A true church of Jesus Christ?

[ChristopherC]

There are alot of christian sects out there..how would you know which one is true? Looking through the bible others and I have come up with this list of things the true church must have!

17 Points of the True Church of Christ
Christ organized the Church (Eph 4:11-14)
The true church must bear the name of Jesus Christ (Eph 5:23)
The true church must have a foundation of Apostles and Prophets (Eph 2:19-20)
The true church must have the same organization as Christ's Church (Eph 4:11-14)
The true church must claim divine authority (Heb 5:4-10)
The true church must have no paid ministry (1 Cor 9:16-18; Acts 20:33-34; John 10:11-13)
The true church must baptise by immersion (Matt 3:13-16)
The true church must bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands (Acts 8:14-17)
The true church must practice divine healing (Mark 3:14-15)
The true church must teach that God and Jesus are seperate and distinct individuals (John 17:11; 20:17)
The true church must teach that God and Jesus have bodies of flesh and bone (Luke 23:36-39; Acts 1:9-11; Heb 1:1-3)
The officers must be called by God (Heb 4:4; Ex 28:1; 40:13-16)
The true church must claim revelation from God (Amos 3:7)

The true church must be a missionary church (Matt 28:19-20)
The true church must be a restored church (Acts 3:19-20)
The true church must practice baptism for the dead (1Cor 15:16&29)
"By their fruits ye shall know them." (Matt 7:20)


what do you guys think?

[Hannah]

I think my pastor gets paid... :/

[ke443]

I think you need to look closer at the context of some of these verses. They don't all necessarily apply to us today, but were rather addressing specific issues in the local church of the day.

The true church does not reside in buildings.

It resides in those who have had their sins paid for by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

[keniray]

The true church does all that and

observes the 4th commandment on Saturday, the 7th day. Matthew 24:20

[SpaceGhost]

Not entirely

[nope]

Interesting, but I would also consider the church's stance on morals, ethics, values, and community involvement.

[MartyM]

These scripture quotes all represent your interpretation of things.

Some believe that Jesus Christ established the Catholic Church. The Orthodox and Catholic Churches split in 1054 AD. Martin Luther, who was an ordained Catholic priest, established the Lutheran Church in 1517. John Calvin, an ordained Catholic priest, founded the Presbyterian Church. Some believe that many churches can be traced back to the Roman Catholic Church. Someone once said that "facts are stubborn things." We all have the right to our own opinions, but we do not have the right to our own facts.

Nevertheless, we should try and imitate Christ as much as possible through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We should try and follow Christ as well as we can. We should try and procaim the Gospel in word and deed.