How do the denominations differ?

What the Bible says

Paul pictures the church as a building with one foundation and many builders.

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds. For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:10-11

Every tradition in this essay claims to stand on that foundation. Their differences are mostly about the building: who interprets Scripture and with what authority, who is baptized and how, and who leads the congregation. The New Testament calls the church's leaders both elders and overseers (Titus 1:5, Acts 20:28), and how those titles are understood has shaped churches ever since.

Scripture does not weigh every difference the same. Some it asks believers to bear with one another.

One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

Romans 14:5

Yet Jude urges believers to "contend earnestly for the faith entrusted once for all to the saints" (Jude 1:3). Understanding the denominations means learning which differences belong to forbearance and which to faithfulness.

The church's witness

The Roman Catholic Church is the communion of churches united with the bishop of Rome, the pope, whom it regards as the successor of Peter. It receives Scripture together with the Tradition handed down from the apostles, both interpreted by the church's teaching office. It celebrates seven sacraments and places the Eucharist at the center of Christian life Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Council of Trent answered the Reformation in the sixteenth century, and the Second Vatican Council shaped the church's modern life.

The Eastern Orthodox churches of Greece, Russia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East hold to the teaching of the first seven ecumenical councils and pass on the faith through the liturgy and the icons. They describe salvation as sharing in God's own life, being drawn into union with him. They honor the patriarch of Constantinople as first among equals but do not accept the pope's authority over the whole church.

Lutheran churches come from Martin Luther's Reformation. At their heart is justification by grace through faith, not by works, set out in the Augsburg Confession of 1530 and Luther's Small Catechism Augsburg Confession. Lutherans keep much of the ancient liturgy, baptize infants, and confess that Christ's body and blood are truly present in the Lord's Supper.

Reformed and Presbyterian churches come from the reform of Zwingli and Calvin. They stress God's sovereignty and his covenant, and they are governed by pastors and elders gathered in sessions, presbyteries and general assemblies The Form of Presbyterial Church-Government. The Westminster Confession is their best-known statement of faith. In Korea this is the largest Protestant family; its first presbytery adopted the Twelve Articles in 1907 The Twelve Articles.

The Anglican churches descend from the Church of England, which separated from Rome in the sixteenth century. They worship with Thomas Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer, state their teaching in the Thirty-Nine Articles, and keep the ancient government by bishops The Thirty-Nine Articles. Anglicans have tried to hold the Reformation's teaching together with the worship of the early church.

Baptist churches began among English Christians early in the seventeenth century. They baptize those who confess faith, by immersion, let each congregation govern itself, and have championed religious liberty Second London Baptist Confession. The Anabaptists of the century before had also baptized only those who professed faith.

Methodist churches grew from the revival led by John Wesley, a priest of the Church of England. In 1738, at a meeting in London where Luther's preface to Romans was read, Wesley wrote that his heart was strangely warmed John Wesley, Journal. Methodists stress that God's grace is offered to all, that believers may know they are forgiven, and that love can make the heart whole in this life Wesley, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection. Methodism reached Korea with Henry Appenzeller in 1885.

Pentecostal churches began in revivals at the start of the twentieth century, above all at Azusa Street in Los Angeles in 1906. They teach a baptism in the Holy Spirit after conversion and expect the gifts of the Spirit, such as tongues and healing, today. Korea's Full Gospel churches belong to this tradition.

Three questions sort these traditions. The first is authority: Catholics and Orthodox receive the church's Tradition alongside Scripture, while Protestants hold Scripture as the final authority. The second is the sacraments: whether infants are baptized or only those who confess faith, and how Christ is present in the Supper. The third is government: churches led by a bishop (Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, many Methodists), by elders (Presbyterians), or by each congregation under congregational polity (Baptists and many independent churches).

Matthew Henry, commenting on 1 Corinthians 3, warns that "there may be bad building on a good foundation" Matthew Henry. On Romans 14 he also writes, "Attempts for producing absolute oneness of mind among Christians would be useless" Matthew Henry.

In the original languages

"Presbyterian" comes from presbyteros (πρεσβύτερος), "elder", and churches governed by bishops take their name from episkopos (ἐπίσκοπος), "overseer". In Acts 20 Paul calls the elders of Ephesus overseers, and many scholars conclude that the two words name the same office in the New Testament. Churches with bishops answer that the bishop's office, succeeding the apostles, took its own shape very early.

"Baptist" comes from baptizo (βαπτίζω), to dip or wash. Baptists follow the first sense and baptize by immersion; other churches stress the washing and also baptize by pouring or sprinkling.

Common objections

"If they differ this much, aren't they different religions?" The differences are serious. How we are justified and what happens at the Lord's Table are not small matters. But these churches share the faith the Nicene Creed confesses: one God in three persons, Christ truly God and truly man, his death and bodily resurrection Nicene Creed. Churches that do not recite creeds in worship still confess what this one says. In that sense they are different households of the same faith.

"Then which church should I join?" This essay does not recommend a denomination, but some questions help. Does the church preach Christ crucified and risen as Scripture does? Does it confess the faith of the historic creeds? Does it baptize and celebrate the Lord's Supper faithfully? Does it care for its members and help them grow? It is also fair to ask a pastor directly what the church's confession of faith is.

"Why not just be a Christian, without a denomination?" Many churches belong to no denomination, and they can be true churches. Yet each still has to decide whom to baptize and who leads, and so it follows one tradition's answer or another. No one reads the Bible from nowhere. Knowing the tradition you stand in is more honest than assuming you have none.

Going further

The names of the denominations carry the paths the church has walked and the questions it has wrestled with. Knowing them lets you see Christians of other churches not as strangers but as brothers and sisters who serve the same Lord in a different way, and it helps you understand what your own church believes and why.

You might ask yourself: Which tradition does my church belong to, and what is its confession? What could I learn from Christians of another tradition? How have I told the truths I must hold from the differences I should bear?

For why the church divided, read Why are there so many churches and denominations?; for Catholic and Protestant differences, How do Catholics and Protestants differ?; and for the views of baptism and the Supper, What are baptism and the Lord's Supper?.