The phrase Bible Belt is an expression used to refer to the Southern United States where a large portion of the population identifies as politically conservative and religious. This region is known to have higher church attendance, a larger number of Protestant denominations, and a strong emphasis on traditional values. These deep-rooted qualities make the South distinct from other parts of the United States. The Midwest is religiously diverse. Utah, Idaho, and Arizona each sit in the Mormon Corridor. New England and the Pacific Northwest both fall into the Secular Belt, each containing the most unchurched states in the country. In the Bible Belt, though, you can find a church on nearly every corner, and most people you meet are connected in some fashion to a mainstream denomination.
Due to the high volume of churches on the market, of the phrases you will commonly hear in the Bible Belt is to “attend the church of your choice!” The implication behind this catchphrase is that one church is as good as another, regardless of what that particular body of people believes, teaches, practices, or how they worship. With so many churches available to choose from, the rationale is to simply find one that best suits you and attend it.
But does this thinking really honor God? Is it accurate to say that one church is as good as another? Is every church right, even though they teach doctrines which contradict one another? Are they all correct? Do all roads lead to heaven? Is it irrelevant what a church believes and teaches, even if their teachings and beliefs are not found in the Scriptures? Is the worship of the church really just a matter of opinion or personal preference, even if God’s word plainly addresses these matters? These are important questions we must objectively answer. Surely these issues matter to God, and they should be important to us also! The truth does exist! There is right and wrong! The teachings of God matter!
It’s important to know that the slogan “attend the church of your choice” isn’t found anywhere in the Bible. Never once did Peter, Paul, or any other spokesman of God invite a convert to Jesus to seek out a church that aligned with their personal wants or beliefs. On the other hand, the New Testament is brimming with an emphasis on the church Jesus promised to build, the church that came into existence on the first Day of Pentecost following the Savior’s death. When people were saved by God, they were added to the church (see Acts 2:47). Which church? At that point in time, there was only one church! The various denominations established by men had not yet been formed. So when people were saved and added by the Lord to the church, they were added to the one and only church that existed. This was the very church Jesus Christ referenced as being “my church” (Matthew 16:18).
The book of Acts records the establishment of the church (see Acts 2), and it covers roughly the first 30 years of the church’s history as people received the Gospel and Christianity spread throughout the world. Since then, history has sadly revealed many departures from the truth, leading to the establishment of many religious bodies and denominations. There are currently anywhere from 33,000 to 45,000+ denominations in existence, and each of these denominations are represented throughout the world in thousands of local churches. It can be perplexing and challenging to identify which church truly matches the one we find in the Bible. Yet in this puzzling landscape of religious confusion, we must remember that we have the Scriptures. We can (and we must) go back to the book of Acts and learn about the church Jesus build, the church saved people were added to upon their conversion. We must spend time with the Biblical text so we can identify the characteristics of the church. Rather than seeking out a church that matches our choice or personal preferences, we ought to be searching for the church of Christ’s choice that honors his word.
When we study the Bible, we learn that the early church taught the truth about salvation (cf. Acts 2:38-41; 8:26-40; 16:25-40; 22:16, etc.). The church in the Bible wore no special religious titles; they were simply referred to as “Christians” (cf. Acts 11:26; 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16). Local congregations wore no special name; they were described as “churches of Christ” (Romans 16:16). The worship of the church took place on Sunday, “the first day of the week” (cf. Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2). Their worship services involved preaching (Acts 20:7), taking the Lord’s Supper (cf. Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34), accapella singing (cf. Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16-17), prayers (cf. Acts 2:42; 1 Timothy 2:1-7), and a time of giving back financially to the cause of God (1 Corinthians 16:1-2). The church in the Scriptures had no creed books or confessionals; each congregation was autonomous and looked only to Christ as “the head of the body” (Ephesians 1:22-23). Local congregations of the church were led by a group of qualified men known as “elders”, “pastors”, “shepherds” (cf. Acts 14:24; 20:28; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-11). These local churches also had qualified male deacons who served in various capacities (cf. Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:8-13). Above all, the church in the Bible was committed to only knowing, believing, and teaching the will of God, and each congregation possessed a deep love for one another and the lost in their communities (see Acts 2:42-47).
If Jesus were to come into your community today, you can be sure he would be searching for a local church that matches the above description. This would be the church of Christ’s choice! In a world of so much religious confusion, division, and anarchy, don’t settle for anything less than the church that belongs to Jesus. Jesus has a church, a special people who belong to him. Let’s find his church and know the joys of fellowship with God and his redeemed people.
Are you a part of that special group of people who belong to Jesus?