Thank God for Denominations

Without the possibility of denominations we would be looking at either 1 a theocracy or 2 a state religion. Each are dangerous due to the human heart and corruption that usually follows after generations of Christians who get too comfortable and doesn't see the creeping darkness of corruption.

In history already beginning in Acts of the Bible we see the known threat of corruption already at work.

Acts 20:28-30 niv
28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.

Thankfully and evidently from studying the 1000s of manuscripts and early church's writings we see the truth of scripture was protected for atleast the first thousand years of Christianity, and there were no denominations within Christianity as there are today. Various offshoot groups certainly existed, but most were small and quickly snuffed out as "heresies."

Then came to rise of the theocratic governments like the Catholic Pope's and the Christian Crusades or like the State ran religion like in the 1500s England broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and formed its own church called the Church of England. The same Church of England that the Puritans and Pilgrims fled from.

The first major division within Christendom came in 1054, with the Great Schism between the Western Church and the Eastern Church. From that point forward, there were two large branches of Christianity, which came to be known as the Catholic Church (in the West) and the Orthodox Church (in the East).
The next major division was the Protestant Reformation, sparked in 1517 by Martin Luther's publication of 95 Theses against certain Catholic practices.

This began the reality of denominations. A new era that God was leading the Church and a reminder at how important basic human rights are like the right to conscience....

1 Timothy 1:19 niv
19 holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.

Or the right to choose what you believe as seen in

Joshua 24:15 niv
15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

The importance of a system of checks and balances as each denomination can debate others, call out others, and have a system to freely break away once the denomination becomes too corrupt. The verse below shows us the importance of power balances.

Isaiah 33:22 states, “For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; it is he who will save us.” Notice the implication of judicial, legislative, and executive powers of God. This verse is one of the inspirations behind America’s three branches of government—commonly known as a system of “checks and balances.”

In these denominations we began to practice these checks and balances in further detail.

Another way to disperse power is through a concept known as “republicanism.” Exodus 18:21 instructs us, “But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.”

In which this example slowed and made difficult the way of corruption to infiltrate the Church. Today we have seen how the mainstream Christian denominations have come together throughout history to do great good within the Kingdom of God. But unfortunately over time even the best Biblical example of a system is still flawed with the fallen world of humanity. Our mainstream denominations have been debating over homosexual issues, gender identity, and many different political issues.

This freedom to correct, refine, or if need be to separate is very important. Religious freedom protects this response. Denominations was created from the oppression and tyranny of theocratic tyranny or Secular Governmental tyranny.

The Bible has a lot to say about tyranny which can be found in any great organization including the Church.

The same Bible that the Pilgrims brought with them on the Mayflower was the Geneva Bible.

A few warnings from those who was escaping tyranny and oppression.

James 2:6 1599 Geneva Bible
6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not the rich oppress you by tyranny, and do they not draw you before the judgment seats?

Psalm 12:5 GNV

5 Now for the oppression of the needy, and for the sighs of the poor, I will up, saith the Lord, and will set at liberty him, whom the wicked hath [snared].

Psalm 12:5 NIV
5 “Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the Lord.
“I will protect them from those who malign them.”

Exodus 3:8-9 GNV
8 Therefore I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land into a good land and a large, into a land that floweth with milk and honey, even into the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

9 And now lo, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me, and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

There in history always comes a time when separation is a must in order for the body of Christ to follow the will of God. John reminds us to not love anything of the world and the Apostles remind us we obey God and not the corruption of man.

1 John 2:15 niv
15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.

Acts 5:28-29 niv
28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”
29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!

Conclusion:
Denominations are a product of religious freedom and religious freedom is the product of those who resist tyranny and choose to say we must obey God rather than human beings.

A recent example of this was during the 2019 special General Conference over the churches response to LGBTQ issues. Thank God people like this man below spoke up and largely affected the vote within America and resulted in the keeping of Biblical accuracy.

By. Jerry P. Kulah is the Dean of the Gbarnga School of Theology, United Methodist University, in Liberia.

"And then please hear me when I say as graciously as I can: we Africans are not children in need of western enlightenment when it comes to the church’s sexual ethics. We do not need to hear a progressive U.S. bishop lecture us about our need to “grow up.” No!"

"Unfortunately, some United Methodists in the U.S. have the very faulty assumption that all Africans are concerned about is U.S. financial support. Well, I am sure, being sinners like all of you, some Africans are fixated on money.
But with all due respect, a fixation on money seems more of an American problem than an African one. We get by on far less than most Americans do; we know how to do it. I’m not so sure you do. So, if anyone is so naïve or condescending as to think we would sell our birth right in Jesus Christ for American dollars, then they simply do not know us. Because, we know how to live on much, how to live on little, and how to live on nothing. Amen!"

