So far in our lessons, we have walked through church history and made some very significant stops along the way, examining some of the great creeds and confessions, councils and synods, and some of the great divisions within the church.
Tonight, we are going to be examining the advent of Denominationalism, which was an inevitable by-product of the Protestant Reformation.
We will see in this lesson that, while there are many local churches in the world, there is only one true universal church, the Body of Christ, which encompasses all true believers.
The Historic Root of Denominationalism
As I have already stated, modern denominationalism is the by-product of the Protestant Reformation.
Following the division from Rome, Protestants did not all unite under one leader or head, but rather fragmented under several teachers.
Luther’s students became known as Lutherans, Calvin’s eventually became known as Presbyterians, Wesley’s became known as Methodists, Menno Simons’ students became known as Mennonites.
But it would be wrong for us to say that denominationalism “started” with the protestants.
Long before anyone ever heard of Martin Luther or John Calvin, there were divisions within the church.
Even before Christ, there were groups among the Jews that had risen up and made divisions.
The Essene Community were a group of monastic Jews who separated themselves from the others because they believed that the Jewish nation was in apostasy (It was the Essenes who we believe were responsible for writing the famous Dead Sea Scrolls).
We are also familiar that among the Jews there were differing parties of the Sadducees (liberals) and Pharisees (conservatives).
Likewise, we have already noted that in church history, there have been many divisions prior to the Protestant Reformation.
Early in the church’s history, there was a rift which separated the Western and Eastern Church, which would eventually become a full-on division in AD1054.
We have also noted that prior to the Reformation there were many groups which arose, such as the Waldensians, the Paulicians, the Lollards, the Hussites and others.
We even see the roots of denominationalism in Scripture itself.
1 Corinthians 1:11-15 “For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name.”
Paul is challenging those who were saying they were followers of certain teachers, or him or of Apollos, or even those “super-spirited” ones who would say, “I follow Christ”.
This shows us that the desire to make divisions is as old as the church itself; and it was not encouraged by the apostle.
Division for the sake of pride or unwillingness to love is sinful.
Yet, division is sometimes necessary for the preservation of truth.
When the Protestants divided from the Roman Catholics, they were dividing on the subject of truth.
Rome had abandoned the Gospel, and has ceased to be the church in the world.
Thus the Protestants abandoned Rome.
Yet, even now some 500 years later, there is still not unity among the Protestants.
The Difference Between Denominations and Cults
Before we look at the different denominations, it is important that we make a clear distinction.
A denomination is any group which has maintained the essential message of the Gospel.
A cult is any group which has deviated from the essential message of the Gospel.
Typically, we would divide groups as follows:
Lutherans, Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Methodists are denominations.
Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, and Christian Science are cults.
There is a problem with this designation, and that is it is too broad.
Many so-called “mainline” denominations have abandoned the Gospel and have become cultish.
Likewise, there are certain groups which we often feel uncomfortable about calling cults.
Many people do not like to consider Catholicism a cult. Yet, when we look at the definition as being one who has deviated from the Gospel, then the title certainly fits.
Also, the group known as the historic Churches of Christ are questionable regarding whether or not they have maintained the Gospel, because of their allegiance to the Doctrine of Baptismal Remission.
The Seventh-Day Adventists have a very cultish history, having been established on the false prophecy of William Miller that the world would end in 1844, and perpetuated by the false teachings of Ellen White. They have strict teachings regarding the keeping of Old Testament Law, specifically regarding Sabbath and Dietary Restrictions.
The question which underlies our assertion of whether or not a group is a cult or a denomination is the answer to the question, “Does it possess the Gospel?”
If a group has the Gospel, it is a denomination.
If a group has abandoned the Gospel, it is a cult.
The Gospel, in its simplest terms, is (1) Man is a wretched sinner deserving of Hell, (2) God is gracious and sent His Son to be the Savior (3) Salvation is achieved in the completed work of Christ alone to which nothing can be added.
In all of the cults, the consistent theme is that they have either denied the wretchedness of man, or they have denied the sufficiency of Christ; and usually we see both.
The “Mainline” Denominations
When we talk about “mainline” denominations, we are not addressing necessarily the best or most fit denominations, but rather the ones with the most adherents.
They are sometimes called, “The Seven Sisters of American Protestantism” and they are:
The United Methodist Church (~8 million)
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (3.95 million)
Episcopal Church (1.89 million)
Presbyterian Church USA (1.76 million)
American Baptist Churches USA (1.3 million)
United Church of Christ (998k)
Christian Church Disciples of Christ (625k)
The consistent thing which is found among these denominations is the bent toward liberalism.
They all have conservative churches within their ranks, but they have consistently demonstrated liberal teachings.
There are other groups which are normally referred to as denominations, but are not “technically” mainline.
Southern Baptist Convention - This is the world’s largest baptist body with nearly 16 million members. (ref. Aaron teaching baptist history)
Pentecostal / Charismatic Movement - A relatively new movement, having its foundation in the early years of the 1900s, it has exploded having now adherents numbering over 500 million from various denominational backgrounds.
The Catholic Argument Opposing Denominations
The Roman Catholic church points to the fragmentation of the denominations as the central failure of the Protestant Reformation.
In fact, this was the warning of Rome - that if every person was given the ability and right to read the bible for himself, that the church would divide.
Martin Luther agreed this was true, but also said that such was a necessary consequence, because keeping the bible within the church had not kept its doctrines from being twisted.
