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To: metmom
"You cannot have God as your Father unless you have the Church as your Mother." (Cyprian of Carthage)

If Protestants are Christian at all, then their denominations are part of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. You should be loyal to your church for that reason alone; but also, most churches' membership vows include being loyal to the church and supporting it "by your presence, prayers, gifts and witness" (from the United Methodist Church membership vows, for example). Surely, your word means something. If you are unwilling to be loyal to that church, then look at that quotation again.

Or, as Kevin deYoung points out in Why We Love the Church, the Church is the Bride of Christ. You cannot say, "I love Jesus, but I hate his Church"--it makes no more sense than saying you love your friend, but hate his wife.

22 posted on 07/28/2014 5:37:33 PM PDT by The Grammarian
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To: The Grammarian

We are the church.

Denominations are not the church.

The church, the Body of Christ, is an organism, not an organization.

Loyalty should be to the Head, which is Christ, not to denominations. Denominations can’t save. Christ does.


23 posted on 07/28/2014 5:40:45 PM PDT by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
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