If your interested in the whole speech I'll post it below.

https://goodnewsmag.org/2019/03/the-faith-found-in-africa

That's a very thought provoking post.

Possibly a different and actually positive viewpoint of denominations.

My experience with denominations is that they offer a tangible set of beliefs in which one could conveniently check the Statement of Faith against God's Word and following their conscience in accordance to their understanding of God's Word as enlightened by God's Spirit, choose that which they would embrace as truth and spit out the bones.
Thus denominations that have been formed on the motto, "No creed but Christ", or 'deeds not creeds' are of no help, but others that have lengthy statements help others to formulate their own convictions.

From denominations are a blessing to bashing United Methodists to fixations on American dollars quite few topics.

I’ve heard there’s only one way to the Father, no creed but Christ kind of sounds like that?

You must of not read the post correctly. I wasn't bashing the United Methodist but actually first praised them and then used them as a example.

As fixation on American dollars, I do not see a fixation but okay?

Believe Jesus Christ and be saved. BelieveS! This is not lip service, no it is adhering to every Word dthat proceeds from His Mouth and obeying Them, for the Word is Christ..

It does not mean professing belief of HIm then dogmatizing His teaching into somethng that nevver came from Him.

Hear and obey Jesus Christ always; this is living in grace.

If that's the case we would end up yielding up the Trinity, the Virgin Birth, His bodily resurrection, His visible 2nd Coming as well as His present intercession and Coming Judgment (and more), all of which are what makes up our faith in Jesus.

As long as the denomination holds the foundational beliefs as its core then everything else shouldn't be a issue to divide over. In 2019 the church has to put aside the small indifferences, stop straining out a gnat and swallow a camel. A revival only happens when everyone is United for the greater good.

Jesus Christ, Yeshua, imparts the faith of Abraham. It may be revealing for some to think in terms of the translation of Abraham, "Honored Father of Nations (Peoples)). With this in mind think on what He has taught. We are the children of Abraham..

When our Father gave His title to Moses, He explained all , the Three Personse, the Fathe, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

He said, to tell the children of Israel "I Am" ahs sent you. He said to Moses I am that I Am. In other words, our Maker will be whatever pleases Him to be until the mystery of His being is fully revealed come the Kingdom.

People tend to want to divide Him up or make of Him what He is not. This stems for the refusal to admit they just do not know every detail of our Maker, and this is how it should be for all who believe, simply believe.

However God is pleased to manifest Himself is my pleasure too, whether I understand all or not. I will wait on the Lord, amen.

Sorry, I'm just not into ecumenism where doctrine is jettisoned for some type of man made unity.

Yes, that too,

I thought denominations were present really early in the church because Paul spoke about them, some people were follwing Paul, and some Apollos, and there were already divisions according to who was preaching to them, and people were forgetting that they were all meant to following one person, Jesus.

We arent saved by Paul, or Apollos, but the only name anyone is saved by Is Jesus Christ. He is the name above all names. (Denomination means, by name)

See 1 Corinthians 3:6-8

I didn’t see where mentioning Africa and get along on less than Americans had anything to do with thank God for denominations in the conclusion and you did not mention united Methodist before the conclusion and actually I didn’t see you actually praise them before your conclusion statement. there are rich and poor people in Africa and there’s rich and poor people in America. I didn’t just type fixation on a whim you talked about fixation on American dollars.

A wise man once told me that all truth is parallel. What ever we see in the natural the same thing can be said about the church in the spiritual scene .

In this world we have rich against poor, one color against another, and, prejudice coming from all directions.
In the spiritual Church you have one spirit against another, envy, strife, gossip, denomination, and so forth .
Jesus said "a kingdom divided against its self cannot stand"
Also from the beginning even until now the Kingdom of God suffers violence and the violent take it by force.
The weapons we fight with are not natural, but they are from God. Weapons that are mighty. They give us the power to cast down these evil forces.

that sadly is the problem- many denominations end up putting their beliefs over Bible beliefs. many mean well, but it seems to lean heavily in the direction of denominational beliefs over Biblical truth.

One more comment regarding denominations. I think all of us can agree on. When the money is gone so are the denominations. What happens to all the souls who have been abandoned by these bankrupt originations?

I kinda liken it to political elections. A Church's "statement of faith" is similar to a party's platform.

So I know what they stand for and can line up my vote or Church membership accordingly. However, I have not found a Church, OR political party that believes exactly as I do on every issue.

But you can eliminate a Church, like Mormons or Catholics because their heresy is so great. Just like you can eliminate voting for certain parties because their beliefs are too awful to consider.