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The Only True Church Just about everyone who has started a movement has declared themselves the
only true church on earth. In this they claim one must join their exclusive
group or organization to be saved and to be a Christian. Many believe there has
been a complete apostasy already, so there is need of a full restoration. While
God does have a true Church on earth, he has already stated how one enters to be
part of this Church. First lets go through the many familiar and some not so
familiar groups that claim to be the ONE TRUE CHURCH. Then we will look at how
one enters the true church. Mormonism LDS- 13th LDS President Ezra Taft Benson, “This is not
just another Church. This is not just one of a family of Christian churches.
This is the Church and kingdom of God, the only true Church upon the face of the
earth...” (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p.164-165). This church is the only
true and living church on the face of the whole earth (D and C 1:30) “There is
no salvation outside the church of Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints (Mormon
Doctrine, p.670) “Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the Church of the Lamb
of God and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore who so belongeth not
to the church of the lamb of God belongeth to that great church; which is the
mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.” (The Book of
Mormon, 1 Nephi 14:10) on April 8, 1973, LDS Apostle Mark E. Petersen proclaimed that salvation
“comes only through the Church itself as the Lord established it... Therefore
it was made clearly manifest that salvation is in the Church, and of the Church,
and is obtained only through the Church.” “The Roman Catholic, Greek, and Protestant church, is the great corrupt,
ecclesiastical power, represented by great Babylon....” (Orson Pratt,
Writings of an Apostle, “Divine Authenticity,” no.6, p.84). the LDS church is, “the only true and living church upon the face of the
whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased ...” Brigham Young
(Mormonism's Second President) “Our message is so imperative, when you stop to think that the salvation,
the eternal salvation of the world, rests upon the shoulders of this Church.
When all is said and done, if the world is going to be saved, we have to do it
“ (“Church Is Really Doing Well,” Church News (a bi-weekly publication by
the Mormon church), July 3 1999, 3) Jehovah’s Witnesses- The Gospel of the Kingdom ceased to be
proclaimed shortly after the death of the apostles. It was not preached again
until after 1918.(WT, 12/1/1928, pp. 363-64) We acknowledge as the visible organization of Jehovah on earth the Watchtower
Bible and Tract Society, and recognize the Society as the Channel or instrument
through which Jehovah and Christ Jesus give instruction and meat in due season
to the household of faith. (Watchtower, April 15, 1939 p. 125) “ The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society the one and only channel
which the Lord has used in dispensing his truth continually since the beginning
of the harvest period?” (WT 4/1/1919, p. 6414) “The world is full of Bibles…why then do the people not know which was to
go? Because, they do not also have the teaching or law of the mother,
which is light.”(WT 5/1/1957, p.274) “Outside the true Christian congregation what alternative organization is
there? Only Satan’s organization…”(Watchtower 3/1/1979 p.24) “Consider too, the fact that Jehovah's organization alone in all the
earth is directed by God's holy spirit or active force.” (Watchtower, July
1, 1973, page 402) Iglesia ni Cristo- “the
complete disappearance of the first-century Church of Christ and the emergence
of the Catholic Church” (Pasugo, July-Aug. 1979, p. 8). Thus, outside the Church of Christ no one can be considered a true
believer.'' (PASUGO, September/October 1981, p.9) “Each member ... should submit himself to the Administration of the Church
in order to be saved.”(PASUGO, January 1976, p. 9) ''People who embraced the true church will be saved not because of the good
deeds they have done, but through God's merciful act of commissioning messengers
entrusted with words of reconciliation.'' (PASUGO September/October 1986, p.
20) International Church of Christ -
“There is one church! There is one God. There is one kingdom of God and
this is it! (The Great Commission, audio tape, Weger/Rock, Hodge/Hamann/Fulcher/Fields) “you are in the only family that exists on the face of the earth.”( Phil
Lamb, We Are Family, audio tape 1990 West Coast Conf.) “We're the last hope the world has. Nobody else is going to do what we're
doing. Nobody else has the right message. Nobody else has the right
commitment.”( Gordon Ferguson, Radical Men, Radical Times Hosea Radical
Love of God, Manila World Leadership Conf., Aug.
