Question:  Which church is the REAL Church?  I know that believing the Bible is the most important thing a Christian should do.  However, from my study of church history, the first century Christians were made up of JEWS and non-Jews.  Polycarp was a disciple of John, the Jewish Christians soon totally vanished, from around 300 to 1400 the Roman Catholic Church was the “only” church.  The Protestant church is only 500 years old and is a break-off of the Catholic Church.  I am not saying that salvation is in an organization, God forbid, I just want to find the first century church.

            Jeremiah

Answer:  Dear Jeremiah,

            You are basically correct in your thumbnail sketch, though you forgot the first major split in Christianity – that between the west (what we know today as the Roman Catholic Church) and the east (the Eastern Orthodox, now known as Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, etc.).  That happened about 1000 AD.

            There is no one true church that is incorporated under human leadership.  The body of Christ is made up of many parts.  That does not mean that all those who call themselves a Christian church are in fact just that.  If you care to know more you may click on “Ask Greg” – then under Churches and Denominations where we answer similar questions about the historic and orthodox teaching of the body of Christ – what the basic, fundamental, and core teachings of a Christian church are, and what they are not.

            Ironically, one of the core teachings is that the body of Christ is universal, that it is not solely represented in any one human organization.  Therefore, any church that claims that it and it alone is the one and only true church has disqualified itself from being part of the body of Christ.  Such a church is in fact attacking the body of Christ and calling it less than what it is.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht