A Good Church Is Hard To Find

At Christmastime, people go to church. For many different reasons, they’ll search out a church where they can go and hear the hymns of the season, easing a year’s worth of doubts and fears with the message that Jesus was born. Sitting on pews during the holiest time of the year, decisions will be made, and for some that includes searching for a church home.

People ask us all the time for help in finding a “good” church. But we hesitate to send people out there looking when we know from experience that most Christians are still learning why they believe what they believe. In other words, they’re knowledge of the Bible is shaky, making it easy for them to follow false doctrine, which can destroy a person’s faith.

Doctrine is simply something that is taught, a principle or a position, and doctrines can be true, or they can be false. Good churches teach good doctrine. My husband always says that it makes no difference what name is on the sign outside the church, but it makes all the difference, in this world and the one to come, as to what is taught inside.

Sound doctrine is what is preached and practiced according to the Word of God by ministers who have rightly divided the Word of Truth. Take the doctrine of salvation, for example. The foundation of any church should be a belief in being born-again, accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, being washed by His precious blood (Rom. 10:9-13). If a doctrine harmonizes with Scripture from Genesis to Revelation, then you know it’s true; it’s sound. Salvation is a true doctrine. 

But a lot of Christians will stop right there. They figure, “Hey, my church got the salvation partright, and that’s all that really matters.” Yes, salvation is critical. In fact, if the church you’re attending does not have the doctrine of salvation correct, then you need to find another church. There are certain doctrines, like salvation, that Christians must believe. There are other doctrines that we can maybe disagree on, but the foundational doctrines like salvation must be correct. In my husband’s book, Brother Swaggart, How Can I Understand The Bible?, he gives an in-depth teaching on the different doctrines of the Bible including justification by faith, grace, sin, and the baptism with the Holy Spirit. It’s a book that would be a tremendous help to any believer.

If you’re not sure whether a doctrine is true or false, then look at the fruit it produces. If the result is bad fruit, then it’s most likely error. Right now, there is a teaching of “deliverance” making its rounds, proclaiming that a Christian’s body can become demon-possessed and needsdeliverance from things like anger, fear, or gossip. What’s the fruit, the result, of this teaching? It’s Christians in church services trying to vomit into buckets to rid themselves of demons. Folks, that is rotten, false doctrine fruit! (By the way, Christians cannot be possessed by demons.)

It’s amazing that some Christians are so quick to believe error. They should understand that Satan has infiltrated the pulpit, the ministry, and the true church of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will twist and distort the Word of God every chance he gets. Then you have other people who will believe a certain doctrine just because a preacher they admire said it was so. What he taughtsounded great, it was easy to believe, and, the best part—it required little to nothing of them. 

That’s why it’s so important that Christians know the Word of God for themselves so that they can discern what is and what is not of God. We also need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth” (John16:13).

I wish it were true that all churches were preaching the truth, but they’re not. There are mixtures in messages—some truth with some error, a little truth with a lot of error, or a lot of truth with a little error. And then there are churches that might be preaching all truth, as far as they know it. 

As a child of God, you can sense if something you’re being taught isn’t right. Years ago, my husband and I visited a Pentecostal church. We knew the family that pastored the church as well as many of those in attendance, and we knew that these people loved the Lord. But the moment we walked into that church and sat down, both of us felt so uncomfortable and out of place. It wasn’t until the service started that we understood why—the guest speaker that evening was mixing false doctrine into his message.

First John 4:1 says, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”

Bible doctrine is tremendously important, and a lot of people in churches these days don’t wantthe responsibility of learning it for themselves. They choose instead to depend completely on apastor, a friend, or somebody else to teach and lead them. But the Bible says to, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). 

A lot of things change over the years. There used to be full-service gas stations that would pump your gas and check your oil; today you pump your own. Grocery stores used to carry your bags to the car and load them for free; now you scan and haul your own purchases. The world keeps pushing us toward convenience through automation, buttons, and screens. What hasn’t changed is Christianity, and it’s not always convenient or quick. Christians have the responsibility of knowing what we believe and why. The more we know the Scriptures that back up our beliefs, the more we can discern true doctrine from false, and good churches from bad.

Please don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. There are some great Bible-believing, Spirit-filled churches out there, of course there are. But if you, like so many of our viewers, have had to go out searching for one, then you know how difficult it can be to find one close enough to attend. If you have found one, then by all means be in it every time the doors open. 

But if you haven’t yet found a church that preaches sound Bible doctrine, then I want you to know that there is nothing in the world wrong with assembling together with us at Family Worship Center by way of SonLife Broadcasting. As my husband puts it, we are a church for the whole world. We’re not in competition with the local church, nor are we trying to replace it, heavens no. We support the local church. Everything we put out on SBN—the preaching, the teaching, the praise and worship—we believe the Lord is using all of it to strengthen those attending local churches as well as encourage local pastors. And we thank the Lord for thatbecause we know that strong churches led by strong pastors means more good churches for everyone.

Sources

• Based on comments from October 3, 2024, Frances & Friends.

• Based on comments from October 4, 2024, Frances & Friends.

• Based on comments from March 20, 2024, Frances & Friends. 

• Based on JS book, Questions & Answers: Bible-based Answers to Your Questions About Life, pages 35, 71-74.