Ron Cosby
Six months before He died, Jesus promised to build His church.
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it (Matt. 16:16-18 ASV).
Since Jesus was going to build, it clearly shows that His church was in the future, not the past. The first mention of His church in existence was on the first Pentecost after His death, burial and resurrection (Acts 2:1-47). This Pentecost was about a year after John the Baptist had died.
The death of John, the promise of Jesus, and the beginning of the church of our Lord exhibit an important sequence. We study these principles with two religious entities in mind, though they apply to all denominations and religious cults.
Where in the Bible does it say that any denomination was built by Christ? It does not! Any reader who reads the 66 books of the Bible which contains over 783,000 words will not see one word concerning Jesus building a single denomination. The same reader will find a number of passages denouncing the religious division manifested in denominationalism (1 Cor. 1:10; Gal. 5:20). This division cannot be logically ascribed to Jesus, though, to justify their actions, many try.
Where in the Bible does it say that any denomination was built by Christ? It does not! By their very name the Mormons acknowledge that Jesus did not build their church. Some do not want to be called “Mormons.” They prefer “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.” Whether you look at the matter from one name or the other, the conclusion is the same. They are latter day. They are not produced by first century revelation. By their own advertisements Mormons owe their beginning from the words and teaching of another book—a late book. The Book of Mormon is their authoritative source, not the Bible. There were no Mormons or “Latter Day Saints” until the human author of their book was born, which was around eighteen centuries too late. Obviously, the New Testament says nothing about them, else they would appeal to it for their name.
The denominations recognize the same problem, yet some of them refuse to acknowledge it. The Baptists have a few web sites and books that seek to trace their denomination back to the first century. However, they go too far. They trace the founding of their denomination past Jesus to John the Baptist. One site says, “Jesus built a Baptist Church.” The site then gives their reason for saying this, proclaiming, “God prepared a Baptist preacher, John the Baptist, to teach and baptize believers. Jesus endorsed the message and baptism of this first Baptist.” This declaration establishes two enormous problems for them. The first problem is, since, as they argue, John was the first Baptist, then he established the Baptist church and not Jesus. The second problem is, John died before the church of Christ had its beginning. Since Christ said, “I will build,” the building of His church did not happen in the days of John. The so-called “first Baptist” died months earlier. It is interesting and sad to see how far men will go to avoid plain truth.
Where in the Bible does it say that any denomination was built by Christ? Since they agree that the Bible does not give the answer to this question, then by what authority do they continue to exist? Their belief and actions are in opposition to the truth.
