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“Are
you part of the Part 1 April 11, 2008
The United Church of Christ (UCC) has been
getting a great deal of press lately.
Because we identify ourselves as a
Note: Most of the information that will be
presented in this material on the background of this denomination is taken
from their official website, <http://www.ucc.org>.
The purpose in presenting this material is to identify some reasons
why it is not the church that Jesus spoke of in Matt. 16:18.
It is NOT presented with malice or with joy, but as something we
need to be familiar with as we seek to “…give
a defense for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” (1
Pet. 3:15). The
History of the UCC
–
It
is a fairly young denomination. It
began on June 25, 1957 with the union of two protestant denominations: The
Evangelical and Reformed Church and The General Council of the
Congregational Christian Churches (which included some churches of the
Disciples of Christ). Historically
it points to the fact that each of these denominations also formed by
merger of two denominations.
According to Wikepedia.com (an online encyclopedia) the 2007
yearbook listed some 5,518 congregations with approximately 1.2 million
members. Organization
of the UCC
–
It
has its own constitution called, ‘Constitution of the United Church of
Christ’, which is available at their website.
This describes its structure and affiliation with other bodies. The basic unit of the
UCC is the congregation or local church.
Each congregation is free to worship and work in a way it seems
fit.
However there is also a hierarchy which is appointed by local
churches and their “ordained ministers”.
It consists of Associations (local churches, ordained ministers,
licensed ministers, etc. who can vote within a geographical area),
conferences (consisting of associations and other local churches) and a
General Synod (which is described as, “the representative body of the
United Church of Christ”.) These
bodies discuss affairs and ordination of ministers in local churches as
well as other things. Teachings
of the UCC
–
The
church also has its own creed called a ‘statement of faith’ in which
they outline key beliefs.
(Again, you remember that this is the purpose for which a creed is
written. It defines the
differences between themselves and all other denominations).
Yet they openly accept the creeds and statements of faith of
others from past centuries. For
example, you can find the ‘Apostle’s creed’, the ‘Nicene creed’,
the ‘Heidelberg Catechism’, ‘Augsburg Confession of faith’ and
others. Concerning these they say they are “valued in our church as
authentic testimonies of faith”. Thus,
much like a buffet, they pick and choose from the menu of creeds what they
will accept and what they will reject.
They teach some truths: the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit as all being divine in nature or God, they teach the
crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, there is an emphasis on the
local church, a desire for unity, the priesthood of all believers, the
need for love, etc. In fact
they have adopted a mantra stated some 200 years ago which says, “In
essentials—unity, in non-essentials—diversity, in all things—charity”.
[http://www.ucc.org/about-us/what-is-the-united-church-of.html]
That is a true statement
when we understand that compromise is NOT acceptable. BUT
some truth is not enough! However
there are many things they teach that are contrary to the Bible, some of
which are: – Unity
in diversity –
In
the UCC, not every congregation is in agreement on every subject.
In fact one of their biggest emphases is diversity in beliefs.
On a page that describes what they are about, they place emphasis
on “testimonies of faith rather than tests of faith”.
A test of faith would be something that you would draw lines of
fellowship over, such as God’s plan of salvation, proper worship, the
authority of scripture, etc. (2
John 9-11) God
wants unity (John 17:30-31, 1 Cor. 1:10, etc.) but unity must never come
at the cost of truth! A
statement from their web page says “The
unity of the church is not of its own making.
It is a gift of God. But
expressions of that unity are as diverse as there are individuals. The
common thread that runs through all is love”. (ibid)
The UCC teaches that “As individual
members of the body of Christ, we
are free to believe and act in accordance with our perception of God’s
will for our lives.”** **(DID
YOU NOTICE WHAT THIS SENTENCE SAYS???
YOU ARE FREE TO ACT ACCORDING TO YOUR OWN PERCEPTION OF GOD’S
WILL; IS THIS NOT SAYING THAT YOU CAN ESTABLISH YOUR OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS???
IF NOT, HOW WOULD YOU NEED TO WORD A SENTENCE TO SAY THAT?)
They go on to say, “But we are called to
line in a loving, covenantal relationship with one another—gathering in
communities of faith, congregations of believers, local churches”.
(ibid) One of their symbols is
a large comma (red or black) which symbolizes this doctrine of acceptance
of everyone. [http://www.ucc.org/god-is-still-speaking/]
The idea of the comma is to say,
“Don’t put a period where God put a comma.”
The intent is to say that we cannot reject anyone AND that we need
to ignore their lifestyle (including what we perceive to be sinful
conduct). The
problem with these statements is that it does not hold one accountable to
the truth of God’s word (Gal. 1:6-9).
– Emphasis on the term covenant –
The
term ‘covenant’ is important. When
we obey the gospel we enter into a covenant (a binding agreement) with our
Lord to follow and obey Him.
But in the UCC, ‘Covenantal Relationships’ has
reference to more than one’s relationship with Christ and other members
of a local UCC church. It
also has reference to churches, associations and conferences recognizing
one another even if they disagree.
In an article describing the autonomy of local churches it says,
“but it also is called to live in a covenantal relationship with
other congregations for the sharing of insights and for cooperative action
under the authority of Christ”. (ibid)
What this means is that while a congregation stands by its own
beliefs it is to still work with congregations with which they do not
agree. (In essence, unity-in-diversity)
Next week, we will present more on their teachings as found on
their website, comparing them to the Bible.
