Why Are There So Many Churches?

July 17th  2011 PM

Pastor Craig Ledbetter

Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland

www.biblebc.com

 

I.       Introduction

 

A.    There are lots of different churches today – they all claim to be “churches”

 

1.      Baptist Churches

2.      Roman Catholic Churches – allegiance to Rome and tradition

3.      Presbyterian Churches – protestant, and baby sprinklers

4.      Methodist Churches – believe a Christian can lose their salvation

5.      Church of England, Church of Ireland – just barely above catholic

6.      Pentecostal Churches – emphasis on miracles and experiences

7.      Non-denominational Churches

 

a.        “Bible” Churches

b.      Most promote no real doctrinal stand at all

 

B.     Then there are others – which are clearly cults:

 

1.      Mormons – all of them are working at becoming gods

2.      Jehovah’s Witnesses – working their way to heaven without the new birth

3.      Seventh day Adventists – keeping the Sabbath

4.      Church of Christ – baptismal regeneration

 

C.     Never mind the fact that there are lots of different religions

 

1.      Buddhism – China - belief in the eight-fold path to nothingness

2.      Islam – Middle East - believe in Allah and his prophet Mohammed

3.      Hinduism – India - believe in about 2 million gods

4.      Shintoism – Japanese - believe in dead ancestors

5.      Judaism – Israel - believe in God of the Bible, but not Messiah

6.      Evolutionism – belief in almighty dirt!

7.      Atheism – believe only in almighty SELF!

 

D.    And that translates into a lot of different churches and ways to worship God

E.     Let’s try and answer some important questions:

 

1.      Is God a God of “Choices?” Pick and choose the Church that you “like” best?

2.      Does it really matter the kind of church you attend?

3.      How do you pick and choose a right church?

 

II.    Message – What Makes Churches Different From Each Other?

 

A.    Some Basics

 

1.      There is only ONE way to God (John 14:6)

2.      There are only TWO Religions in the World:

 

a.       Either it is it is DO, DO, DO, and then DO it some more

b.      Or all work is DONE – Christ is the END of the law, NOT of works!

 

3.      Some differences are okay - Some are not (John 15:5a).

 

a.       Some gather and worship on Saturday – but not in the Bible

b.      Some have women preachers – but not in the Bible

c.       Some have drums and base guitars – but not in the Bible (stringed and wind instruments)

d.      Some have Texans, some do not – that’s okay

e.       Some meet in rented schools, some in barns – that’s okay

f.       Some sing very little, some a lot – that’s okay

g.      Some preach short and sweet, some longer – well, that’s okay

 

B.     The Devil is a Counterfeiter (Isaiah 14:12-14)

 

1.      All of us are wired to worship God

2.      So the devil makes as much variety for us to worship so we don’t worship God

 

C.     Different Bibles Make for Different Churches (1Cor 1:10)

 

1.       “Being saved” – Pentecostal, and non-denominational churches

2.      “Do penance” – Catholic

3.      “In the beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.” – Jehovah’s Witnesses

4.      The Mormons have to add their own testament

5.      Bible believers have held to the King James Bible, and their churches have been pretty much the same across the board

6.      220 new Bibles just in English has fuelled such a range of opinions and churches – a “me” generation

 

D.    Different Gospels Make for Different Churches (Gal 1:6-9)

 

1.      There are many modern gospels

 

a.       Prosperity Gospel – Pentecostals

b.      Works based Gospel – Catholic

c.       Sovereign Grace Gospel – Calvinistic Churches

d.      Social Gospel – Forget theology, and just help the poor – inner city churches

e.       Baptism Gospel – Churches of Christ / Disciples

f.       Universalism – that all will ultimately be saved

 

2.      There is only one Gospel that saves!

 

a.       The Gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24; Eph 2:8,9)

b.      Belief in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus (1Cor 15:1-4)

 

3.      There is right doctrine that cannot be changed (1Tim 1:3)

4.      You had better find out what Gospel a church preaches before just joining up with it

 

E.     Different Focus Makes for Different Churches (Romans 6:16)

 

