Plainer Words Online

By

Tom L. Ballinger

May – June 2004

BACKGROUND OF CHRISTIANITY

This series of studies includes the Introduction and Part I through Part VIII.

Introduction

The “Christian religion,” the largest and most influential of the world’s religions, is found not to be in the Bible. What we have, today, in Christianity is not the subject of Old Testament prophecy, nor is it a true development of New Testament truth. The “Christian Religion,” with all of itsdivisions, sects, and denominations, is not the result of the pure, unleavened, revealed Word of God. It is, in fact, the natural outgrowth of confusion, darkness, and error. This is a hard statement to make. This statement sounds absurd to some and a shock to others, especially to those who are devoutly or emotionally, attached to the “Christian Religion.” Only those who have “ears to hear” can comprehend the truth of this statement.

A study of “Church History,” when viewed in the light of the rightly divided Word, reveals that every sect, division, and denomination has, as its’ source, the same foundation. They all, to one extent or another, are the outgrowth of the theology of the so-called “Church Fathers.”

The World Book Encyclopedia states that the foundation upon which “Church Fathers” founded the Christian Religion was “the life and teachings of Jesus.” The life and teachings of Jesus are not the basis for true Christianity. The Lord Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, and He confirmed the promises God made to the fathers of Israel (Rom. 15:8). His life was one of a Jew under the Law of Moses. He proclaimed that the Kingdom of God was at hand. That was the primary theme of His pronouncements.

The audience Christ spoke to were Old Testament Jews. They understood full well what He meant concerning the Kingdom of God. The announcement that the Kingdom of God was at hand was not a new concept to the Jews at the time. Every prophet of God spoke about it (Acts 3:21), and by so doing, they had already set forth a period of time when the earth and all of the nations upon it would be governed by God (Psalm 67:4). It was an ancient body of truth set forth under the New Testament descriptive term: the Kingdom (Government) of God.

The “Church Fathers” never came to grips with the fact that believers, during the Acts period, had a foretaste of the coming Government of God (Hebrews 6:4-6). The fathers paid no attention to the Apostle Paul’s startling announcement of Acts 28:28. Since the Kingdom didn’t come, along with all of the concurrent events surrounding it, they spiritualized the Kingdom of God and stole the blessings promised to Israel and appropriated them to the church.

The “Church Fathers” did not build their visible church organization upon the One Foundation laid down by the Apostle Paul.

“According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:10-11).

The rise of the Christian religion, as we know it, did not have its’ roots in the New Testament or in the Scriptures of the Mystery. Its’ roots go back to the very end of the first century. This was after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Christians previously turned away the Apostle Paul who was the Lord’s instrument to explain what God was doing when He suspended His dealings with the “Israel of God.” The Church Fathers failed to recognize that an unprophesied dispensation was ushered in at the close of the Acts period. This resulted in utter confusion and darkness. Consequently, the “Fathers” laid a foundation based upon error. The error was that the church was to be God’s replacement of Israel and was to assume Israel’s promises.

This error gave rise to anti-Semitism which has persisted unto this very day in many quarters. The “Church Fathers” became churchmen, and their doctrine has continued to produce churchmen for the last two-thousand years. Churchmen, or said another way, men of the church have never embraced the revelation of the Mystery which is the capstone of all the revelations of God. Why? Perhaps it is because Ephesians and Colossians makes no room for them becausethere is no church hierarchy in the Dispensation of the Mystery. (Refer to my previous four-part PW Online studies, “The Word - Church”).

Churchmen, at times, may be granted glimpses of Present Truth, but until they become “unchurched,” they will never be given “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of” the mystery of Christ (Ephesians 1:17).

An application can be made to churchmen and churchpeople as Paul did to the Jews in 2 Corinthians 3:13-16;

“And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.”

In the mid 1960s, we began to see glimpses of truth for today, but it was not until 1968, when we became “unchurched,” that the veil was taken away. As long as we tried to have one foot in the Acts 28:28 camp and the other in the mid-Acts camp, the veil remained over my heart. By the providence of God, I was led out of the church camp where my only support, or prop, became the Word of God.

