DISTINCTIONS - We make them every day! We distinguish between people we like and people we don’t - by avoiding some and seeking out others. One person is distinguished from another by their distinct name, their distinct looks, their distinct mental acuity, and their distinct personality.
God paraded all the animals in front of Adam in order for him to give each a distinct name. The names ‘elephant’ & ‘giraffe’ create distinctly different images in our minds.
Lutherans are distinct from Calvinists - yet both are labeled ‘Protestant’ to distinguish them from Catholics.
Doctrinal differences account for most of the distinctions among the 35,000 denominations of Christianity - which is distinct from the religion of Judaism in several ways.
Throughout Scripture, God makes a distinction between the ‘God-Reliant’ and the ‘God-Defiant’: “So the Lord God said to the serpent: ‘Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He (Christ) shall bruise your head,
And you (Satan) shall bruise His heel.” (GENESIS 3:14,15) From the beginning, God prophesied that there would be constant conflict between the good seed of Eve - and the bad seed of Satan. The apostle John clarified this when he wrote: “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” (I JOHN 3:10)
The distinction between the children of God & the children of Satan in the pre-flood world is clear, in the contrast between Enoch, who ‘walked with God’ (GENESIS 5:21,22), and Lamech who ‘took for himself 2 wives’, and killed a man for wounding him (GENESIS 4:19,23).
God also made a distinction between Israel and all other nations: “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you (Israel) shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is mine.” (EXODUS 11:7)
Some might accuse God of partiality by establishing such a special relationship with only one nation - but a ‘mixed multitude’ (EXODUS 12:32) were allowed by God to join with Israel in coming out of Egypt and establishing a new homeland together. And when ‘the Church’ was established by Jesus Christ, it was made up of Jews and Gentiles (GALATIANS 3:28), and grafted in among Israel as symbolized by an olive tree (ROMANS 11:16-25).
God also made a clear distinction between the sexes: “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (GENESIS 1:27). Later, in the list of instructions God gave to Israel, He clarified this distinction further: “A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God.” (DEUTERONOMY 22:5) Through the apostle Paul God added: “Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him? But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering” (I CORINTHIANS 11:14,15). Verse 10 of this chapter shows that such distinctions make it easier for angels to distinguish between men and women - even while it certainly makes it easier for Humans to do so as well.
The first and second commandments make a distinction between GOD & gods: “I am YHVH your GOD… ‘You shall have no other gods before ME.” (EXODUS 20:2,3) Jesus confirmed this distinction when He said: “This is eternal life, that they may know YOU, THE ONLY TRUE GOD, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (JOHN 17:3). To understand this distinction better - watch our programs on the nature of God and Christ at our Youtube channel called ORIGINAL CHRISTIANITY.
The first distinction God made in Scripture is found in the first chapter of Genesis: “And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark SACRED TIMES and days and years.” (GENESIS 1:14 NIV). Several translations of this text note this distinction God made between ‘Sacred Times’ and ordinary times. God furthers this distinction in the next chapter, making a distinction in the days of the week: “God blessed the 7th day and made it a holy day. He made it special because on that day He rested from all the work He did while creating the world.” (GENESIS 2:2,3 ERV). The apostle Paul notes this distinction in his epistle to the Hebrews: “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s (eternal) rest - also rests from their works, just as God did from His.” (HEBREWS 4:9,10 NIV)
Just as God made a distinction between 1 tree in the Garden of Eden, and all the rest, forbidding Adam & Eve to eat from it - so God made a distinction in what meats Israel could eat and not eat: “ You shall therefore distinguish between clean animals and unclean, between unclean birds and clean, and you shall not make yourselves abominable by beast or by bird, or by any kind of living thing that creeps on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. And you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.” (LEVITICUS 20:25,26) The apostle Paul was inspired to write that this law also applies to the Church, saying, “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected IF it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated (Set apart) by the word of God (LEVITICUS 11 & DEUTERONOMY 14) and prayer.” (I TIMOTHY 4:4,5)
Scripture also puts a clear distinction between true & false doctrine: “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.” (II JOHN 1:9) Too many Christians today abide in the doctrines of men: Athanasius, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, etc. That’s why we promote ‘Original Christianity’ as the true doctrine of Christ, because if it was good enough for Jesus and His disciples, it should be good enough for you and me!