Every year a certain farmer would go through his cow pastures and do the laborious work of uprooting thistles. If left alone, these prickly plants would grow tall, flower, and the wind would disperse their seeds all over the pasture, eventually destroying the land. This conscientious farmer sought to eliminate the problem by literally getting to the root of it.
Jesus said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up (Matthew 15:13). This was in reference to false teachers and their doctrines, as he followed up this statement by saying, Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch (v. 14). Rooting up a plant is a violent action. The truth, that is the word of God, will root out false teaching and expose false teachers, both now and ultimately in the judgment to come. This would include every person or organization today that teaches something different than what the Bible says.
You do not have to go far in this city to see that there are a multitude of different religious groups. These groups are called by different names and teach different doctrines. Since they teach different doctrines, they cannot all be right. Logic demands that either they are all wrong, or only one is right and the rest are wrong. What does the Bible say about the church?
First, it identifies who built it and how many he built. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). The church is singular in number and possessive in nature; that is, there is one church and it belongs to Jesus who built it. He did not say, "I will build many churches." If there is only one church, then why are there so many churches today? They were planted by someone other than the heavenly Father.
As we read the Bible, we will find that God condemns religious division. Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment (1 Corinthians 1:10). Are all these churches speaking the same thing, or are they teaching different things? Take, for example, the worship service. Some advertise that they offer both a "traditional" and a "contemporary" service at different times. It stands to reason that these services are different and that the members are not "perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement." When Jesus walked this earth, he said of the Jewish religious leaders, But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men (Matthew 15:9). They were not following God's commandments but their own man-made ones. The Lord said their worship was in vain; that is, worthless.
Are you a member of the church that Jesus built? Or have you gotten lost in a maze of denominational organizations? This is important because Jesus is the Savior of his church only (Ephesians 5:23). We have the truth, the Bible. May we earnestly study it and do what it says. If we do, we can live with the assurance that we are in that vessel of safety, the church that belongs to Christ. But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up (Matthew 15:13). Brotherly, Jamie
