FAQ 73
What's the Point of
Another Denomination?
NCW 2, October 1992
Q. What's the point of another denomination? Aren't there enough already? Why not try to unify Christianity instead of breaking it up even more?
Everybody has the right to worship and associate as they wish provided they recognise the same right for others. The unification of Christianity, though a noble desire, is impractical and unworkable as numerous attempts in the past have shown. The unification of denominations has always resulted in the diluting of fundamental doctrines.
You cannot break up something that is spiritual in essence. The heart of Christianity is in individual conversion to Christ and learning to work together with other people. True Christians, no matter what denomination or doctrinal persuasion, should be able to live together until such a time as a "unity of the faith" is achieved (Eph.4:13). New Covenant Christians make special efforts to be of support to other churches wherever possible and have served alongside Baptists, Lutherans, and others. The love that Christians have for one another is what in the end will unify them for, as Paul says, when we die, the only thing we can take into heaven is love, since everything else passes away (1 Cor.13-14).
New Covenant Christians believe that they are part of the wider Body of Christ which consists of all true Christians, and that these Christians are to be found in all kinds of denominations. We believe, therefore, in what might be called a "supra-Church" which is the True Church of Christ. We believe that we have a special message and commission that cannot be fulfilled in any of the other existing denominations but this does not break our fellowship with them...at least not from our side.
We do not believe that human beings can "unify" Christianity, whatever that vague term means, but only the supernatural intervention of God's Holy Spirit. And we believe that is happening now. Many Christians are now casting away their old traditions and labels and simply calling themselves "Christian", a trend we expect to increase over time. Christianity is an invisible power or spirit and manifests itself in many ways according to our human dispositions. The outer "clothes" or "denominations" will eventually be stripped away. The Church of God is already there as one unified entity -- it is simply the unredeemed talk and action of man that makes it seem to be divided into factions. We do not believe the sectarians or "dividers" are true Christians at all.
Whatever good a group or denomination can do will unify the invisible Church even more. We believe we are doing that. Therefore we would reject any claim that we are dividing Christianity up further since we are not waging war against Christian denominations (as some groups do) but against those invisible powers of darkness which seek to enslave humanity. (We do not claim, as some groups do, to be the only authoritative Christian body).
This page was created on 18 April 1998
Last updated on 18 April 1998
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