On Claiming to Be the Only True Church
Claiming
that your church is the only true church is a sign of arrogance and boasting.
Such an attitude is against the Christian spirit of humility. Who are we to
judge? (Rom 14:10).
·
What makes the True Jesus Church true is the
gospel that it preaches, not the qualification of the members. We preach the
doctrine of one true church not because we feel superior to other Christians,
but because it is the teaching of the Bible. We do not judge any individual. It
is God’s word that judges (Jn 12:47,48).
·
The church belongs to God, not any individual.
So when discussing the truth of one church, we cannot take matters personally.
Truth is objective. It should not have anything to do with the arrogance and
pride of the preacher. We must study the Scriptures to see if the Bible indeed
teaches one gospel and one church. If it does, we need to find out what the
true gospel is according to the Bible and which church upholds the true gospel.
This is the attitude of the Bereans, who diligently studied the Scriptures to
examine the message they had heard (Acts 17:11).
·
Paul insisted that there was only one true
gospel (2 Cor 11:1-4; Gal 1:6-9). He did not hesitate to condemn all preachers
of a false gospel because it concerned believers’ salvation. But he was not
boasting about himself. He said, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven,
preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be
accursed” (italics added; Gal 1:6-9). Paul did not make himself the exception;
if he turned away from the gospel, he himself would also be condemned.
Source:
Q&A on the Basic Beliefs (True
Jesus Church, 2000)
|