Tag Archives: denominations

The Christian and the Papacy

Church Bulletin, Doctrine, Evangelism, ,

Few events generate the coverage we’ve seen over the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church. Almost every media outlet has been talking about the retirement of the old Pope and the coming installation of a new. Even sports call in shows have featured the Roman drama. When Christians hear Catholics talking about the Pope how should we respond?

The Papacy is False

The official Catholic dictionary defines the pope this way:

“The title pope… is at present employed solely to denote the Bishop of Rome, who, in virtue of his position as successor of St. Peter, is the chief pastor of the whole Church, the Vicar of Christ upon earth.”

It’s beyond the scope of our article to go into detail but we would note that the office of the Pope is not found in Scripture in any form. No pastor/bishop/elder is ever said to be chief over the others and the idea that the Pope is a successor to the apostle Peter is unsustainable.

Indeed, any comparison between the present Roman Catholic Church and the original church is a study in sharp contrasts. We cannot support the idea of a common man has the head of the church. There is but one head of the church and that is Jesus (Ephesians 1:22; Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:18).

We Must Not “Bash” Catholics

Many, if not most, Catholics have been raised in their faith and have not been taught to study the Scriptures. The training of the church is the final answer for spiritual questions. Those who are so raised are excellent opportunities for teaching. The bulk of Catholics are outstanding people who love God and desire to live according to his direction.

One who uses the current newsworthy events as a pretext for insult ought to consider how Jesus and the apostles dealt with those who practiced false religion. Our Lord called them to the truth without insult. Paul taught idol worshippers with kindness (Acts 17:16-31).

Instead of insulting, let us draw people to the truth of Scripture and the glorious direct relationship with have with Jesus.

For some, any questioning or disagreement with another’s faith is bashing. It is not. We can and must seek to always share the truth with people who have been deceived.

Be Thankful for Opportunities

In Revelation 3:8 Jesus told the church of Philadelphia that he had set before them an “open door which no one is able to shut.” The events in Rome may provide just such an open door. The complexity and bureaucracy of the Roman Catholic Church and the exaltation of a mere mortal to a position of such extreme power and authority may cause some to wonder of this truly a work of God.

But being thankful for opportunities is not the same as acting upon them. When our friends begin to speak of the new leader let us listen kindly and gently lead toward truth. People who are truly seeking God will gladly welcome offers of study. Be the one who leads another to truth!

Bryant Evans may be reached at bryant at bryantevans.com. You can follow Bryant on Twitter  @jbevans.

 

Christian Unity

Doctrine, Evangelism, General, ,

Christian unity is an oft sought but rarely found product in our diverse world.  Jesus himself desired the unity of his disciples and specifically prayed for it in the High Priestly prayer of John chapter 17. It is essential for all believers to consider Jesus’ thinking and prayers.

Jesus Prayed for Christian Unity

Jesus prayed for christian unity. Praying for his disciples Jesus asked, “keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one..’ (John 17:11). In verse 21, “that they may all be one…” In verse 22, “that they may be one even as we are one.”  In verse 23, and note the addition of the adjective, “that they may become perfectly one…” Four times in this chapter Jesus specifically prays for unity among his believers.

It’s important to note Jesus’ standard of unity that he seeks. He desires perfect unity. This suggests a complete unity in all matters. The context drives home this point when we see that the oneness or unity between Jesus and his Father is the standard of unity (see verses 21 and 22). We have come to accept the goal of “unity in diversity” but there is no diversity here. There is not the tiniest space between the Father and the Son and this is the kind of unity Jesus desires for his followers.

Paul was a great follower of Jesus. When he wrote to the fractured church in Corinth he echoed the same thoughts as the Lord.

 “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.”

The Corinthians had begun to coalesce around personalities in the church. The result was a disunity that Jesus abhors. Within his body, the church, believers are to stand together in sweet unity with one another and speak the same things. Our goals and our efforts are the same, our doctrine is the same for we are one. The prayer for unity in John is demonstrated in practice among the Corinthians.

