God's Word #1
The Bible isn’t just a history book of the life of Jesus Christ—the Gospels. Nor is it a history book of persecution of first century Christians—Paul’s letters. It is a life saving book—that we are sinners in need of a Savior and that Savior is Jesus Christ, and Him alone. As stated by the 16th century Reformers, we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
During the early centuries, the Church defined what constituted biblical doctrine from the Scriptures. They debated and refuted heresies—false doctrine—even within the Church. When doctrine is changed, distorted or neglected, those professing it are false teachers and not Christian, even if the name of their church professes that they are.
All of history is laid out before God like a tapestry, from Genesis 1:1 – In the beginning; to Revelation 22:21 – May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. We typically look at the Bible as the spiritual side of life, and current events as the physical side. And church history as important yet dull facts. But all things are laid out before God from the very beginning to the very end of time. All are blended and yet distinctive, all are mixed and yet individual. As stated on the slide, God is sovereign in every aspect of life and His Word is foundational in all things.
Isa 46:10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. (NIV)
Down through history, there were those who professed to be Christian but expressed beliefs contrary to Scripture—e.g., denying the divinity of Christ and the Triune God. How did the Church take the O.T. books and new testament letters (books) and establish valid Christian doctrine that we still profess today while refuting heresies?
The O.T. called the Septuagint, which dates back to the 2nd-3rd century BC. was an accurate and valid translation of the ancient Hebrew O.T.; a few passages were written in Aramaic; all of which were translated into Koine Greek. The Jews in Alexandria and surrounding area spoke Greek as their common language, due to the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. which marked the beginning of the Greek period in Egyptian history. Hebrew was translated to Greek, just as we have English translations of the original N.T. Greek texts and O.T. Septuagint.
Alexandria, Egypt, became one of five centers of the early Christian Church. As the Church grew and became organized, it was structured into five important centers: Jerusalem, Antioch (Roman Asia/modern Turkey), Alexandria (Egypt), Rome (Italy), and Constantinople (modern Istanbul in Turkey), each was led by a bishop known as a Patriarch. The Bishop of Rome—one of the five—is currently known as the Pope.
Latin was the formal language of the Roman Empire, though most understood and many even spoke Greek, which was the vernacular across most of the Eastern Roman Empire. The Orthodox Eastern Church spoke Greek and maintained the Greek language Bible. – Latin Vulgate was in reference to the common speech of the Roman people; a.k.a., the vernacular.
The Bible was carefully preserved, meticulously copied and authenticated in the early church with great caution and due diligence. False teachings were discussed, errors debated and heresies refuted just as firmly.
Church Councils stood the test of time for hundreds of years as the custodians of Scripture and biblical doctrine, addressing differences in interpretation and understanding, and refuting outright heresies. The first organized was the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. Today denominations replace Councils.
Judaizers in the infant Church insisted that Gentile-converts accept and practice Jewish dietary laws and certain rituals including circumcision. In Acts 15, Paul and Barnabas met with the Apostles in Jerusalem, to officially settle the matter, because pockets of Jewish Christians were continuing to tell Gentiles to get circumcised (the Judaizes). Paul won the dispute—salvation was a matter of grace, not law. His writings and preaching to Gentile Christians reassured them not to worry about circumcision (you can imagine, uncircumcised adults were rightfully unset by the idea that they’d have to do this).
Why a council? Differences arose within the Church creating division, which concerned Emperor Constantine I (306-337) who saw it as discord in the Empire. He resided in the City of Constantinople, the new Rome—modern day Istanbul. The Council addressed and ultimately condemned Arius and the Arian heresy that Christ is a created being, and as such rejecting the divine nature of Christ.
The simple illustrations shows the relationship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit as three distinct Persons, yet one God of a single divine essence, not one person who changes form to accommodate circumstances.
