What to do about denominational differences?

 What to do about denominational differences?

1. Measure all things by the Scriptures. There are many helps in the Christian Faith, but we are those who believe that our only infallible (incapable of error) rule. They constitute a completely trustworthy record of divine revelation and are the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. All doctrines, denominations, and men should be judged by them.

 

Prov 30:5-6; Rom 15:4; 1 Cor 4:6; 1 Thess 2:13

 

2. Study as best you can and lean into what you believe to be true. The way I was taught was to find the borders of orthodoxy, figure out your options, and then find a starting place based on what seems most reasonable to you at the time.

 

Prov 3:5-8; Acts 17:11

 

3. Do not be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. Do not be quickly and/or easily persuaded to drop a belief or add a new one.

 

Eph 4:14; Gal 1:6-10

 

4. Religious movements come and go. Beware of trends. Plant your flag and get comfortable. Plan for the long-haul. Those who endure until the end will be saved.

 

Rom 15:4; Col 1:11; Heb 10:36; 12:1-3

 

5. Trust your leaders.

 

Heb 13:7, 17; 1 Tim 5:17

Jesus Christ is Lord

 κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς was the confession of the very first Christians all the way down to each of us. 

 

“Jesus Christ is Lord.”

 

Several New Testament passages explicitly state, “Jesus is Lord.” Here are some examples:

 

Matthew 12:8 “For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

 

1 Corinthians 12:3 “[N]o one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.”

 

Romans 10:9 “[I]f you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

 

Philippians 2:11 “[E]very tongue [will] confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

 

2 Corinthians 4:5 “For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord.”

 

Colossians 2:6 “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus as Lord, so walk in Him.”

 

The confession “Jesus is Lord” (Greek: Κύριος Ἰησοῦς) is one of the earliest Christian creeds and was central to the Christian Faith from the beginning. The title “Lord” (Κύριος) was important as a counterclaim to Caesar is lord but especially significant because it was used in the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint) to translate the divine name Yahweh, making this confession a powerful statement about Jesus’ divine identity and authority as ruler over all.

The True Church

"The true Christian church, or house of God, is composed of all those in every place that do publicly acknowledge Jesus of Nazareth as the true Messiah, and the only Savior of men; and, building themselves upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, associate under the constitution which he himself has granted and authorized in the New  Testament, and are walking in his ordinances and commandments—and of none else"

(Alexander Campbell, The Christian System (2nd ed, 1839), Chapter XXIV: "The Body of Christ").