God's Word for You (Tuesday, Jul 20, 2010)

A Daily Devotion by Pastor Tim Smith

2 John 6-7

Why are there so many different denominations?

6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. (NIV)

As we move into the center of John’s second letter, we notice that he is about to start talking about “deceivers” or false teachers. That helps us see what John is talking about in verse 6. In his day, “Christian” and “non-Christian” were the basic differences or ‘denominations.’ Today, that has changed. There are many different Christian denominations—but God’s Word does not change.

Why are there so many different denominations? There are several reasons. One is language. Our sister synod, the ELS, is doctrinally identical to the WELS, with only slight differences in organization and arrangement of curriculum (not content) for training of called workers. The differences stem from the history of our synods. The ELS has her roots in Norway and in the Norwegian language. Our Wisconsin Synod has her roots in Germany and in the German language. Although both synods began using English in the early 20th century, we had already established our schools, hymns, liturgies and so forth. And we have seen that it is better to “walk in obedience to God’s commands” as separate synods rather than join into a larger synod (such as the ELCA has done) so that, as separate bodies, we can each continue to serve God, we can show that separate church bodies can be in full agreement and fellowship, and yet we also have the opportunity to keep an eye on one another in case one or the other should one day fall into an error. Would a larger “joint synod” be better, with regard to finances, resources, worker training, etc.?  As we observe current challenges faced by our former sister synod in Missouri (the LCMS), we see that church discipline in a church becomes more and more difficult as the group grows. That doesn’t mean that discipline (and mutual encouragement) is impossible in a large synod, but the larger one grows, the more difficult church discipline becomes.

Pray for our sister church, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS), and thank God for them! We rejoice that we are able to walk together in love.

7 Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. (NIV)

Another reason for so many denominations is the work of the Antichrist. As we saw a little while ago in 1 John, the word “antichrist” appears in the Bible only in the writings of the Apostle John, but Paul describes the same person when he talks about “the man of lawlessness” in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12.  The identity of the Antichrist is something Christians have been struggling with since the days of Paul and John. In his People’s Bible commentary on 2 Thessalonians, Professor David Kuske of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary gives a helpful list of the marks of the antichrist that are mentioned throughout the Bible:

  1. The falling away from the truth of salvation would be accompanied by the revelation of the Antichrist, the man of sin (lawlessness).
  2. The Antichrist would exalt himself so that he would become the equal of God in the hearts of men.
  3. The opposition to Christ was already at work when Paul wrote these words [2 Thessalonians, one of his early epistles], but God was holding it back from working openly.
  4. Eventually God would let this opposition to Christ work openly, and this would result in the Antichrist being clearly revealed as an opponent of God.
  5. With his word Jesus would overthrow the power of the Antichrist.
  6. At his second coming, Jesus would completely destroy the Antichrist.
  7. The Antichrist would be successful in bringing about the apostasy, because Satan would support him with miracles to mislead many.
  8. Satan would also use his power to lead the Antichrist’s followers to join the man of sin (the Antichrist) in denying the truth of salvation.
  9. Because of their denial of the truth, God would harden the Antichrist’s followers in the delusion that they were on the way to salvation when really they were perishing [Kuske, Thessalonians, p. 90].

These are the identifying characteristics and facts about the Antichrist. If you wish to read further, see “Doctrinal Statements of the WELS,” a small pamphlet we give to new members who come into our church from other denominations. The second of the seven articles is entirely about the Antichrist (pages 13-23).

Although the activity of the devil and of the Antichrist continues to plague the church today as it always has, we also know that through faith in Jesus, the victory is already ours. Our goal must always be to reach out to the lost, to the wandering, even to our own brothers and sisters who have not been using the Means of Grace regularly or recently, and in love bring them closer to Jesus.

Something extra:

A sketch of the history of the Christian church

Another reason for so many denominations is doctrinal error. The doctrine John was warning against in our text was a denial that Jesus Christ was actually present in the flesh while on earth and ever since. There are many errors in doctrine today which keep believers from enjoying fellowship together. Sometimes Christian denominations form and reform for scriptural reasons, sometimes for political or other reasons. Let’s look at a very simple outline of Christian history.

