We should join the church. But there are so many churches. Which one should we join? It is true that some have heard the gospel through you; they may have been saved through you. But many sober-minded persons will not automatically accept your church just because you have introduced them to the Lord. They will consider and want to know which church they should join out of the many.
The history of the church is very long; it spans over two thousand years. Different churches have been raised up at different times. This results in differences based on time. Churches also have been raised up in different places. This results in differences based on geography. Churches also have been raised up through different servants of God. This results in differences based on persons. Here we see three differences based on time, place, and persons. This is not all. Because there are so many doctrines in the Bible, some have set up churches by emphasizing a particular kind of doctrine, while others have set up other churches by emphasizing other doctrines. As a result, different emphases on doctrines have created different churches as well. When a certain need arises in a certain place, certain individuals are raised up to emphasize certain teachings. As a result, a church is produced. The point of emphasis thus becomes the basis for forming churches.
The above factors have led to the formation of the many churches. How many different churches are there in the world today? There are over fifteen hundred different kinds of churches, and these are only the orthodox ones, the ones which are well established. Moreover, this number only reflects the number of different church systems; it does not take into account the various local congregations within each system. If we considered the Anglicans, Presbyterians, Methodists, and other well-established groups each as one church, there would be about fifteen hundred such churches. Brothers, when I put myself in your place, I can see why it is not an easy task to choose from among a list of fifteen hundred churches!
With so many churches and so much confusion, is there a right way we can take before the Lord? Thank God, there is a way! God’s Word is still with us, and we can read it and find out what God has to say. Thank God that the Bible has shown us which church we should join. God has not left us in the dark.
Let us study in detail the divisions of the church. Some divisions have occurred because of locality. For example, the Anglican Church is actually the Church of England. Anglican means that it came from England; in fact, it is the state church of England. But when it spread from England to America, it became the Episcopal Church or the Church of England in America. When it spread to China, it became the Church of England in China. Furthermore, when the Church of England in America spread to China, it became the Church of England in America in China. The Anglican Church first spread to America and then to China. The result is the Chinese American Anglican Church. What confusion this is!
Consider the example of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is, in fact, the Church of Rome. We are in Shanghai. What has a Roman church got to do with us here? It is wrong for the Church in Rome to set up churches in other places. This is a confusion of locality. What is the Anglican Church doing in America? What is the American Church doing in China? What is the Roman church doing in Shanghai? What is the Shanghai Church doing in Foochow? Every church that is founded upon a place eventually becomes a confusion.