The same plea is given by Paul to the Ephesians. These beloved brethren were taught of the depth of God’s grace in salvation. In Ephesians 3:20 Paul calls for glory to Jesus in the church. In the next verse, Ephesians 4:1, he calls upon the believers to “walk worthy” of the their calling and in verse 3 to maintain the “unity of the spirit.” 

What follows next, in Ephesians 4:4-6, is the basis for that unity.

“There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

I would suggest that Christendom is about half way there. We believe in one God and we believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, as the son of God. But beyond that the unity crumbles. We cannot honestly say that we believe in and hold forth, one faith. Nor can Christendom claim a single baptism. There are at least a half dozen baptisms taught within Christendom today.

Given that unity is so precious to Jesus we conclude that the global community of Christ-believers is failing. We are not united. We stand under different names, teaching different doctrines and predicating our faith upon different teachings.

Divided.

Fractured.

Such division displeases Jesus.

Hope for Christian Unity

Let’s go back to [esvignore] John 17 [/esvignore] and find the way to unity.

The starting point for Christian Unity is the glory of God. Jesus came to bring glory to the Father (John 17:1-5). Our goal must also be to glorify God. Let us destroy the altars to our own successes and victories and give all the glory to God. Only by shattering our own arrogance can we adequately humble ourselves before the Lord (James 4:10).

Second, Christian Unity comes from and through the Word of God. Consider verse 8:

“For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.”

Zero in on the phrase, “I have given them the words that you gave me.” Most immediately, Jesus is speaking of the truth of his Sonship. But note that they came to that knowledge through the words given Jesus from God. Jesus prays that that his disciples by made holy, sanctified, by God. But how? “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” ([esvignore]John 17:17[/esvignore]). And again, in verse 19, he asks the Father to sanctify his people “in truth.”

This idea of sanctification in truth is empowered all the more when we consider inspiration. Paul says Scripture is inspired (2 Timothy 3:16). The word used here is a compound Greek verb which literally means that Scripture is “breathed out by God.” The ESV so translates it that way. The beauty of this thought is that God has exuded his word into the minds of holy men who have recorded the word and given it to us. Through every phase of inspiration the word remains God’s, the writers were tools of God to bring truth to men (2 Peter 1:21).

So if we have the Scriptures, and we do, and if the Scriptures are true, and they are, and if it is through truth that unity comes, and it is, we then have a real hope of unity.

We can begin the long road back to unity today if men will come together in the one place where we can all stand – the Bible. We must begin today to eliminate sectarianism and denominationalism from our lives.

Let us revel in the sanctifying power of the word alone. Let us eschew additions and subtractions. Let us renounce convenient teachings and demand truth from the pulpits of our land. Let us call Bible things by Bible names and allow God to be the absolute Lord of all our lives. It is possible!

 

Bryant Evans may be reached at bryant at bryantevans.com. You can follow Bryant on Twitter  @jbevans.

The “Attractional” Church

Church, Worship, ,

Churches are searching for young adults. Survey’s have repeatedly shown that people in their 20’s are abandoning churches in growing numbers. Some return when they marry, have children and begin to look for additional stability but some never come back.

To plug the slow drain some churches have turned to big bands and big social programs but that hasn’t worked well and certainly has not solved the problem.

But the wow factor—expensive bands, charismatic preachers, elaborate social events—doesn’t come cheap. What’s more, many religious leaders worry that offering that kind of experience only encourages young people to think about “the attractional church,” the kind of place you go for entertainment but not for any long-term commitment.

So writes Naomi Schaefer Riley at the Wall Street Journal. Riley is examining  a new para-church movement which seeks to draw the young adults into services which promote a sense of unity among believers in Christ. One survey has 98% of respondents saying the CityOne movement  has brought them closer to a personal relationship with Christ. 42% say they have been helped to connect with local churches.

