What denomination are you?

While this is a question that we are asked quite often, it is one for which people might not get the answer they were expecting. Names of congregations and churches throughout the world of those who claim to believe in the Bible have been used to identify, but also to divide. When we use the name of a certain group, preconceptions will alienate us from fellowship with other brothers and sisters who would otherwise accept us.

The spirit of the Kingdom of Yah is not a spirit of division between His people, but of love and unity. In fact, Yah hates division among His people (Proverbs 6:16-19, Titus 3:9-11, Galatians 5:19-21, 1 John). Thus, we find that names are not adequate for describing that which we hold in common, except the name of Messiah Himself. Consider what the Apostle Paul had to say on the issue: “For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, ‘I am of Paul,’ and another, ‘I am of Apollos,’ are you not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as Elohim gave to each one?” (I Corinthians 3:2b-5, NKJV). The same thing holds for when people call themselves Calvinists, Lutherans, Hutterites, Roman Catholics, Anglicans, etc.

The answer to the question is this: We are not followers of a denomination. We are follower’s of Yahshua the Messiah Himself. We must consider our love for our brothers and sisters and our need to fellowship with them above minor doctrinal disputes or whose teaching we prefer to listen to, for these are the things which bring both denominations and division.