The image illustrates the false teaching of Sabellius (215 A.D.) that God is one person not three; that the Trinity is God in three modes or forms of activity as illustrated: H2O = water, ice and steam; under which God manifests himself as Father in the O.T., Son in the N.T., Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The Council of Nicaea focused on the identity and divinity of Jesus Christ, but not on the full nature of the Triune God. Which Satan managed to distort over time, even now--modern modalism.
John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (NIV)
The Trinitarian doctrine of God being three Persons, was fully addressed and reaffirmed at Chalcedon in 451 A.D. In Matthew 28, Jesus Himself professes the Trinity as Father, Son and Holy Spirit—as three distinct, Individuals, not three manifestation of one Person.
Matt 28:18-19 – 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me [by the Father]. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit... (NIV)
In Matthew 3, when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit descended on Him as a Dove, while the Father commended Jesus as His Son. The Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all together as individuals, not three separate manifestations of one Person.
If Jesus is only a manifestation of God, why would He command the Apostles to “baptize” in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit? Why not just command them to baptize only in His name? Time and again, it’s readily apparent, when people believe a lie, nothing will convince them otherwise.
The Nicene Creed, originally written in Greek, shown here translated into English, emphasizing the Triune nature of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It also demonstrates the significance of Creeds. (Slides can be enlarged by clicking on them).
First Council of Constantinople was an effort to attain consensus in the church. It also reaffirmed the Nicene Creed. Each Council reaffirmed sound biblical doctrine and refuted heresies that had crept in. // The Council of Ephesus also reaffirmed the Nicene Creed. Also that Mary could be called “Christ-bearer” but not “God-bearer”. Why did it matter? She bore Christ in His human form, not the Triune God. // Council of Chalcedon renounced the heresies of Monphysitism, that Christ had only one nature—not two being: 100% divine and 100% human; it denounced Eutyches (a presbyter who took such extreme positions and was denounced as a heretic). // Second Council of Constantinople was mostly a meeting of Eastern church leaders reaffirming the two natures of Christ. // Third Council of Constantinople once again reaffirmed the two natures of Christ. // Second Council of Nicaea attempted to resolve the iconoclastic controversy, when Byzantine Emperor Leo III issued a decree against the worship of icons (religious images of Christ and the saints). I think the emperor won. I have my own take on this as a Catholic kid who frequently prayed before church statues of the crucifixion, Sacred Heart of Jesus, all of which focused my attention on Jesus. In regard to Mary, I believed she would intercede for me with Jesus.
Today’s heresies also contradict biblical doctrine. Modalism, Jehovah Witnesses, Mormonism, to name the most common. Most deny the true nation of Jesus Christ and salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. So let’s examine the two most popular ones….
The next slides explain Jehovah Witnesses’ beliefs in their own words. Bottom line, they do not believe in the Holy Trinity nor that Jesus is equal with God. Since Jehovah Witnesses deny the divinity of Jesus Christ, as such, they are not Christians, even though they recognize Jesus. Even the Devil and his angels believe in Jesus--but not as Savior.
Statements 1 & 3 distinguished Jesus as being separate from Jehovah God. They see Jesus as an example to follow, leading to salvation, but do not believe in being born again or saved by Jesus’ atoning death and resurrection.
They believe heaven is restricted to just 144,000. The others, who are obedient will reside on an earthly paradise. Bottom line once again, they do not worship Jesus as God.
Are Latter-Day Saints—commonly known as Mormons—Christian? If you’re a Mormon and you come to this blog, the intent is to show the differences between historic Christianity and what the Mormon church professes. Sorry, but Mormonism is not Christianity. If it came up during the time of the early Church Councils it would have been condemned as heresy. Sorry if it hurts your feelings, but you need to check it out for yourself.
The Book of Mormon is placed on equal, or even above the Bible, as stated by a Mormon friend. It is "works righteousness". Comments are a combination from both Mormon and Christian descriptions.
