The Distinctive Nature of the Church of Jesus Christ Bulletin 33

Abe Miller, Senior Minister
Thu Aug 21 10:11:26 MST 2008

                    We live in a world of pluralism where one is as good as another. Therefore, whoever steps out and says no to this philosophy is a bigot. I for one declare that “Pluralism” is contrary to the distinctive teaching of Scripture. The Scriptures do not blend all religious belief systems together and form one big union as this teaching tries to proclaim. Pluralism is popular in both the secular and the religious communities. Much of our legislation that is enacted these days is based on this doctrine. Consequently, there are laws enacted that discriminate against Christian beliefs. An example is in the way the secular mind tries to interpret “Separation of church and state.” In the same way, there are those in the religious community who take the position that just because it is called a church we must all work together because we are all working toward the same goal.

                  Well, before I go any further, let me make clear, I am not a bigot. I don’t want to sound as though I believe that there is one church that has it all together; therefore, that one church would be the only true church. On the other hand, I do not believe that because a group calls itself a church we must automatically accept them as a part of the Church of Jesus Christ.

               What is the “distinctive nature” of the church of Christ Jesus? It is clear that Jesus built the church (Mt. 16:18). Therefore, it is distinctive from anyone else who would make a claim otherwise. It is distinctive from any atheistic belief system. Atheism denies the divine origin of the Bible. To the atheists, there was no God who existed prior to the Bible, God who produced the Bible and protected it from its avowed and persistent enemies. The church is distinctive from atheism in that it accepts creation as outlined in Genesis 1 and in scores of other biblical references. Atheists reject both the Creator and His creation.

                  The church of Jesus Christ is also distinctive from Idolatry. Over and over, the Bible declares in no uncertain terms the doctrine of monotheism. The Bible recognizes the existence of idol gods without giving any credence to their validity. The Bible refers to the God of the Scriptures as “the true and living God,” as opposed to the idol gods that are referred to as “dead gods,” because they are inanimate objects.

               The church is distinctive from Judaism. While the church was born out of Judaism,  it  has no spiritual fellowship with present day Judaism. Of course, there are various branches of Judaism today. There are at least three in number: 1) Reformed Jews who for all practical purposes see the Torah as just a history book. 2) The Orthodox Jews who cling to the Torah in a very legal way and do not give credence to the New Testament. 3) There are the Messianic Jews who believes Jesus has come, and they have a deep regard for Jesus as Savior. However, they have one foot in each covenant. Of course, Christians see the Old Testament as fulfilled by the New Testament.

               The church must always be seen as a distinctive entity as we have pointed out. Next week we will notice other distinctions. The church as an entity is totally unique.