Just Jesus!: Denominationalism: The Devil's Delight!

By Randy Adams

Whose Idea Were the Denominations in the First Place?

In the perilous times we live in, there has never been a greater need for unity among the followers of Jesus. In this book, Randy Adams explores the scriptural mandate for unity, the breaking up of the oneness found in the Book of Acts church, the origins of denominationalism, and the c

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Sep 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9798887380049

Randy Adams

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Pastor Randy Adams came to faith in Christ in 1982 after meeting and marrying his wife, Rosalie. Together they gained a heart for world missions during the 1990s and briefly participated in missions work in Brazil. Since 2005, Randy and Rosalie have pastored a church in Desert Hot Springs, California, where they currently live and serve God. In 2022, Pastor Randy was ordained as assistant pastor at Hosanna City Church in Yucca Valley, California.

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Dedication

This book is dedicated to every pastor who has boldly been used by the Lord to co-labor and break down denominational barriers, and thus make the church into the bride beautifully prepared for the return of Christ.

Dedication scriptures:

Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

Psalm 133:1

I do not pray for these alone (the disciples), but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one as You, Father, are in Me, and I in you; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

John 17:20-21

(The prayer of Jesus for all believers.)

All scriptures contained in this book are quoted from the New King James Version of the Bible.

Invitation

If you just happened to pick up this book to take a glance at its contents, let me first give you an invitation. Perhaps you have known about Jesus, but you have never actually had a personal relationship with Him. I assure you if that is the case you are missing out on a lifetime of excitement and adventure! Jesus loves you and wants to take you to places you could never imagine! But first of all, He wants to clean you up! The Bible says we are all sinners, but it also says that Jesus paid for all our sins when He died on the cross. By putting your faith in Him and what He did for you, today you can be cleansed of all your sin and receive the free gift of going to heaven when you die.

After cleaning you up, He wants you to follow Him and have the amazing privilege of being used by Him to tell others about Him so they can be cleansed of sin and go to heaven as well. Once you ask Jesus into your heart by faith, He will never leave you nor forsake you. He will walk with you through all the mountains and valleys of life. You will be able to bask in His loving care day by day. So before you put this book back down and walk away, remember that life is uncertain. Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart! He invites you to simply open the door. This is an invitation you cannot afford to miss! Just pray and ask Jesus to forgive your sins and come into your heart and life right now, and He will do so! Then, guess what? You can read the rest of this book as a believer! And, believe me, the rest of this book is all about Jesus! Just Jesus!

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

Revelation 3:20

Introduction

The Bible makes a big deal about unity. Unity always begins with a focus on Jesus. Without Jesus there can be no unity. Jesus Himself said in John 15:5, I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing. In other words, nothing of eternal value will be accomplished through the church without Jesus. No fruit will be harvested, no souls will be saved, and the kingdom of God will not be advanced. Unity is not offered to believers as an option. It is commanded by God. In the Book of Acts, before Jesus ascended into heaven, He commanded the apostles and other believers to wait in Jerusalem together until they received the Holy Spirit (see Acts 1:4-5). It is through the Holy Spirit that true unity is achieved. This was evidenced on the Day of Pentecost and later in the Book of Acts by a rapidly growing Spirit-filled church. Jesus sent back the Holy Spirit to indwell believers and accomplish the unity He so desired the church to have. The presence and power of Jesus Himself would now be available to all believers through the Holy Spirit! Unity must begin with Jesus. The glue that holds the body of Christ together must be Jesus. When all believers become consumed with Jesus, then unity can be reached. All we need is Jesus. PERIOD! Just Jesus? Yes, dear reader, just Jesus!

The theme of unity and oneness runs throughout the books of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. It begins with unity in the Godhead: one God in three persons. Unity is demonstrated in the oneness of the marriage covenant. God created the family unit to be the foundation of society. Unity is consecrated and made holy by God’s desire to be one with His people. Unity is manifested through the truth; the truth is found in God’s Word; Jesus is the embodiment of truth. Unity is released in power through the Holy Spirit. Oneness and unity within the church is best demonstrated in the Book of Acts. And, finally, the unity of all believers with Jesus and with each other will be perfected in that glorious future place that He has gone to prepare for us.

Believers gathering together in one accord in the power of the Holy Spirit is the devil’s worst nightmare. He delights in division, enmity, and discord. His goal has always been to divide the church from its beginning, as recorded in the Book of Acts. He will try any strategy and any tactic to divide believers.