1994 ) “your salvation is hanging in the balance. .... When you walk away from the
movement of God, there is no where to walk. Walking out of the light into the
darkness. There is nobody else There is nobody else in this country that That
has the true gospel -- that is, trying to make disciples of Jesus. There
is nobody else in this entire world. This is the movement of God! There is
no place to go.” (Nick Young. Tulsa Reconstruction meeting, August, 1992,
audio one, side two) “When you preached who is really saved: that you gotta have faith, you
gotta repent, you gotta become a true disciple of Jesus, and then you gotta be
water immersed for the forgiveness of sins received through the Holy Spirit,
that excludes all other denominations…everybody else out there.”(
Kip McKean. “Preach the Word.” Johannesburg World Missions Leadership
Conference. Aug. 1995, audiotape #10091, side 2)
True Jesus Church- On 5. on the web they emphatically state “The
True Jesus Church is the true church restored by God through the Holy Spirit
of the latter rain. She is the revival of the apostolic church in the end
times.” on the web
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but
by Me” (John 14:6). Therefore, one can receive eternal life only through
the true church.” The Philadelphia church- Mr.
Flurry “The “household” is God's Family or true church. It's the family
that God rules. This is God's inner circle--His very elect. One servant, one
leader or one man is made ruler over God's church. Only this church (The PCG)
gives meat in due season. Only this church is doing God's work!” (The
Philadelphia Trumpet, p.1 May 1995) “Some in the world try to label the PCG a cult. Actually, we are God's
only true representative on this earth!...”( The Philadelphia Trumpet, p.
19 March, 1994) Roman Catholic Church-”But by divine institution it is the exclusive
task of these pastors alone, the successors of Peter and the other
Apostles, to teach the faithful authentically, that is with the authority of
Christ ....” (Vatican Council II Vol. 2, p. 430, 1984) “If anyone says that in the Roman Church, which is the mother and mistress
of all churches, there is not the true doctrine concerning the sacrament
of baptism, let him be anathema.” (The Canons And Decrees Of The Council Of
Trent, p. 53 -- Seventh Session, Sacrament Of Baptism, Canon 3) “This loyal submission of the will and intellect must be given, in a
special way, to the authentic teaching authority of the Roman Pontiff, even
when he does not speak ex cathedra in such wise, indeed, that his
supreme teaching authority be acknowledged with respect, and that one
sincerely adhere to decisions made by him, conformably with his manifest mind
and intention ....” (Vatican Council II ,Vol. 1, p. 379) The Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism explains: “For it is through
Christ’s Catholic Church ALONE, which is the universal help toward
salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained.” Pope Boniface VIII declared: “There is one holy Catholic and apostolic
church, outside of which there Is NO
SALVATION ... it is altogether NECESSARY FOR SALVATION for every creature to be subject
to the Roman Pontiff.' (“infallible papal bull, Unam Sanctam) Vatican II
declared: ... this holy Council teaches ... that the church .. Is
NECESSARY FOR SALVATION.” (VATICAN
COUNCIL II, Costello Publishing, Austin Flannery, O.P., General Editor,
Vol 1, pp. 364-365) All Christians will be gathered in a common celebration of the Eucharist,
into the unity of the one and only Church, ... The unity, we believe subsists in
the Catholic Church as something she can never lose. (Vatican II, Decree on
Ecumenism, chap. 1, 4, p. 416). The local Church (Witness Lee)- When we were in the denominations, we
were blind. I do not believe that any dear Christians who have really received
sight from the Lord could still remain in the denominations. Everyone who sees
