same spirit" in 1st Corinthians 12:7-11. So God's "end time" church will have the gift of prophecy operative in it as given by the Holy Spirit.These two verses in the book of Revelation point out that two identifying marks of the last-day Christian Church will be that it "keeps the commandments of God" and has the "gift of prophecy". The Seventh Day Adventist Church meets these requirements.

Another thing to remember is, Jesus is the founder of his church and the only foundation (Matthew 16:18; 1 Corinthians 3:11). If a church has a founder other than Jesus, that church cannot be the church Jesus built. Most churches pray and preach in their worship services. What they pray and preach might, on some occasions, be right. But it is not enough just to be right in some areas only. We have to do things the way the Bible teaches (John 4:24). This brings us to the question of Christian growth.

I have heard some people say to me, “I have been a ‘born again’ Christian for 27 years!” Then I look at how they live, how they talk [the subject matter], and how they react to those around them.

One person told me that he had been saved for many years but he stopped going to church. He was listening to a rock song. The song was glorifying secular relationships and the ‘wild life’ living. So, does it really matter?

Jesus tell’s us to put away the things of this world and those things that have lead others into drugs, sexual relationships of all kinds, and many other sinful habits.

If two people in a room talked gossip, listened to worldly Rock music, smoked, drank liquor, cussed, and laughed at sexual jokes…which one would be representing Christ? Neither!

What is my point? As a Seventh Day Adventist Christian I have been accused of believing that “good works” can save me because I choose to obey God’s Sabbath, or talk different, eat different, or talk about Jesus when ever I get the chance. Does this mean I believe that my “good works” save me? No! It simply means that Christ is changing my life since I accepted Him as my Saviour and LORD. Jesus said;

“My Sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me . . .” John 10:27

Many want a Saviour but not a Lord. Nobody want’s to be told how to live. Many caught in the pride of what this generation has taught want the fast way, the easy way. They do not understand that Christian growth is an on-going process. Jesus is the Saviour of all true Christians but He is also the Master, King, and Law giver of all true Christians. Jesus wants not only to be your Saviour but He also wants to change your life. But will you let Him?

The problem with Christianity today is that it doesn’t teach nor understand the process of spiritual growth, maturity, true sanctification. What passes for Christianity is instead a diluted substitute. Where are the truly reformed lives? We live in the Laodicean period of the Church.

I have witnessed young girls dressing with low cut jeans that have holes in them expossing parts that should not be seen. Half shirts which show way too much. If Jesus invited you to dinner, would you wear such attire? Christians, please listen!

True Christianity involves a change in lifestyle!

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (NIV)

1 Corinthians 6:18-20 "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (NIV)

Romans 1:25-27 "They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator– who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion." (NIV)

So we can ask ourselves as Christians: “Am I changing? Have I changed since becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?” Now, some might say to me; “Your judging. We are not supposed to judge.” And this is true, we are not to judge by our personal standards. It is God’s Word that does the true judging and we as Christians are to point others who have wandered from God’s Word back to His Word with humilty and prayer. We lovingly plead with those who claim to be Christian but are not in the growing process of sanctification.

Galatians 6:1 "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted." (NIV)

James 5:19-20 "My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins." (NIV)

Are you one who claims to be a ‘born again’ Christian? Then you are baptised, you read the Bible and pray daily, you attend church on Sabbath, and have fellowship with other believers. Right?

If not…what happened? Have you began to give up habits and attitudes that conflict with your Christian faith? This is living sanctification! This is the daily process of growing into Christian maturity.

Last, I must continue to stress the importance of God's Holy Law as being a test. True Christianity will uphold the moral standard...the one truth that human carnal nature tries to avoid. Jesus came because humanity broke the unchangeable, immutable moral law of Jehovah. Through Christ Jesus our relationship can be restored.

The popular way to deal with God’s commandments for most is to move into what is called an “antinomianist Christian stance”. What does this mean? The word literally means, “anti-law”. The idea springs from a wrong interpretation of what it means to be “free from the Law”. This idea states that salvation is almost only for the soul, bodily behaviour is irrelevent along with physical health. The argument is, “love fulfills the law so just love”.

It is true that the Bible states that love fulfills the law but true love strives to obey God’s law. In other words, love is the true motivating factor behind healthy obedience. Many caught in antinomianism state that the Holy Spirit leads them to do things that even go contrary to God’s law. They deny the need to be guided by God’s law on issues. Freedom from the law as a way of salvation is assumed to bring with it freedom from the law as a guide to conduct.

In the first 150 years of the Reformation era this view was common. It is true that Christ kept the law perfectly for us but it is a gross error to conclude that Christians may freely embrace sin as a way of life. Extreme Calvinistic views hold to these errors. Passages such as Romans 3:31, James 2:8-13 clearly teach that law keeping is a continuing obligation for Christians.

Now the other popular form of antinomianism asserts that a motive and intention of love is all that God now requires of Christians, even if one of the commandments must be broken. These claim that all the Biblical stories were mere examples of how love was expressed “in the old times”. They say; “Many of those stories do not literal apply to us today.” Such who hold to this type of view support homosexuality and abortion.

As Seventh Day Adventists we believe that the Holy Spirit is given to empower law keeping and to make us more and more like Christ Jesus. The Bible offers no hope to anybody who does not seek to turn from sin.

Written by, Eric William King, [January 8,2008] Some portions of this article were taken from some earlier articles written by Eric in 2007.