Denominationalism, as we shall see in later chapters, has been his greatest success. When an army is divided into many camps with little or no communication between them, it loses all power and effectiveness. This, in great measure, is what Satan has achieved in splintering the modern-day church. However, not all credit can be given to the devil. Man’s desire for autonomy did not end on the Day of Pentecost. Our flesh can also be a dividing influence. But in the end, the enemy has surely been behind the slow undoing of the unity we clearly see in the Book of Acts.

The purpose of this book is fourfold: 1) to highlight and emphasize all the scriptures that point to and support the Biblical mandate for unity; 2) to raise up believers, especially those in leadership, to cross and break down denominational barriers with boldness and co-labor together so that the Spirit of God may be manifested in greater power and authority; 3) to emphasize the centrality of Jesus Christ Himself in any such effort or calling; and 4) to make the bride of Christ, His church, beautifully prepared for Him, the Bridegroom, when He returns. He is coming soon, and it’s all about Him! Just Jesus!

Prologue

The year was 1998. My wife Rosalie and I were attending church at Praise Chapel, in San Dimas, California. Our church had recently participated in the city’s Western Days parade. We put a live praise team on the back of a flatbed truck along with hay bales and pumpkins. We passed out gospel tracts and flyers to the parade watchers as the floats moved through the city. It was a great means of outreach. Several other churches also participated in the parade that day.

The parade started a process of getting to know believers from other churches. Our pastor also got to know some of the other pastors from other fellowships and congregations. A seed was planted to have joint events with several churches co-laboring together. The first planned event was a joint concert at the Wesleyan Church. Participants included believers from both Evangelical and Pentecostal churches. From Southern Baptists to charismatic Catholics, eight churches came together for this concert. Our choirs, with very different styles of music, co-labored to put on a musical event based on 1 Corinthians 13, which is known as the love chapter. The title of the concert was Love Is the Most Excellent Way. I was chosen as the narrator of the text in between songs. I will never forget the rehearsals. Christians came from so many different backgrounds practicing bringing glory to God. It was amazing! The concert itself was perhaps the most anointed Christian event I have ever been a part of! The concert not only broke down denominational barriers but also racial and social class barriers. We were all children of God raising our voices to worship and bring glory to the one and only true living God!

This event was followed by a joint prayer meeting, another joint concert, and a joint party in the park, which was an outreach event at San Dimas Canyon Park. It was so awesome to see people we were now familiar with from other churches coming together to break bread and give out flyers and tracts. Unfortunately, my memory of this last event was cut short when I slipped in a mossy puddle, fell, and broke my right arm. Afterward, I was so blessed to experience follow-up concern from other fellowships. Through all of these events, it was as though the Book of Acts was being recreated in San Dimas, California.

The sad news is that once the news of these joint events reached the ears of those higher up in authority in the other churches and fellowships, little by little, the co-laboring decreased and ultimately ended. Some were actually told to stand down from doing joint ministry, usually due to doctrinal differences.

All this co-laboring planted a seed in my heart that is still bearing fruit today. When I later became an assistant pastor in San Dimas, and after that pastor in Desert Hot Springs, I determined that I would do joint ministry with other churches to attempt to duplicate that same type of anointed move of God that we had experienced in San Dimas.

When we first opened the church in Desert Hot Springs, Rosalie and I went around to other church ministries seeking to co-labor. Some were open to it; others treated us like we had the plague. In the years ahead, I invited pastors from other churches and fellowships to preach in our church. Many responded. I also preached in other churches locally as well. But the level of co-laboring never brought about an anointing as great as what we had experienced when eight ministries came together. The burden to see denominational barriers broken, and the anointed power of God released as a result, has continued to burn in my heart. It is that burden that has been the basis for writing this book.

Jesus never intended for there to be divisions or denominations in the church. When the spirit of man gets in the mix, the Spirit of God can be left out, and then things go rapidly downhill. As the church has become more and more divided through the last twenty centuries, the devil has gotten the victory. When denominations refuse to co-labor, the devil is delighted. The early church in the Book of Acts is the model we should all strive for. Many times I told the congregation that we needed to become a Book of Acts church.

