Why are there 100s of christian churches out there when there such only be one?

Question

for example in the bible it says this: "you are peter and on this rock i will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against the church". now i look at that scripture as saying that only 1 church will be formed not many churches.....if you read 1 John 2:25 it says this: "But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know"...if people followed this idea would there be just 1 church today? as christ wanted to be? if there is an different view that people have on certain topics in the scriptures shouldnt we just leave the issue alone and let god deal with it in that persons life and not the church itself? and only be concerned about the gospel which is God sent his son Jesus to die for us and to give us Grace so we can see Jesus in heaven and have the power of grace to live better on this earth?

Answer 1

There are, at last count, about 34,000 denominations and growing. Why? Because the Bible can be interpreted any way you want to, and no two churches can agree on anything in it, not even on the most basic and important doctrines. For example, was Jesus the son of God, or was he literally God in the flesh? There are churches who can provide scriptures to support either view (and Jesus never once said "I am God in the flesh," so the son-of-God crowd have a stronger position, IMO). Some denominations don't know what to believe, so they would simply answer "both."

How does one get saved--grace, faith, works, belief, or some combination of these? Is baptism absolutely necessary? Can an infant be saved? Do unbaptized/unsaved children go to hell, heaven, or purgatory? Again, Christians disagree on this.

Are the Old Testament stories literal recollections of events that really happened, or are they meant only as allegory and metaphor? Can you find two Christians who agree on that issue? I'd be surprised if you could.

I could go on and on, but it isn't necessary. If you pick one church over another, it is simply because you like what they have to say, and not because that church is God's one, true church and the others are not. They ALL make that claim, but given their perpetual (and often irreconcilable) differences of opinion on every biblical teaching and doctrine, it is impossible for all of them to be right. There never was a single Christian church; right from the beginning, they were divided into many sects, each with its own favorite gospels, epistles, etc. They are still divided because there is no such thing as a deity who gave a vital message to mankind. Such a deity would surely be smart enough to have conveyed that message in a way that would NOT have led to so much division. It is one more reason why I gave up belief in BibleGod.

Answer 2

Your question poses a number of issues. First of all, you're right about what the bible says about Jesus stating that he would build his church, found in Matthew 16:18. This church was established on the Day of Pentecost, where Peter gave the first gospel sermon and about three thousand souls were saved after they obeyed the gospel and were baptized (Acts 2:1-42). If people were to obey Jesus as they say that they do, there would be no differing denominations. Jesus prayed for unity in John 17:17-21. Paul pleaded for unity, that there be no divisions among us in 1 Corinthians 1:10-15. That's all denominations are....divisions. The first denomination in recorded history is the Catholic Church, started in 606 a.d. by Boniface III. Denominations come about because people have a different view of the scriptures, coming up with their interpretations of God's word, when God's word doesn't need to be interpreted according to 2 Peter 1:20-21. If one can't accept and take Christ as his word, they can't truly say that they're serving him.

That's why it's necessary to teach the word of God to others. Jesus said to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel," Mark 16:15-16. The bible also tells us that "faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God," Romans 10:17. We are also commanded to "Study to show ourselves approved unto God," 2 Timothy 2:15. If we don't preach the word, God will hold up accountable. Take a lesson from Ezekiel 3:18-21 and apply it to Christians today regarding false doctrine and such.

I don't know if this answered your questions, but it's something to think about.

Answer 3

Read the Dead Sea Scrolls where the Teacher of Righteousness(the Essenes' teacher, branch of the Jewish sect that broke away from Traditional Judaism, possibly thought to be a branch from Jesus' teachings) taught that you can talk directly to God without all the mumbo jumbo of talking to a priest, etc.....kind of what Paul was trying to tell the 7 churches............everyone of them lacked something......man-made laws prevail. Jesus said He is the Way and through Him, you shall have eternal life. TRANSLATION:
you don't need the church if you pray, he is the Mediator to God, not the church...why do you think he preached and debated with the Pharisees in the Temple when he was but a child? How can a mortal man forgive you for a mortal sin? Only God can forgive you of that.....where are the seven sacraments in the Bible? Why do Mormons add an extra book, or Moslem's add an extra book when in Revelations the last entry states: Rev. 22:18-19 "If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this Book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part form the Book of Life, from the Holy City, and from the things which are written in this book."

