Sometimes the question of our topic is asked for information. At other times it is presented argumentatively, with the implication that the mere existence of so many denominations is evidence of their right to exist. The implication is that churches of human origin, operating on human authority, could never have secured such a large following. Back of this implication is the assumption that the majority is necessarily, or at least usually, right.
Those who make this assumption underestimate the capacity of mankind for making mistakes! In the days of Noah only eight people on the earth were right. All the others were wrong. You who put your confidence in the majority would have said, “Noah, you’re wrong. It will never rain as you predict. There are only eight people in your little group; all the rest in the world, including many highly educated and brilliant men, are against you. The majority must be right; therefore, you are wrong.” I imagine a great many people reasoned after this fashion in Noah’s time; but those who did got drowned.
In the days of Jesus the majority was wrong again. When he died on the cross only a handful stayed with him. Practically all the world had turned against him. If the majority had been right, then Jesus would have been wrong, but we know that such was not the case.
The Bible clearly teaches that the majority will be lost. “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matt. 7:13, 14). Hence in matters pertaining to your soul it is not safe to put your confidence in the majority.
In all sincerity then, where did so many denominations come from? Did they come from the Bible? No. The Bible reveals only one church. Jesus Christ said, “Upon this rock I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18). Note that he didn’t say “churches.” The Bible teaches that God’s children should be united. Just before he died on the cross Jesus prayed that the unity which existed between Him and the Father might also exist among all believers. “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:20, 21).