Deuteronomy 5:7 Thou shalt have none other gods before me.
The first commandment states that we should have no other gods other than our God.
Now in our lives there are so many things that can take the place of God, sports, money, cars just to name a few, even our family can become more important to us than God.
But there is another thing that we can place in front of God and that is our Church denomination.
Does the church we attend, the denomination that we hang our hat on mean more to us than God.
At the moment we attend a local semi traditional protestant church and both my husband and myself were brought up in this denomination.
We have had a journey which took us from this church to some pentecostal ones and then back again. That is a long story in itself and will be left for another time
Because of our journey our eyes have been opened to lots of good and some bad things, and we have come to realise that we would rather be known for being Christian instead of a certain denomination.
This isn’t to say that we are ashamed of the denomination of our upbringing, this is to say that we put the word of God over it.
At the moment our church is having some issues that is taking peoples eyes off the word of God.
If our church starts allowing and preaching things that don’t line up with the word of God, what are we to do, do we stay, do we go? Do we follow the word of God or the word of our denomination?? I know that we have been in prayer about these issues for a long time and we are still waiting for direction on this matter.
One thing I do know and that is that God is our God, no denomination will ever take His place in our lives.
Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
Hebrews 6:11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end,
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Our denomination isn’t what saves us, but the blood of Jesus. Like you, I’ve been in a pentecostal church, one that was so far “pentecostal” that it was normal to see flopping on the floor like fish, people “fainting”, jabbering in tongues with no clue as to what they were saying, eyes rolling back in the head, drums beating loud and for long periods of time to whip up emotions and then women running through the aisles. It was chaos, and God isn’t the author of chaos. I started out in a non-denominational church that in the end let me know my son wasn’t accepted because he cried a lot –he was little and had yet to be diagnosed with autism. Then was attending sometimes at a “southern baptist” megachurch that was a concert and all it needed was a mosh pit and it was playing the hard rock songs of the day. Then found myself in a traditional oldfashioned independent fundamental baptist church and been in those types of churches since. Each is autonomous of other churches, so there’s no denominational head or organization, but you find very similar workings at a lot of them, like hymns, KJV preaching, many get into bible publication to send Johns/Romans to the mission field in that country’s language, etc. Us fundamentals are not favorited among the mainline churches or the rest of the organizations out there…we still preach salvation by grace, THEN baptism, worldly separation, sing the old hymns with doctrine in them, preach from the old KJV, and stand by it regardless of what our government leaders tell us to believe. Our local mainline churches teach baptism saves, and you work to keep it….the music is a concert (according to many who attend in our local area) and so on. And get this–we’re made fun of too for wearing *gasp* dresses and skirts, suits and ties and Sunday best by choice. How do you get saved when you’re taught that water does the job and then you gotta keep earning it, not Jesus??
It don’t matter what denomination you call yourself, if you’re not saved by the blood of Jesus by the way HE said to go, then you’re just as lost regardless of what your denomination is. If it don’t line up with the Bible then it doesn’t matter.
I didn’t grow up in church. Jesus was a curse word in our house among my parents. So I’m seeing it all through the lens of an adult who started in church at 26. What an adventure that has been!
Wow you definitely said it there. if you aren’t saved by the blood of Jesus by the way He said to go then you’re lost. You have had an interesting journey and we have seen some of what you have seen. Now we prefer good solid teaching and the traditional type hymns that really glorify God and say so. I am so pleased that God brought you into His family and that we have had the opportunity to become friends and learn about each other. Unfortunately our church rests too much on “water saving” beliefs and that is why we left in the first place, to come back was and still is an interesting journey and we know that God has a plan for us, and it is fascinating watching it unfold. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and your adventure with us. Have a great week. Blessings (and it’s wonderful to be able to chat again).