1.      Emphasis upon Holy days (Col 2:16)

2.      Elevation of Traditions to the level of the word of God (Mk 7:8,9,13)

3.      Emphasis upon the Holy Spirit (John 16:13) instead of the Son of God

4.      Emphasis upon the Gifts (1Cor 14:32) instead of the Giver!

5.      But there is to be only ONE focus – the pre-eminence of Jesus Christ (Col 1:18). It means HE is everything to us

 

a.       Our reason for getting saved

b.      Our reason we can pray

c.       Our reason to read and study the Bible

d.      Our reason why we love one another – as Christ loved us

e.       Our reason why we give

f.       Our reason why we endure hardness – as good soldiers of Jesus Christ

 

6.      If you have any other focus other than the lifting up and admiration of Jesus Christ, you will have just another church, with another focus

 

F.      Different Cultures Make for Different Churches (Matthew 6:33)

 

1.      The African culture makes churches very African

2.      The American culture makes churches very American

3.      The Jewish culture can make a church very Jewish

4.      Irish culture

5.      Not all of that is wrong – God is not against cultures

6.      Again, a church SHOULD be local

7.      But it should not be SO different from another Bible believing church

8.      We do NOT seek to promote our national culture – we seek to promote the kingdom of God – our heavenly citizenship!

 

a.       Be careful that your culture is dominated by Scripture – not the other way around!

b.      Pastors should not seek any glory

c.       Women should not be in charge

d.      People should not just do as Christians what the culture accepts – ie drinking, etc

e.       The people should be like family

f.       The music should be spiritual

g.      The preaching should be central and powerful

 

G.    How to Be the Right Kind of Church (John 17:20,21)

                                                                                                                                             

1.      Make sure the Bible THE authority in the church (Acts 20:32)

2.      Make sure Jesus the reason for everything (Col 1:16-19)!

 

a.       That He is pleased

b.      That He is worshipped and thanked

c.       That He is in charge – not your feelings

d.      That He is loved and spent time with

 

3.      Follow His Design, His Pattern (Matthew 16:18)

 

a.       A Pastor

b.      Disciples

c.       Working together as a body (1Cor 12)

 

4.      Be Different – Peculiar (1Pet 2:9)

 

a.       In Locality

 

1)      The New Testament kind of church is very local – no headquarters

2)      Jesus was very local

3)      The disciples went everywhere, starting churches

 

b.      In Worship (John 4:24)

 

1)      Simplicity of worship (2Cor 11:2)

2)      Simplicity of giving

3)      Simplicity of loving

4)      Simplicity of preaching – the most important part of church worship

 

c.       In Membership

 

1)      Regenerated Membership. Only Born Again, Baptized, Committed, and Clean Living people

2)      Regulated Membership. Are expected to continue to live Godly

 

d.      In Purpose

 

1)      To obey all things Christ commanded (Mt 20:19,20)

2)      To walk in the light – live according to the Biblical worldview

3)      To evangelise the world around us (Acts 1:8)

 

e.       In Effect

 

1)      Philippians 2:15

2)      Matthew 5:14-16

3)      John 5:35 – be like John the Baptist was

4)      Hinder the devil

5)      Upset the carnal

6)      Feed the Christian

7)      Bless the Saviour

 

5.      Be Careful

 

a.       To NOT take it for granted

b.      To NOT damage anyone in it

c.       To NOT ignore your responsibilities to your church

 

1)      Tithing to it

2)      Loving everyone in it

3)      Praying for one another

 

III. Conclusion

 

A.    There are lots of different churches today – they all claim to be “churches”

B.     Then there loads of cults

C.     There are lots of different religions

D.    But, is God a God of “Choices?” Just pick and choose the Church that you “like” best? No!

E.     Does it really matter the kind of church you attend? Yes

F.      How do you pick and choose a right church? Get to know the real thing first!

 

G.    We have learned that…

 

1.      Some differences are okay - Some are not (John 15:5a).

2.      The Devil is a Counterfeiter (Isaiah 14:12-14)

3.      Different Bibles Make for Different Churches – better get you the right Bible

4.      Different Gospels Make for Different Churches - There is only one Gospel that saves!

5.      A Different Focus Makes for Different Churches – make sure it is Jesus Christ!

6.      Different Cultures Make for Different Churches (Matthew 6:33)

 

H.    How to Be the Right Kind of Church

 

1.      Make sure the Bible THE authority in the church

2.      Make sure Jesus the reason for everything

3.      Follow His Design, His Pattern

4.      Be Different – Peculiar

5.      Be Careful

 

a.       To NOT take it for granted

b.      To NOT damage anyone in it

c.       To ignore your responsibilities to your church