All of which is major departure from historic Christian doctrine regarding Jesus Christ. Definitions were downloaded from the web. As stated a plan of salvation was needed for the people of earth so Jesus offered a plan to the Father and Satan offered a plan to the father but Jesus’ plan was accepted. In effect the Devil wanted to be the Savior of all Mankind and to “deny men their agency and to dethrone god.” Hmmm?
Their definition, not mine, which is quite a departure from what we believe and profess as Christianity. They teach that working through Joseph Smith, the Lord brought about the translation and publication of the Book of Mormon, and a personal tutor for Joseph Smith named Moroni.
Mormons believe in a heaven made of three "kingdoms" or " degrees of glory " called the Telestial, Terrestrial, and Celestial kingdoms. In the Celestial or highest kingdom, Mormons believe that, under the guidance and tutelage of God our Father and His divine Son Jesus Christ, human beings will grow and develop. There’s more to it but these are the basics, and with it we will end our look at Mormonism.
In today’s Church, every difference of opinion as to whether it’s sound biblical practices and teachings must be addressed within a denomination, since there is no longer a unified universal Church from which to call a Church Council. So, within such a body, those who profess an error will discuss and more often than not, debate different versions of that error. So, now we turn to error in today’s church.
The United Methodist Church does affirm the historic Apostles and Nicene Creeds. They recently made the news. Some of you may have seen it or not. Nevertheless, it fits into our discussion of Church Councils and biblical doctrine vs. false doctrine.
The United Methodist Church, with a membership of roughly 13 million worldwide, 7 million in the U.S.A., is in the process of splitting over LGBTQ rights including ordaining openly gay ministers. Is that good or bad? It’s both. It is not just a denominational split, but it will spill over into individual churches, perhaps even individual families. A majority of U.S.-based churches opposed what is called the “Traditional Plan” (i.e., current practices) but were outvoted by conservatives in the U.S., Africa and the Philippines. (P.S. still being debated)
In every culture and society, evil always resided alongside of good, even within the church, often coming under the guise of a lamb, but in reality a ravenous wolf—i.e., a false prophet.
Matt 7:15-16 – 15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? (NIV)
(LifeNews.com) United Methodist and Episcopalian Church Clergy Lead Prayer Rally to Bless Abortion Clinic – UMC pastor, Reverend Laura Young, says she believes pro-life protesters in front of Planned Parenthood and other abortion facilities have “misguided faith.” – Signs: pro-choice (abortion rights); pro-faith (ordination of sexually active LGB clergy); pro-family (full acceptance of LGBT Youth). What does the Bible say? Read Romans 1:24-27.
Can you imagine a society that did not respect the truth, even in court to determine someone’s innocence or guilt”? Or a pastor in a sermon? Or a politician who made campaign promises that had no basis in truth? How long before the whole system collapsed? Or like today, many claim that truth is relative—what’s true for you isn’t true for me. But the reality is that truth is not relative—gravity is true, regardless of what we believe. Sin is a fact and afront to God regardless of what we think. Pandemics are real whether we believe in it or not. A lie can unjustly destroy someone’s reputation. Nor is God’s Word subject to how we feel about it—it is Truth!
We are seeing the effects of voter fraud, which is in and of itself a lie of orders of Magnitude that can change the destiny of our Nation. Satan paves the road to hell with a lie, or series of lies. Adam’s disobedience was in response to a lie. False teachers in a church who comfort people in unrepentant sin, and stating that not everything in the Bible can be taken literally even Paul’s letter to the Romans—it only had to do with that society, but we’re more progressive and educated (per a conversation I had with UMC pastor).
We will turn it over to Dr. John MacArthur at this point….
Dr. John MacArthur’s 29-minute sermon -- Telling the Truth in a Post-Truth World
https://youtu.be/IdiriskbXlE
(copy and paste into your web browser)
We should always have time to pray for America, for our president and his family that truth may prevail. For our church our pastor and his family. We should also pray for Covid-19 victims, some of whom are personal relationships.
End of God's Word #1
