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Will Heaven have a Specific Church Denomination?
Chapter: 13.07(Section 13: What about those "Without the Gospel?") Copyright © Michael Bronson 1999 and 2000 BibleHelp.org As discussed in other chapters, there are no "right" or "wrong" church denominations, per se’. A person will not go to Heaven because he is a member of a certain church denomination nor will someone else go to Hell because he is a member of another denomination. A person’s salvation is based solely on where he places his faith. If a person adheres to the plan of salvation presented in the Bible, he is going to Heaven. The only people who will be in Heaven will be the ones who have followed God's plan of salvation. God is not nearly as concerned about the church you attend as He is about your obedience to the whole Bible. (Of course, your church selection is important and the Bible does provide some guidelines on how to select a solid Biblical church.) Heaven will not have a specific church denomination. There will not be a Catholic, Protestant, Baptist, or Methodist church in Heaven. Church denominations, of course, are man-made and have been a great source of division, hatred, and even murder. I am ashamed of what has been done in the name of Christianity. It was only a few hundred years ago that some of the people who broke away from the Catholic Church were declared heretics and burned at the stake*1. Ironically, some of people who broke away from the Catholic Church ended up being just as guilty in their religious hatred*2. When some of their own members dared to openly voice opposition, they were declared heretics and burned at the stakes. The reason I bring this up is because some people may misunderstand the chart I have included in the previous chapter (Christianity is Losing Ground). They may think that I have not included "Catholics" in the chart because of religious prejudice and snobbery. They may think that I believe I am better than others or that I’m "anti-Catholic." Since there are many Christians who fit this profile, I can understand why some people may come to this conclusion. Those who know me, however, know that I am not that way. Obviously, I cannot judge a person's heart and determine if he is going to Heaven; only God can do that. The only thing I can do is look at his plan of salvation and compare it to what the Bible teaches. You can apply this same principle to church denominations. There is no way of knowing how many people within a particular denomination are going to Heaven, only God knows that. The only thing we can do is look at their plan of salvation and see how it compares to the Bible. This won’t provide you an accurate count, but it may provide you a rough ballpark idea. I don’t claim to be an expert on the Catholic religion, but I have studied their plan of salvation a great deal. As you would expect with a religion this size, there are substantial differences within the Catholic Church as you travel from region to region. I have come to the conclusion, however, that the plan of salvation formally endorsed by the Catholic Church itself is not consistent with the teachings of the Bible. This is the reason I have not included them in my chart that shows the growth of the number of true believers. Having said that, I would like to point out that I do have a couple "Catholic" friends who I feel (based on their testimonies) are true believers. There are also some individual "Catholic" churches that clearly teach the Biblical plan of salvation. Footnote *1
Footnote*2
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