More Details On Non-Denominational Christianity
Posted: Friday, May 27, 2011
by Joel Hendon
http://hebronics.org/index.html
To a world so indoctrinated towards, and accustomed to, literally thousands of Christian religious denominations, it has always proven very difficult to explain, and especially to the extent of being understood, how any group can profess to be non-denominational. I have attempted to do so for many years and succeeded only a very few times. And people invariably ask the question…Why? I will attempt once again, to accomplish that.
This plan was that God would make a new covenant which would include all men of every nation…unlike the one he had made with Israel at Mt. Sinai. Read this foretelling of it by the prophet Jeremiah:
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.(Jeremiah 31:31-33 KJV)
This covenant included the establishment of a kingdom, in which those who accepted Jesus and obeyed him, would be added along with a new law governing man’s righteousness and acts of worship towards God. The above prophecy by Jeremiah was also quoted by the writer of the Hebrews epistle 8:8ff.
Jesus, in the New Testament, informed his apostles that they would be given the authority and the responsibility of introducing that new kingdom and covenant after they had received power by the Holy Spirit and he instructed them, at his ascension, to wait in Jerusalem until they received that power. (Luke 24:49) (John 14:16, 14-26, 15:26, 16-7)
Here are his last words of instruction to his apostles before he ascended into heaven:
And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:4-8)
Then the establishment of the Lord’s kingdom, the church, is thoroughly described in chapter 2 of Acts. It would be well for students who are truly seeking His truths, to read the entire second chapter. The church was established and there were no “splinter” groups until much later. The following quotes from various early scholars explain this situation quite well.
General History of the Christian Religion and Church- August Neander (1846): But we here go on the supposition, that in each town, from the beginning onward, one single community formed itself under the guidance of a senate of elders.…Everywhere in the epistles of the New Testament, Christians of the same city appear as members associated together to form one ecclesia. This unity never represents itself as something which is yet to take place, but as the original form, having its ground from the beginning in the essence of the Christian consciousness; and the party divisions which threatened to dissolve this unity, appear rather as a morbid affection [feeling] which had crept in later, as in the Corinthian church. (185)
Neander adds this from another of his writings: But the Epistles of the apostle Paul give the clearest evidence that all the Christians of one city originally formed one church.
Are Dissenters from the “Church of England” Guilty of Schism?- Robert Govett (1882): Let a word now be addressed to believers who dissent from “The Church Establishment.” While our position of separation from that, and every other national and worldly system, is wholly right on Scripture grounds, are we justified, or must we not rather plead wholly guilty, when we look at the divisions which in every city reign among those who are the children of God? Of old there was but one church in a city: it was a united body, assembling in one place (I Cor. 1:2; 1 Thess. 1:1; Rev. 2:1, & c.). Now we have many Lord’s tables, many party-names, much separation of spirit one from another. The Lord give us that oneness of heart which would be so glorifying to Him.
The non-denominational churches of Christ have striven to get these points across for many years, only to have been ridiculed for it. Often when I have had discussions with others and tell them I have never “joined” any religious denomination, they cannot accept that. I’ve even had close friends tell me, “Why of course you have”. I suppose they feel, I just don’t know it. It has always been my question to ask, which one?
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman who needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”(2 Timothy 2:15)
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