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Introduction
Introduction
". . . I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself
in . . . the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth"
(1Timothy 3:15).
Jesus Christ proclaimed, almost 2,000 years ago, "I will build My
church." He declared that His Church would never die out, promising that "the
gates of Hades (the grave) shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). He
assured His disciples that He would guide and preserve His Church until His return,
promising them, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).
What happened to the Church Jesus built? An eyewitness tells us that, immediately
after Christ ascended into heaven after His resurrection, His apostles "went
out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through
the accompanying signs" (Mark 16:20). The Church had a powerful beginning.
Millions of people profess Christianity; they claim to be members of the Church Jesus
founded. But Christianity is a divided religion, composed of hundreds of denominations
and schisms. Through the centuries, most of Christianity's branches have assimilated
many nonbiblical traditions-philosophical, cultural and religious - into their teachings
and practices, spawning even more variations.
How can we account for the explosion of contradictory practices and conflicting factions
in the world of Christianity? Is it possible to reconcile competing denominational
groups with the standards and objectives Christ established for His Church? Can we
know whether Christianity's bewildering variety of customs and teachings faithfully
represents those of Jesus Christ?
Remember, Jesus not only promised He would build His Church, but He assured His disciples
that His Church would not perish. Is the divided Christianity we see around us that
Church? Only the Holy Scriptures can provide a reliable answer to this question.
If Christ's promise that "the gates of Hades shall not prevail" against
His Church should be considered a guarantee that those who believe on His name could
never be misled or corrupted, then we would have every reason to accept the collective
sum of the various divisions of Christianity as the Church that Jesus built.
But He guaranteed no such thing. Instead, He warned His disciples that "false
christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible,
even the elect" (Mark 13:22, emphasis added throughout). Later the apostle Paul
expressed his concern to Christians in his day that their minds could be "corrupted
from the simplicity that is in Christ" by the preaching of "false apostles"
(2Corinthians 11:3,13).
Jesus spoke even more plainly, explaining that "narrow is the gate and difficult
is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Beware of false prophets,
who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will
know them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:14-16).
In these pages we examine the fruits Jesus and His apostles said would identify His
Church. We look at the contrasting fruits that identify those who are influenced
by a different spirit and preach a different gospel. We will learn, not from human
tradition or opinion but directly from God's Word, how we can distinguish "the
church of the living God" (1Timothy 3:15) from those who follow "false
prophets" in sheep's clothing.
For clarity throughout this booklet, the word Church (with a capital C) refers to the faithful Church that Jesus Christ founded. The word church (with a small c) refers to local groups of believers or other physical organizations. Since church is not capitalized in the Bible translations quoted, all scriptural quotations-whether referring to the Body of Christ or a local congregation-use church with a small c.
©1999 United Church of God, an International Associtaion
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