| Abstract -
Pastor Don is away for this weekend and it is up to Steve Vlasak to
fill in. Have you ever wondered how many Christian religions
(denominations) there are, and why so many exist? What is the
difference between religion, faith, and a church? This message is
unique in that it is a factual in nature, outlining information about the
various religions in the world, and in particular, statistics about
Christianity as a faith. If concludes with an understanding of what
the primary purpose of the local church is. |
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Message Outline - 
Introduction:
What Is Religion?
Webster's New World Dictionary - "any specific
system of belief and worship, often involving a code of ethics and a
philosophy."
Religion is mentioned only in the New
Testament, in five places, and not by Christ. (Read James 1:26-27)
What Is Faith?
American Heritage Dictionary - Belief that does
not rest on logical proof [science] or material evidence.
Hebrews 11:1-3 provides an excellent biblical
definition (Read Hebrews 11:1-3)
Examples of faith include Christianity, Islam,
Hinduism, Buddhism, Chinese Traditional, etc.
How is the world divided in its faiths?
Looking At Christianity Only
Let’s list the various Christian denominations (religions).
Wait – there are over 34,000 of them! Why so many?
Christianity is holding it’s percentage of population as a faith, but
is loosing "market share"!
- Market share in the US drops, 86% in 1990 to 77% in 2001
- Islam is growing its market share
The US and Canada are the largest Christian base, about 75% claim to be
Christian, however, if defining Christianity as "Born Again" this drops to
35%.
Origin
- The Roman Catholic is arguably the oldest religion.
- Protestant Reformation in the 16 century – four major divisions
include
- Lutheran
- Reformed
- Anabaptist
- Anglican
Then other denominations including . . .
- Methodist - John Wesley – famous for their "methods" for spiritual
growth
- Presbyterians - named for their view on church leadership—the Greek
word for elder is presbyteros
- Baptists - name because they have always emphasized the importance
of baptism
- And others - Assemblies of God, Christian and Missionary Alliance,
Nazarenes, Evangelical Free, independent Bible churches, etc.
- Each denomination has a slightly different doctrine or emphasis from
the others, such as the method of baptism; the availability of Lord’s
supper to all or just to those whose testimonies can be verified by
church leaders; the sovereignty of God vs. free will in the matter of
salvation; the future of Israel and the church; the role works play in
salvation; pre-tribulation vs. post-tribulation rapture; the existence
of the "sign" gifts in the modern era, and the list could go on and on.
The point of these divisions is never Christ as Lord and Savior,
but rather honest differences of opinion by godly, albeit flawed, people
seeking to honor God and retain doctrinal purity according to their
consciences and their understanding of His Word.
This is why we have so many religions!
What Does The Bible Tell Us About Multiple Religions (Denominations)?
- nowhere in Scripture is there a mandate for denominationalism; to
the contrary the mandate is for union and connectivity.
So we see that it was not Christ’ design to have multiple religions
Picking a Religion
- Again, James identifies a good starting point - James 1:26-27
(read)
- Pick a religion that focuses on the teachings of Christ as your
savior and source of eternal life, and uses the bible as the source of
His truths.
- Some researchers say to stay away from the mainline denominations,
that may focus more on rituals than teaching the bible.
- Pick one that does not strain the local church. (budgets, mandates,
etc.)
Picking a Local Church
What is a church?
- Two views
- The Universal church – The church that belongs to Christ!
Matt 16:17-18 - Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of
Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father
in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock
I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will
not overcome it.
Ephesians 5:23-24 - For the husband is the head of the wife as
Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the
Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should
submit to their husbands in everything.
The Local church
- A local community base congregation of believers, it’s the people,
not the building!
- In Revelations 1 it speaks about the 7 churches of Asia
- Understand the local church will have the characteristics of its
leadership
- Interview the leaders
- Do they look to Jesus for guidance?
- Leaders tend to do strange things to protect their turf!
- Don’t get hung up on finding a pure and faultless church – it
doesn’t exist
- Problematic - as people are with faults, and a church is a group
of people!
If you find a pure and faultless church don’t join it because it
will not longer be pure and faultless!
Does it preach . . .
- One God – who exist in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit
Jesus is your only source of eternal life. He suffered and died on
the cross and has risen, all to absorb your sins that you might have
eternal life.
Along with accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior you must repent
and work at living a perfect life in Christ’ eyes.
Support missions as a central theme of evangelizing Jesus around
the world.
Full submersion baptism
- Look for a church that stretches, or exercises your growth in Christ
- Various programs
- Get engaged and committed with events within the church
- Supports the Great Commission
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