Don’t get me wrong. Mighty moves of God have taken place within denominations. Great revivals have occurred throughout the centuries. However, the ultimate revival to bring about the fulfillment of the Great Commission will not take place until barriers are broken down. In order for the body of Christ to truly be the bride, beautifully prepared for the return of Jesus, unity and oneness must be restored. This was the prayer of Jesus in John 17. It must be all about Jesus, not about doctrinal differences. All we need is just Jesus. He is our all in all. [W]here there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is our all in all (Colossians 3:11).

Unity in the Godhead

Unity begins in the Godhead. God is revealed to mankind in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There could never be any division or disunity between the three members of the Trinity. Therefore, the oneness and unity in the Godhead are perfect. The Biblical doctrine of the Trinity is confirmed in Scripture in numerous places; however, nowhere is the unity and oneness of the three persons established more than in 1 John 5:7, For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one.

In addition to this, there is complete agreement among the three members of the Godhead as to their will and their purpose. These are revealed in great measure in the Bible by their strategy in the execution of the redemption of mankind. Each of the members has a specific role to play in the accomplishment of the master plan of salvation.

This perfect unity serves as an example which we as believers must strive to emulate. When we come to Christ, we become players in the objective of winning as many souls to Christ as possible before He returns. This is achieved by oneness in the body of Christ, with each part of the body performing its required function. Romans 12:5 says, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. In this scripture, we are pointed toward reproducing, as nearly as is possible, the perfect unity we see in the Godhead.

There is also diversity of function among the three members of the Godhead. For example, at the baptism of Jesus we see each of the three members present in a different form and function. God the Father speaks from above in the role of divine approval. God the Son becomes anointed in the role of divine sacrifice. The Holy Spirit descends like a dove into the role of divine empowerment. Yet, in these varying roles, unity is never diminished.

In the same way, we as believers are anointed by God to fulfill varying functions in the body of Christ. Just as there are both unity and diversity in the roles of the three persons in the Godhead, so God desires there also to be both unity and diversity in the body of Christ. First Corinthians 12:12 says, For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. Notice that the word one is found three times in that scripture alone. The Bible emphasizes over and over the need for unity and oneness among believers. We need each other for the body of Christ to function properly and advance the kingdom of God. Each of us individually has a unique role and purpose, but we all must work together for the glory of God. First Corinthians 12:21 says, And the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you;’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ God has designed the body of Christ in the image of the Godhead itself.

The desire of God for unity among believers is most poignantly demonstrated in the prayer of Jesus in John chapter 17. This long prayer by our Lord is all about oneness; first of all, Jesus talks to the Father about the oneness He had with Him before the world began; then He prays for all His disciples to be one with each other; finally, He prays that all believers through the ages to come will experience the same unity and oneness that He enjoys with the Father. In John 17:22-23 He prays, And the glory which you gave Me I have given them that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one… The word one is mentioned with emphasis five times in verses 20 to 23. Here, Jesus prays not just for unity but for perfect unity. In this respect, Jesus was praying for all believers today to be as perfect in unity as is the unity and oneness found in the Godhead.

When we strive for unity in the modern-day church, we become the answer to the prayer of Jesus. When we come together to break down denominational barriers, we become the answer to the prayer of Jesus. However, in this striving, everything must be done in God’s love. This love for one another allows the glory which Jesus spoke of in His prayer to be seen by others so they can be won to Christ. Jesus said in John 13:35, By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. The foundation of all unity must be God’s unconditional love; for it is then that the glory of God will be revealed in us, and unity truly demonstrated. When all the churches came together in San Dimas, the love among believers from different backgrounds and denominations was real and palpable! Denominationalism can create isolation and prevent that love from flowing across man-made barriers. It can even bring about enmity among believers if they refuse to labor together.

Finally, unity in the Godhead is demonstrated in Scripture repeatedly by three simple plural pronouns: Us, Our, and We (all three being capitalized, indicating Deity). We find it in Genesis in the story of creation. Genesis 1:26 says, …Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness… It seems significant to me that everything else was created by God (singular), but when it comes to creating mankind, all three members of the Godhead are now involved, probably because God knew beforehand that all three persons in the Trinity would need to be involved in carrying out the redemption story: God sent His Son to rescue us; Jesus atoned for our sins on the cross; and the Holy Spirit empowered us for service. The plural pronoun Us also appears in Isaiah 6:8 when Isaiah is called to be a prophet: "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am!