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This is an important question that many people are asking today. Unfortunately, they are seeking the answers in many wrong places. Let us study the word of God together (2 Timothy 2:15) in order to arrive at a more perfect understanding of what God says on this important subject.
The end of life is different for each individual. We do not know whether we will live or die tomorrow. Only God, therefore, knows when the time of our passing will arrive. In James 4:13-14, we read,
Go to now, ye that say, "Today or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:" Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
After this life is over and Christ makes His second appearing, each individual will stand at the "judgment seat of Christ," (Romans 14:10). Our entire life will be judged, whether it be good or evil. If we have lived in accordance with the word of God, we will be given eternal life. On the other hand, if we have lived a life that is unrighteous, we will inherit eternal damnation.
There will be many missed opportunities when we pass from this life. These include the sinner's opportunity to be saved (2 Corinthians 6:2), the christian's opportunity to pray to God to forgive him of his sins (1 John 1:9), and the opportunity to worship God with in the assembly of the church (Hebrews 10:25).
Ira Mikell
ira@thechristianexaminer.com
I have recently somewhat completed a study of denominations (accessible at http://www.deusvitae.com/faith/denominations/index.html), and when I publicized this information to the Internet community, I received a response by many that I was assuredly not expecting. Many people who worship in churches of Christ responded to me and asked, "so where's your page on the Church of Christ denomination?" This kind of statement demonstrates that in the minds of these individuals, the "Church of Christ" is a denomination, in that regards no different from the rest of "Christendom." Is it true that the Church of Christ is a denomination, just like the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination, the Baptist denomination, and the multitude of other denominations in the world today? Let us begin a study on denominations in an attempt to see first what they are and what characteristics they share, and then later to examine what practices that are seen in churches of Christ that may lead to denominationalism.
First, we must ask: what is a denomination? Webster's Dictionary defines it as the following:
name, designation; especially: a general name for a category; a religious organization uniting local congregations in a single legal and administrative body.
The dictionary gives us the first, and preeminent, definition of a denomination: a group of congregations that are bound together in a religious organization with an administrative body. When we read about the church in the New Testament, do we see such an organization? By no means! The elders of the church in Ephesus were told to shepherd their flock, not the flock of any other church (cf. Acts 20). While there was certainly kinship felt amongst members of different local congregations (e.g., Philippi and Thessalonica), there is no evidence that any group of congregations were legislated by some earthly head or administration. Therefore, even according to the dictionary definition of the term "denomination," the Church that the Lord established is not a denomination.
Is organization, however, the only mark of a denomination? By no means! Let us now look at some characteristics of denominations that are not a part of the Church established by Jesus Christ:
These are only a few generalizations of many characteristics that are marks of denominations and denominational attitudes. We see, then, that a denomination is really an organization established, without Scriptural authority, that often professes authority in some collective form that is also not seen in the Scriptures. Let us now, in the coming weeks, examine certain practices that are seen in many churches of Christ today and how they demonstrate signposts on the path that leads toward denomination, and also, hopefully, a way to prevent more Christians from walking down that path.
Ethan R. Longhenry
ethan@thechristianexaminer.com
www.deusvitae.com
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