must leave the fold and enter the pasture, under the sunshine, in the fresh air,
in liberty. Where are you now? Are you in the fold, or are you now in the
pasture? Allow me to say this: if anyone is still in the fold, he is blind. Of
course, a blind person requires the fold to keep him. But when he receives his
sight, he will swiftly leave the fold for the pasture, for the sunshine, for the
fresh air.” (Witness Lee, Christ Versus Religion LSM, 197,1 p.109-110) The only way to follow the Lord absolutely is to go the way of the local
church. (Witness Lee, The Practical Expression...p.94) If you leave the church (the Local Church), you miss the mark of the Lord's
testimony. You must be in the testimony of Jesus. Only the golden lampstands,
the local churches, are the testimony of Jesus....if you are not in the local
churches you are not the testimony of Jesus.”( Witness Lee, The Stream
magazine Nov. 1976, p.7) House of Yahweh-”With all the
Churches and Religious Organizations in these Last Days preaching what
they call Salvation, why would Yahweh need to establish another
organization in order to get his way--the True Way of
Salvation--taught? “The One Body of Messiah IS The House of Yahweh! “...IF we 'separate'
from the One Body of Messiah: The House of Yahweh, then we succumb to Satan,
then at that very moment we become worshipers of Satan...of if one LEAVES The
Body - The only Prophesied, Established Work that Yahweh Himself has chosen,
then that one does NOT partake, or is NO LONGER a partaker, with the rest of The
body of Messiah - The House of Yahweh” (What Yahweh's Feasts Mean to You,
pp. 78, 87). “ The churches in the world
today do not even pretend to keep Yahweh’s Laws. How could they pretend such a
thing anyway, they all blatantly rebel against every one of
them.... It should be very obvious why Yahweh had to establish
His House in these Last Days--the Christian Churches are not The House of
Yahweh. They do not stand in Yahweh’s counsel. They are not the Pillar and
Ground of the Truth. They do not teach Yahweh’s Laws, therefore, they do not
turn the people away from sin--breaking Yahweh’s Laws.” “I urge you to obtain the books … and start learning the true
way to Salvation. This way is not taught in the world by any
organization, other than the one established by Yahweh--The House of Yahweh.” Hawaii fellowship of the Universal World Church “a voice thundered
and uttered these words “This is my daughter in whom I am well pleased. As
Jesus, my son, paid the price through his faithfulness upon the cross.. my
anointed daughter, Miss Velma, has paid the price through her faithfulness at
the golden altar. Therefore, all who will believe in her, will receive my gift
of eternal youth which is new revelation Mamre.” (The mighty Miracle of the
new Revelation of Mamre p.49-50) The new Revelation of Mamre is the greatest
gift ever given to a people by almighty God. “(The mighty Miracle of the
new Revelation of Mamre p.7) “Miss Velma has paid the price! She has become the sacrificial offering
required by God that all of mankind may reap one of god's greatest rewards, new
revelation Mamre”( ibid.p.51) 7th day Adventists-”I saw that God has honest children
among the nominal Adventists and the fallen churches, and before the plagues
shall be poured out, MINISTERS AND PEOPLE WILL BE CALLED OUT FROM THESE CHURCHES
and will gladly receive the truth....But the light will shine, and ALL WHO ARE
HONEST WILL LEAVE THE FALLEN CHURCHES, and take their stand with the remnant”
(Early Writings, p. 261 ) We can see the common thread of these churches. They are separatists and deny
anyone else can have the right message. That one must come to their CHURCH
to be saved. That is the common deviation from Scripture and what
makes them a cult. 1 Jn.2:19 “they went out from us but they were not of us,
if they had been of us , they would have continued with us, but
they went out that they might be made known that none of them were of us.”
