Which Church is the True Church?
The question comes up quite frequently, even though the answer is obvious to me, as to which is the True Church. I believe some students raise this question simply for argument’s sake rather than for a sincere inquiry as to the merits of the question. I fear they only want to “prove” that they are members of the correct denomination.

The answer to this is so patently obvious that I hesitate to answer it. Simply put, it is the church that I attend, the Pharisee Church. Clearly, I would only attend a True Church, so all one has to do to detect a True Church is to find one with me in it. And if you can’t find one with me in it, then find a Pharisee Church that is identical to mine.

“But there are so many different kinds of Pharisee Churches; how can we know which is the right one?” This is a fair question because not everyone that wears the name “Pharisee” is a true Pharisee Church. Here are a few things to look for as identifying marks:

· The music style is the same as the one I prefer – the music must be at least 25 years out of style to be spiritually acceptable
· A building that is constructed along conventional lines – no modern innovations, house churches or cell churches
· The Bible version is the same as the one I use
· Everyone dresses and looks like good Christian people - not like a bunch of freaks with tattoos and body piercings, gaudy hair and so forth
· The order of worship is similar to the one we use at our church
· The preaching style closely resembles mine
· The sermons agree with my theology in every jot and tittle

Any deviation from the above is proof of worldliness and carnality. I will devote a good deal of attention in these newsletters to proper doctrine but suffice to say that any church that does not resemble mine is not a True Church.

Contentious students argue that our religion is not bound by culture and should have a variety of expressions based on the context into which the Gospel is spoken. They maintain that there should be a wide variety of worship styles and expressions.

These poor deluded souls clearly misunderstand the Biblical teaching of unity. Unity means an unwavering conformity to generally accepted norms and traditions. Anything that deviates from established religious convention is an attempt to let the world creep in to worship and should be avoided. God never called us to innovate. He called us to be true to our traditions.

So if you want to be a True Church, all you have to do is be just like me. Anything that differs from me in the slightest degree has abandoned the faith once delivered to the saints and should be avoided. Simple question. Simple answer.

But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.
Titus 3:9 (NIV)
- posted by rick @ 6:03 AM