Part 2 April 18, 2008
Because we identify
ourselves as a church “of Christ” many have asked, “Are you a part of
or the same as the
–
Pro-homosexual –
In
1985, the General assembly voted to accept homosexuality as an acceptable
lifestyle. One of the
“firsts” they boast of is ordination of the first openly gay persons
into ministry in 1972 (Rev. William R. Johnson).
Today, more than 700 UCC congregations have engaged in a program
called, “Open and Affirming” (ONA) which supports and teaches acceptance
of homosexuality. The LGBT
(Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) ministry is a ministry of the UCC.
The Bible condemns homosexuality. (1 Cor. 6:9,
–
Ordination of women as pastors –
A
point of pride from their website is the ordination of the first woman
pastor. They mention the
appointment of Antoinette Brown in 1853 (Congregational Church).
Note: They consider a
part of their heritage the history of the churches that merged to form the
UCC.
In their General Synod which includes a board of 5 members, 3 of
them are women, two of which have the term ‘reverend’ attached to their
name and the third is Associate General Minister (Edith Guffey).
The scriptures condemn in passages such as 1 Timothy 2:11-5, 1
Corinthians 14:34-35
–
Two sacraments –
They
teach both baptism and the Lord’s Supper as important.
In fact they call them sacraments; “an outward sign, instituted by
Christ, that conveys and inward, spiritual grace through Christ”. (Wikipedia.com)
In reality, this term ‘sacrament’ is NOT found in scriptures and both
are acts of OBEDIENCE rather than mere signs of God’s grace to us.
#1
– Baptism:
While baptism is treated as important, they do not specify how or when it is
to be done. In fact, baptism can
be in any form (sprinkling, pouring or immersion) and can include infants or
adults. Also, at the discretion
of a local congregation, they accept baptisms from any previous place.
On their “What we
believe” page they say, “We believe that all of the baptized belong body
and soul to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
No matter who-no matter what-no matter where, we are on life's
journey—notwithstanding race, gender, sexual orientation, class or
creed—we all belong to God and to one worldwide community of faith.
All persons baptized (past, present and future), are connected to
each other and to God through the sacrament of baptism”. (ibid)
The problem with this is obvious.
In scripture, baptism is FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS (Acts 2:38) and
only offered to those who are capable of understanding and belief (cf. Mark
16:16; note the order, 1 Pet. 3:21 – “…the answer of a good
conscience”, etc.). In Acts
19:1-5 we read of a group of individuals who were baptized again because the
reason for their first baptism was not acceptable.
#2
- The Lord’s Supper –
it is to be offered to all and conducted at the discretion of the local
congregation. Scriptures
however, regulate when (Acts 20:7) and how it is to be offered (1
Corinthians 11:23-26).
NOTE: their
constitution and belief statements on these and other subjects are vague and
open to liberal interpretation, which is obviously intentional.
–
God still speaks –
By that they mean that God’s word is not complete and there are still
prophets. In fact, their “What
we believe” page states “We believe that the UCC is called to be a
prophetic church’ (ibid). In
their constitution it says, “There is yet more light and truth to break
forth from God’s holy word”. It
declares that the study of the scriptures is not limited by past
interpretations, but it is pursued with the expectation of new insights and
God?s help for living today. That
statement sounds good on the surface, but the intent is to say that you can
interpret scripture ANY WAY you want to. The scriptures teach that the word
of God is complete (Jude 3, Gal. 1:6-9, 2 Pet 1:3, etc.) and to be respected
as it is written (1 Pet. 4:11, 1 Cor. 14:37).
–
Acceptance of denominationalism –
The
primary goal of the UCC is to achieve unity.
In addition to their broad constitution which provides many different
ways for a church to be recognized by the UCC, including “any denomination
which unites with the
This demonstrates how
willing the UCC is to compromise doctrinally for unity.
The Bible condemns the denominational concept of Christianity (1 Cor.
1:10-13). Lessons
to learn from this study:
Just because a church
calls itself by a Bible name does not make it so.
What makes a church the TRUE church is what it does, INCLUDING its
name. (Matt. 7:21-23)
The real danger: The
appearance of truth. The danger
of this religion is that some of their core beliefs are based upon truth,
but they have veered from that truth, in some instances to the extreme.
For example, the emphasis on local congregations is good and
scriptural, BUT what about anything that goes beyond that?
WHERE is the authority? Where
do we find associations, Conferences and a General Synod in scripture?
Also their emphasis on unity is important, BUT not at the cost of
truth! 1 Thess. 5:22 tells us to
abstain from every appearance (form) of evil.
2 Tim. 3:5 describes the self-willed man who has
“…a
form of godliness but denying its power…from such people turn away.”
NEVER
dismiss the importance of scriptural authority for what we do and that which
promotes unity. Colossians 3:17, “…do
all in the name of the Lord.” 1
Peter 4:11, “...speak as the oracles
of God.” (not man or man’s wisdom). Why
then do we call ourselves the
It is NOT a
denominational title. Let us
understand we do not intend to use the term as an official title of churches
on earth. It is a scriptural
description of who we are. We
are the congregation of Christ’s people here in this location.
The term is used in Romans 16:16.
Because we are! We strive to be the one true church as much as we can
(Matt. 16:18). Jesus spoke of
building His church. It is HIS
and thus we must strive to keep it His by doing His will.
Thus we can see some
information about the UCC. Much
more could be added to these things. It
is hoped that we now understand more about this denomination and that we can
give a defense when people ask us. We
are certainly NOT affiliated with this denomination, NOR ANY of its
congregations in any way. Let us
always strive to speak ONLY where the Bible speaks and be silent where it is
silent. 2 Pet. 2:1-3, 2 Tim. 4:1-4. Think seriously about it. |
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