I got this comment last night,
“No denomination is a part of it as they are all man made institutions. No member of a denomination is a Christian in the scriptural sense, since one cannot be saved in a church of man, and no church of man is the body of Christ or part of that body of Christ. I hope that was direct enough for you.”
The first problem with this statement is it doesn’t define anything. It needs to define:
“Denomination”
“Man made institution”
“church of man”
The second problem is, it doesn’t show the work on how the Bible actually teaches these things as they are meant to be understood.
The third problem is that there are examples in scripture that totally contradict this in principle and here is one example…
Was the church of God in Corinth a “church of Christ” or something else?
They had a few problems…
– Division (which Jesus expressly condemned – a direct violation of the teachings of both Jesus and Paul).
– Quarrels reported by Chloe’s household
– Factions around personalities
– Jealousy
– They were people of the flesh
– Prioritized each other based on who baptized them
– Were puffed up against each other
– Were boastful
– Loved eloquence over substance
– Claimed to be wise but were fools
– Claimed to be mature but were infants
– Tolerated sexual immorality of the worst kind
– Boastful over immorality
– Failed to remove the unrepentant sinners
– Prioritized the flesh that resulted in sexual immorality
– Taking each other to court
– Wronging each other instead of suffering wrong
– Asceticism
– Problems with divorce
– Divisions around social status
– Justified hurting each others’ consciences
– Participation with demons
– Seeking their own good over the good of others
– Questioned Paul and his apostleship
– Disorder in the gathering
– Lord’s supper divisions and gluttony, emphasizing social dividing lines at the Lord’s table (failing to discern the body)
– Getting drunk at the Lord’s table
– Depriving others of food and drink at the Lord’s table
– Humiliating the poor
– Eating and drinking in an unworthy manner
– Ranking spiritual gifts and dividing over it
– Superiority complex
– Using gifts without love/being unloving to each other
– Disrupting the gathering
– Chaotic gatherings
And that’s just 1 Corinthians! The list goes on in 2 Corinthians…
– Resisting Paul’s authority
– Some even denied the resurrection of Jesus
– Failing to forgive
– Demanding letters of recommendation
– Accusing Paul of various things
– Withholding affection from Paul
– Valuing appearances over the heart
– Impressed by the wrong credentials
– Tolerating people who preached another Jesus/different gospel
– Admired the “super apostles”
– Were in danger of being led astray
– Partnered with unbelievers in idolatry
– Unrepentant sin
– Ignored Paul’s instruction in 1 Corinthians
And yet 1 Corinthians begins this way,
“To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:” – 1:2
And 2 Corinthians begins this way,
“To the church of God in Corinth, together with all his holy people throughout Achaia:” – 1:1b
But Baptists aren’t really Christians? Oh come on…repent.
And no, you can’t say well they are still good because once corrected, they made the needed changes. No they didn’t. That’s literally why we have 2 Corinthians…because they hadn’t fixed it and yet are still God’s church because they still believe in Jesus. They were still baptized into Christ. They weren’t saved by perfect belief or perfect practice. And neither are we.
2 Responses
Why limit to the Baptists? Toss in a few Jehovah’s Witnesses, Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints, a gaggle of Catholics (Both Roman and Greek/Russian) etc.
Yes, the Corinthians had issues (A non-offensive way of saying something else). But the ONLY reason Paul could write to them and judge some of their acts was because they were Christians. Their struggle with letting go of their past (Just like the Jews who became Christian, btw – Romans 1-3 makes that abundantly clear).
Unless one is buried with Christ and raised with Christ – there is no Christian! It really is that simple.
Matt, well said.
You listed right at 50 significant problems in Corinth and aside from about 3, the same problems are alive and well in Christian churches. From the seven churches in Asia to churches of Christ today and congregations in the broader Christian community.
While congregations don’t all struggle with the same problems. Christ looked at the spiritual maturrity of the seven churches and only found one worthy of commendation without complaint. That doesn’t mean they were not Christian churches because their theology and their lives were not perfect. It means their minds needed additional transformation to turn the corner in their souls.
For generations we have been sold a bill of goods about the exclusive relationship our fellowship purportedly has with God. Spending our time condemning and judging our fellow believers distracts us from transforming our own hearts and minds. Which explains our lack of internal peace.
Rev. 3:2a: Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die.