Which Church Did Jesus Build? 4-13-25 AM
I. The church Jesus built is divine in origin.
a. One of the easiest and best ways to begin determining which church Jesus built is to look at its origin.
b. The Bible is clear that every house is built by someone (Hebrews 3:4).
i. The church is compared to a house (1 Timothy 3:15).
ii. Therefore, someone had to build the church.
c. If you do a google search on the internet for the history of various denominations, you can find who started, or built, them.
i. For instance, the United Methodist Church began, according to umc.org, on April 23, 1968.
1. The Methodist religion is based on the teaching of John Wesley.
2. According to christianity.about.com, Methodism was established in 1739.
ii. You can find out about the history of the Presbyterian Church at pcusa.com and there it is written that they trace their origins back to Scotland and mention John Knox specifically who was a student of Calvin.
d. These are just two examples of the man-made origins of denominations.
e. We are told by the prophets that there was going to be a kingdom established by God.
i. Isaiah 9:7.
ii. Daniel 2:44; 7:13-14 and many others.
f. This nearness of this coming kingdom was preached by John the Baptizer as well as Jesus.
i. Matthew 3:2.
ii. Matthew 4:17.
g. Jesus told Peter that He would give him the keys to the kingdom immediately after saying that He would build a church (Matthew 16:18-19).
i. Jesus told His disciples that some of them would not die until they had seen the kingdom come (Mark 9:1).
ii. This tells us that there is a kingdom now or else there are some very old men running around.
h. After the establishment of the church on the Day of Pentecost found in Acts 2, we never read of a future kingdom, but that it was in place then.
i. Colossians 1:13.
ii. Hebrews 12:28.
iii. Revelation 1:9.
i. There are certain marks which identify this church that is divine in origin:
i. The time of its origination (Daniel 2:44 - Roman empire).
ii. The place of its origination (Isaiah 2:2-4 - Jereusalem).
iii. The events surrounding its origination (Joel 2:28ff - the giving of the Holy Spirit).
j. If a church does not have the right Originator, the right time, place or events of origination, it is not the church Jesus built.
II. The church Jesus built is directed by scripture.
a. When you look at the denominational world, you see that these religions have creed books, manuals, catechisms and conferences.
i. You can go to creeds.net and see the various creeds and catechisms that govern the lives of members of various denominations.
ii. I have in my office an older copy of the Methodist Book of Discipline.
b. You can go to sbc.net and view what has been voted on and decided at various Southern Baptist Conventions.
c. All of these things have been added by man to the religious world.
i. They are used to decide what is going to be taught and believed by a specific group of people.
ii. They decide what doctrinal stands are going to be taken for that group of people.
d. All of this is in addition to God’s Word.
e. You and I are going to be judged by God’s Word (John 12:48).
i. We are not going to stand before God on the judgment day and be judged by some convention or creed.
ii. Our faithfulness to the Lord will not be determined by our following or rejecting a papal bull.
f. On that great day, there is going to be the book of life and the books of the Bible opened and our fate will rest on our abiding in the grace of God by our following His word (Revelation 20:12).
g. The church of which we read in the New Testament followed the apostles doctrine (Acts 2:42).
i. They had received this doctrine from Jesus (John 17:14).
ii. Jesus had received it from the Father (John 17:8).
h. If a church is not directed by the Bible only, it is not the church Jesus built.
III. The church Jesus built is distinctive in doctrine.
a. Being directed by scripture, the church Jesus built follows the doctrines that are found only in the New Testament.
b. No one is claiming that the church Jesus built is the only body that teaches some of the things we will mention, however, it is the only one that teaches all of them.
c. The church Jesus built teaches that one must be baptized for the remission of sins in order to have sins washed away (Acts 2:38).
i. There are a very few denominations that teach this.
ii. However, the vast majority teach some other doctrine concerning salvation.
d. The church Jesus built teaches that singing without instruments is required in worship (Ephesians 5:19).
i. The Greek Orthodox church and a handful of other groups teach this as well.
ii. However the vast majority teach instrumental accompaniment is okay.
e. The church Jesus built teaches that every Lord’s day Christians should partake of the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7).
i. Virtually every religious body observes the Lord’s Supper at some point in the year.
ii. However, none of which I am aware partake every first day of the week.
f. These three doctrines are very basic and only the hem of the garment when it comes to distinctiveness.
g. If a church is not following the distinctive doctrines of the New Testament, it is not the church Jesus built.
IV. The church Jesus built is destined for heaven.
a. All spiritual blessings are found in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).
i. The only way to be in Christ is to be baptized into Christ (Romans 6:3-4).
ii. When one is baptized, one is added to the church that Jesus built (Acts 2:47).
b. That church, or kingdom, has Jesus as its head (Ephesians 1:22-23).
c. One day, the King of the kingdom is going to deliver that kingdom to the Father (1 Corinthians 15:24).
d. Unless one is in the church that Jesus built, he is not destined for heaven.