More on the One True Church

by Steve Bastin

Perhaps you may not have noticed, but there are many churches that are in agreement that there is but “one true church.”  These range from churches that have a very long list of things that make them right to churches that have a very short list of what makes them right.

Some would claim that belief in the Trinity is the only criteria for being a true church.  About the only ones excluded on that basis would be the Unitarians and the Jehovah’s Witnesses and a smattering of others who do not accept the decrees of the fourth century Councils at Nicaea and Constantinople.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses might claim that the true church, in the Bible, was evangelistic and thus they are the true church because they go from door to door, seeking converts.

The Mormons might claim that they are the true church because they have apostles and prophets just like the church in the first century.  Of course, their apostles and prophets are often in disagreement with the first century apostles and prophets, thus what they preach, proves them wrong.

The Baptists might claim that they are the true church because they practice immersion just like the church in the first century.  But getting one thing right does not make the case. It would be hard to find a church that does not get something right (according to the Bible).

The Catholic Church makes the claim that the true church is one which can trace its ancestry, through a continuous line, back to the first century.  Of course the Greek Orthodox Church can make the same claim, so how is one to choose between the two.  In fact the Greek claim might have more merit because the church began in Jerusalem, not Rome.  The language of the New Testament church was Greek, not Latin.

The Seventh Day Adventist Church claims that they are the true church because they celebrate the seventh day just as the Jews did in the Old Testament.  (Well, not exactly.  They do not keep the part about not kindling a fire on the Sabbath Day.  They “fire up” their cars and drive them to church.)

We could continue to illustrate our point.  It is easy to claim that a certain church is the “one true church.”  It is far more difficult to be the “one true church.”

In spite of the difficulties, we maintain that there was a true church in the first century.  Jesus said, “I will build my church.”  Paul states emphatically that there is one body (he often speaks of the church as a body).  Jude advises his readers to “contend earnestly for the faith once delivered (he does not speak of faiths, in the plural, because one church demands one faith).

If there was one church in the first century, then doubtless it is possible to have one true church in the twenty- first century.  Having a “true church” does not mean that everything is right.  For example, Paul addressed the church at Corinth as a “church of God” and called the members of that church “saints.”  Paul’s letters contain all sorts of reproofs for things that they were doing wrong.  But they were the “one true church.”

It seems evident that one characteristic of a true church ought to be that Jesus is acknowledged as Lord.  This idea ought to be understood in the light of what Jesus told his apostles shortly before his ascension to heaven.  “All authority has been given to me, in heaven and on earth.”  Further it ought to be noted that Jesus chose twelve men to be his witnesses and give them authority to preach his message to the world.  One would think that all Christians might agree on these principles.  Thus far, so good.  The one true church is one in which Jesus is Lord.

Further, the Bible says that the Lord added to their number, day by day, those who were saved.  That makes a valid principle that it is the Lord who adds to the true church, not man.  Therefore, if one has been “added” by the Lord, that one is a member of the true church.

But how is one added?  The matter is simple when one consults only the Bible.  It becomes confusing when one consults  the multitude of churches.

In the Bible, saved people are added to the church.  If you have to do something, besides being saved, to become a member of some church, then that is not the “one true church.”  Somebody has usurped the Lord’s position and imposed their rules for church membership.

From the second chapter of Acts, the matter of salvation and church membership is clear.  There are many other passages in the Bible that make the matter equally clear, but Acts 2 furnishes us with an example.

Peter preached a sermon about Jesus, his miracles, his death, his resurrection and his ascension.  He concluded, “God has made him (Jesus) both Lord and Christ.”  The people asked, “What shall we do?”  Peter’s answer was short, and equally clear.  “Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

The Bible goes on to add, “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized and the same day there were added to them about 3000 souls.”

Faith in Jesus, repentance and baptism resulted in God adding these people to His church, the one true church.  What worked in the first century will work in the twenty-first century.  To be saved and to be a member of the Lord’s church are one and the same.

If a church cannot get the matter of salvation right then it cannot be the “one true church.”  If one cannot be true to the Bible in how a person is added to the church (by God) then it cannot be the “one true church.”

A second matter, of great importance, concerns the matter of worship.  A church is a group of people who meet together.  Churches meet together for all sorts of activities, but above all, they meet together to worship God.

If there are disagreements concerning how one worships, then the church cannot meet together.  It will become two or more churches.

Again, we turn to the Bible for a solution.  We note that there are profound differences between worship in the New Testament and worship in the Old Testament.  Jesus referred to these changes in a conversation with a Samaritan woman, recorded in the fourth chapter of John’s gospel.  The book of Hebrews abounds in references to the way worship was conducted under the law of Moses.  In chapter 8, the writer refers to the regulations of the Old Testament as obsolete in the light of the New Covenant that God has made with His people.

Worship in the Old Testament centered in the temple with its priests, its altar, and its sacrifices.  Worship in the New Testament centers in the communion that celebrates the death and resurrection of Jesus.  The death of Jesus is the “once for all” sacrifice to which the Old Testament sacrifices pointed.

The Old Testament had its “church” choir, who stood at the temple to sing to the people.  The New Testament has disciples who are “teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness.”

For the sake of pleasing God (whom we are supposed to be worshipping) and for the sake of unity, we simply plead for all Christians to abide by what is set forth in the New Testament for worship.

We know that it pleases God to remember Jesus by having communion.  We know that it pleases God to preach the gospel.  We know that it pleases God to give of our blessings to benefit others.  We know that it pleases God to pray to Him.  We know that it pleases God to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.

We know that it is right to immerse believers for the forgiveness of their sins.  In response to that act, God adds such a person to His church.

We can be a true church as we teach those things that are necessary to be added to His church.  We can be a true church as we worship according to His teachings as found in the New Testament.  We can be a true church when we follow Jesus as Lord and Christ.