Which Church is Preaching the Truth of Jesus Christ? Part-One
So, indeed it is a quagmire; a soft-boggy land under one’s feet when it comes to choosing the right group of people to associate with for Christian growth. It can be hazardous to your spiritual walk with Christ if you become absorbed into the wrong one for social benefits, instead of being a sincere seeker of Truth that is only in Christ and His Word. On the other-hand it can be very frustrating if you are seeking true Bible teaching and end up with oratory that stimulates the mind without touching the heart.
Church is a Greek word meaning “A called out assembly.” It is a living organism consisting of all believers worldwide. Jesus gave birth to His church on the Day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two.
Church is more than a building, or an organization. Church is individual believers in Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Together, around the world, believers are built up as a spiritual temple for God’s Holy Spirit to manifest Himself in and through. Little lights scattered around the globe. Salt spread to prevent the world from becoming totally evil and destroyed by Satan.
Denominations and churches revolve around a man or a group of men. We have to be wise and discerning about which ones are closer to the original Gospel of Jesus and His Apostles.
Church denominations fall into several categories;
Mainline or Traditional, Evangelicals, Fundamentals, Pentecostal and Charismatic, Emergent, Cults, Eastern, New Age among others.
Mainline protestants have a modernist theology believing the Bible is not totally without errors, and is more of a historical document, which needs interpreted in every age differently. Jesus is the way to salvation, but there could be other ways also. They put greater emphasis on works, which is not a bad thing at all, such as personal assistance, charity, social involvement in local communities.
Fundamentalists and Evangelicals are those who identify with the original tenants of Biblical truth and holiness.
Fundamentalists directed their efforts more at defending historic doctrines and activities against anti-Biblical teachings that had crept into churches, schools, and institutions. Many fundamentalists today have taken a more militant stand on the truth of Scripture at the expense of love. They demonstrate this by their attitudes and actions toward those who are less conservative.
Evangelicals directed their efforts at promoting the preaching of the Gospel and living holy lives regardless of theological differences. Many evangelicals today have taken a more militant stand on the love of Scripture at the expense of truth. They demonstrate this by their attitudes and actions toward those who are less liberal.
Pentecostals and Charismatics believe the gifts of the Spirit are still experienced today, especially speaking in tongues which can be a known or an unknown language. They are the fastest growing segment of Christianity today all around the world.
The Emergents “hold to traditional Protestant theological teachings while rejecting the structures and styles of institutionalized Christianity.”
Emergent church leaders usually adopt the principles of social justice, liberation theology and collective salvation. Some leaders also incorporate elements of Universalism, the Seeker-Friendly Movement, and even New Age Spirituality.
Cults are usually defined as those groups who believe strange teachings or have a high devotion to one particular leader, claiming all outside their circle are lost.
New Age incorporates occult and Eastern teachings denying the full divinity of Jesus Christ, while exalting man being able to achieve his own enlightenment through the help of meditations, crystals, and angel guides, whom are usually demons)
The Bible consistently shows the following list to be the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Apostles.
There are some basic teachings of Christ and His Apostles that a church must believe:
- Christ is the eternal God come in the flesh
- There is one God who is a Spirit who has manifested Himself as the Son, and as the Holy Spirit
- Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man
- He is Immanuel, God with us, the Image of the invisible God
- Jesus is the only way to Eternal Life
- The virgin conception
- The sinfulness of man, his inability to save himself and his need of a savior
- The new birth of baptism in water and of the Spirit
- The death, burial and physical resurrection
- The 2ndcoming consisting of a Rapture and again at the end of the Great Tribulation
- Christ as our eternal mediator and High Priest as well as our Lamb of Atonement
- The infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture in the original languages
- Judgment and rewards to the believers at the Judgment Seat of Christ
- Judgment of the lost and of nations at the Great White Throne
- Eternal Life in heaven, or Eternal Separation from God in Hell
- Satan, fallen angels, and demons are real influencing nations and individuals for evil
- Man is a spiritual being of body, soul and spirit who will live forever outside of the body
So the next time you go to church, keep these things in mind and look at things around you with eyes of the Bible and the Holy Spirit.
David said that his heart panted after God as a deer after the water brook, and that heart speaks to heart. There has to be an intense desire, a hunger and thirst for the things of God behind and in front of the pulpit. Only then will the heart of the pastor touch the hearts of his sheep.
We can’t judge a group by their friendliness or their organizational structure, or by the number of degrees behind the reverend’s name. We have to judge the spirit behind the words of the whole leadership team.
- Do the words agree with Bible and do the words ring with that unforgettable tone of the Holy Spirit?
- Is the worship for lifting up individuals as they entertain, or are the worshipers getting lost in their praise to their Lord?
- Does the congregation sit there, or do they get into the worship and respond to the preaching of the Word?
- Is my head or my heart being touched?
John gave us the key in I John 4:1;
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.”
The key to discerning whether a particular group is preaching the truth about Jesus Christ is to test the spirit that is standing behind the preacher.
- Is it the Holy Spirit, the spirit of self, or the spirit of antichrist?
- Are the words coming out of the mouth of the preacher in agreement with the Word of God?
- Are the members living more for the world, or are they sincerely seeking a personal relationship with their Lord?
I can’t advise you on the correct church to attend. But you can use the above as guidelines to help you decide which one is best for you. You have to use your head, making sure all agrees with God’s Word, and then you have to use your heart to make sure God’s Holy Spirit is witnessing with yours.
I have visited so many different churches in the last 30 years. I have found sincere believers in each one and have felt the Spirit of God in various degrees of faith and power. I have also witnessed and prayed with so many over the years on a one-on-one basis, also feeling the Presence of God’s Holy Spirit in and around their lives. I have taught Bible Studies to Catholics who moved in the Gifts of the Spirit.
God has a remnant of true believers, just as He informed Elisha in I Kings 19:18 and they are indeed scattered throughout the world under different labels. Even Paul found disciples on his missionary trips whom He took aside and instructed in the way of God more perfectly, and some who were devout seekers of Truth as they searched the Scriptures daily.
Our job as a believer is to pray for all His believers wherever they are and whatever they are called, and to share what we know with all who will allow us to do so. Not all men have faith or desire to hear what God desires for them to know about Him. We have to pray that their spiritual eyes, ears, minds and hearts be opened to His dealings in their lives, as He wants all men to be saved and obeying His Words of Truth.
“Many churches of all persuasions are hiring research agencies to poll neighborhoods, asking what kind of church they prefer. Then the local churches design themselves to fit the desires of the people. True faith in God that demands selflessness is being replaced by trendy religion that serves the selfish.” Billy Graham
“Every day people are straying away from the church and going back to God.”
“Going to church doesn’t make you any more a Christian than going to the garage makes you a car.”
Only a Personal Relationship with Jesus Christ will save your soul, cover your sins as you confess them daily, and keep you desiring the things of God instead of the things of the world, and enable you to overcome all life’s trials, and cause your body to be changed into His Likeness as the catching of His believers out of this world into Eternal Life with Him. Choose the church that will help you achieve this reality in your life.