There’s a gargantuan difference between a man of the church and a man of God.

In closing, it should be said; in the studies which follow, we will try to show the conditions as they existed during the Acts of the Apostles during Paul’s time as the prisoner of the Jesus Christ for the Gentiles and the time after the destruction of Jerusalem.

BACKGROUND OF CHRISTIANITY

Part I

In the introduction of this series we pointed out that the Christian religion, with all of its’ sects and denominations which are almost innumerable, has as its’ source, the same foundation—the one laid by the “Church Fathers.” It was not the foundation laid down by Paul, the wise masterbuilder (1 Corinthians 3:10-11) of the faith of the Acts period, nor was it the foundation of Present Truth with Jesus Christ being the chiefcorner stone (Ephesians 2:20).

If you build on the wrong foundation, more than likely you’ll wind up with a “Rube Goldberg Contraption.” This is what the so-called “Church Fathers,” did and what we see, today, is the fruit of their labors. Anyone who will take the time, and most will not, to do some research on their writings must agree with what Sir Robert Anderson wrote concerning the “Church Fathers” about one-hundred years ago. He wrote that, “their minds were impregnated by the superstitions of Pagan religion, or the subtleties of Pagan philosophy … And inquiry will show that it is to them that we should attribute every perversion of truth which today defaces what is called the Christian religion.”

When a Bible student has the eyes of his understanding enlightened and comes to the knowledge of right division of the Word of Truth, he stands amazed because the Christendom from whence he came is so far from the truth. The latest report to come from God was given to the Apostle Paul, as the prisoner of Jesus Christ for the Gentiles, after the Pentecostal Dispensation ended. When the realization of this scriptural fact sinks in, the enlightened student ponders why Christianity, with all of its’ divisions, is so entangled in error.

In order to gain an understanding as to why the condition is as it is, we will endeavor to put in plainer words our perspective of the background of Christianity.

The question we purpose to answer is: “How did Christendom evolve into such diverse and divisive groups as exist today?” We will examine the rise of Christianity and point out the general characteristics of the principal groups involved in the rise of the “Christian faith.”

In our effort to simplify the different groupings of people, we will ascribe to them names which will designate them as a group; such as, “Extremists,” “Born Again Ones,” “Justified Ones,” and et cetera.

UNBELIEVING JEWS

One of the principal groups involved in the rise of Christianity was the unbelieving Jew during the “Acts of the Apostles.” The unbelieving Jew was instrumental in the spread of the Gospel of the coming Kingdom of God which was a result of the persecution administered by them.

The unbelieving Jew, as typified by Saul of Tarsus, thought Jesus of Nazareth was an imposter—a false Messiah. This group of unbelievers clung tenaciously to the “Jews’ religion” which Jesus of Nazareth boldly stated had leavened the Word of God. The “Jews’ religion” was the outgrowth of the “oral law” being superimposed upon the Hebrew Bible. The unbelieving Jew placed more emphasis on the “traditions of the fathers” than on the Word Itself. Their attitude toward the Lord Jesus was that He certainly could not have been the long awaited Messiah because He “transgressed the tradition of the fathers.” The Lord’s denunciation of the “tradition of the fathers” of the Jews’ religion ought to be a yellow flag of warning to Christians, today, who dare not step across the line drawn in the sand of theology by the “Church Fathers.”

The unbeliever’s persecution of the believing Jews scattered them, and they took with them the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Saul of Tarsus must be mentioned, again, as the instrument the Lord used to spread the good news of the gospel to other areas outside of Palestine. This was done by means of Saul’s aggressive and relentless persecution. Saul, as the rebel leader, would go from house-to-house on search-and-destroy missions. He, later, became the Persecuted One’s Own servant and went house-to-house proclaiming the faith he once destroyed.

THE BELIEVING JEW

When John the Baptist came out of the wilderness preaching “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven (God) is at hand,” he had a receptive audience. Following on his heels was the same proclamation by the Lord Jesus, and He, too, had a ready and receptive audience. In Israel, at the time, there were untold numbers of devout Jews who were waiting and watching for the Kingdom to come (see Luke 25-32, 38).Mark 15:43 mentions another “waiter” for the kingdom to come: “Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.”

