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The Nature Of The Lord's Church
 
INTRODUCTION
 
1. In this series we have surveyed the following "Issues Of 
 Distinction":
 a. The Existence Of God - which differentiates between...
 1) Atheists and agnostics
who deny or question God's existence
 2) Buddhists
Hindus
Jews
Moslems
Christians
etc.
who 
 believe in a Supreme Being
 b. The Identity Of God - which distinguishes between...
 1) Buddhists
Hindus
etc.
who hold to many gods
 2) Jews
Moslems
Christians
etc.
who believe in the God of 
 Abraham
 c. The Identity Of Jesus Of Nazareth - over which there is a 
 difference between...
 1) Jews
Moslems
etc.
who may accept Jesus as a good man

 perhaps a prophet
 2) Christians
who believe Jesus is the Christ
the Son of God
 d. The All-Sufficiency Of The Scriptures - where again there is a
 difference between...
 1) Catholics
Mormons
JWs
etc.
who deny the Scriptures are 
 all-sufficient
 2) Mainstream Protestants
Christians
etc.
who profess the 
 principle of "scriptura sola" (the Scriptures alone)
 e. The Purpose Of Baptism - where there is a difference between...
 1) Those who proclaim that baptism has nothing to do with
 salvation
 2) Those who teach that baptism is an integral part of the gospel
 and God's plan for saving man in Christ
 
2. A final "issue of distinction" I would like to examine in this 
 series is "The Nature Of The Lord's Church"
 a. This is not to say there are not other "issues of distinction"
 b. For example
the Lord's Supper is certainly an issue that 
 distinguishes those who have differing views concerning it
 c. But for this particular series
this will be our last lesson
 
3. In this study
we shall examine...
 a. The nature of the Lord's church as revealed in the Scriptures
 b. The trend toward denominationalism
even among those who claim to
 be nondenominational churches of Christ
 c. What is wrong with denominationalism and current trends leading
 toward it
 
[Let's begin
then
with...]
 
I. THE NATURE OF THE LORD'S CHURCH AS REVEALED IN THE SCRIPTURES
 
 A. THE TERM "CHURCH" IS PRIMARILY USED IN TWO WAYS...
 1. In the UNIVERSAL sense
 a. Referring to all the saved throughout the world
 b. Used this way in Mt 16:18; Ep 5:23; Co 1:18
 2. In the LOCAL sense
 a. Referring to the saved in one particular geographical
 locality
 a. Used this way in 1 Co 1:2; Re 1:11; Ro 16:16
 
 B. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN "THE CHURCH UNIVERSAL" AND "THE CHURCH 
 LOCAL"...
 1. In the UNIVERSAL sense:
 a. There is only ONE church - Ep 4:4; compare with Ep 1:22-23
 b. Christ is the head; individual Christians are members of 
 His body - 1 Co 12:27
 c. There is NO EARTHLY ORGANIZATION; what organization there
 may be is spiritual in nature - Ep 2:19-20
 d. The universal church never meets as such; it has no 
 "officers" except Jesus Christ and the original apostles 
 and prophets
 2. In the LOCAL sense: 
 a. There are MANY churches - cf. Ga 1:2
 b. There is to be EARTHLY ORGANIZATION within each local
 church
  1) Ideally
each church has elders (also known as bishops

 pastors) and deacons - e.g.
Ph 1:1
 2) Although churches may exist temporarily until such men
 can be appointed - cf. Ac 14:21-23
 c. Local churches meet regularly; and Christians have 
 responsibilities in connection with their brethren in the
 local church
 
 C. LOCAL CHURCHES WERE INDEPENDENT AND AUTONOMOUS...
 1. Each congregation was to submit to the oversight of its own
 elders - cf. He 13:17
 a. Certainly they were also subject to the authority of Christ
 and His apostles
 b. But no other church or human organization had any authority
 over them
 2. Elders had oversight only over the flock of God which was 
 among them:
 a. "Shepherd the flock of God which is AMONG YOU..." - 1 Pe 
 5:2
 b. "take heed to yourselves and to all the flock
AMONG WHICH
 the Holy Spirit has made you overseers..." - Ac 20:28
 -- No elder or group of elders was appointed to be over two or
 more churches!
 
