....The only church I am a part of is the one true church which includes all true believers in Jesus Christ and Him crucified, be they Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, whatever. Only God knows who is in it and who is not. No man does, no group does. You can’t join it. You are either born into it from above when you are saved, or you are not in it regardless of what religious group you are a part of.
What happened to "Almost all Protestants practice a papacy that’s as bad or worse than Rome"? Suddenly we're your buddies again?
I warmly embrace all my dear brothers and sisters in Christ wherever I find them. There is one catholic church.
And if someone says they are a believer in the Lord Jesus, I accept that, and do not immediately issue my “litmus” test of 100 questions about faith and doctrine to determine if their faith is real (see true story following this paragraph). God knows. Only with time would I be able to get a better idea of the reality of someone’s faith by observing their life - something one usually does not get the chance to do, and learning what they really believe about the Lord Jesus and His finished work on the cross. God knows. I don’t have to. If I find true fellowship with one who loves the Lord Jesus, our heavenly Father, I will rejoice in that.
When I first entered the ministry in ‘67, I was reading my Bible one morning at a restaurant, and by the conversations of about 6 believers at the table next to me, perceived that they were Christians.
When they broke up to leave, one came to me seeing my Bible. He immediately began a very serious questioning of me and my beliefs. He must have asked me 20 questions or more, in a very stern, challenging manner.
When I at last answered his last question satisfactorily, only then did his face light up with a big smile, “Praise God, brother! It’s great to meet another Christian!” and he heartily embraced me with a hug.
What’s wrong with this picture? It troubled me greatly for a long time. He could not/would not have fellowship with me until I passed his rigorous test for “the faith”......”the faith” as determined by him and his group. Could have he been more sectarian?
Our fellowship would not have been based solely on knowing the Lord Jesus - but on his understanding of doctrine. That is not true fellowship “in the spirit” at all, but a fellowship of the flesh, the carnal man. That is man’s church - not God’s.
In Ephesians 4 there are two “unity”s that are referenced. One is “the unity of the Spirit” in vs. 3. The other is “the unity of the faith” in vs. 13. Paul tells us to PRESERVE the first one, so that we might ATTAIN the second one. You can only preserve that which you already possess. All believers possess the “unity of the Spirit” as the same Spirit indwells us all...the Holy Spirit, the spirit of Christ.
Only by preserving that, can we then ATTAIN “the unity of the faith”, which is common shared belief and doctrine.
One we possess, the other we work for, by preserving the first.
Most of Christendom has the two reversed, and is trying to PRESERVE the unity of the faith (doctrine, beliefs, etc.)[which does not exist and we do not have], and seeking to ATTAIN the unity of the Spirit (as if we don’t have it and need to work for it).
Because we do not follow the instruction of scripture here, and don’t understand the difference between the two unities here, we end up with neither.
If any are serious about looking into these and other issues mentioned in this thread, PM me and I can send you a long, involved research piece I did years ago. Not pushing anything but only wanting to see Jesus Christ glorified and exalted in His body which is the church.