  • 100-500 AD. The earliest Christians based their fellowship on the Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed, emphasizing the basic truths of the Bible. These early Christian churches were plagued by a teaching called Gnosticism, in which a “secret knowledge” was hinted at. The problem with any “secret teaching” was that the Bible tells us that God’s plan is plain and clear to all: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.
  • 600-1000 AD. The rise of Islam destroyed many centers of Christianity and killed many Christians, leaving only Rome and Byzantium (modern Istanbul) as religious centers. With the overwhelming problem of illiteracy, people tended to base their fellowship on who their pastor was rather than what their church taught—and this led to the rise of the Universal (“Catholic”) Church. The problem with this system was that a pastor in error could lead a congregation astray; a pope in error could potentially lead an entire denomination astray. Men like Stephen VI who exhumed a predecessor to have him condemned, and Benedict IX who sold and then retook the pope’s title not once but twice and whose homosexuality might be applauded by some today but whose bestiality might still offend even our society are two men who come to mind quickly.
  • 1000-1516 AD. The crusades began at this time to free the “other” Christian church as Rome fought to free Byzantium from Islam—and failed. The Roman Catholic Church became the predominant Christian Church body in the world, but corruption within some of the clergy and indifference within some of the laity spelled disaster. During this time the Catholic Church began to proclaim its sources of doctrine (in this order): the Pope, Church Councils (official meetings), traditions, and Scripture.
  • 1517-1546 AD. The beginning of the Reformation. From Martin Luther’s nailing of the 95 Theses until the moment of his death, this one man furiously fought for the restoration of the Gospel to the people. Luther spelled out in specific terms what was ailing the (Catholic) Church and called for reform, but Rome did not listen. A new church body formed around Luther and came to be known as Lutheran. Luther put the Bible into the hands of the people with his vernacular German translation. The source of doctrine or teaching for Lutherans was and continues to be Scripture alone. The “pillars” of the Reformation were these three basic teachings: Scripture alone, faith alone, and grace alone. Lutherans base fellowship on a confession (public statement) of faith in Christ.
  • 1547-present. Many other groups also began to break away from the Catholic Church after the Lutheran Reformation. Even today, many of these groups are rabidly anti-Catholic and tend to reject anything even remotely “Catholic” in worship. Unfortunately, many of these groups do not differentiate between what it useful and what is not, and so have thrown out some things which are in fact good and useful, such as the liturgy, or things which are even commanded by Scripture, such as fellowship principals, the two Sacraments, and more. Unable to get a divorce from the pope, Henry VIII formed a new denomination in England, the Anglican (Episcopal) Church. Emphasizing human reason above all else, other movements began: “Calvinism” in France (the parent teaching of the modern Presbyterian Church), and “Arminiansim,” which had its roots in Switzerland. Most Protestant churches in the US today (non-Catholic and non-Lutheran) are Arminian, such as the Baptists, Pentecostals and Methodists.

The problem with emphasizing human reason as more important that the text of Scripture is that God’s plan for saving you and me is not reasonable to the human mind. As John said in verse 7, “Many deceivers…do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh.” It is entirely unreasonable for God to be patient with those who reject him. Why not destroy the world, as he did in the Great Flood, and start over? God did it for an unreasonable reason: He loves YOU. He wants you, personally, in heaven with him, along with everyone else in the world. For this reason he did the unreasonable; he had patience, and just as he is patient with some, he is also patient with you and me. And for that we are thankful.

As we live in this world among many different kinds of Christians and non-Christians, we need to remember that the basic message of the Bible needs to be on our lips and shining out in our lives: God himself became human, and died for the sins of the whole world. Your sins are forgiven! You will live forever with Jesus in heaven.

Pastor Tim SmithPastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. His wife, Kathryn, attended Chapel from 1987-1990 while studying Secondary Education (Theater and Math) at UW-Madison. Kathryn’s father, John Meyer, was also the first man to serve as a Vicar at Chapel.


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