"I Don't Believe Everything My Church Teaches"

(This originally appeared in The Keys of the Kingdom 3.8 (August 1997):7 as part of their "Back to the Basics" features)

Many people who identify themselves as Roman Catholics (or one of the Protestant denominations) often make the statement, "I don't go along with everything my church teaches." Those who say this are not agnostics, nor are they infidels; usually they are folks who are sincere and honest with themselves and others.

SOME PRACTICES NOT AUTHORIZED

As these people read God's word for themselves, they learn that there are certain practices being observed in the churches that are foreign to the Bible. They do want to be loyal to God, but they want to refrain from doing those things that aren't recorded in the bible.

GO BACK TO PENTECOST

If people in this day and age [1997] would only go back past the institution of the Protestant denomination and past the beginning of Roman Catholicism to the time when the Lord's church existed, they would learn that the church of Christ was composed of every Christian. They would also learn that in the beginning of His church, there were no divisions over this, that, or whatever--where there are no divisions, there can be no denominations (by definition, a denomination a part of a whole).

NOT POSSIBLE THEN

The church of Christ had no authority to formulate doctrine or teaching; thus, no Christian could say, "I don't believe everything my church teaches" because the church was based solely and entirely on the inspired word of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Peter 2:1-3). In 1997, the church of Christ remains the same.

BE JUST A CHRISTIAN

Today it is possible to be just a Christian, instead of a Baptist-Christian or a Methodist-Christian; it is also possible to belong to the only divine institution established by Jesus. In Matt. 16:18, Jesus said, "I will build My church." That's singular, and that means there is only one church that He built.

Members of "the churches of Christ" (Rom. 16:16) cannot make the statement, "I don't believe everything my church teaches", for the church of Christ today is governed by the word of in name, organization, membership, mission, and unity.

Created Aug. 2, 1997 Updated Aug. 15, 2004