Why are there different religions?

Sincerely,
Having Trouble Counting

Dear Having Trouble Counting,

There are several reasons why there are so many different religions out there:

1. Paul condemned the Jews because they worshipped God without knowledge (Rom 10:2).  Many people follow whatever seems best to them and when our feelings design our religious beliefs, confusion ensues.
2. Rom 1:18-23 says that when people suppress the truth about God, they exchange the truth for a myriad of other false beliefs.
3. God warned that there would come a day when false teachers infiltrated Christ’s church and started teaching things contrary to Scriptures (2 Tim 4:2-4).  Paul told the first century christians to watch out for the “falling away” (2 Thess 2:3).  Division and false teaching in the name of Christ is a very common thing.  Wherever there is an opportunity for selfish gain, false teachers crop up and attempt to lead people astray.

There are tens of thousands of different religions in America that refer to themselves as “Christian”, and even more than that when you add things like Islam, Buddhism, etc.… yet God says there is only one true faith (Eph 4:4-6).  So how can you know whether a church is Christ’s church?

Jesus says that we can know them by their fruits (Matt 7:15-20).  A church is faithful if the way they worship, preach, and live is in accordance with Christ’s teachings.  A faithful church keeps Christ’s commandments (Jhn 15:14).  Most churches today have added all sorts of things to their worship (from rock bands to belly dancing) and leadership structure (popes, community boards, franchised churches, etc.) that were never intended by Christ.  We should never add to God’s Word, and we should never take away from it (Rev 22:18-19).  A faithful church should be able to give you book, chapter, and verse for everything they do.  We recommend the posts “Down With Denominationalism”, “Finding A Church”, and “Preacher Interrogation” for further information on what questions to ask.  If you would like us to help point you in the right direction of a congregation in your area, please e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org, and we will do our best to put you in contact with a Bible-founded congregation.

I am having a difficult time with a situation at my church. It seems that there is so much honor for the pastor, but none for his wife. There are many of the members who don't care for the pastor's wife, and it is evident around the church. I feel that I should not participate in any of the activities they have because of the situation. Is there any Scripture that can help me with this?

Sincerely,
Sticky Situation

Dear Sticky Situation,

Have you considered that the problem is rooted in the fact that having only one pastor is outside of the Bible pattern? Pastors (also known as elders and bishops – Tit 1:5-7, Php 1:1) are the overseers of the church and should never be left to serve by themselves. The Bible never gives examples of lone pastors; there is always a plurality (Acts 14:23). 1 Tim 3:1-7 and Tit 1:5-9 give the qualities a man must have in order to serve as a pastor. We recommend you read “Elders” to see more scriptures on the topic. We often have people write into the site with problems similar to yours. We have found that the common thread is that when a man serves as a pastor and has that kind of authority without the checks and balances of other pastors – inevitably, there are problems. Sometimes he becomes power hungry, sometimes he becomes lazy, sometimes he simply becomes indifferent, sometimes he receives too much honor… no matter what, the root cause is the same. We would recommend your church adopt the Bible pattern of multiple pastors to lead the flock. The closer we adhere to the Bible’s model for the church, the fewer problems we have.

     I have always heard, and still do, that a congregation cannot have one elder.  I cannot seem to find any Scripture to support this.  Thanks again for your help.

Sincerely,
Count Me In

Dear Count Me In,

The more accurate way to deal with this issue is to make your statement in the positive – a congregation must have a plurality of elders.   In everything that a congregation does, it needs to find biblical authority. Acts 14:23 says that they appointed elders in every church.  Acts 15:2-6 points out that the church in Jerusalem had multiple elders.  In Acts 20:17, Paul called for the elders of the church that met in Ephesus.  Jas 5:14 recommends that the sick call for the elders of the church to pray for them.  Also, Peter exhorts the elders of each congregation to tend the flock amongst them (1 Pet 5:1-3).  There is not a single example of a lone elder in the New Testament.  Every congregation was led by a multiplicity of pastors.  The final kicker on the issue is that Paul specifically commanded that elders (plural) be appointed in every congregation (Tit 1:5).  If we let the Bible be our guide, we have no precedent for a single elder congregation.

      If christians of all different denominations are bound for heaven if they accept Jesus, why is there so much division?  If there aren't different levels to heaven and varied eternal rewards based on your denominational allegiance, then why the need for so much variation?

Sincerely,
Too Many Choices

Dear Too Many Choices,

The denominational world is confusing… exactly the opposite of God’s church (1 Cor 14:33).  The term ‘denomination’ comes from the idea that a church believes that it is a subgroup of a larger religious body.  Lutherans worship and teach differently than Episcopalians, Catholics, Presbyterians, etc., but they all believe themselves to be christians – this is wrong.  Jesus said that there is only one path to heaven (Matt 7:14).  The apostle Paul said that there is only one church (Eph 4:3-6).  Denominationalism teaches that how you act and worship are matters of opinion, but Jesus said that how you act and worship are matters of truth (Jhn 4:24) and the Bible condemns the division we see in the religious world today (1 Cor 1:13).  The only way to avoid denominationalism is to find a congregation that simply teaches what the Bible says – no creeds, no opinions, no personal agendas.  If we truly love Christ, we will follow His commandments (1 Jn 5:2).

Everything a church does (worship, membership, how they teach to be saved, how they spend their money, even their name) needs to have Bible verses backing them up (1 Tim 3:15).  A church needs to be able to explain the reasons for why they do what they do (1 Pet 3:15).

Our congregation here in Monroe goes by the name ‘Monroe Valley church of Christ’ because ‘church of Christ’ is a Biblical name for a congregation (Rom 16:16).  We worship by singing (Col 3:16), studying the Bible (1 Tim 4:13), praying (2 Thess 3:1), taking communion (only on Sundays – Acts 20:7), and taking up a collection (also only on Sundays – 1 Cor 16:1-2).  We teach that you must hear God’s Word (Rom 10:17), believe God’s Word (Jhn 3:16), repent of your sins (Mk 6:12), confess Jesus as your Savior (Lk 12:8), and be baptized to be saved (Acts 2:38, 1 Pet 3:21).  We do all these things because they are practices found in the Bible.  As you said, you don’t want to go to a church that offers their own thoughts – you want God’s thoughts.

There are other congregations like ours scattered across the country and the world.  Most of them use the name ‘church of Christ’, but then again, many churches that use that name aren’t faithful.  A Bible name for a church isn’t enough to make it faithful.  We have helped others, like yourself, looking for New Testament Christianity find faithful congregations in their area by contacting other preachers and christians that we know.  We’d be happy to do the same for you.  If you feel comfortable, just let us know what general area you live in, and we will try and get you in touch with a congregation that lives like your Bible reads (our e-mail is askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org).  It is frustrating, confusing, and exasperating to deal with denominationalism.  Thanks be to God that there is a better option!

      When was the first appointed elder in the Bible?

Sincerely,
Age Before Beauty

Dear Age Before Beauty,

Elders have the oversight of local congregations, and in order to be an elder, a man must meet the qualifications outlined in 1 Tim 3:1-7 and Tit 1:5-9.  The first recorded elders are mentioned in Acts 11:39-40, and they were elders in the Jerusalem church.