Denominations, Faith, and Worship

I've been thinking recently of the various denominations: the Methodists, Episcopalians, Baptists, Catholics, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, etc..., etc.... and what they are. It's hard to honestly say what all these denominations are and what they represent. However, it's easy to say what they are NOT. They are NOT faiths. There is one faith and there are believers in all of these different denominations who are part of it.

I'm referring to Ephesians 4: 5. Here it is with a little context.

2  With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3  Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5  One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6  One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

I think it's misleading to say, "I'm of the Episcopal faith" or the Methodist faith... and so on. I think all these denominations differ primarily in: 1. How they worship; 2. How they express their faith to others; and 3. Doctrines they emphasize.

On the other hand, denominations are neither human nor Christian. They are tools humans use to function together in groups. They serve a useful limited purpose but they'll pass away when the Church becomes apparent to our spiritual senses. I think a denomination is similar to a corporation: a legal (and fictional) entity.

Faith is too precious a word for describing a denomination or summing up a denomination's catechism. Faith is more than an intricate belief system.

1 Peter 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Faith for the Christian is personal belief that Jesus Christ is God's only son; that he died, was buried, and rose again to put away sin; and we may individually believe in that act for our own personal salvation from inherited sin and our personal sins. Faith is a substance and evidence that has a symbiotic relationship with hope that allows us to transcend our senses without compromising our sane wholeness.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

I don't believe we have to believe in defined terms. I believe God will accept our best efforts to believe in him even if we're sloppy believers. That just seems to me what love would do.

I think "worship" might be a good word to use instead of "faith" or "denomination." We could say, "I'm of the Episcopal worship." "I'm of the Catholic worship." That would mean looking at "worship" as a noun in that context instead of as a verb. It would sound strange at first but it might be a positive way to look at our differences.

How About a Colossians 2:6 Creed?

Bryan Owen raised some questions in his blog entry posted in Creedal Christian about a very non-offensive creed someone wrote recently. I didn't know people were still writing creeds. Can I write one?

I think we need a creed to remind us of the exhortation in Colossians 2:6.

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

How did we receive Christ Jesus the Lord? The details may differ from individual to individual. However, certain truths are biblically essential. Those truths are evidently also essential to our Christian walk. Let us determine what those truths are and remind ourselves of them so we can apply them to our ongoing walk with Christ.

Someone has already neatly identified and expressed those truths in The Four Spiritual Laws tract. Reworded, I think it makes a good creed. It would go something like this.

God loves us and has a wonderful plan for our lives. 

We were sinful and separated from God. We were helpless through our own efforts to find him.

God provided Jesus Christ, through his death and resurrection, as the only provision for our sin.

Each of us must individually receive Jesus Christ to know and experience God's love for our lives.

We walk in Christ Jesus just as we received him.

Idolatry In Honoring “Christianity”

I stumbled on this blog by Mr. S.D. Smith where he quotes Ian Thomas.

If you do not enter into the mystery of godliness and allow God to be in you the origin of His own image, you will seek to be godly by submitting yourself to external rules and regulations imposed on you by the particular Christian society you have chosen…you will in this way perpetuate the pagan habit of practicing religion in the energy of the flesh, and in the very pursuit of righteousness commit idolatry in honoring ‘Christianity’ more than Christ!

I've been there. I had the fortunate experience of receiving Christ as a teenager while living on a quiet farm in Ohio. Someone left a Four Spiritual Laws tract on a chair in the shoe department of the sports store where I worked. I took it home, went up to my bedroom where I read it, knelt and accepted Christ. An impression of Christ dawned on me over a period of many months of quiet Bible reading away from the influence of external rules or regulations. Then, I lost something of that when I went to the Bible School I attended. Sometimes we worry about the wrong things and try too hard the wrong way.

Idolatry In Honoring “Christianity”