Does it matter if you belong to any one church?
The word "church" has a number of different meanings, which, although related, are distinct in use. To avoid confusion, in this tract the word shall mean a denomination: a group of people who hold a common religious belief system and identify themselves as separate from other "churches."
With this in mind, let us frame the key question: does it matter whether the true Christian is a member of the right church?
This leads to two other questions:
Is there a right (true) church?
Does it matter if he belongs to any one church?
Let us examine the Protestant view. We understand that many people object to the word "Protestant" as it is purely negative - meaning "non-Catholic" - but no other term will serve. Protestants disagree in many things, except that they are not Catholic. Although there are some variations among the many Protestant cults, in general, a common view is held. As with all Protestant views, it is essentially negative rather than affirmative. The Protestant holds that a/the Church is not necessary:
- as a means of receiving the grace of salvation;
- as a means of understanding the Bible;
- as an institution which teaches truth to men;
- as a means of having sins forgiven;
- as a means of determining who is a Christian;
- as the way of coming close to Jesus;
- as the means by which Jesus’ teachings are preserved;
- as the means by which the Bible was produced, validated, etc.
- nor, says the Protestant, is membership in any particular church necessary for salvation.
If all of this - if any of this - is true, then the key question now is: why did Jesus found a Church at all? If Jesus died for us so we could be saved, and if this can be done without any particular church, then Jesus founded a church for no reason.
Can any Christian really say that Jesus did something for no reason? No! Jesus’ life and all His acts were done for a reason and with an end in mind. And that end, as far as we men are concerned, is that we may enter heaven to share eternal life and joy with Him. Therefore, He must have founded a church as one of the means necessary for salvation. And the true Christian Church must be the Roman Catholic Church.
In a short work such as this, the clear and irrefutable proofs of Roman Catholicism cannot be detailed, but many products from ARM easily and absolutely establish the validity of this claim. We suggest the tapes "Roman Catholic Proofs I & II."
The Catholic (i.e. Christian) position is that membership in the Church is NECESSARY for salvation, for outside the Church there is No salvation.
Jesus founded His Church to teach truth and bring grace to all men. No one can reject her teachings and honestly claim that he accepts Jesus…can he? Ask yourself that question - but you already know the answer.
But, someone might ask, could not any Church fail, become corrupt, teach error, etc.? If this could happen, then Jesus failed. He promised that His Church, founded on St. Peter (the Rock) would not fail. Did Jesus lie when He told us this? No! Even without that fact, simply imagine what would have happened if His Church failed. This would mean that a man could place his faith in the True Church and believe lies. It would mean that a man could seek truth via the very institution left behind by Jesus to lead men to Him and still be lead into heresy.
And by what other means can a man seek God’s truth? The Bible? But that collection of books only came into existence as the Bible because the Roman Catholic Church canonized (made official) the contents. This is to say that the Bible’s very contents were selected by this Church. How can one claim to accept the Bible and reject the God-inspired Authority which determined it to be God’s Word? For those of you who foolishly hold that the Catholic Church only came into existence c.325 A.D., note that the canonization of the Bible only occurred several decades later.
And what is a "church" which cannot tell man what he must believe to be a true Christian? Such a "church" would either have no knowledge of what is true and what is false, or it would hold that truth in dogma is not important. Either way it could not be following the Jesus who called Himself "the Truth" and who stated that everyone committed to the truth hears his voice. This kind of "church" could only have no important place for truth.
Now ask yourself again if it really matters which Church you are in.
For further study, obtain ARM audio selections:
Protestant View of the Church and The Bible and the Church
Please feel free to call or write us for a list of our products or to give us your comments. The author of the tract is Vincent P. Lewis.