Answer 4

To fully answer your question you would need a biblical class in church history as I have and then you would have a better understanding of why there is so many "churches". To put it simply as possible. The churches grew out of catholicism when it would not allow for people to read the bible and discover the truth that was in it for themselves, the church powers that be at that time said that people were to ignorant to comprehend the truth in the Word of God that they needed the priests. All the while the church was accepting false doctrines as truth. This came to ahead when Martin Luther protested the sale of indulgences and tacked his 95 thesis on the church door and so began the "protestant" movement. This would have occured sooner or later. However Luther just gave it that nudge to start the avalanche. As Lurtheranism spread so did the concept of individual churches following the doctrines found in the word, and through different teachings such as Calvin, Zwingli, and a host of others the reformation formed many churches, and possibly would have united to form one protestant church but due to conflict in certain doctrines that didnt not occur. On down to Wesley, and others and so on and so forth, then came the age of pentecostalism which fragmented the churches even more. There are more reasons and whys and what fors but, all in all that is it in a nut shell - it is nuts, I agree. However, most denominations agree that there is one universal church which all regenerated born again Christians belong to, whether or not this is a cop-out response so be it, it is there, We should have a love for one another and the grace of God should overshadow our faults, and misconceptions in the Word, it does not however (grace) excuse our faults or allow us to sin, but that we should hold to this rule which I love from John Wesley
- in essentials unity
- in non-essentials liberty
and in all things charity.

Answer 5

Friend, Yes there is only ONE Church & Jesus told Peter That upon this revelation of who Christ is, that he will build his church, The catholics thinks they are the church & they are following Peter, How blind can people be, First of all Peter was married, & 2nd. He baptized everyone in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ & by Immursing, The Catholics does NONE of these things, Over time satan enter into religion & polluted people's thinking, that is where you get 100's & even 1000's different religions, But there is & has always been One Truth & that is that of the Apostles Doctrine Acts Chapter 2

Answer 6

Jesus never said anything about a church in any of the scriptures. He was a Jew. As such, he went to the temple. The various churches are at odds over matters of doctine. And not all people believe that Jesus was the son of God. So how can there possibly be one church?

Answer 7

The many denominations should not exist. Notice what 1 Corinthians 1:10 says;

"Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment."

Why do we have so many? Men are not satisfied to all speak the same thing. Men are not satisfied to teach only the word of God. Men are not satisfied to only speak where the Bible speaks, and be silent where the Bible is silent. Men are not content to do Bible things in Bible ways and call Bible things by Bible names. Too many wish to add their own desires and teach their own doctrine.

Notice 2 Timothy 4:2-4.

"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."

We should return to the Bible as our only guide book. We should have a "thus saith the Lord" for everything we teach and do as a church.

The Bible teaches that the church is the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23) and that there is only "one body" (Eph 4:4).

When the church first began, there were no denominations. In Acts 2, we see that about 3000 all heard the same message, all understood it the same way, all believed it the same way and all obeyed it the same way. The result was they became Christians - nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. At this point, God added them to His church (Acts 2:47). There is no authorization for Christians to "join the church of your choice", but they were added to Christ's church! After they became Christians they continued in one accord in fellowship and together in the apostles doctrine. (Acts 2:42-47)

Today, if we read and understand what they understood, believe what they believed, and do only what they did, without adding any man-made doctrine, we will become only what they became - Christians!

This is the goal and plea of those who meet together under the name "church of Christ" today. We only want to be the church you can read about in the Bible. Christ is the head of the church, therefore we have no "headquarters" on Earth that oversees the local congregation, but each congregation goes directly to the Bible to see what should be taught and practiced.

We only want to follow God's word in our name (Rom. 16:16), worship, organization, and teaching. The word of God is sufficient for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction. Using it in this way, we can be completely furnished with everything we need, and there is no need to add any man-made doctrine. (2 Tim. 3:16-17)

Those who teach as doctrine the commandments of men have worship that is vain. (Matt 15:9)

Answer 8

Jesus is the Church
You can only be saved through God's only Begotten Son who did die and rose again to do God's will. Jesus our Savior Died one time for all and not a matter over race or enviroment Mankind was saved Only if you Believe On Him... Many churches One Gospel One Faith The Believe in Jesus Only and Many houses with one TRUE Faith No half special church... Just Faith Do You Believe Jesus Died On The Cross For You

Answer 9

There are hundreds of different conflicting churches because people do not agree on what the bible says. You forgot to quote Ephesians 4:4,5,6,.

Christians divide over issues of doctrine. Important doctrine that the bible claims to be clear on. Either the bible is not clear, or people believe what they want to regardless of what scripture says. I will let you decide.

Answer 10

There are a variety of reasons.

I shall name three.

1) Some are the children of Roman-ism.

2) Some do not have as much light as others.

3) With the fact of two, and we all are ever growing in God, we will not all see eye to eye on everything.

Remember that it is we who look at the outward appearance,

BUT,

it is God who looks at the heart.

And my paraphrase:
Jesus also said that he had sheep everywhere. This includes other churches and even in denominational-ism.