Follow The Blueprint

As a follower of Christ it would only make sense that you'd want to be a member of his church. The big question is how many options did Jesus give us when choosing a church? Sounds like a strange question but think about how many different churches are out there teaaching different things. FAs always, we turn to the Bible for the answer. It even gives us a metaphor to help us understand our options:

"And he is the head of the body, the church..." (Col 1:18, ESV).

Sounds simple enough-- Jesus uses the comparison of the church being a body. Clearly Jesus is the leader as he is the "head" but do you see another symbolism in the "body" metaphor? There's only one body— meaning there's only one church. Now don't go crazy and accuse me of attacking your church. For a moment forget about what denomination you're in. Think back to when the church was first established. There weren't any denominations– just one church with one set of beliefs. 

I'm not the "church police" trying to make you choose one church over another but if a church claims to be Christian, it has to pattern itself according to the only church in the Bible. In other words, it must follow the Bible's blueprint. It's impossible that all churches are part of the Lord's church. Why? Not all churches follow the blueprint. If they did, there wouldn't be any denominations! The beliefs of denominations conflict and Jesus doesn't condone confusion (1Corinthians 14:33). Some churches teach baptism is essential for salvation while other churches believe it isn't. The answer goes to the heart of how to become a Christian so who's right?

Hopefully you're starting to see that not all churches are part of the "body"(remember Jesus' analogy). What makes a congregation part of the Lord's church? A church that follows the blueprint of the Bible. We must stop pretending every church is right and start having open discussions to eliminate false teachings. I trust all of us sincerely love the Lord so don't forget what Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15, ESV). You will follow his blueprint. 

Think about it.