When in Rome

In light of my most recent podcast over at The Light Network, I've had Rome on my mind a lot. It was absolutely one of my favorite places when I visited there over 4 years ago (wow, has it been that long!?), and has continued to impact me ever since. The architecture is breathtaking, the history is rich, and the gelato is amazing. Besides a really disgusting metro, I have nothing but praise for present-day Rome.

Located in the center of Rome is a place that is a country in and of itself: Vatican City. There, the hub of all things Catholic, I got to see so many beautiful structures and fascinating artifacts. At the same time, though, I saw so many things that made me sad. You see, there were dozens, maybe hundreds, of people that I saw who had dedicated their lives to serving the Pope, or serving Mary. These people had misplaced their trust and their focus, and while they were so dedicated to serving, I couldn't help but mourn for these people who weren't serving the right One.

As New Testament Christians, we must be more evangelistic. There are so many people who do not know the gospel, and who are spending their days working toward something that won't get them to heaven! Some of these people are even dedicating their lives to a false religion!

On Tuesday night, a group of young adults came over to our house for a devotional. During the course of the study, a question was raised about people who haven't heard the gospel--will they go to heaven? We know and believe what the Bible teaches, and thus we regrettably came to the conclusion that, no, they won't. In the moments that followed, all of us were pricked in our hearts to be more evangelistic, because it is a very real thing that people are dying every single minute and their final destination will be hell. If you are reading this today, please know that I did not post this as a rant against Catholicism or a pronouncement of judgment on any group -- I am SO thankful that I am not the judge! And yet, I do hope this post will make you think. Every single person that you come into contact with -- your neighbor, the people in your community, the people you see while you're on vacation -- every single person has a soul that is going one of two places. As people who know of salvation and know how others can obtain it, we must not keep that message in!!

Tomorrow, I will have a post specifically geared toward personal evangelism. Pray with me this evening that we can all do more to be evangelistic, and as the old hymn goes, "lead me to some soul today."


*Please note that you can check out all of my previous podcast episodes here. And if you know someone who is more interested in travel than the gospel, point them toward this podcast. Perhaps through their hobby/interest, we can gain their trust and point their attention toward some very pertinent points. After all, it's all about spreading the gospel message of Christ. 

Are You in a Denomination?

Let me tell you a little hypothetical story:

Robert and I have decided that we want to buy a house. But wait! There aren't a lot of houses around us that are in our price range, and the ones that are don't fit the criteria we need. So, we're going to build our house. Since we will be the ones building it, we will decide what goes into it. We will decide the dimensions and layout and organization.

Now, Robert and I just bought a house and therefore this story is absolutely fabricated. We won't be moving any time soon! BUT, let me ask you a question: based on that hypothetical story, how many houses do you think Robert and I are building?

You may say, well Emily, that's fairly obvious. You said you would build your house, singular.

Why then, friends, do we think that Jesus built multiple churches? He said clearly in Matt. 16:18,

"And I say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."

Church-singular. It-singular. The Holy Spirit guided the writers of the New Testament, and even the verb tenses matter! Even the plurality of words matter! Surely we all believe that the Holy Spirit (which is a distinctive member of the GOD-head) could clearly and concisely say what needed to be said, thus He could have recorded the words 'churches' and 'them'. Or, do we believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, minced His words? We have full confidence in the perfect nature of Jesus Christ, and in the truth of His words. Why, then, do we wrestle with denominationalism?

I recently attended a campaign in Talledega, AL in which Cliff Goodwin preached a series of lessons combating the false doctrine from the Baptist Manual. Here are a few quotes from him that I believe are worthy of meditation:

"There are so many who are so calm and so quick to say, 'Just join the church of your choice.' No. Go to the church of Christ's choice. He died for one. He died for His church." 

"Jesus has never been one among many (denominations). He has been King of kings and Lord of lords, and His church has been one."

While the singularity of the words may not be enough for some, think about what Paul wrote to the Corinthians who were struggling with a similar issue:

"For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe's household, that there are many contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, 'I am of Paul' or 'I am of Apollos' or 'I am of Cephas' or 'I am of Christ'. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?"            1 Cor. 1:11-13

Cliff said the following in response to these verses:

"If it were a sin 2000 years ago (and it was) for believers to align themselves under the name of an inspired apostle (Paul), how are we to believe that is it less than sinful today for people to align themselves under uninspired men such as John Calvin, Martin Luther, John Wesley (etc.)." 

Please, friends, let us all consider the church that we are a part of. Only one offers salvation. The Lord only adds us to one (Acts 2:47). And that one? It isn't the one I choose and it isn't the one you choose. It is the one that Christ died for; the one He established. Let us search the scriptures daily and make sure that we are members of the church that belongs to Christ.