There are literally hundreds of churches in the world, maybe even thousands, each with a peculiar slant on salvation, worship, the godhead, eternal life, and other important doctrines. What hope does a person have of finding the true church of the Lord?

Immediately, some would say that all churches belong to God and that He is the Father of them all. The only problem with that idea is that it is contrary to Bible teaching. God does not receive all religions, nor does He respect all who claim to love and follow Him.

Consider what Jesus taught while He was on earth—“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

Notice He didn’t say this to people who had no interest in living for God. The people He was referring to were those who “cast out demons, and performed many wonders” in His name (Matthew 7:22). Yet they were rejected by God for not following all of His will in love and humility. They were only righteous enough to win the approval of others.

People may claim to have a devotion to God while practicing denominational doctrines, but if they are diligent students of the Bible, and genuine seekers of truth, there is no way they can say they are obeying all of God’s will. The Bible doesn’t teach the modern philosophies of salvation apart from water baptism, a universal bishop, church-sponsored recreation, the sponsoring church arrangement, divorce and remarriage apart from adultery, women preaching before men, infant baptism, instrumental music, and so on. These are not taught in the New Testament.

I am not suggesting that all who practice these things are dishonest hypocrites who have no love for the Lord. I cannot read people’s minds. But what I am saying is that they are not practicing the Father’s will as stated in the Bible, and they are in jeopardy of missing out on eternal life with God. Remember, Jesus said salvation is not in what we claim before men (calling Him, Lord, Lord), but in seeking and applying the will of God. This is true whether we accept it or not.

If every church would seek the pattern found in the New Testament, we would all have unity in matters of faith; that is, we’d believe alike on salvation, worship, eternal life, God, etc. The reason I know this is so, is because the Bible only teaches one faith for the Christian age (Ephesians 4:1-4). This is why God can ask and demand that we all practice the same thing in religion (1 Corinthians 1:10; Philippians 1:27). We can have unity because only one pattern for Christianity was revealed (Jude 3) —the pattern that God, Jesus, and the Spirit believe in (John 17:20-21).

Are you honestly seeking, or are you dishonestly satisfied?