Sunday Sermons
Where Did All the Churches Come From? 1
Where Did All the Churches Come From?
“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it” (Matthew 16:18); “And gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body” (Ephesians 1:22-23); “There is one body” (Ephesians 4:4); “Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body… the church is subject to Christ” (Ephesians 5:23-24); “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28); “I write so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15).
The above passages bear out that the Church is an essential relationship. It is the body of Christ, those who have been purchased with the blood of Jesus, the people Jesus will save, and those who are in God’s family. The Church belongs to God and not to man or any group of men. The true Church is in subjection to God, which means following and defending God’s truth. The head of the Church is Jesus, and not a man or any group of men. While there are many congregations that compose the Church (Romans 16:16), there is only one body, and the Scriptures do not give man any authority to divide up the body of Christ along denominational lines (1 Corinthians 1:10-13).
How Many?
“A Good housekeeping article in 1980 was entitled ‘The 1,200 Religions in America’. It listed all 1200! Get a load of some of America’s ‘religions’: The Kennedy Worshipers (people who worship John F. Kennedy), the Ministry of Universal Wisdom…The Church of What’s Happening Now…The Holy Ghost Repair Service. The Baptists had 72 groups, the Catholics at least 30. There were 14 flying-saucer groups, 5 homosexual organizations, a dozen mail-order churches and 129 Pentecostal denominations (trying to convince us God talks directly to them). The Pentecostals include the Neverdies (I guess they’ve been around a long time), the Fire-Baptized Church (ouch!), the Church of the Little Children and two snake-handler groups (they do not call themselves the ‘Neverdies’). Several years ago the World Christian Encyclopedia listed 20,800 denominations, and US News and World Report stated that ‘in 1985 the number of denominations surpassed 22,000, with an average of five new ones organized each week” (How Many? Ken Gardner, Firm Foundation, Sept. 1998, p. 21). Any reader of the New Testament will immediately realize that the above is completely contrary to God’s will as expressed in John 17:21 “that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me”.
Was God Caught by Surprise?
Of course the answer is No. The New Testament, in very clear terms, predicted that there would be a huge apostasy that would hit the Church that Jesus had founded (Acts 20:29-30; 1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 4:2-4). 1. This would not be some kind of fringe movement, rather, even the elders of various Churches would turn away from the truth. 2. The Church would not simply lose a few members, but many would turn from the truth (2 Peter 2:2). 3. There would not be just a few false teachers, but there would be an abundance of such men. 4. This apostasy has already happened. Catholicism and some other groups have taught mandatory food laws and mandatory celibacy (1 Timothy 4:3).
Historical Overview
Apparently the earliest apostasy in the Church, after the days of the apostles, was the corruption of the eldership. In the New Testament, the terms elder, bishop, and pastor all applied to the same office (Acts 20:17,28; Titus 1:5,7; 1 Peter 5:1-3). Such men shepherded only one congregation, that is, the one of which they themselves were members (1 Peter 5:2). In the 2ndcentury A.D. we find existing an office called the “President of the Presbytery”, that is, one of the elders was designed by the special title “bishop” and was given rule over the other elders. The territory which this lead elder ruled was also expanded to include other congregations. This territory was called a “diocese”. These “bishops” began meeting in synods or councils, and the presiding bishop was given the title of Metropolitan. Not many years passed until such men claimed to have been empowered by Christ to dictate to the churches authoritative rules and manners, that is, claiming to make up rules in addition to those found in the New Testament (2 John 9). In the year 588 AD., the bishop (or Patriarch) of Constantinople, John the Faster, assumed the title of “Universal Bishop of the Church”. Just a few years later, in 606 AD, the title was bestowed upon the bishop of Rome. Hence we find a man claiming to be the head of the Church, which is a violation of many passages, including (Ephesians 1:22-23).
During this time many other additions to the Word of God were being introduced: In the 4th century, we find the introduction of the worship of the virgin Mary (1 Timothy 2:5). In the 5th century, the doctrine of purgatory was established, that is, the pagan belief that spirits are purified by a certain kind of fire. This was based on the assumption that some sins are too small to deserve eternal punishment, and few people depart this life entirely free from sin (Matthew 25:46). In the 6th century, we find the introduction of the worship of “saints” and images. The 9th century witnessed the continuance of the controversies begun in the 8th century, and the introduction of the doctrine of Transubstantiation. This is the doctrine that upon the blessing given by the officiating priest, the unleavened bread and fruit of the vine become the actual body and blood of Jesus. Out of this doctrine also came the “mass”. The term “mass” is the perpetual sacrifice of the new covenant, in which the body and blood of Jesus Christ are really and truly offered to God under the elements of bread and fruit of the vine. This means that Jesus did not offer Himself once for our sins(Hebrews 9:26). At this time we also find the revival of the doctrine of Predestination (John 3:16; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:6).