This was already occurring in the early church. Now that we have read through just a few churches that claim exclusivity to
being the only representatives of Christ and God on earth. We need to go to the
Bible to see what it states on this matter. It is possible that one of these
groups that claim this can be right. But it is impossible for all of them to be
right since they all claim exclusivity. Who would know? Jesus who is the
head of the Church would know, and the Apostles he appointed to write down his
teachings are the ones we need to go to, to find the truth. What is the Church? The first time we find the word Church is in Mt.16:18 where Jesus said he
will build his church upon the revelation the Father gave Peter when he openly
confessed that Christ is “ the Son of the living God.” “Upon this
rock I will build my church.” So this must be the Churches confession of
faith, if not, then it is not the Church. What this meant in the Judaic culture
is that Christ is equal to God, having the same nature as his Father. The Scripture is clear only God is to be worshipped Ex.34:14: “For thou
shall worship no other God for the Lord (Yahweh), whose name is jealous,
is a jealous God.” The Church worships God and also worships Christ. The
Father in Heb.1:6 tells all the angels to worship the Son. Both the Father and
the Son are worshipped in heaven (Rev.4-5) and on earth. The Bible teaches that
Jesus is not only worshipped, but also called God by Thomas in Jn.20:28 “My
Lord, my God.” (Greek- The Lord of me, the God of me). We find the wise
men worshipped Jesus as a child. Mt.2:11.The leper worshipped Jesus Mt.8. The
ruler bowed and worshipped Mt.9:18 .The believer who was blind worshipped him
Jn.9:38. The women worshipped him Mt. 15:25, Mary Magdalene worshipped him
Mt.28:9, the disciples worshipped him Mt.28:17.Jesus was worshipped just as the
Father was worshipped. It is called the Church of God which he had purchased with his own blood
(Acts 20:28). After Christ raised from the dead and ascended he sent the Holy
Spirit to birth a new entity, the church. The Greek word is ekklesia
(which is used 114 times in the New Testament) which means a called out assembly (Ek = out
of, Kaleo= to call). It is never used of a building or of the kingdom of God.
The Church is not the kingdom, but included in it. The Church is a invisible
living spiritual organism, composed of all the believers world wide, from
the time of its inception on Pentecost, until the taking away of the Church at
the rapture. Its origin is found in God as the Holy Spirit gave it its birth in
Acts 2:1-4 with the disciples and the Jews at Pentecost in v.33. And
we become part of this same Church today the same way they did, by spirit
baptism, being born again of the Spirit. No one joins the Church
unless they are first joined to Christ. This is why Jesus said you must be born
again, (by the Spirit Jn.3:5) not join the Church! The Church began in
Jerusalem, not Rome. Any Church that does not
trace its start to Jerusalem on Pentecost is not His church. Those who claim the Church
needed to be restored from an apostasy are not part of the original
Church. Jesus said the gates of hell would not prevail against the
Church, she would never be overcome, no matter how many were killed, it would
never result in a complete apostasy. So any church
claiming theirs as a restoration can't be traced back to the original. Jesus told Peter: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will
build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”
(Matt. 16:18). Meaning it would not remove it nor hinder it's growth, work or
people. If his Church had apostatized then the gates of hell would have
prevailed against it, which makes Christ a liar, that is uncomfortable even for
the cult's to say. Christ will not abandon his bride, he said he would
always be with. How could
Christ be with his Church always if his Church ceased to exist for over 1800 years?
The Church is already made and continues to grow through history. No devil
or man can stop or hinder it because Jesus is the architect, not man. While it
is valid to claim that there needs to be repentance or reformation throughout
the church's history, to get back to the bible when we drift. To restore a
church from apostasy has quite a different meaning. The true Church is built upon what Peter said Christ is- The Son of the living God- the eternal one. We can only have this by revelation the same way Peter did, from heaven. It is not man revealing this truth but God himself. Christ teaches In Matthew 28:20 he said, “I am with you always even until
the end of the world.” And in John 14:16, 18 he said, “And I will pray to
the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever. . .
. I will not leave you desolate.” Christ promised that nothing would prevail
against his Church, that he would be with it always, that the Holy Spirit, the
Comforter, the third person of the Holy Trinity would be with her always.