Oh, this is SO true! We had to come to terms with this very same thing a few years ago, and it is NOT easy. We can become so under bondage to people and it can become difficult to distinguish between their approval and God’s approval. Oh, my, it has been a very difficult journey, indeed, but one thing I can say is that God is absolutely faithful. Following Jesus can take us down a very radical path, but He is with us every step of the way. I trust He will lead and guide your steps, dear friend. Much love to you.
You are so right Cheryl, following Jesus can take us down a very radical path. When we change from following our family traditions to following God with our whole hearts it can cause issues with our family relationships, but God is the only one we need to please. Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts with us. I hope you are all well, and I appreciate your prayers for our family. Blessings to you my friend. xxxx
I think what is most important is you go where God’s truth is. Denomination matters less than God, less than love, but TRUTH does matter and that is important. It is more important than anything else, and it’s why I could never leave my church — unless somehow I became absolutely convinced that they were not teaching the truth.
A couple of years ago I moved to a new town and the churches of my denomination seemed so weak, and ones of other denoms seemed so strong. I talked to other women of my faith about this and they reminded me that what is MOST important is going where God’s truth is; not the church with the best community, or the most small groups, or service opportunities. And if we stick with God’s truth, he strengthens us to build up our church too and know that we are doing it in His name, not for the “fixins”
Thank you so much Michelle for your words of wisdom and for sharing your journey with us. I appreciate what you say and I agree about sticking to God’s truth. Thanks for stopping by and sharing. Blessings to you this week.
This is great… there are so many people who get caught up in the title the church they attend has, I’m sure I’m guilty sometimes too. But it’s not about that. You are so right.
Thank you for sharing this!
Marissa
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Thank you Marissa for stopping by and for your comment. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Blessings to you.
I think adherence to a specific denomination is a fine line. Absolutely we should not put a denomination before God Herself. If we become uncomfortable with a denomination’s theology or practices, we should prayerfully question why. Sometimes God might lead us to stay and work within the denomination for change. Other times God might lead us to find a more biblically-sound denomination. As long as we’re not demanding perfection from a denomination, it’s okay to question if it’s the right one.
You have some good thoughts here Brita and I appreciate you stopping by. I do disagree with you where you said God herself, maybe this was just a spelling error, and I apologise if it was. Thanks and blessings
You are so right. So right.
There are many people in my circle of influence who feel comfortable with their churches and labels… even though those same churches are now moving away from God’s word. I know that they don’t agree with what their churches have decided, but they still attend. I just don’t get it.
Thanks for putting these thoughts (ones that have been rolling around in my noggin for a couple of months) into words, and so clearly, too!
Hey Ally I appreciate you stopping by and sharing your thoughts on this matter. I suppose for us we are waiting on direction from God. It would be so easy just to go, but not necessarily right. I hope you have a great weekend. Blessings
Amen to God being our God no matter what the denomination is. Your words are so needed because instead of being one church under God we are many who are fighting to say that our church is the best. That certainly takes us away from what God intended. Blessed to have you at Weekend Whispers.
Thank you so much Mary for your comment and for hosting. Have a great weekend. Blessings
That’s all I can count on, today and forever. Trusting my Lord, here and there and everywhere, and I can hardly wait to be with Him in heaven. Love people here, love people there, and LOVE HIM MUCH!! Bless you.
Thank you so much Joanne for your comment and you are so right. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. Blessings to you.
And, thank you!
A good word, and very timely. The further our culture drifts from the principles of God’s Word, the more likely it is that some churches will begin to drift, too. Our first allegiance must be to Christ alone! Thank you for sharing this exhortation with us at Grace & Truth!
Thank you so much Jennifer for your thoughts on my post, you are so right our first allegiance must be to Christ. Blessings to you.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. It was amazing to read your post. It was a true blessing 🙂
Thank you so much Mrs K for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I am so glad you enjoyed this post and that it was a blessing. Have a great week.
Great thought-provoking post! Thanks for sharing at Women With Intention Wednesdays!
Thank you Jenny, and blessings to you this week.