Three specific individuals were mentioned as being waiters and watchers for the Kingdom of God. This would indicate a great deal more were of the same mind-set.

We pass on from the Four Gospels to the “Acts of the Apostles.” The Risen Lord spent forty days after His resurrection with His apostles, “speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). Then, we read; “When they were come together, they asked of Him, saying, Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). After forty days of instruction, they clearly revealed what their hope was, or what was their expectation. It was the anticipation of the coming Kingdom. It was not the Parousia (i.e. the 2nd Coming). He had told them over-and- over, again, that He would go away. “For it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you” (John 16:7).

In plainer words, the Kingdom of God will only come when Jesus Christ is Personally absent from the earth. The Comforter will come in His stead.

The Comforter (i.e. the Holy Spirit) came on Pentecost in Acts Chapter Two. Did the full-blown Kingdom come? No. What we had during the Book of Acts was a foretaste or a preview of the manifestation of the Kingdom of God (Hebrews 6:4-5).

With this in mind during the Acts period, the believing Jews were Christians. However, they remained Jews as regards to their nationality and their rights to the promises connected with the covenants. The Twelve were their Apostles. The Twelve were the Apostles of the Circumcision.

There was early unity among the Jewish believers. Between Acts 2 and Acts 6, the record clearly indicates that there was harmony among them as they continued in the Apostles’ Doctrine and fellowship (Acts 2:42). As their numbers grew, and as the believers sold their possessions and “had all things common” (Acts 4:32), there was real unity.

How long did this unity prevail? We will see in the next study.

BACKGROUND OF CHRISTIANITY

Part II

DIVISION WITH THE GRECIANS

Many Jews of the dispersion who spoke Greek joined themselves to the assembly of believers in Jerusalem. They were referred to as Grecians. The Palestinian Jews did not readily accept them.

“And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration” (Acts 6:1).

Isn’t it strange how so many folks, who state that the present “church age” began in Acts 2, say that the book of Acts depicts the “model church?” Six chapters into the “model church” you find division within it. This division continued to Acts 10. As a result of the division between the two factions, the Apostles of the Circumcision decided that they were to devote themselves to the Word of God and prayer and “stop waiting on tables.” Seven men were selected in Acts 6 to “serve tables.” This was to pacify the Grecians.

DIVISION OVER THE GENTILES

Peter’s visit to Cornelius is recorded in Acts 10. Peter and those who went with him were astonished that God allowed the Word to be received by the Gentile household of Cornelius (Acts 10:45). When Peter returned to Jerusalem, we read:

“And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them” (Acts 11:1-3).

The Christians of the circumcision had no further objections after hearing Peter recount how the Lord directed him to speak the Word of God to Gentiles; “When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life” (Acts 11:18). However, they still didn’t think it right for them to have intimate contact with the Gentile believers.

Acts 10 was the one and only time Peter proclaimed the Word to a Gentile. God would leave that task to another—the Apostle Paul.

THE EXTREMISTS

As time went on, the Christian Jews in Jerusalem began to hear of the work of Saul, now called Paul, the Apostle of Jesus Christ. Word came from Antioch that Paul was doing extraordinary things among the Gentiles. It is evident that those apostles of the circumcision didn’t grasp what God’s program with the Gentiles was all about. They took what we’ll refer to as the Extremists’ position. They adhered to the principle that “men of other nations” should be subjected to the rites of proselytes: circumcision, baptisms, and offerings. The Extremists’ posture caused further division among believers. The Extremists were probably made up, mostly, of the Pharisees who had believed.

“But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them[Gentiles], and to command them to keep the law of Moses” (Acts 15:5).

The Extremists sent emissaries to the area of Galatia insisting that the Gentile Christians should keep the Law of Moses which included being circumcised. In fact, they insisted that they couldn’t be saved without doing so.

“And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them.” (Acts 15:1-4)