They Have a Zeal of God But Not According to Knowledge, No. 10 – Don Smith

Don Smith

Introduction

So many times the church has been ignorantly referred to by the denominationalist as a denomination. Many times their complaints against organized religion have been heard, and rebuttal falls on deaf ears (Matt. 13:15). It fails the memory of this writer just how often a defense of these matters has had to be made. In this portion of the reply to Mrs. Julie Jackson’s response to the manuscript, “Have Miracles Ceased?”, each of these issues has been dealt with. The reasonable and scriptural details of this ought to be adequate for the honest and good heart.

Concerning the Church

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¹There were various paragraphs in your response that commented on the church of Christ, referring to it as a denomination. ²You also expressed a belief against organized religion and a belief that it doesn’t matter what church you belong to ([TGP, Aug. 2023, pg. 19], par. 12, sent. 4). ³These are the issues I’m going to pull together for you, and please pay close attention to this—your position on these will be the difference between heaven and hell.

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¹In [TGP, July 2023, pg. 31], paragraph 2, sentence 6 you state that the church of Christ is a denomination. ²You also asked, “If you don’t think it’s a denomination, then what are you saying?” ([TGP, Aug. 2023, pg. 19], paragraph 10, sentence 2). ³So let me explain what a denomination is and the difference between a denomination and the church. ⁴”Denominate” comes from the Latin term “nominare,” which means to formally name something. ⁵In more recent times, it has also come to denote a division. ⁶An example is division of our monetary units. ⁷A dollar can be divided into coins that are denominated pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. ⁸In the religious world of Christendom, denominations are divisions of formally named organizations. ⁹A name is always a glorification of something or someone. ¹⁰Some names of religious organizations glorify their founder, such as Martin Luther of the Lutheran church. ¹¹When someone says they are “Lutheran,” they are glorifying Martin Luther, whether it is intended or not. ¹²Some names glorify a doctrine, such as baptism by the Baptist denominations. ¹³Some glorify a method of doing the Lord’s work through their name, such as the Methodist church. ¹⁴Some glorify a day, such as the Jewish holy day of Pentecost by the Pentecostals, or the sabbath day by the Seventh Day Adventists. ¹⁵Still others glorify the form of government by exalting the office of the presbytery in their name, as the Presbyterian church. ¹⁶The church in the New Testament was never called by any of these names, nor the multitudes of others men have chosen. ¹⁷These are denominations, formally named organizations that are divided by name and differing belief systems.

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¹Now, the church we read about in the text of the New Testament had no formal name. ²Instead of a formal name, the church was known in name by descriptive phrases, such as the church of God (Acts 20:28), the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9), the church of the living God (1 Tim. 3:15), the kingdom of his dear Son (Col. 1:13), the kingdom of our Lord (2 Pet. 1:11), the church of the firstborn (Heb. 12:23), the kingdom of Christ (Eph. 5:5), the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27), the churches of Christ (Rom. 16:16), etc. ³All of these give glory to Christ. ⁴None of these names are divisive, for they all refer to the same thing. ⁵When you state one in the true sense of its use, you are referring to them all. ⁶One would have to be very desirous of getting away from the scriptures to make up or choose a name other than the long list of designations God has divinely provided.

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¹The church of the New Testament also was not divided by doctrine. ²Whoever taught doctrine differing from it was not a part of it (2 John 9-11). ³God has shown that man has never been permitted to take away from nor add to the practice of His word (Deut. 4:2; Prov. 30:6; Rev. 22:18-19; Gal. 1:6-9). ⁴I’ve done personal research into other religious groups in reading their material and talking with many people from different religious backgrounds. ⁵Through this I’ve found that all the groups have something they have placed in their religious practices that has no authority of the scriptures. ⁶The reason these groups are different from one another is they each hold doctrines that are different from the next group. ⁷A Baptist is not a Methodist because a Baptist practices a different religious belief system than a Methodist. ⁸If a Baptist is not a Methodist for this reason, then a religious group practicing something different from the church of the Bible is not the church of the Bible.

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¹In [TGP, July 2023, pg. 32], paragraph 6, sentence 1, you stated that you believe organized religion put Christ on the cross. ²In truth, the Bible shows us that it was the doctrines, commandments, and expectations of men that put Christ on the cross. ³They taught and commanded doctrines of men, and Christ corrected them (Matt. 15:1-11). ⁴They expected the Messiah to liberate them from Rome; however, He came to liberate them from sin (Matt. 23:37). ⁵The religious leaders couldn’t take His contrary attitude to their belief system, so they crucified Him. ⁶The fact is, the church in the Bible was fully organized in the first century with each congregation having elders with a delegated authority (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9; Heb. 13:7, 17; 1 Pet. 5:1-3), deacons in special service to the elders (1 Tim. 3:8-13), Christ as the only Head (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18), with the Bible as its only creed, not adding to nor taking from the practice of that word as God has relayed (Gal. 1:6-9; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 1 Pet. 4:11; Rev. 22:18-19). ⁷This is organized religion, and it did not put Christ on the cross but rather was sanctioned by Him.

