If Jesus were to come among us again today, what kind of church would He look for? Of course, He would look for the one for which He died and has been in existence since the first century. But how would He recognize it? Would there be a definitive way for Jesus to isolate His church from the thousands that have sprung up in the last two millennia?
The church that Jesus would be looking for would be the one that wears His name. Think for a moment about the many names that you have seen on “churches” across this nation and the world. If Jesus’ church was purchased by our Savior and therefore belongs to Him, should it wear any other designation than that which identifies Him as its owner and honors Him as its head? If Jesus were to come among us today, the church for which He would look would be the one bearing His name, thus belonging to Him. Is that the one you are looking for?
The church that Jesus would be looking for would be the one that adheres to the Scriptures as its only guide and authority. The primary cause of the religious division that exists today is that man has not been satisfied to “hold fast the pattern of sound words” (2 Tim. 1:13). Yet, for Christ’s church (i.e., not man’s church) to exist on this earth, it must “do all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Col. 3:17), not seeking to add to, take from or modify His perfect law of liberty in any way (Rev. 22:18-19; Gal. 1:6-9; Jas. 1:25). If Jesus were to come among us today, the church for which He would look would be the one that is looking only to Scripture for its authority and speaking only those truths. Is that the one you are looking for?
The church that Jesus would be looking for would be the one that worships as He has directed. Even in Jesus’ day, there were those who were drawing near to the Lord with their mouths and honoring Him with their lips, but Jesus said, “their heart is far from Me.” Their worship was “in vain” because they were “teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:8-9). Jesus was not pleased with that man-made worship in the first century, and if He were to come among us in the twenty-first century, the church for which He would look would be the one that worships according to His desires and stipulations, and not man’s. Is that the one you are looking for?
Let us use His standard for finding His church!