Can our "denomination" save us?

            I recently read an email from a friend of mine whom I've been keeping in contact with lately. It arose an interesting point of Christianity and whether or not our denomination can bring us salvation.

            When I was substantially younger I remember thinking that Adventism was the one and only way people could be saved. I began to feel sympathy toward those who were Catholic and Mormon and all the others who weren’t under the name Adventist. I recall a time when I deliberated the question, “If Adventism is the precise direction to pursue then why are there so many other various forms of Christianity and well...religion in general?”

            My answer came to surface when my eyes fell upon Matthew 3:9 which states, "Don't say to me, 'We're [Abraham's descendants], so nothing can happen to us.' That means absolutely nothing as far as your salvation is concerned, because God could create all the children of Abraham He wants to out of these rocks!" The different denominations arose from the various “interpretations” of Bible texts. I believe if the Bible is open to interpretation then God’s primary intention is lost in our feeble minds! If we could understand everything God set before us, we would be equal with Him. That is never and will never be the case! We will not always understand everything and that is the way God wanted it to be. When we have questions over text, we need to pray that God will give us guidance and wisdom to understand that specific portion. We are never to alter God’s Word, adding to or subtracting anything He said; when we do so, it becomes an enormous stumbling block in many peoples’ faith. God has called us to live in accordance to HIS Word; that’s it. We are to read and live the Bible in our everyday lives, to accept Jesus as our risen Saviour, to follow the 10 commandments from the adoration we have for Him, and to listen when God calls on us to do more for Him.

            This brings me to my conclusion...denomination, form, religious “name”...none of that will put a stamp next to your name “SAVED”. Salvation comes from works, works come from faith, and faith comes from the love we have for our Heavenly Father, Creator, and Deliverer.