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I Follow...

        I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”
                 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thiank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized in y name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptized, but to preach the gospel - not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Chrst be emtpied of its power (I Corintians 1:10-17)  
          I know some folks who have grave issues with the existence of denominations. They think we should all be one big happy Church. I agree that we should all be one big happy Church, but as I see it, this denomination is part of the eye, and that one part of the ear of the body of Christ. There are certain fundamentals necessary, of course. Here’s a link to a site that lists the major ones. One can be a Christian and be from any denomination that holds to the fundamentals, but one can be from any denomination without being a Christian. In fact, some denominations make it more likely one isn’t than that one is a Christian.
          Every so often, someone starts making a stink about how everyone else is ignoring this or that or doing the other. Sometimes, their complaints are valid. Sometimes, they’re nothing more than ego. They break away and draw people away. A couple of the more recent groups were “The Emergent Church” and “The Missional Church.” 
          I’m not saying it doesn’t matter what you believe. What you believe is at the core of who you are, and if what you believe isn’t consistent with the principles found in the Bible, I believe you need to reconsider your beliefs. But what I am saying is that there are cultural differences among the denominations that are no reason to get puffed up. You may like John MacArthur better than R. C. Sproul. You may detest Andy Stanley. You may find them all in error on one matter or another. You may not understand why the Baptists are so fired up about baptism, or why the Pentecostals are just plain fired up. And there may be things about which both those groups and/or the Methodists or Presbyterians are in error. Where there is true error, it needs to be addressed, but just as Paul rebuked the Corinthians for saying “I follow Paul” so each of us should rebuke those who are puffed up about the teacher they follow, unless that teacher is the Word of God.

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