"What
Church Do You Belong To?"
"...there
are contentions [strife] among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith,
I am OF PAUL; and I OF APOLLOS; and I OF CEPHAS; and I OF CHRIST. Is
Christ divided? [YES] was Paul crucified for you? [NO] or were ye baptized
in the name of Paul? [NO]" - I Cor. 1:11-13
This question goes back to the early church as stated in
our main text with the church at Corinth.
While we ALL need a home church, AND we should be excited that the LORD has
chosen to put us in that local assembly/church, we still NEED to watch
that we don't get divided in the Body of Christ by denominational walls, and
following a man.
Paul DID NOT want people relating their Christian life to him (as some religious
icon), like people saying, "I was baptized of Paul" (a religious
meaningless boast).
Paul said, "I thank
God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; lest any should say that
I had baptized in mine own name." (I Corinthians 1:14,15)
Then, again, he mentions
it a SECOND TIME to the Christians at Corinth. "For
ye are yet carnal: for whereas [there is] among you envying, and strife, and
divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am
OF Paul; and another, I [am] OF Apollos; ARE YE NOT CARNAL? Who then is
Paul, and who [is] Apollos, BUT MINISTERS BY WHOM YE BELIEVED, even as the Lord
gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but GOD GAVE THE
INCREASE." - I Cor.3:3-6
Paul was stating, "I'm just a man, Apollos is
just a man" (just like you and me). The difference was CHRIST!
Who gave the INCREASE? GOD! As only God can do!!!
The name of your minister (even if well-known) or
the name on your church should not matter. I personally don't care what
the name on your church is, and I don't think God really cares about it - There
are NO denominations or super stars in heaven!
The point I am wanting to bring out in today's message is that we must see we
belong to the Church of our LORD and SAVIOR Jesus Christ, the Body of Christ.
What I care about when I meet someone from a "different" church than
myself, is that what they believe is SCRIPTURAL AND WHAT THEY LIVE IS
CHRIST-LIKE.
Doctrine/beliefs (the fundamental beliefs of Christianity) and Christ-likeness
are VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. What is NOT important is the name of their pastor or
the name of their church!
Seriously, if the church is to make a difference, we need to stop such immature
carnality and start working together with other Bible believers.
Let's stop exalting man,
let's stop exalting churches,
and
start "Exalting Christ"!
In
His Service,
Jim (BibleFood@aol.com)