Christ will not abandon his bride. How could Christ be with his Church
always if his Church ceased to exist for 1800 years? We
are the Church We (the people) are the Church, which is likened to the temple 1 Pet. 2:5 “you also, as living stones, are being built up a
spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable
to God through Jesus Christ.” We are bricks cemented together our spiritual
sacrifice is ourselves, our lives. As Rom.12:2 tells to present ourselves as
living sacrifices. 1 Cor.3:16 teaches that each of us as individuals are the temple of God
because “the Spirit of God dwells in you.” We are called Col. 1:24: “His body, which is the church” 2 Cor. 6:16
that “we are the temple of the living God.” As God has said: “I will dwell
in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My
people.” 2 Cor.3:7 The church will be God's dwelling place. together we are the temple (the
church) the dwelling of God. Christ “In You” is the hope of glory. Eph. 2:20-22: “Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, in whom the whole
building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom
you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
Jesus is the cornerstone and the apostles the foundation stones. Paul explains
further in Eph. 4:15-16: “but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all
things into Him who is the head-- Christ-- from whom the whole body, joined and
knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working
by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying
of itself in love.” The Church is a living temple made up of bricks whom are
the people. We are all interdependent on one another. Just as a house is
not made with one brick but all are cemented together. Each brick has a different gifting and talents and all are to be used so that
the body can be healthy. Just as Paul's example of the outside of the body we
are all different and the least is to be honored as much as the greatest.
Certainly the pancreas adrenal glands on the inside of the body if they were not
functioning would affect the rest of its health. Heb 3:1-6: “For every house is built by someone, but He who built all
things is God. And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant,
for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, but Christ as a
Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and
the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.” How Does one Join the
Church? 1 Cor. 12:27: “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.”
Notice collectively and individually. This means one does not have to
belong to a certain denomination or group but to Christ. No one is told to join the Church by the apostles because it is an automatic
placing of one in the body of which Christ is the head. 2 Cor.5:17 “Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away;
behold, all things have become new.” We are put in Christ to become a
new creature, not in a Church. Becoming part of a Church is the
natural outcome of the new birth. Jn.1:12-13 “ But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Which were born, not
of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
To be born of God is to have the Holy Spirit regenerate the dead spirit in man
back to a relationship with God. This comes through Christ alone, no
Church or minister can give you this. 1 Cor.12:12-13 “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the
members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one
Spirit we were all baptized into one body-- whether Jews or Greeks, whether
slaves or free-- and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” This is how
one enters the Church by the Spirit who comes inside us and unites us with the
rest of the body which is invisible and visible. Paul writes in Rom.3:24: “Being
justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus.” This is one of Paul's favorite technical terms. Paul
points to our spiritual life coming from being connected to the Son. It is
Christ that uses examples to show us that He is the gate, the door, the way.
We enter the Church (become part of the church) by a person and his work for us.
As we come to Christ He puts each one in his spiritual body the Church. When Paul was persecuting the church, Jesus said he was persecuting him,
because he was the owner of it, we are his body and his Spirit indwells those
who he killed. By killing Christians he was fighting against Christ
himself. The Church is Christ's invisible body on earth. The Church is
called “the Church of God” Eph.5:23-24: “also Christ is head of the
church; and He is the Savior of the body.” 24... “the Church is subject to
Christ.” The Church is ruled by God,
just as our body takes instructions from its head. 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 may have the preeminence.” If we want to
obey the truth we receive our
sustenance and instructions from Christ alone, collectively and individually! Jesus referred to those who were part of his body/ Church as “my sheep”.
