One Church or Many Denominations?

In most areas of life, it’s typically seen as an advantage to be to unique or without equal. Athletes are praised for their unique strength and for winning championships and titles. Companies with popular products pride themselves on their uniqueness in their advertisements. But in religion today, in these denominations, it’s seen as distasteful, politically incorrect, or downright unacceptable to claim that one church is better than another.

Is it wrong for Christians to believe the we are a unique and unmatched group of people? Are true Christians wrong for believing that not every man is going to go to Heaven, even many of those who claim to know Jesus? In the book of Matthew, chapter 16 verse 18, we find Jesus talking to Peter. In this specific verse, Jesus has this to say:

Matthew 16:18

¹⁸ And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Wait – how many churches did Jesus say He would build?

To any honest person, the answer would be simple – one. Jesus did not say “upon this rock I will build My church-ES” or “Peter and Paul and any other apostles who want to will go out and build their churches.” So then why are there so many different churches and denominations in the world today?

It’s clear that throughout the scripture, there was only ever going to be one church. One true church, at least. Jesus Christ isn’t some mutant with multiple bodies. The denominations that we see in the world today did not exist until much later, and now there are hundreds of denominations that claim to be Christians (including Non-denominational, which is a denomination in and of itself). In the book of Ephesians, we see that His church will be of one mind, one body, and one faith, that we must be unified, and not drawn away by the doctrines of men.

Ephesians 4:4-6

⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Ephesians 4:13-18

¹³ till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴ that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ¹⁵ but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Many people in denominations will say “One church is as good as another. Don’t criticize other groups. We need to be more accepting of everyone’s views. How can one small group be right and everyone else be wrong.” To answer this, we need only to turn to the Bible.

Matthew 7:21

²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

Not everyone who claims they believe in Jesus are going to be saved, only those who know and follow God’s will. The way we enter into the one true church and into Christ’s body is by hearing the word, believing in Jesus as our Savior, repenting of our sins and coming out of whatever denomination and man-made doctrine we find ourselves in, confessing the name of Jesus, and being baptized to share in the death and resurrection of Him.

Contrary to what denominational groups believe and teach, it matters very much so what church you are a member of and what you believe. We have to avoid these man-made doctrines and look to the Bible to find the one true church, the one true body of Christ. We cannot be divided, teaching and saying and doing whatever will make people feel good and fill up the pews.