“These … persons, who cause divisions, [don’t have] … the Spirit.” (Jud 1:19, NKJV)
We are currently looking at the history of Korah, using it to examine the inherent flaws of the modern day church system we have grown accustomed to over the centuries, and why this system feeds rebellion. In the last teaching the first objection from Num 16:3 was considered, namely that churches accept people as full-fledged members and grant them access to sacraments and fellowship without them being born again. For this reason the church has come to resemble a social club and is devoid of the fear of the Lord so characteristic of the first century church.
Before we consider the next two reasons we need to discuss a serious misconception of the New Testament church – denomination. In its simplest form denominations are concerned with one question – to what church do you belong? On forms and censuses one often needs to state your denomination. The rules and regulations of a denomination determines if you’re welcome there and if they’ll allow you to have your children baptised, if they’ll agree to marry you, or for that matter, bury you. Many people belong to a church to merely solve these practical considerations, it being the right thing to do.
According to Websters the word denomination fundamentally means “the act of naming”. Denominations are used to broadly name faith communities – the Dutch Reformed Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Apostolic Faith Mission, the Baptist Protestants, the Rhema Church, Hatfield Christian Church, and many others. The naming presupposes an own identity, “a class, society or collection of individuals, called by the same name; as a denomination of Christians”. This gains a local flavour as a denomination would have a building in most towns and cities where those who ascribe to their ‘name’ (for whatever reason) gather for church activities. This is commonly called the local church.
There are good practical reasons for the existence of denominations – differences in dogma. Reformers do not, like the Roman Catholics, believe that Mary acts as mediator between man and God, or in the existence of saints or purgatory. They do not believe in transubstiation, the belief that the wine and bread of communion miraculously transforms into the actual flesh and blood of Christ. Therefore the Reformers set themselves apart from the Roman Catholics. But the Afrikaans Protestant Church (APK), who belong to the same family as the Reformed churches, do not believe that different races can belong to the same church community, and have thus set them apart from their sister churches. The Reformed Church considers the use of the chalice as such an important part of their communion ritual that they, for that reason, set themselves apart from the Dutch Reformed Church and their tradition of individual wine glasses. The AFM believe in the baptism of adults, and thus cannot walk with the Reformers, who believe in the baptism of infants. The Baptist-Protestant denomination believes in submerging the baptized once, and are thus in discord with the AFM, who submerges thrice. Every Charismatic church is defined by their dogma relating to end times – pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, or post-tribulation, which all warrant an own denomination.
The local church is, alas, not a Biblical concept. We shall return to this in the next teaching.
- Sela: Figure out what justifies your denomination.
- Read: 2 Kings 2; Jer 8; 1 Cor 7
- Memorise: 1 Cor 7:23
- For a deeper understanding: Read Sarah Cunningham’s Dear Church.