On July 16, 1054 AD, the conflicts between Grecian and Roman Bishops eventually led to a separation, which resulted in the establishment of the Greek Orthodox Church. The charges brought against Roman Catholicism by the Greek Catholics included: Forbidding marriage of priests, fasting on Saturday as the Jewish Sabbath, and the assumption that the Bishop of Rome is the Universal Bishop of the Church on earth. Yet the Greek Church had its own problems. They forbade the use of carved images, but worshipped pictures. The communion is distributed to all, even children; leavened bread is used at the Lord’s Supper, and they also accept the doctrine of Transubstantiation.
In the 11th century Peter “the Lombard” published four “Books of Sentences”, in which the doctrines of Indulgence and Penance were set forth. He argued that “the church has also power to remit even these chastisements (suffering in purgatory for unforgiven sins), on consideration of certain services or compliance with certain demands”. In the same century, the doctrine of “Words of Supererogation”, which taught that man could perform a more perfect obedience than God required (Luke 17:10). In the 12th century, Pope Innocent III described as a divine law, that of auricular confession to a priest, which is not only a perversion of James 5:16, but also introduces into the Church an official priesthood or clergy, something that is completely unknown in the New Testament (1 Peter 2:5; Ephesians 4:11). It is interesting that in the New Testament we find the office and qualifications for elders/bishops (1 Timothy 3:1ff; Titus 1:6ff), deacons (1 Timothy 3:8-13), and evangelists/preachers (1,2 Timothy and Titus), and yet the New Testament is completely silent about an official priesthood, a celibate priesthood, or the qualifications for such an office.
In the 15th century, at the Council of Constance, the Catholic church, although admitting that the Lord’s Supper involves two substances (bread and fruit of the vine), decreed that only the bread should be given to the people, and that all who would not submit to this change should be considered heretics and punished with death. Such an injunction labels the apostle Paul as a heretic, for he commanded that all Christians must partake of both elements, (1 Corinthians 11:23-26 “do this…do this..”). In fact, partaking of only one of the elements would be to partake of communion in an unworthy manner and thus bring condemnation upon oneself.
Almost every facet of the New Testament teaching on baptism was being changed. In A.D. 253, Cyprian, a bishop of Carthage, held a council of sixty-six bishops, who decided that an infant should be baptized on the second or third day after birth. People started to believe that baptism admits infants into the church. This overlooks the clear teaching in Scripture which demands that the person being baptized must themselves believe that Jesus is the Son of God (Mark 16:16), and have sins of which they need to repent (Acts 2:38). In the middle of the 3rd century, we find the first verified case of substituting sprinkling for immersion. The general practice of immersion continued, however, until the beginning of the 14th century, when, in a council at Ravenna, the Roman Catholic Church decided that either immersion or sprinkling would be sufficient. The change in England and other Protestant churches, from immersion to pouring and from pouring to sprinkling was encouraged by the preaching of John Calvin, who declared that the mode of baptism was a matter of no importance. Unfortunately, people failed to remember that the Greek word rendered “baptism”, means immersion. Beyond that, baptism is specifically called by God, a “burial” (Romans 6:3-5).
The far-reaching and dangerous doctrine, which arose out of Catholicism, is the teaching that the Pope and the hierarchy of the Church are infallible. Actually, the Catholic Church recognizes three sources of divine authority. A. The Bible is recognized as inspired, with the qualification that it must be interpreted by the Church. B. The Pope is inspired when he speaks on matters of doctrine and morals. C. The traditions of the Church are likewise considered infallible. In fact, Catholicism recognizes tradition as having more authority than the Bible. The New Testament makes it clear that a bishop must be the husband of one wife (1 Timothy 3:2). Catholic tradition argues, a bishop cannot be married. It is obvious whose word is respected as the final authority.
In addition, during these years of departure, God no longer was the sole object of worship. Mary, angels, the saints, relics, or the earthly remains of pious individuals are also to be venerated. Jesus was also removed as the sole mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 7:25). People were now being told to hold in reverence angels, the saints, and Mary, because they offer up prayers to God for us and it is profitable to have recourse to their intercession.
Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church Of Christ/503-644-9017
www.ch-of-christ.beaverton.or.us/mdunagan@easystreet.com