We want people to be attracted to Jesus. We want people to be drawn to the salvation that is in Christ alone (John 14:6). But it is essential that people be drawn to the true Christ which includes what he paid for with his blood, his church, and the entirety of his teaching (Acts 20:27-28). It is good to see people thinking more about Jesus. It is good to see people giving serious thought to their souls and their eternal home. The church must supply them properly with truth.

What is disappointing, however,  is that it takes a non church to do the work that should belong to the church itself.

Religious leaders ought be asking some very basic questions about our own decline. At the heart is a question about the heart. What do we believe and what do we teach? When any church moves away from the Bible as its single source of doctrine it always fails. When a church changes Biblical teaching in order to attract those outside, it fails. Evangelism is critical. Outreach is vital. Jesus said to go teach and baptize (Matthew 28:18-20). We teach and baptize while God adds them to the church (Acts 2:41, 47).

The church must be pure yet it seems the religious community has morphed into something that doesn’t look too  much like the original Christians. We have gone from worship services, a God centered service, to worship experiences which put the person at the center. We come to get something out of worship instead of putting something into worship.

It might be a good idea to examine what we are doing when the church assembles. There is only good in standing on the words of the Lord. Let us come back to the Bible alone as the source of our teaching. Let us refocus our worship toward God and not the creature (Romans 1:25).

When is a Church not a Church?

Church, Church Bulletin, Doctrine,

A rather interesting question don’t you think? After all, there are literally dozens and dozens of churches in our area and each preaches a fundamentally differing doctrine from the others. Can all of these be called churches?

Certainly society considers them churches as does the government. But our interest is in the Bible view. When is a church not a church according to Scripture?

A church is not a church when it is a man made organization.

Most all churches can point to a time when their denomination began. Most all of today’s denominations began in the last 500 years and can pinpoint the moment of their establishment. The 16th century reformers such as Luther, Calvin and Wycliffe were men of great courage you sought break away from the oppression of the Roman Catholic Church. They are to be commended for their efforts yet they did not return to  the church first established by Jesus. Luther’s followers gave us the Lutheran church in 1580, the Baptists were preceded by a group known as the Anabaptists from the 16th century. Methodists arise from  the 19th century and base their teachings upon the work of John Wesley. On and on we could go but in each case there was not a return to the fundamental doctrines of Scripture. Each of these churches and others often do not even bear the name of Christ in their congregational names.

Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 that he would build his own church. That church was established on Pentecost Sunday (Acts 2) and people were moved into the church (kingdom) from spiritual darkness (Colossians 1:13). It was this church that the Bible says was purchased by Jesus (Acts 20:28) thus giving him complete ownership and control over (Ephesians 5:23). The church originated in the mind of God, was created, bought and paid for by Christ and thus belongs only to him. He established the church. It is shameful for a man to usurp that role.

A church is not a church when it teaches the doctrines of men.

Because Jesus paid for the true church with his blood, he alone is able to dictate its doctrines and commands. The Lord himself decried the substitution of men’s ideas for truth when he warned of the “doctrines of men” (Matthew 15:9).

Roman Catholics are often taught to leave the Bible study to their church leaders and doctrine will be taught and interpreted by the priests and cardinals. Within Protestantism, a very large majority adhere to the doctrines of the 16th century theologian John Calvin. Commonly known as Calvinism this system of doctrine cannot withstand careful Bible study and Scripture examination. Nevertheless, many follow its teachings with little thought that they could be horribly errant.

The church of Christ is different. It was established once almost 2,000 years ago in the city of Jerusalem as promised. Next week, we will demonstrate why it is not a denomination but the original.


Giving an Answer

Baptist Answers, Doctrine, ,

Peter declares that we must be prepared to give a defense of our faith to everyone who asks (1 Peter 3:15). It is in that spirit that we begin a series of posts to defend certain scurrilous accusations made by someone unknown to me but posted on the internet. His web page asserts that  “a church of Christ preacher cannot clearly answer” his points. I intend to answer each point from Scripture and disprove that claim.

I suspect, although I do not know, that the writer has had a bad experience with the church. The incendiary nature of his comments Continue reading Giving an Answer →