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It seems there ae so many "denominations" that many are confused. Most every church makes the claim that they are the "one true church and you better listen to them or you will be lost.

Which one of those will 'save' you? One of the churches makes the claim that they are the only true church and all others will condemn you.

What's the case here?

None that I know, for "there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven [but Jesus] that has been given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

The only true church is the one made up of individuals who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and have placed their faith in Jesus Christ and His blood. That church includes Baptists and Anglicans and Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox and Anabaptists and Seventh-Day Adventists and ...

But make no mistake. Just as walking into a garage does not make one a car, neither does walking into, or attending regularly, or joining a church make one a Christian. There will be both wheat and tares in the field. But at the harvest, the wheat will be gathered into His barn, but the tares will be bound up and burned in the fire. (Matthew 13:36-46)

Regards.

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All Scripture quotations are New American Standard Bible, unless otherwise indicated.

Though true in some cases not true in every case!


NO CHURCH CAN SAVE ANYONE. The proclaimation of the church is clear



It is faith in Christ and Him alone that saves. Once one comes to faith in Christ he/she immeadiatly becomes part of the church.

As anyone can see on this forum I have a brother from another church denomination, Marv, and we disagree on the small stuff but agree on "the way, the truth, and the life". (John 14:6) So also are my brothers Antipater, psychobobicious, Gideon, Cobra, Pastor John and sisters in Christ Jennifer Dent, Dinah, avid reader and others. All of us part of the church I'm convinced and all from various denominations. We all disagree on some points of relatively minor doctrine but all united in Christ as our Lord. One day our petty differances will be wiped out by the return of our Lord and King and we will forever live in perfect harmony with the author and protector of our faith. What a day that will be! Won't you come and Join us!

BTW, Jimd I'm convinced another in Christ as a brother!

Blessings,
Randy

There is a "One True Church", that is, in heaven. Hebrews 8 and 9. And this tabernacle does save people, Rev 1:12-13.


< 300 years to go, Amen

The one that surrenders to Christ and abides in him totally, of course no one church can do that in the world. Think of the church as an organism and not an organization, it is relational, not religious. OK where is this Church located?

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Kola,

Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

But each of those you quote have different standards for salvation. Paul tells us exactly what the church of Christ is and some of those you named have different requirements for salvation. Later I will define the one true church by Scripture and Scripture alone but tonight isn't enough time.

Amen brother!

Calred,
Is it possible (even likely) that every congregation points to the Scriptures as testimony to their belonging to (or arrogantly to their being) the One True Church.

My understanding is that the Church is that body of Christ chosen before the foundations of the world and empowered by His Spirit to know and glorify the Lord forever.

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I agree.....and you are correct. Here's why.....

When looking for the "one true church" we have to look at the Bible. God has made it quite plain in His word. Clearly one church is presented. From the very first of the Bible we find God stresses oneness and the unity of His followers. Gen 1:31 tells us that God's creation was "very good." The creation was in harmony undoubtedly as we are told here.

1 Cor 14:33 tells us God is not a God of confusion. Deut 6:4 speaks of the oneness of God while Genesis 2:24 gives us the beginning of marriage and says the man and wife shall be one flesh. Surely God's oneness is illustrated sufficiently in Scripture.

Paul also used the divine institution of marriage when writing about the nature of the church. He says the church is: "And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all." Eph 1:22-23

Paul makes it even clearer in Colossians.

Col 1:18 "And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence."

Christ prayed for the unity of His people in John 17:20-21 as He was sending His apostles throughout the world to preach the gospel: "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21) That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

To establish the body of Christ even further look at Ephesians 4:4-6 "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5) One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6) One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

There are many Old Testament Scriptures referring to the body of Christ as well but I prefer using the New Testament Scriptures supporting the one church, one body of Christ with Christ as the Head.

Acts 2:46-47 "And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47) Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."


Acts 20:28 "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."

I could quote many more Scriptures telling us there is but one church and Christ is the Head and the only way to God is through Christ but I believe those reading this already know that. I hope this may provide some ammunition for those who may have a conversation with someone who makes the claim that theirs is the only true church. The first letter to Timothy calls the church "the house of God." In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said: "I will build My church." Ephesians says it is"His body." Ephesians 1:23

The church was non-denominational and spoken of sometimes simply as: "The Way." Only one church was the common message in the New Testament because it speaks of one universal church with one common message: "And He said unto them, go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be condemned." Mark 16:15-16

No doubt there is but one "True Church". It is the Church Jesus Christ built and Christ is the Head and all Christians, who believe the gospel when it says, faith and nothing else, are the body of Christ.