In John 10:16, Jesus spoke of other sheep which were not of this fold, them also
I must bring and they will hear my voice; and there will be one flock and one
shepherd. What he meant is that the Gentiles outside the nation of Israel were
to be grafted into the covenant and have him as their shepherd. You are the
branches “I am the vine.” All these relate to our connection to the Son who
brings us to the Father, and is the source of our eternal life. We cannot
produce fruit apart from him Jn.17. Mark 6:34 “So He began to teach them
many things.” Listening to Christ is the first step to having him be your
shepherd, you then become a disciple by following his teachings. The
leaders or shepherds are to train the sheep to hear the chief shepherds voice. The word “Church of Christ” is not singular but plural in the Scriptures,
which is a problem for those that call themselves the exclusive Church of
Christ.1 Cor.1:2, 1 Cor.10:32, also Rom.16:16 calls them the Churches of Christ.
Rev.1:20 says Christ holds the seven golden lamp stand's, the seven stars and the
messengers (angels) of the seven churches in his hand showing his control. This
becomes a problem for numerous groups that claim the name “Church of
Christ”, since it is plural not single. Likewise for the
Jehovah’s Witnesses, since they are Jehovah’s “organization” and not a
Church nor Christ’s. Not because of name only, but because they do not
look to Christ as the head. Actually if one asks the question to these groups
who is the head of your Church? You can various answers from a prophet,
apostle, a revelator, to a Pope. Even those who claim Christ can have a
different Jesus from the Scriptures. (2 Cor.11:4) So we must examine who Jesus
is to them and their relationship to him. Rev 2:23 “and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the
minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.”
Only God is able to search the heart and give rewards. The
Church's Purpose The true Church teaches the bible alone, and promotes evangelism to fulfill
the commission Christ gave in Mt.28:18-19. Our purpose Eph. 3:9-10: “...
to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who
created all things; that through the Church the manifold wisdom of God might now
be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.” This
is done by teaching the Scriptures equipping the body for our growth first then
for the work of ministry Eph.4. So the message can go out to there communities.
We are to gather to be taught, equipped for ministry so we can evangelize to
bring others to the Lord. The church is a spiritual hospital for sinners so they
can be healed from sin. The church is not a building to meet in to come to the
Church, instead we should be going out being the church. We have a
mission. To make disciples and grow in their relationship with God. We
have them join in the body, whether its our particular local body or another
that is part of the church universal. Everyone needs to be involved in a local
body of believers, an assembly to help bring health to themselves and the body. Different churches have different focuses and different ways of doing
ministry. Within the main framework of evangelism there is other ministries,
this does not mean any one way is the only way as a long as it is all biblical.
Each church may have a specific way to minister to its own communities needs and
essentially have different focuses. It is from this variety God is able to
meet the needs of individuals and their personalities. The One TRUE Church The true Church holds to the core beliefs of Christianity without subtracting
or adding to them. Christ is the eternal God come in the flesh, there is one God
and 3 distinct identities (persons) who exist simultaneously as the One God.
The virgin conception, the sinfulness of man and the need of a
savior, the new birth, the Gospel which is the death burial and physical
resurrection, the 2nd coming, baptism, eternal mediator and
priesthood of Christ, the priesthood of all believers, the infallibility and inerrancy
of Scripture, judgment and rewards to the believers. These
are the essentials that are clarified in the Scriptures. If the Church one attends does not hold to these essential beliefs, they are
not Christ's Church no matter what name they have on their outside or on paper.
This is not my opinion, but the Bibles explanation what the apostles
taught through the Gospels, the book of Acts, and in the Epistles. In conclusion there is one true Church, but it is not found in a certain
denomination or group by itself. Those who claim you must join their group
or Church to be right with God, only prove they do not understand what the word
Church or body of Christ means. It is not exclusive but inclusive, as it
is found in the heart of all those who have accepted the true Jesus, and have
come to God the way He has provided (through His son on the cross), and hold to the essentials of the faith.
Whether one is Lutheran, Anglican, Baptist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian,
Charismatic, or Pentecostal, etc. The Church transcends denominational barriers,
it exists within denominations, as well as outside of them. This is the
Universal Church that has continued from the beginning of Pentecost. While
denominations may have differences on peripheral issues, they do hold to the
core beliefs that make them all part of the body of Christ, the Church.
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