Q & A: Roman Catholicism by Brett Hickey, sermon # 939 2 of 5

Q & A: Roman Catholicism

One of our Roman Catholic viewers in Missouri asks: “In what year did Protestants break from the Catholic church? When was the bible compiled as it is today? Who is "the Church" that is in the bible? (MO)

Our viewer’s first question: “In what year did Protestants break from the Catholic church?” The answer cannot be given in one particular year because there have been many protestant breaks from the Roman Catholic Church. We prefer to focus on what the Scriptures say directly on a topic, but to answer this question we must rely on recorded history.

Early in the 1500’s, a highly conscientious Roman Catholic priest named Martin Luther discovered a number of unscriptural teachings and practices in the Catholic Church. He posted his 95 Theses on the door of Wittenberg Church in Germany in 1517 AD that expressed his biblical objections, including the sale of indulgences. Instead of recognizing the need for reform, Catholic authorities sought to silence Luther. Meanwhile, these objections were circulated and resonated with the people and sparked the protestant reformation.

Luther urged his followers, “Please do not use my name; do not call yourselves Lutherans, but Christians. …The doctrine is not mine; I have not been crucified for anyone. …Why should I, a poor mortal, give my meaningless name to Christ’s children?” Nevertheless, this is how the Lutheran church began.

Not long after this, John Calvin raised similar objections that led to the beginning of the Reformed Church and, later, through John Knox in Scotland, the Presbyterian church.

In 1534, King Henry VIII broke with the Catholic Church to start the Church of England which is essentially the Episcopal Church in the United States. The Methodist Church which began in 1784 traces its roots to this movement and the efforts of John and Charles Wesley.

The earliest Baptist church is traced to Amsterdam in 1607 and was started by John Smyth 1607.

Though not part of the protestant reformation another rift took place in 1054 AD. The dissenting group was the Greek (Eastern) Orthodox Church. There were a number of issues, but probably the largest problem was the Bishop of Rome claiming to have authority over these churches in the East. The Greek Orthodox Church insisted that Jesus, not the pope, was the head of the Church. The Orthodox Church had a legitimate objection that is shared with much of Christendom. Although the Catholic church states that Peter was the first pope, Religionfacts.com states, “The Roman bishop Leo I (440-461) is considered the first pope by historians, as he was the first to claim ultimate authority over all of Christendom.” Those who object to the papacy refer to Jesus’ words in Matthew 28:18, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” A number of the apostle Paul’s writings echo his words in Ephesians 5:23, “For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.”

The same viewer asks, “When was the bible compiled as it is today? The New Testament books were written between about 50 AD and 96 AD. These books were copied and circulated among the churches.

This viewer’s last question: “Who is ‘the Church’ that is in the bible?” This is an excellent question and raises a legitimate point: When looking for the church today why settle for a religious institution that has substituted man-made systems for divinely authorized aspects of the church found in the New Testament? The New Testament provides us with a host of the church’s identifying characteristics. Jesus said in Luke 8:11, “The seed is the word of God.” Whenever this seed is planted, it always produces the church of the bible. Whenever a hybrid seed is planted with the mixture of God’s word and human ideas, a different institution, not Jesus’ church is produced.

Those serious about discovering the church of Christ should look for the following biblical teachings:

The church of the Bible taught that “a bishop (or elder)…must be the husband of one wife” 1 Timothy 3:2.

The church of the Bible taught that baptism washed away sins. Acts 22:16, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” Acts 2:38, “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”

The church of the Bible taught that baptism saves. Mark 16:16, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” 1 Peter 3:20b-21, “when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through WATER. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now SAVES you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,”

The church of the Bible taught that baptism was a burial in water. Romans 6:3-4, “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were BURIED with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Colossians 2:12, “BURIED with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.”

The church of the Bible taught that baptism was preceded by a verbal confession of faith. Acts 8:35-39, “Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road, they came to some WATER. And the eunuch said, "See, here is WATER. What hinders me from being baptized?" Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the WATER, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the WATER, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.” Obviously, babies cannot understand Jesus’ claims, therefore, they are unable to make a confession of faith. That is one reason why there is no record in the Bible of a baby or even a child ever being baptized in the New Testament.

