Denominations & division 🌟
What does truth have to do with error, or light with darkness. There is no compatability.
so Somethings wrong. Thats where today's illiteracy, ignorance and new false teachings in the church comes from, and literal false churches. It is why a Christian must read and study the Bible themselves, and then make other decisions (change their worldview and beliefs to align with the Bible, change the church they go to, etc).
If were talking false teaching, false Christian religion and cults then thats a diff topic from "Christian denominations".
Introductory comment
Denominationalism doesnt mean disunity in Christianity, is still united. Christians [aka "Protestants"] agree on the vital essentials essentials or core beliefs of what biblical Christianity is. Secondary issues are a matter of what a person currently understands as they "grow" in the knowledge of Scripture, as they personally study it their whole life.
The denom name simply shows what secondary things they believe, seen in their faith statement. Some stay in a denom instead of "moving on" (to another more closer aligned to what they understand as they mature in the Word), mostly cuz they dont even realize other denoms believe whatever the growing believer "now" matured to believe. If they did, theyd go to 3 or 4 denominations in their lifetime, and likely end in a reformed baptist church, or one closest to what they believe.
Christianity is united in unity of the essentials, and thus we are one in Christ; as the true Bride is. We can go to any of the biblical denomonations and worship there. We cooperate and join together for moral and community and national things, as well as events conferences etc. Those are things we dont do with catholics, mormons and other false christian groups. The NT church is still the invisible united church of Christ today. They're the redeemed by God; the Bride. Its that simple.
How many read the Bible today? 2-3% read it daily based on 2022 research. This is why many stay in a denom, cuz they dont even know Scripture.
Multiple Denominations?
If were talking about biblical Christianity, and denominations.... the simple answer is those who stay in the earlier reformation created denoms have a immature or weak understanding of Scripture. Unity can still be upheld. And we can still treat those in various protestant denominations as Christian as long as they uphold the Bible as the authority and the "essential" doctrines of Scripture.
Many denominations existing doesnt nullify Christianity nor invalidate it. Nor does it nullify the existence of God or Jesus as Savior. Nor cause disunity. With enough study of the Bible, people will grow, mature and learn things they didnt know before. If they read Scripture and realize the teaching of their "church" denomination, cult or religion is in error, they will go and find another denomination that believes what they now understand. They find a church by researching and looking at doctrine faith statements and compare it to Scripture. *Not by the things they like about a denomination (rituals, traditions, buildings, images, certian beliefs etc)- they go based on what the Bible teaches. It is the Authority over all matters.
Sadly, the current church generation (MZ) doesnt know whats in the Bible, because very few read it daily. And only 37% of preachers hold a biblical worldview, but even worse only 2% of them preach it from the pulpit.
Understanding Scripture as we study and Grow:
Understanding various things taught in Scripture, is what grows people, and moves them from older established denominations, to newer ones which have uncovered the answers and clarity on such matters. Many decide to remain where they are, but sit under either weak preachers & teachers & those who may never understand what Scripture teaches on various matters. They stay for a pastor or the friendly people in the church instead of moving onward. More and more has been uncovered and understood over time from the reformation through the Southern Baptist Denomination, and into non denominational churches that are actually biblical. [*We're not talking about newer ones that are unbiblical like Prosperity. Word faith, progressives and liberals].
But when we learn and God reveals such things to us, we grow and now know the truth. And that is a good thing. We should not seek to have stunted growth and remain drinking the milk of basics, but be eating meat.
And we know there are people who just show up at a church, believe the basics, have low mental faculties, are not very educated, dont grasp things well, and their offspring also are as they are for generations, so they got stuck in an older denomination and never grew much, never studied much, believed the basics and were fine with that and whatever the pastor preached. We know that in later generations some came out of that, by reading, seeing something deeper and clearer and this is how each of the denominations came about and people moved onwards to those ones that taught more biblically until today Conservative Baptist Network (of SBC) and Reformed Baptists. Today more are better educated, some are still simpltons and others may be smart but lack common sense. People are all at diff areas of growth and faith, which is why diff denominations are fine, as long as they hold to the main essentials. They'll come to understand the rest better in their lifetime if they actually read and study the Bible.
There is freedom in growth, and we have gratitude for growth. We can glorify God and thank Him for revealing new things to us as we study the Scriptures.
Related:
How people get Biblical things wrong. They misinterpret or assume instead of do a deep dive across all of Scripture. And some cannot see certian things, either because they havent grown enough yet in the Word, or because theyre false converts or in apostate religions
Example 1 of not understanding something(s)
👉See @ 21:45 mark.
Example 2 about marriage & eternity
Blessed today we can easily get answers, and access tools that help us study well, and grow faster. Such as:
StudyBible.org (click verses for content)
GotQuestions.org (710,000 answers)
Commentaries like this, this and this 🌟
We have access to more info than Luther, Calvin, Wesley and others had, and a longer time span to study it than they did, since then till now. So we can understand and grasp the things they didnt; whether they had some things wrong or never understood them. They still had the Essentials right.
What a blessing to live in today's era. 😀
How is unity maintained within "the church" when there is so much diversity?
Reading through Romans 14:1–12, it is clear that the diversity of the church displays Christ’s power to bring together dissimilar people in genuine unity. Yet Satan often works on man’s unredeemed flesh to create division and threaten that unity. The threat to unity Paul addresses in this passage arises when mature (strong) believers—both Jews and Gentiles—conflict with immature (weak) believers. The strong Jewish believers understood their freedom in Christ and realized the ceremonial requirements of the Mosaic Law were no longer binding. The mature Gentiles understood that idols are not gods and, therefore, that they could eat meat that had been offered to them. But in both cases the weaker brothers’ consciences were troubled, and they were even tempted to violate their consciences, become more legalistic under the feelings of guilt, or even to sin. Knowing that the mature Jews and Gentiles would be able to understand these struggles, Paul addresses most of his comments to them.
The secret to unity begins with the willingness to “receive one who is weak in the faith” (v. 1). The Greek word refers to personal and willing acceptance of another. This characterizes those believers who are unable to let go of the religious ceremonies and rituals of their past. The weak Jewish believer had difficulty abandoning the rites and prohibitions of the Old Covenant; he felt compelled to adhere to dietary laws, observe the Sabbath, and offer sacrifices in the temple. The weak Gentile believer had been steeped in pagan idolatry and its rituals; he felt that any contact with anything remotely related to his past, including eating meat that had been offered to a pagan deity and then sold in the marketplace, tainted him with sin. Both had very sensitive consciences in these areas and were not yet mature enough to be free of those convictions.
Neither one should “despise…judge” the other (v. 3). “Despise” indicates a contempt for someone as worthless, who deserves only disdain and abhorrence. “Judge” is equally strong and means “to condemn.” Paul uses them synonymously: The strong hold the weak in contempt as legalistic and self-righteous; the weak judge the strong to be irresponsible at best and perhaps depraved. “To his own master he stands or falls” (v. 4). How Christ evaluates each believer is what matters, and His judgment does not take into account religious tradition or personal preference.
Related topics:
Christian discussion about:
Even Atheists should teach their children about God for its benefits
Footnotes:
Cr Jmac
Division is needed when it comes to heresy and flat out false teaching in Christiandom. Biblical preachers are to and do protect the flock from wolves, so of ciurse they stand up for the truth as do biblical Christians.
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