One thing you will often hear from Catholics is an inflated number of denominations.
The number changes, but some say there are 12k all the way up to 30k and some go even higher than that.
This inflating of the numbers is an attempt by the Catholics to point people toward Rome and announce, “We are the true Church”.
The problem with their argument is two-fold.
Within Roman Catholicism, there is hardly unanimity of thought. There are many conservative, and many liberals within Roman Catholicism. There are many nominal adherents, and even some who hold to charismatic teachings. There is a division in the “One True Church” which is often simply ignored.
Though there is great divergence within Protestant Churches, there is uniformity in one area: They all uniformly reject the authority of Rome. On that point of doctrine, all of Protestantism is agreed. We may differ on modes of baptism and the understanding of the Lord’s Table, but we agree that the Pope is not the Vicar of Christ.
Roman Catholics argue that denominational is the natural result of the doctrine of Sola Scriptura.
Rome teaches that you must have the church magisterium to interpret the Bible infallibly.
But Sola Scriptura is not the culprit, because it is not as if the Bible is unclear.
Rather, it is men who raise their opinions above Scripture which create the problems - and this is something which Rome does on a grand scale.
The Error of Modern Ecumenism
Ecumenism is the desire of some to break down denominational walls and create a unified church in the world.
This is a lofty and noble goal.
Unfortunately, it is one fraught with error.
The error of modern ecumenism is the willingness to seek unity at the cost of forfeiting the Gospel.
We cannot seek unity in error.
We must be unified by the truth.
Those who will not unify around the truth cannot be one with us; it is an impossibility.
2 Corinthians 6:14-18 “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? [15] What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? [16] What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. [17] Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, [18] and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”
We cannot yoke ourselves with someone who is opposed to, or ambivalent about, the Gospel.
Many of these groups seeking ecumenism are the same ones who have abandoned the Gospel.
The unity they seek is not unit in Christ, but unity in idolatry.
Illustration: “R.C. Sproul and the Ecumenists” A group came to Sproul claiming to be perfectly unified in Christ. He asked, “are you justified by faith alone?” to which one answered yes, and another no. In minutes, they were at each other’s throats.
The Unity of the Universal Church; The Autonomy of the Local Church
We know that the word “church” does not refer to a building, but to the people which make up the Body of Christ.
There are two ways which the Body of Christ is defined.
(1) Universal - All of the elect which God has sovereignly taken from spiritual death to new life in Christ.
(2) Local - A group of believers which has submitted to one another under a common understanding of Scripture and under the authority of locally ordained elders.
Understanding this, there are two things which we must understand.
Within the universal church, there is unity.
We don’t all worship together, or even necessarily the same way.
But Christ has given us new life, and we all serve Him toward the goal of seeing His Kingdom come.
Within the local church, there is autonomy.
We do not have a group or body which is over the local church to govern it.
The Bible never establishes a “district court” or a “magisterium” for the church.
The individual church has a structured outlined in Scripture.
The Elders are the interpreters of Scripture, thereby making them the governors or the church.
This position is one for which the bible gives specific guidelines.
There is no biblical authority outside the local church which supersedes the local session of elders.
Speaking to the Elders, Paul says, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28)
Calvin’s Definition of A True Church
Rome claims to be “the” true church.
We do not claim to be the true church.
We claim to be “a” true church.
But what is it that makes a church a true church?
John Calvin established three principles upon which he said a true church must be built; apart from any of them, a group ceased to be a true church.
(1) The Preaching of the Gospel
(2) The Administration of the Sacraments
(3) The Practice of Discipline
This belief was put into the Belgic Confession.
We believe that we ought to discern diligently and very carefully,
by the Word of God, what is the true church— for all sects in the world today claim for themselves the name of “the church.”
We are not speaking here of the company of hypocrites who are mixed among the good in the church and who nonetheless are not part of it, even though they are physically there. But we are speaking of distinguishing the body and fellowship of the true church from all sects that call themselves “the church.”
The true church can be recognized if it has the following marks:
The church engages in the pure preaching of the gospel; it makes use of the pure administration of the sacraments as Christ instituted them; it practices church discipline for correcting faults.
In short, it governs itself according to the pure Word of God, rejecting all things contrary to it and holding Jesus Christ as the only Head.
By these marks one can be assured of recognizing the true church—
and no one ought to be separated from it.
Our great aim is not to be “the” true church.
We leave that claim to Rome, or to the Mormons, or to the Jehovah Witnesses.
Our claim is that we are a true church, and as such are part of the universal body of Christ in the world.
CONCLUSION: No denomination is perfect, and some have gone the way of heresy, and sadly some even so far as becoming cultish in their teaching.
As a result, many churches have divided from all denominations and the title “non-denominational” has become very popular.
We would ultimately define ourselves as “non-denominational”, though we have recently sought membership with the Fellowship of Independent Reformed Evangelicals, so that we could have greater opportunities for outreach and growth.
In the end, denominational titles matter little.
What really matters is if a church is a true church, and a church devoid of the Gospel does not qualify.
Next week, we are going to look a little deeper at one specific group within Christianity, the Southern Baptist Convention.
We are going to examine a document entitled the “Abstract of principles”, which I would consider to be one of the best and most succinct Statements of Faith ever drafted.
As we examine it, I think we will see that though our church is not baptist by title, we do hold to historically Reformed Baptist principles.