The members of the church of the Bible were called “disciples.” Acts 6:1-2, “Now in those days, when the number of the DISCIPLES was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the DISCIPLES…”

The members of the church of the Bible were called “saints.” The word “saints” simply means “holy ones” and all living Christians are called to be holy in 1 Peter 1:15-16.

The members of the church of the Bible were called “Christians” Acts 11:26, “And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” Acts 26:28, “Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘You almost persuade me to become a Christian.’" 1 Peter 4:16, “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.” [NKJV] “Yet if anyone suffers as a CHRISTIAN, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God IN THAT NAME.” [English Standard Version].

The Holy Spirit tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment… Now I say this, that each of you says, "I am of Paul," or "I am of Apollos," or "I am of Cephas," or "I am of Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”

The leaders in the church of the Bible were called apostles, prophets, evangelists, preachers, elders, bishops, overseers, shepherds, pastors, deacons, and teachers, but never pope, archbishop, cardinal, reverend, holy father, major, etc.

The church of the Bible taught that the apostle Paul was commissioned to take the gospel to the Gentiles and Peter to take the gospel to the Jews. The apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 2:7-9, “…[W]hen they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised [the Gentiles or non-Jews - BH] had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised [Jews- BH] was to Peter (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles), and when James, Cephas [which is Peter - BH], and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we [Paul and Barnabas] should go to the Gentiles and they [James, Peter, and John – BH] to the circumcised [Jews - BH].” (See also Acts 9:15; 26:17; Rom. 11:13; 15:16-18; Gal. 1:16; Eph. 3:8; 1 Tim. 2:7; 2 Tim. 1:11; 4:17).

Some contend that the apostle Peter was the first pope and that his "reign" began at Rome. Actually, though, according to the New Testament, it was the apostle Paul who was commissioned to go to the Gentiles and Paul who wrote the epistle to the Romans. He sends greetings to a long list of Christians in Romans 16, but said nothing to Peter because the evidence shows he was not there.

In the church of the bible, all Christians are priests; there is no separate priesthood. 1 Peter 2:4-9, “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, [this is Jesus – BH] And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame." Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, "The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone," and "A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense." They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…”

In the church of the New Testament Jesus is the only Chief Shepherd. In writing to elders in 1 Peter 5:1-4,Peter referred to them as fellow elders and to Jesus as the Chief Shepherd: “and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.”

We have much more information on the church of the Bible for those who are interested, but let’s move on to some questions from other viewers. An online viewer from Lusaka, Zambia, writes, “Kindly help me harmonize the two scriptures, Mark recorded that when Jesus was crucified “it was the third hour” (Mark 15:25), while John wrote that the trial before Pilate was still in progress at “about the sixth hour” (John 19:14).

John Haley writes of these two passages in his Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible, "John, writing in Asia Minor, may have used the Roman official mode of computation, reckoning from midnight, so that "the sixth hour" would be 6 a.m.From this time to 9 a.m. (the "third hour," according to the Jewish reckoning) was occupied by the preliminaries, and by the passing of the procession forth to Golgotha."

What scripture(s) teach us that we must have an understanding of baptism for it to be effective? (South Carolina) We learn in Acts 2:38 that the purpose of baptism is for the remission of sins. Ephesians 4:4-6 tells us there is one baptism. We find people being rebaptized in Acts 19:1-6 because the baptism they had received (John’s baptism) was no longer valid. They were baptized in the name of Jesus which we notice in Acts 2:38, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Baptism not done properly (for the right reason and with the right goal in mind) must be done correctly.

A viewer from Texas asks, “Why do we use grape juice instead of wine in the Lord’s Supper? I have done a long study on this and cannot find scripture on using grape juice, but examples are given for wine.”

You ask a good question and one in which the majority of the professing Christian world today has been misled. A close look at the passages on the Lord’s Supper reveals that the word “wine” is never used in the Scriptures that address the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 26:29; Mark 14:25). Instead, the phrase “fruit of the vine” is used. The fruit of the vine is simply grape juice. The word wine can refer to fermented wine or unfermented grape juice (Isaiah 65:8). You can also read transcript #930 on LetTheBibleSpeak.com for more detailed information.

A viewer from Kentucky asks, “Does Paul’s thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) pertain to the gospel he is teaching or does it pertain to his physical body like Job?”

2 Corinthians 12:7-10, (NKJV) "And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."