Two men on a deserted island know nothing about religion or the multitudes of churches that exist today. An airplane drops a box full of Bibles onto the island, they read the Bible, and they do what the Bible says to be saved through Christ.
If you asked them which church they are in, what would they say? Would they be in a denomination? If they only know the Bible and only follow the Bible, they cannot be in the Methodist Church, the Baptist Church, etc., because those are not in the Bible. Those groups were started by uninspired men more than 1500 years after Christ purchased His church with His blood and the Bible was completed. By only following the Bible, these two men would simply be Christians, members of Christ’s one church, which is not a denomination: “…I will build my church…” (Mt. 16:18; Acts 2:36-41, 47; 26:28; Eph. 5:23; 1 Cor. 12:13). This simple, beautiful picture of unity is what God desires in the world today (Eph. 4:3-6), but man-made names and teachings have caused sinful divisions (Rom. 16:17; 1 Cor. 1:10-13).
The men on the island are united because they both follow the same divine standard without going beyond what God authorizes, and we should do the same. God commands us to all speak the same thing by speaking as He speaks (1 Pet. 4:11, 16; Col. 3:17; 1 Cor. 1:10-13). This is essential for true Biblical unity, and if we would all obey the true Gospel plan of salvation and simply follow the Bible, there would be no denominations, but rather we would be united in the way God desires, just like these two men (Jn. 17:17, 21-23; 1 Jn. 5:3).
If you are not exactly like them when it comes to religion, why not? How much do you love God? Are you willing to let go of man-made names and practices, or will you allow tradition and pride to prevent what God desires? The churches of Christ are not denominations, but local congregations of Christ’s church in various places (see Romans 16:16), and we are pleading with people simply to be Christians in Christ’s church, without adding to God’s Word (Deut. 4:2; 2 Cor. 11:3; Rev. 22:18-19). Please contact me if you have questions or want to study together online or in person.