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¹The church is the kingdom, and God said it would stand forever (Dan. 2:44). ²Because of the myriad doctrinal errors concerning the kingdom, this deserves thorough explanation as well. ³God set forth several prophecies through the Old Testament prophets concerning the coming kingdom. ⁴Isaiah said that in the last days the Lord’s house (cf. 1 Tim. 3:15) would be established in the top of the mountains, all nations would flow into it, and the word of the Lord would go forth from Jerusalem (Isa. 2:2-3; Note: see [TGP, Nov. 2023, pg. 25, par. 20, sent. 14] concerning the last days). ⁵Joel prophesied of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the last days (Joel 2:28-29). ⁶Daniel stated that the kingdom would be set up in the days of the kings of the 4th world empire—the Roman empire (Dan. 2:36-45) and would never be destroyed (7:13-14) but would stand forever (2:44). ⁷Christ also promised several things relating to the kingdom. ⁸He promised it was near (Matt. 4:17). ⁹He said that some standing there with Him would not die before seeing it come with power (Mark 9:1). ¹⁰He also stated that repentance and remission of sins would be preached to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem, and told the apostles to wait there to be endued with power from on high (Luke 24:46-49). ¹¹All of this is fulfilled in Acts 2. ¹²Please observe:

¹³When the people received the word (which is receiving Christ, cf. John 1:12), they were baptized into Christ (Acts 2:41). ¹⁴This was the establishment of the church, the kingdom. ¹⁵The Lord continued to add daily to the church those who were being saved (Acts 2:47). ¹⁶The church is the saved. ¹⁷After Acts chapter 2, the kingdom is spoken of in a way it was never spoken of before—in the present tense. ¹⁸In Colossians 1:13, Paul states that he and the Colossians had been translated into the kingdom. ¹⁹John states that he also was in the kingdom (Rev. 1:9). ²⁰Being in the kingdom (the church), we are ushered into royalty. ²¹We become kings and priests (Rev. 1:6) in this royal priesthood (1 Pet. 1:9), having the King of kings (Rev. 19:16) as our Head, the Head of the kingdom (the church) (Eph. 1:19-23).

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¹Please now take into consideration 4 things: 1) The church was an organized body, 2) Any who did not hold its doctrine were not a part of it (2 John 9-11), 3) There was only one body (Eph. 4:4), and 4) The church would never be destroyed (Dan. 7:13-14). ²This shows us that that organized body was continually unified in doctrine and has never passed away, from the time of its establishment to the present day. ³This means that there is an organized body out there in this present day that is the one true church. ⁴It doesn’t mean that all congregations, nor any congregations, must have roots that trace back to the first established congregation in Acts 2. ⁵It simply means there would be no point in the future history wherein the church of Christ would not be on the face of this earth, after the establishment of the church in Acts 2. ⁶By following the pattern of the Bible (1 Cor. 11:2; 2 Tim. 1:13; Titus 2:7), the church of Christ can be established anywhere in the world. ⁷However, this is not true with denominations. ⁸An Episcopal church cannot be established without those guidelines and standards that are outside of the authority of the sacred text that make it unique to its practice. ⁹A Jehovah’s Witness congregation cannot be established by just studying and following the Bible. ¹⁰However, to the contrary, there have been churches of Christ discovered in other parts of the world, such as parts of Africa, India, Russia, Poland, and many other places, that had never had any contact with the churches of Christ in the United States. ¹¹They merely followed the pattern of the Bible for the way of salvation, worship, etc. and became the church which belongs to Christ.

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¹To die outside of that church means we are doomed for hell (Heb. 9:27). ²If we do not have the doctrine of Christ, but have some other variation, we have had a different “Jesus” preached to us (2 Cor. 11:4), we have held to a different gospel (Gal. 1:6-9), and we do not have God (2 John 9-11). ³If we have done this knowingly, we’re doomed. ⁴If we have done this unknowingly, we’re blind and we still fall into the ditch, having followed blind leaders (Matt. 15:14). ⁵Christ is only promised to save that one true church (Eph. 5:23). ⁶It does matter what church you belong to—either the church of Christ or the church of men. ⁷And Mrs. Jackson, you are in contact with faithful members of Christ’s church in the truest sense—I am a faithful member of that church; Dub McClish is a faithful member of that church. ⁸All who are in denominations (including “non-denominational” churches, which are actually denominations by practice) are not saved, for they are in violation of 2 John 9-11 and the various other passages cited. ⁹They are not Christians, for they are not of Christ, as the name Christian means “of Christ.” ¹⁰To be of Christ, we must be the church of Christ. ¹¹In the final portion of our study, I’ll be explaining exactly how we become a Christian, a member of the church of Christ. ¹²(Some of the information under this title was drawn from J.C. Choate, “The Church of the Bible.”)

Conclusion

It is so very important for us to remember these principles concerning the church. Such an institution should be held in the highest esteem, as it is divinely built. It was hoped that setting forth these principles for Mrs. Jackson would help her to reconsider her position regarding the church and cause her to abandon error. Perhaps it caused her to at least think on these things—and let us never forget these essential matters of the church of our Lord.

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