Dub Mowery
Probably at one time or another, we have all been asked: “What is your religion?” Well, how would you answer that question? In 1956, while in the military Boot Camp of the Coast Guard at Cape May, New Jersey, I was asked by a Petty Officer if I was Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish? I stated, “None of them, I am a Christian, in the church of Christ.” He said I had to be one of them. For example, to be a Protestant indicates I am with a group that broke off from the Roman Catholic Church. The church of Christ is older than the Roman Catholic Church.
However, there is a sense in which I am all three—the term catholic means universal; the church of Christ is the universal church which Jesus promised to build (Matt. 16:18). We are protestant in a sense, since we speak out against religious doctrinal error, immorality, and sin. We are Jewish in a spiritual sense, not being required to be physical Jews (Rom. 2:28-29). The church of our Lord is spiritual Israel (Rom. 9:6-8). They still put “Protestant” on my identification metal tag that those in the military must wear on a chain about their neck. Those tags are called “dog tags.”
In reality, there is only one true religion. All others which claim to be a religion are false religions. False religions include denominations that profess Christ as the Son of God. The term religion comes from “ligion” meaning to bind, and “re” meaning, again. Their use in reference to God and man means to bind back to God. Our God does not need to be brought back unto man, but lost humanity needs to be brought back unto Him. It is to be reconciled, to be brought back into harmony with God (2 Cor. 5:18-21).
Other than the church of Christ, all other churches which profess Christianity are denominations, including the Roman Catholic Church. A denomination is a sect! In the first century, those ignorant of true Christianity referred to the Lord’s church as being a sect, which is the same as heresy (Acts 24:5; 24:14; 28:22). A sect or heresy is a group split off from a larger established group. The church of Christ did not break off from any other church which professes Christianity. Neither was it a sect of the Jewish religion, as were the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Our Lord’s church is complete within itself, not a part of the redeemed—it is the redeemed!
