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Brother Bob Pellien: Thank you very much everyone for joining us in our studio audience here for That’s in the Bible Live. We appreciate [you] joining us in our study, and we believe that we will spend this time together and it will be beneficial for everyone. On this show, That’s in the Bible, we explore the Bible’s teachings on just about any topic imaginable and questions come into us from places all over the globe. We always get the answers to all these questions directly from here–the Holy Scriptures, also known as?
Audience: [Mixed answers]
Brother Bob: The Bible, yes. You’re a very funny audience. I can tell this is going to be a very nice session. Our question for today, let’s take a look at it first. It proposes a very interesting question that we’ll address and talk about today. Let’s take a look at it.
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Why are there so many different Christian teachings and Churches?
Feraidoon Hezoda
Feraidoon Hezoda: So many church[es], but so many bibles. So many teach the people. Why don’t [they] teach the people one thing if one Bible [comes] from God?
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Brother Bob: Well we thank Mr. Hezoda for that really wonderful question. We’d like to thank him for his question and we hope to receive many more questions as we go along. It’s really not surprising from someone, or anyone, viewing Christianity from outside of it. They would be perplexed or even confused when they see all the different denominations, all the different churches, all the different religions, so a full spectrum of religious beliefs all under the umbrella of so-called Christianity. And that’s very confusing to many people. So, we’re very thankful for that question because it’s a really relevant question in the minds of many people nowadays.
A Bible-based Church where there’s only one God
It’s our belief, inside the Church Of Christ, that there is only one true faith, one set of true doctrines, and one true service to God. Not many. We believe in that adamantly. Only one basis of faith, one sole basis of faith, and that, of course, is the Bible. Although the Bible may be translated—it’s been said in an article not too long ago, it’s been actually translated into 1,854 different languages and dialects all over the world. It remains for us the absolute sole basis of our faith. Why do we believe that to be the sole basis of our faith? Why do we believe that there is only one faith that one must embrace when wanting to serve the one true God? Okay, let’s turn to the Holy Bible and begin researching the responses to the important question posed by Mr. Hezoda. In Ephesians chapter 4:4-6:
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
[Ephesians 4:4-6 New International Version]
Brother Bob: There are a lot of times in that verse where the word one, o-n-e, is used. I would like to ask the studio audience here this afternoon, reading the verses along with us on the screen, how many faiths are there based on what we just read? How many faiths, studio audience?
Audience: One.
Brother Bob: One faith. How many bodies, studio audience?
Audience: One.
Brother Bob: How many Lords?
Audience: One.
Brother Bob: We believe there is only one true faith. Why? Because?
Audience: That’s in the Bible.
Brother Bob: We believe that there is only one true God because?
Audience: That’s in the Bible.
Brother Bob: We believe that there is only one body because?
Audience: That’s in the Bible.
Brother Bob: Because that’s in the Bible. What’s being referred to as that one body? We often read in Colossians 1:18, here in this program: “And he is the head of the body, the church;…”
Brother Bob: What is it?
Audience: The church.
Brother Bob: The church. One faith, one body, one church according to the Holy Scriptures. And that’s what we believe. Again, once more, studio audience. Why? Because?
Audience: That’s in the Bible.
Brother Bob: Here’s the thing, if all of that is so clearly indicated in the Holy Scriptures, the Bible, why do things get all twisted up? Why do things become confusing and why do people become so perplexed as they view the religious scene of the world nowadays? What’s happened? What we read was not so complicated. That’s pretty direct. Do you agree?
Audience: Yes.
Brother Bob: What has transpired? Allow me to cite, this time, the writings of Apostle Peter. II Peter 3:16:
Speaking of this as he does in all of his letters. There are some things in those [epistles of Paul] that are difficult to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist and misconstrue to their own utter destruction, just as [they distort and misinterpret] the rest of the Scriptures.