No church or denomination will save you, only the grace of God through Faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ will save you.

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MikeC1956
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know that your sin will find you out. Numbers 32:23b NET

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fides quarens intellectum, credo ut intelligam
faith seeking knowledge, believe to understand

all quotations are by bible translation indicated.

It doesn't really matter what the various churches teach is required for salvation. None of those churches establishes requirements for salvation, only God does. And His requirements are clear: Only those who have been regenerated by the Spirit of God and who place their faith in His Son for salvation will be saved. Some of those will be "Baptists and Anglicans and Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox and Anabaptists and Seventh-Day Adventists and ...," just as I said before.

Regards.

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All Scripture quotations are New American Standard Bible, unless otherwise indicated.

Calred,
Was there some point to your postings about the "One True Church"? Are you arguing against something in particular or for something in particular that we're not getting?

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No particular point except we have so many different churches that say they are the only ones that are "right." I was just looking for a discussion of the different churches and wanted to hear other's views. I agree with your last statement.

Although most Protestants would disagree with the RCC, LDS, Jws and others, the fact is that there are Christians in every so-called denomination. Many don't want to believe and some don't want to admit it but the Bible tells us there is really only one church and outlines what that church teaches. Although some may say you have to let them save you, others may say there is a three-step process to Salvation and other claims, I personally believe that in every denomination there are some and perhaps many, who believe that Jesus Christ came to earth to save sinners and if you believe the gospel as taught in the Bible, then you are a member of Christ's church.

Now when you get into such subjects as Baptism, when and how you find differences. The Bible tells us babies were baptized in those days but some don't believe it. Some say you have to "believe" before baptism and some don't believe it. Some say there are other ordinances than outlined in Scripture and some don't believe it.

I love to discuss these things but unfortunately I find that in order to even have a discussion, you may have to argue or at least play the devil's advocate in order to get a discussion. I have also found out that the more delicate a subject is, the less attention it gets and that is unfortunate. We are commanded to search the Scriptures for the truth and I really enjoy doing that. I would rather have six or seven denominations join in on each thread for a better discussion but alas, it doesn't happen often.

Actually there are typically MANY different denominations (even if a whole bunch of our Brothers and Sisters here are some flavor of Baptist ) represented on each thread here, but many of us just happen to agree about certain things more often than not and thus may give the idea that we belong to the same denomination. By the way, I would actually prefer to say something to the effect of "One holy, catholic and apostolic Church" rather than simply "One True Church" just because it has a greater historical precedence, but certainly "One True Church" would still be accurate. (Just for clarification, 'catholic' with a little 'c' basically means 'universal' rather than being a reference to the Roman Catholic Church).

_________________
Everyone is equal at the foot of the cross...just some are more equal than others.
Forum Code of Conduct
Bible.org Doctrinal Statement
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Twitter: @RickWadholmJr

Some distinctions, however, should be made. In some churches, the gospel is present but blurred or covered over with extra trappings. One may attend such a church and discover the gospel from the teachings of that church. I see the Roman Catholic Church (in which I was raised) in that light. The gospel is there but often covered over with extra trappings, e.g, Mass on Sundays, not eating meat on Fridays (pre-Vatican II, when I was in Catholic grade school), Holy Days of Obligation etc. I have always though that Paul wrote the book of Galatians to Roman Catholics. (I hope my comments are not too offensive to DB, whom I have a great deal of respect for, based upon the wealth of information and insight he has contributed to this forum).

The same cannot be said, however, of Mormonism or The Watchtower (JW's). One may be a Christian and a Mormon, or a Christian and a JW, but in that case, that individual did not become a Christian through following the teachings of that church, but in spite of the teachings of that church. A true follower of either of those (true cults in the heretical sense) will not be a Christian. Usually, someone in one of those churches is a Christian because they have ignored the teachings of the church leaders and found the gospel through other means, yet for whatever reason, have not left the cult.

So, while God in His sovereignty is free to save people in all denominations, that is not the same as saying that the gospel is being faithfully expounded in every denomination, because clearly it is not.

Regards.

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All Scripture quotations are New American Standard Bible, unless otherwise indicated.