‘Denominations…seem to be an inevitable aspect of our fallen nature’

There are a lot of Christian denominations. Some figures flying around claim numbers in the region of 30,000-45,000. While these are widely exaggerated, there are still a lot. Do we need them all, and are they crucial to the Christian faith? 

Unity is God’s intention

Perhaps a good place to start reflecting on this is how the denominations came about. We see one of the earliest splits occurring in Act 15, when some of the Jewish Christians started claiming that Christians needed to be circumcised and follow the law of Moses. Despite discussion with the apostles and confirmation from the Holy Spirit that this was not necessary, some believers continued to teach this. 

Throughout history there have been differences between groups of believers. Some of these have been motivated by a desire to break free from unscriptural practices – for example Martin Luther, objecting to the indulgences of the Catholic Church. Others, such as King Henry VIII founding the Church of England so that he could divorce his wife, were doing just the opposite, introducing new ideas that are not biblical. 

Was it a ‘God-incidence,’ that the day before I started work on this article my pastor gave a sermon on unity in the Church? In the Bible, the Church means ‘the body of Christ’ and the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:12 that we are all of one body. 

Paul condemned those who were saying, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas” (1 Corinthians 3). He asked the rhetorical question: “Is Christ divided?’’ (1 Corinthian 1:13). It’s clear from scripture that denominations are not what God intended for us, and that we are meant to be united as one. 

So why all the splitting?   

In our fallen humanness, we are all going to get some doctrine right and some wrong. Forming denominations seems to be a way of correcting things, or falling away into unbiblical teachings – or a mixture of both. Denominations are not essential, but rather they seem to be an inevitable aspect of our fallen nature. 

On a practical level, the question of denominations might appear to matter when choosing a church. How do we know which denomination is the right one to choose? 

Maybe we can’t know. Maybe none of them are right, because none of them are exactly what Jesus intended. But what we can do is to seek God’s guidance when choosing a church. The question perhaps isn’t so much about choosing the right denomination, but asking God in prayer: “Where do you want me to be?’’ 

The first church I went to was cessationist – believing that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are no longer in operation. Over time, I sensed that the atmosphere was quenching the Holy Spirit and I felt drawn away to explore new options. None of them seemed right, and I even stopped going to church completely for a month or two. My Christian friends started to tell me I really needed to find somewhere regular, but I wasn’t feeling peace about any of the options. Then something amazing happened; I discovered a new church that had just opened, and it turned out that was where God wanted me to be! 

Bridging the divide

Denominations can be disunifying, but I think it’s up to us to conduct ourselves with love and humility across the divide. I know that sometimes, when I hear that someone is part of a certain denomination, I have judged them and thought: “Well they can’t be a proper Christian if they are part of that denomination.’’ Denominations can lead to pride, or a false certainty that our interpretation of scripture is always correct. 

If we humbly accept that there will inevitably be aspects of our denomination, or our beliefs about scripture, that might be wrong, then perhaps that can help us to unify across the divide. 

A while back I shared a belief online about what the Bible was saying about a certain scriptural issue which was different to the one most commonly held. A friend commented, sounding slightly angry. But then a surprising thing happened. She actually sent me a voice message apologising. And more than that, she actually asked me to pray for her, that God might reveal to her the truth about this issue. God answered her prayer, and she ended up changing her mind. This was such a beautiful example of what happens when someone is humble, and open to being wrong. 

We aren’t going to always agree, but we can disagree lovingly, debate compassionately and pray where there is division, even if we are convinced we are on the right side of the argument. What really matters most is that beyond all the differences we are brothers and sisters in Christ. One day Jesus will return, and all the denominations will disappear like vapour. Until that day, we can remind ourselves of the ultimate unity of the body of Christ.