The history of Christianity, and of the western world, happens to be quite different from that which has been written in most history books. This discrepancy stems from the heavy influence of the Roman Catholic Church. The Catholic Church claims to be able to trace its origin all the way back to Christ, but this claim is not true. The Catholic Church began in Rome in the third century A.D.
The true history of the Christian Church began when the Holy Spirit baptized it on Pentecost in Jerusalem in year one A.D. Immediately, the Apostle Peter began to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ which alone saves Christians. This pattern continued with the Apostle Paul and the rest of the Apostles. I Corinthians 15:1-4 describes the simple gospel which the Apostles preached. The book of Acts makes no mention of any basic Catholic doctrines. None of the Apostles were ever called special priests. In fact, the Apostle Peter taught in I Peter 2:9 that all Christian believers are priests, and the Apostle John agreed with him in Revelation 1:6. The priesthood of the believer means that any individual believer can talk directly to God through Christ without any intervention of a special priest. Romans 8:34.
The method for becoming a Christian is quite simple. An unbeliever hears the gospel, becomes convinced by the Holy Spirit that he needs to be saved from his sins by the Lord Jesus Christ, repents of his sins and puts his faith in Christ's power to save him. At that very moment, the Holy Spirit baptizes that believer into the Church of Jesus Christ, cleanses him of all inner sin with the blood of Jesus, and recreates his soul and spirit by giving him the righteousness of Christ Himself. This miraculous moment, Jesus called the "born again" experience. John 3:3-8; John 3:16; I Corinthians 6:11; I Corinthians 12:13; I Corinthians 15:1-4. Infants cannot actively repent and believe, therefore, infant baptism cannot make one a Christian.
The true Word of God which informs us of this true gospel has come to us through the Apostles and the true Christian Church that was in Antioch, Syria. Acts 11:26. The Catholic Church derived much of its doctrines from the so-called Church fathers who lived in Alexandria, Egypt. These men were heavily influenced by gnosticism and even paganism. This fact alone makes it quite impossible that they could have preserved the true Word of God for the Christian Church.
The Antioch Church preserved the true Word of God and the true gospel which they also called the Received Text. The common believers also called the Received Text the vulgate because the common believers accepted it as the true Word of God. The Catholic Church produced a corrupted version of the Bible through one of its fathers called Jerome which they also called the Vulgate, but the common believers never accepted it. Eventually, the Catholic Church even banned its people from reading the Received Text. The people of God succeeded in preserving the true Word of God despite terrible persecution from the time of the Antioch Church to the present day. In 1611, the Received Text was translated into the King James Bible which is the true Word of God in English. Down through history, the Catholic Church has persecuted the true people of God and called their churches by many false names, but the true doctrines of the true Word of God continues today in some Baptist Churches. Just as John the Baptist did in John 1:29, the true Baptist Church has always pointed directly to Jesus as God and Savior.
The inerrant and infallible Word of God has come to us through His persecuted Church to impart to us the true gospel message that Christ can save any believer through His personal interaction with them, and that the Church has no part in this interaction except that it preaches the gospel to the people. This direct Truth, who is Christ, imparted to the inner being of the believer constitutes the inerrant and infallible Living Word of God, and not the written Word. John 1:1; John 1:14; John 14:6. God has caused the written Word of God to be inerrant and infallible only to the extent that the Holy Spirit uses it to guide the believer to its Living Truth. Psalm 12:6-7. The written Word does not provide objective truth that everyone has to accept because God desires to preserve free will. God provides evidence that His Word is true but not proof because He desires that hearers of His Word decide for themselves to accept the absolute subjective Truth that Christ is Savior and God. John 1:12-14.
No comments:
Post a Comment