[Such was the nature and pattern of the Lord's church as found in the
New Testament. With such simplicity the gospel spread and 
congregations were planted all over the Mediterranean world and beyond.
 
But not long after the apostles died
the nature of the Lord's church
began to change
brought about by...]
 
II. THE TREND TOWARD DENOMINATIONALISM
 
 A. DEFINING "DENOMINATIONALISM"...
 1. Let's first define "denomination"
 a. According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the
 English Language: "A large group of religious congregations
 united under a common faith and name and organized under a
 single administrative and legal hierarchy."
 b. From Webster's: "A religious organization uniting in a 
 single legal and administrative body a number of local
 congregations."
 c. In simple terms
a denomination is a group of congregations
 that are joined together under some governing body...
 1) The number of congregations can be as few as two or more
 2) But by their tie to a governing body above the local
  congregation
by definition they are "denominated" from
 all congregations that do not submit to the same 
 authority
 d. Some examples:
 1) The Roman Catholic Church is a denomination made up of
  those churches that submit to the pope in Rome
 2) The Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod) is made up of those
 churches that submit to the synod in Missouri
 3) The International Church of Christ is made up of those
 churches that submit to the Boston Church of Christ
 -- These are just a few of the thousands of different 
 denominations that now exist!
 2. Now let's define "denominationalism"
 a. According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the 
 English Language
it is:
 1) "The tendency to separate into religious denominations"
 2) "Advocacy of separation into religious denominations"
 3) "Strict adherence to a denomination; sectarianism"
 b. Again
Webster's dictionary defines it as:
 1) "Devotion to denominational principles or interests"
 2) "Narrow emphasizing of denominational differences: 
 SECTARIANISM"
 c. In this lesson
I am applying the term to any effort to 
 create a collectivity of congregations in such a way as to
 denominate them from other churches
 
 B. HOW DENOMINATIONALISM BEGAN IN THE SECOND CENTURY...
 1. It did not happen overnight
but through small
subtle changes
 in the organization of the Lord's church
 2. The first step was a change from a two-tier system to a 
 three-tier system
 a. I.e.
the early churches had elders (also known as bishops

 pastors) and deacons
 b. But then the title "bishop" came to be reserved for just 
 one of the elders
creating a three-tier hierarchy of 
 bishop-elders-deacons within a local congregation
 3. The next change involved one bishop over many congregations
 a. In the NT
there were a plurality of bishops over just one
 congregation
 b. But now
there was one bishop over a plurality of 
 congregations
 4. Eventually this pattern of change led to the formation of 
 various denominations
 a. E.g.
Roman Catholic
Greek and Russian Orthodox
Coptic

 etc.
 b. All depending upon which religious leader was recognized by
 a group of churches
 
 C. HOW IT CONTINUES TODAY...
 1. The Protestant Reformation did not really help matters that
 much
 a. While the reformers may have had the right idea
their
 followers often simply crystallized and formed 
 denominations (in some cases
over the objections of the
 reformers themselves)
 b. As denominations were formed
many of them divided even
 further
creating more denominations
 2. Efforts to restore the New Testament pattern often went awry
 a. Some restoration movements started out by following the NT
 pattern
 b. But as time passed
they slowly drifted into forming 
 denominational structures
 1) E.g.
many churches became the Christian Church-
 Disciples Of Christ denomination
 2) E.g.
other churches became the International Church of
 Christ denomination
 3. I see this trend even among churches of Christ claiming to be
 non-denominational...
 a. By changing the nature of cooperation among local churches

 they create de facto denominations
 b. This is especially manifested when the "sponsoring church"
 concept is adopted
 1) For by its very definition and in actuality
one church
 takes oversight of a work done by a collectivity of
 churches
 2) This "collectivity" of churches
under the oversight of
  the sponsoring church
has formed a denomination in 
 practice
if not in name!
 