[2 Peter 3:16 Amplified Bible]
Beware of people trying to mislead you
Brother Bob: Why is it all so perplexing for so many people who are trying to serve God and understand the truth? Answer of the Bible, what was it? Because there are preachers who are misinterpreting, there are preachers who are twisting, and there are preachers who are misconstruing things that they see and read. And, of course, therefore leading people away from the truth. And they do so because they are not understanding what they are reading. So, what was the warning? Verse 17 will explain. We will continue reading:
Let me warn you therefore, beloved, that knowing these things beforehand, you should be on your guard,…
[2 Peter 3:17 Amplified Bible]
Brother Bob: Dear friends, that’s a very important warning from the Lord. That’s not from me or from the kind of individual that invited you to join our study here this afternoon. That’s the Lord Himself through the apostle Peter saying, let me warn you, you need to guard against something. What? Let’s continue:
Let me warn you therefore, beloved, that knowing these things beforehand, you should be on your guard, lest you be carried away by the error of lawless and wicked [persons and] fall from your own [present] firm condition [your own steadfastness of mind].
[2 Peter 3:17 Amplified Bible]
Brother Bob: What was the warning? The warning was that there could be those that would mislead you and try to carry you away from the spiritual condition you need to remain in. It happens because there are preachers who are teaching but not understanding what they are teaching. So what do they end up doing? They end up misinterpreting, as we all read it together, and twisting the message.
So, by show of hands, how many of you have seen preachers online, or turning on the television on a Sunday morning, and you could see them preaching the most confusing and perplexing ideological principles and trying to convince people to believe? How many of you have seen this confusion that we just read about being done by preachers in the world nowadays? A lot. That’s why the question from Mr. Hezoda is such a common question. Why [are there] so many religions? Why are [there] so many things being taught? And there’s the Bible’s answer. There are those who are twisting and teaching false things.
The question now we pose together is this: well if that is what is transpiring, why [are] there are so many people that are becoming so easily victimized and led by such individuals who have unscrupulous ideologies and unscrupulous intentions when they put and hold the Bible in their hand? Why are people allowing themselves to become victims? Okay, you’re with me on the question, right?
Follow along, as God inspired the apostle Paul to give an answer to that. In Apostle Paul’s letter to Timothy. Here in II Timothy chapter 4, let’s read together verse 3:
For the time is coming when [people] will not tolerate (endure) sound and wholesome instruction,…
[2 Timothy 4:3 Amplified Bible]
Brother Bob: Allow me to pause. What was the prediction of the Lord, here, through the apostle? Prediction about people? What did he say? They’re not going to tolerate sound doctrine. They are not going to want sound biblical truth anymore. So what did He say would transpire?
…but, having ears itching [for something pleasing and gratifying], they will gather to themselves one teacher after another to a considerable number, chosen to satisfy their own liking and to foster the errors they hold,
[2 Timothy 4:3 Amplified Bible]
Brother Bob: Why do people become victims? Because they embrace this exact principle forewarned by the Lord through the apostle. They gather for themselves preachers who will tell them what they’re itching to hear, or preachers that will tell them what they believe is okay. Let’s just consider a very obvious example, and that’s the mantra of Protestantism. What’s Protestantism? What’s the mainstay of Protestantism? Faith alone. “Just believe. Just accept Jesus as your Lord and personal savior and that’s it. You will be saved.” A person will hear that. Consider the verse we just read together, right, people will gather preachers that will tell them what they’re itching to hear. “Faith alone? I just need to believe and I will be saved? That’s easy! I like it. I think i’ll go join that religion.” No longer discerning whether or not that principle is true or not.
So what have these preachers done, not in our measurement, but what have these preachers done in the eyes of God? It’s not for us to give answers to these questions. We just turn to the pages of the Holy Scriptures for the answers. This is [always] our way. Mark chapter 7, verse 6 and 7:
Jesus answered them, “How right Isaiah was when he prophesied about you! You are hypocrites, just as he wrote: ’These people, says God, honor me with their words, but their heart is really far away from me. It is no use for them to worship me, because they teach human rules as though they were my laws!”
[Mark 7:6-7 Good News Translation]
Brother Bob: They may have tried to honor the Lord, but they failed. Why did they fail? Well, Mr. Hezoda noticed—Mr. Hezoda the one who asked the original question—and maybe there are others in the studio audience or on the online audience viewing our program, or on Direct TV channel 2068 who are also viewing our program. They are here who might have that same kind of question. But here inside the Church Of Christ, we adhere to a very, very important biblical principle, which has been missed by all of those preachers and have been noticed then by Mr. Hezoda and, like I said, so many others. It has caused so much perplexity and confusion in organizations all claiming to be under the umbrella of Christianity. They have missed an important biblical principle, which we’ve got to hold tight to. And we do, here inside the Church Of Christ.
