You can listen to the message on our website http://www.wyandottefamily.com/listen.html or you can listen to the message on iTunes..simply search for Wyandotte Family Church.
Today I want to make an attempt to address a good question that was asked that we won't address on a Sunday morning. "Why are there so many denominations?" Great question, glad someone asked this! This blog may be a little long but I want to do my best to share my thoughts and church history. I am in no way a church historian but here is an overview since Jesus' death & ressurection.
WHERE DID IT ALL BEGIN?
1st reference to the word
church (Greek: Ekkelsia) in the Bible is found in Matthew 16:18 which says...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. Ekkelsia means an assembly of Christians gathered for worship
in a religious meeting *People Didn’t understand what that meant…they hadn’t seen it so they couldn’t
understand it or picture it.
YOU DON’T HAVE ANY OTHER MENTION OF IT UNTIL
after JESUS’s Death & Ressurection
Jesus appears to his disciples and 500 other people (1 Corinthians 15:6) and
tells them to wait for the Holy Spirit. They wait and Acts 2 tells us about the experience of the Holy Spirit, in which we & the Jews
celebrate Pentecost)
From there followers of Christ spread out all over Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria & to the ends of the earth telling people Jesus was alive and that He truly is the Son of God. THEY STARTED MEETING TOGETHER TO PRAY, READ THE BIBLE AND TALK ABOUT JESUS. They would meet in public settings like a synagouge and in homes.
AT THIS POINT THERE WERE NO NAMES…it wasn’t until ACTS 11:26, we read those who followed Jesus and put their faith in Him were first called “CHRISTIANS” at a city called ANTIOCH. Over the next couple hundred of years the message of Jesus spread all over the known world, with many giving their lives for the cause of Christ. For example, history records that the famous disciple Peter was crucified upside down on an X shaped cross for his faith in Jesus Christ.
From there followers of Christ spread out all over Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria & to the ends of the earth telling people Jesus was alive and that He truly is the Son of God. THEY STARTED MEETING TOGETHER TO PRAY, READ THE BIBLE AND TALK ABOUT JESUS. They would meet in public settings like a synagouge and in homes.
AT THIS POINT THERE WERE NO NAMES…it wasn’t until ACTS 11:26, we read those who followed Jesus and put their faith in Him were first called “CHRISTIANS” at a city called ANTIOCH. Over the next couple hundred of years the message of Jesus spread all over the known world, with many giving their lives for the cause of Christ. For example, history records that the famous disciple Peter was crucified upside down on an X shaped cross for his faith in Jesus Christ.
1st organized Movement—ROMAN
CATHOLIC CHURCH
In part to
ensure a greater consistency in their teachings, by the early 2nd century,
Christian communities had adopted a more structured hierarchy, with a central
'bishop' having authority over the clergy in his city.[16]
The organization of dioceses was established mirroring the territories and
cities of the Roman Empire. Catholic Christianity was legalized in
313 under Constantine's Edict of Milan,[33]
and declared the state religion of the Empire in 380
The Council of Rome in 382 established the first official Biblical canon when it listed the accepted books of the Old
and New Testament
The Catholic Church remained the main
organized church until the 1500’s when the PROTESTANT
CHURCH FORMED (PROTEST) WITH MARTIN LUTHER
2nd Movement “Protestant Churches”
Martin Luther (10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest and professor of theology who initiated the Protestant Reformation.[1] He was the one famous for his writings knows as the 95 thesis. His refusal to retract all of his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520 and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521 resulted in his excommunication by the pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the emperor.
He strongly disputed & differed on the following…
#1—the claim that freedom from God's punishment of sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel.
#2—Luther taught that salvation is not earned by good deeds but received only as a free gift of God's grace through faith in Jesus as redeemer from sin.
#3—His theology challenged the authority of the pope of the Roman Catholic Church by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge[2]
#4—He opposed sacerdotalism by considering all baptized Christians to be a holy priesthood.[3]
#5—His translation of the Bible into the language of the people (instead of Latin) made it more accessible, causing a tremendous impact on the church and on German culture.
From this Protestant Revolution all
other churches & denominations were birthed until what we have today…The
majority of Protestant Churches believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God,
He died & rose again and is the only way for salvation. Most believe the
Bible is God’s Word and sole authority for doctrine. Most believe in the
trinity, the Father, Son & Holy Spirit.
There were many other influential church leaders like John Calvin, John & Charles Wesley & William Seymour. As time went on and there was differences in some theological items and church practices.Therefore groups decided to split off and start their own church with a slightly different set of beliefs and/or practices.
So today as I write this blog there are estimated 25 main (large) denominations with many other smaller ones.
Do all of the splits and arguments break the heart of God...most likely!!! Before Jesus died, he prayed in the garden that his followers would be unified (John 17:20-23) Can churches put their differences aside and work together...yes!!
I'm excited that Wyandotte has a Ministerial Association that works together. It consists of Catholic, Pentecostal, Methodist, and Presbyterian. We all believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and that He is the way of to Salvation. Yes, if you walked into all of our churches they would be different. Yes we have differrences in belifes. However, what we agree on far out weights our differences.
No comments:
Post a Comment