[I can imagine that some may be wondering
"What is so bad about that?"
In other words...]
 
III. WHAT IS WRONG WITH DENOMINATIONALISM IN ITS VARIOUS FORMS?
 
 A. FIRST
DENOMINATIONALISM IS UN-SCRIPTURAL...
 1. That is
it is without Scriptural support
 2. We have seen that in the New Testament that...
 a. Local congregations were independent
self-governing
 b. Church organization was limited to within the local 
 congregation
with elders (also known as pastors
bishops

 overseers
presbyters) appointed to oversee only the 
 congregation of which they were members - cf. Ac 20:17
28;
 1 Pe 5:1-2
 3. The only authority above the local church was Christ and His
 apostles...
 a. Once the church began
apostles were not replaced after 
 they died
 b. But through the Word of God
the authority of Christ and 
 His apostles continues
 4. Individuals
synods
conferences
sponsoring churches
etc.

 that presume to have oversight over local congregations do so
 without Scriptural authority
 
 B. SECOND
DENOMINATIONALISM IS ANTI-SCRIPTURAL...
 1. I.e.
not only is it without scriptural support
it is 
 contrary to what the Bible teaches
 2. Denominationalism creates division
and division is:
 a. Contrary to the prayer of Jesus for unity among His 
  believers - Jn 17:20-23
 b. Condemned by Paul in his epistle to the church at Corinth
 1) There are to be no divisions among believers - 1 Co 1:
 10-13
 2) Sectarianism is a sign of carnality - 1 Co 3:3-4
 
 C. THIRD
IT IS HARMFUL TO THE CAUSE OF CHRIST...
 1. Jesus knew that unity among His disciples would be "the final
 apologetic"
 a. Cf. "that the world may believe" - Jn 17:21
 b. In view of Jesus' words
we should not be surprised when
 unbelievers are slow to accept the gospel coming from a 
 divided church
 2. Many people point to the divided condition of those professing
 to follow Christ...
 a. Atheists and agnostics often use division as an excuse not
 to believe in God
 b. Adherents to non-Christian religions (such as Islam

 Judaism
etc.) will often use denominationalism as a reason
 not to believe in Christ
 3. Denominationalism has also given support and encouragement to
 the cults
 a. Mormonism started in reaction to the denominationalism of
 Joseph Smith's day
 b. Those who call themselves "Jehovah's Witnesses" use the 
  religious division to encourage people to follow their 
 strictly-controlled organization
 4. It opposes the efforts of Christ on the cross! - Ep 2:14-16
 a. Jesus died to break down the wall of division
 b. Jesus died to reconcile man to God in ONE body
 -- Just as sinning works against the efforts of Christ on the
 cross (for He also died to put away sin)
so it is with 
 denominational division!
 5. It is harmful even in it's most subtle forms (e.g.
the 
 sponsoring church concept)
 a. Churches that refuse to join in with some a congregation's
 desire to sponsor some "great work" are often ostracized
 b. The change in church cooperation is a small one
but it is
 small steps away from the New Testament pattern that 
 eventually lead to the creation of something totally 
 different than what the Lord intended
 1) It happened in the second century A.D.
  2) It has happened time and again ever since
leading to the
 formation of more and more denominations!
 
CONCLUSION
 
1. The nature of the Lord's church may not seem to be a significant
 issue...
 a. Many would consider church organization and cooperation to be a
 matter of indifference
 b. They would certainly not put it on the same level as "The 
 Identity Of God" or "The Identity Of Jesus Of Nazareth"
 
2. Whether or not it belongs on the same level
I do believe it is 
 worthy of our prayerful consideration...
 a. History reveals that the departure from the New Testament pattern
 began with small changes in the organization of the church
 b. History continues to reveal that this is often the first step
 toward apostasy time and again
 -- For when one disregards the New Testament concerning the nature
 of the Lord's church
it is not long before they disregard what
 else the New Testament has to say!
 
It is my prayer
therefore
that we will always give careful heed to 
whatever the New Testament reveals concerning "The Nature Of The Lord's
Church"
for it is truly an "issue of distinction"!

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