Don’t go beyond what is written in the Bible
What principle do I refer to? We are not allowed to go beyond what is written. Whose rule is that anyway? We turn again to the Holy Scriptures for a response. Apostle Paul wrote the following. I Corinthians, chapter 4, verse 6:
Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other.
[1 Corinthians 4:6 New International Version]
Brother Bob: Beloved audience, whose rule is it? Is it our rule? We believe in this rule. Why? Because?
Audience: That’s in the Bible.
Brother Bob: What was the rule? Don’t go beyond what is…?
Audience: Written.
Brother Bob: Don’t go beyond what is written. You can’t add to it. When we pose questions, you just have to turn to the Holy Scriptures and get the answer from God. He inspired, more or less, forty-two different chosen writers over a time span of so many years to compile these truths. So that when we pose questions, we won’t have to try to dream up our own opinionated answers. It’s there. Here inside the Church Of Christ, this is how we learn. This is the way that we are taught. It may not be the most entertaining format, but we are preserved from the opinions of any individual, and we are, therefore, tied to the truths of God recorded, here, in the Holy Scriptures. We always adhere to the instruction that we have just read together, “Don’t go beyond what is written.” Everything that we believe has to come from the Holy Scriptures.
So, I pose this question to the audience, once again. Did anyone know that that was the commandment of God before we just read it from the Bible and put it up on the screen, that you could not go beyond what was written? How many knew that rule of God before we just read it together? Raise your hand. More or less. About a half. So there’s the answer to Mr. Hazoda’s question: half did not even know that that was a rule. And because half and so many others and preachers and such in this world also do not yet know that rule, they just go and preach whatever they think. Their own idea of right and wrong, good and bad, and that confuses and perplexes people such as Mr. Hazoda and so many others to wonder why is Christianity all under the umbrella of Christianity all teaching so many different things? Well there you go. There’s the Bible’s answer. Because there are people out there teaching things that have been added to it or subtracted from it and confusing people.
So upon close examination you will see that many churches and religious groups and preachers, like what was mentioned by the individual who posed the question for today’s episode in that opening video, he’s noticing the preachers that are just not following that rule. Instead what’s being put forth, sad to say, are teachings inspired—and we heard that as we have read Mark chapter 7—teachings inspired by man’s own rules. Not God. And these falsehoods have been inserted in every Christian-professing religion since the very beginning. The very beginning of Christianity. Except for one. Except for one. The true Church Of Christ built by Jesus. And beloved guests, audience online and on Direct TV, today, here in this studio audience, and on the online studio audience as well, you have found that one true Church Of Christ established by Jesus that does adhere to the instruction to use the Bible as the sole basis of our faith. Do not add to it, do not subtract [from] it. You must continue therefore to study with us. For now, that’s all we have time for, but may it inspire you to continue learning more and continue studying with us here inside the Church Of Christ.
We want to thank, so much, our studio audience for joining us, taking the studio tour, and posing questions as many of you have done. There is no question that is too basic. There is no question that cannot be answered by the Bible when it comes to our lives, when it comes to our salvation. If you would like to know more about the basic fundamental teachings found inside the Church Of Christ please visit
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Learn more at incmedia.org
Brother Bob: And pause it because I want to ask you to memorize it in case you haven’t yet. Please visit incmedia.org. Okay say it without me. Visit?
Audience: incmedia.org
Brother Bob: There you will find many more of these episodes of That’s in the Bible, as well as episodes of The Message. You will find our doctrines and teachings in the Church Of Christ that are in Spanish, in French, in German, in Italian, etc. And there you will find the beliefs we embrace inside the Church Of Christ. These are the things that we believe because…?
Audience: That’s in the Bible.
Brother Bob: You can send your video questions just like the gentleman did there. Send your video questions to
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Email us your questions
Brother Bob: If you would like to see your questions answered here, of course, on this program…?
Audience: That’s in the Bible
Brother Bob: You’re getting slower. We’re almost finished now. That’s okay. Thank you very much for joining us. We’ll see you again next time.
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