Question:  Dear Greg,

            I would like to know where the true church is.  I know that Christ came to this earth and established his church.  He told his apostles to go and preach the good news of the kingdom of God.  He also said that it would not be destroyed.  My dilemma is what happened to that church?  We have so many denominations that can be traced back to men that set up churches.  We know that the king of England broke ties to the Roman Catholic Church and established the Anglican-Episcopal church.  So where is the church that we should follow in order to be followers of Jesus Christ?

We are also told to come out of her my people.  What or who is the “her”?  I would really appreciate an answer.

            Thank you,

            Sally

Answer:  Dear Sally,

            The teaching of Jesus is that his body (the church) would survive the gates of hell.  That church was, essentially for 1000 years, (whether we Protestants like it or not) the Catholic Church.  There was only one church.

            Anyone who presents some fanciful rewriting of history trying to depict and present “true” followers of Jesus Christ who just happened to be behaving and believing and obeying the same things as that particular “restored” (a favorite term for some) church teaches and practices now is fabricating facts and twisting history.  Around about 1000 the Eastern church (what we know as Greek, Russian and Armenian Orthodox churches) split from the West over a minor doctrinal issue known as the filioque, which concerns whether the Holy Spirit is given/proceeds from the Father or the Son.

            Then, of course, comes the Reformation.  Protestants believe that the Reformation was needed because of corruption and abuse in the Catholic Church.  For the first 100 years or so there were not that many Protestant churches. However, when Christianity came to the shores of America, American enterprise, salesmanship, democracy and capitalism resulted in a proliferation of churches.

            Any Christian church will adhere to the core, fundamentals of doctrine that have been held and taught by Christians for almost 2000 years.  If the group does not, then they are outside of the body of Christ—perhaps a cult or proclaiming cultic teaching.  These essentials include the Trinity, the deity of Jesus Christ, the fact that the Bible is the final court of arbitration for Christians, the fact that salvation is by grace, by faith and by Christ alone, completely apart from any good deeds or works of our own.  It also includes the teaching of the universal church—that no one humanly incorporated church is the “one and only true church” of God.  When anyone makes this claim, they are positioning themselves outside of biblical teaching and of the true history of Christianity.

            Joining a church and attending that church does not make one a Christian, any more than sitting in the garage will transform us into a car.  There are Christians in many churches, where God has placed them for his glory.  But of course, there are many in all churches who are not remotely Christian.

            Christianity is all about a personal relationship with God—not with humans, pastors or some humanly incorporated church that has drawn lines around itself, condemning all others.

            May God bless you as you seek him.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht