Book Review: Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up

Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up (cover)David W. Bercot’s book, Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up, compares Christianity today (defined by the author as the Evangelical Church) with the early Christians (2nd through 4th centuries). The book is very easy to read, but contains some challenging and thought-provoking material, specifically for Evangelicals. But it is helpful for others as well.

This book shows the sharp contrast between what many denominations today teach and what the early Christians taught. The early Christians believed that salvation by grace was conditioned upon obedience, that baptism was tied to salvation, and that predestination refers to God’s foreknowledge, rather than His selection of certain individuals for salvation. Many denominations teach just the opposite (salvation by grace/faith alone, baptism not essential for salvation, God predestined some individuals for salvation and some for damnation).

This book helps one get an insight into what the early church was like and what they taught. But before I can recommend the book, I need to caution you about a few things:
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Is the Church of Christ a Denomination?

Church of Christ

This question will come up from time to time as we interact with those around us. To many, churches of Christ (labeled by some as “Church of Christ”) are just one denomination among many. This perception can lead them to view the members of churches of Christ as hypocrites – condemning denominationalism while (allegedly) being part of one.

Is the church of Christ a denomination? It is a fair question. Depending on what one has in mind, there could be various answers given – yes, no, maybe, not yet, etc. So let us consider the question about the church and denominationalism.
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American Individualism and Ecumenism in Religion

On January 14, 2009, The Christian Science Monitor posted an article about the growing trend in this country of those who claim to be Christians deciding on their own what they will believe instead of relying on some church or denomination. The following paragraph does a fair job summarizing the main points in the article:

“A sizable majority of the country’s faithful no longer hew closely to orthodox teachings, and look more to themselves than to churches or denominations to define their religious convictions, according to two recent surveys. More than half of all Christians also believe that some non-Christians can get into heaven.”

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Is One Church as Good as Another?

Church building

As we talk with people in the world, particularly those who are religious, one idea with which we are often confronted that one church is as good as another. Many people believe this. This can make it difficult in trying to lead someone to the truth. After all, if one is already part of a church, they can simply ignore what you say because their church is just as good as yours. So he has no reason to consider any discussion that might lead him to decide to leave his church. If one is not part of a church, and should he decide to attend one, it would not have to be where you attend. He could go anywhere, limited only by how far away from home he wants to drive. This concept that one church is as good as another must be eliminated if we want to have any success in leading souls to Christ. So it is good for us to consider the idea so we might be better prepared to handle various situations.
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The Restoration Plea

Cane Ridge Revival

In the first century, after the Lord’s church was established, there were no denominations like we have today. Of course, there were some who departed from the faith while still holding to a form of religion. A notable example is Diotrophes (3 John 9-11) who took control of a congregation and expelled those who wanted to follow the apostles’ doctrine. But generally, the churches in the first century could be accurately called “churches of Christ” (Romans 16:16) because they submitted to Christ’s authority and not to that of any man.

While the early church generally enjoyed unity by submitting to the authority of Christ alone, Paul warned of a movement that would change all of this. He wrote to the church at Thessalonica about “the apostasy” that was coming. He personified this great apostasy by calling it “the man of lawlessness” (2 Thessalonians 2:3). This “man of lawlessness” was described as one who “opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4). This apostasy would be characterized by certain men exalting themselves among God’s people, claiming to speak for God and exercise authority over their brethren. It is called an apostasy because it would begin with some who were faithful Christians, but they would depart from the faith to follow their own doctrines and practices. This is exactly what denominationalism is. Denominationalism, beginning with the Catholic church, is the great apostasy.
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Non-Denominationalism

Last month I posted an article about the problem of denominationalism. Yet there seems to be a shift occurring in the religious world. We are seeing a gradual move from denominationalism to non-denominationalism. It is becoming more common to pass a church building and see that the name on the sign does not include a denominational distinction. That is one sign of this shift.

Denominational distinctions are becoming less important. It used to be that people would generally identify themselves by their denomination. They would think it strange when you said you were “just a Christian.” Now they tend to simply call themselves Christians, too. This may be a step in the right direction (Acts 11:26; 1 Corinthians 1:12-13), but there is still more that needs to be done. There are two things that have come from this decreased emphasis on denominational distinctions.
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Denominationalism

When talking with people and the topic of religion comes up, they sometimes ask, “What denomination are you a part of?” In answering this question, I tell them I am not part of a denomination. This is a strange concept for many and, as a result, provides some opportunity to discuss spiritual matters with them. Many cannot envision Christianity without denominations. Denominationalism is only natural for them. But is it something that should be accepted or rejected?
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