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What caused the false church to move away from God’s church?

Discussion in 'Other Christian Denominations' started by evangelist-7, Feb 13, 2013.

  1. evangelist-7

    evangelist-7 New Member

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    It always was God's intention that His NT church be the ONLY model for all future churches!

    The original church was comprised of Jews who were still hung up on the traditions of their Jewish ritualism. They did not accept the regenerated life of the Spirit as the one thing that united all those who were in Christ, and added the necessity to conform to prescribed rituals.

    Long before the apostles had completed their ministry, there were various heresies opposing the original “faith once delivered to the saints”. Measures were adopted to counter their influence and these changes eventually led the churches far away from the simplicity of church life during NT times. Scripture has warned us of the subtleties which would sap the spiritual energies of the church until it is reduced from the divine to something that is purely human.

    In the early years, an attitude of conceit was in certain sections of the church. This opened the way for debilitating changes, which gradually made their way into the churches’ order. Clericalism began to take shape in the early churches, and the special position given to a Christian elite within the local congregation established the belief that it was endowed with
    special powers. This led the way to an exaggerated importance given to priests and priestly-administered sacraments.
    This, and other things, gave rise to the recognition of two classes of Christians within the church (clergy and laity), and also opened the way for other evils.

    Pride or self-sufficiency is the basic evil which denies God His rightful place. God’s Spirit was hindered in His working, and the power of the Holy Spirit had been replaced by certain rites.

    Then came the doctrine of salvation through the sacraments of an organized earthly church. This brought with it a priestcraft with all the evil it has entailed down through the centuries. Baptism was understood as a means whereby spiritual generation was miraculously conferred. Later came the baptism of infants, another practice for which there is no authority in the NT. Then came the practice of baptizing the dead. The Lord’s table, with the bread and wine miraculously transformed into the actual flesh and blood of Christ through the power of the Bishop, became a further means of the magical impartation of divine grace.

    Toward the end of the 2nd century, we find a church in many respects quite different from the churches of the NT.
    We find that wide and far-reaching changes have taken place, and there is an unmistakable move in the direction of the institutionalism of later years. We find an ecumenical body, the Catholic church, possessing a clearly recognized canon of Scripture and an increasingly well-defined statement of doctrinal belief.

    Whatever God establishes, man ultimately wants to prune and shape to his own liking. The life of the Spirit can never be confined within the framework of religious tradition. When that which is revealed by God is crystalized into a tradition,
    rigidly held and propagated with purely human energy, it becomes an impenetrable barrier to the truth.

    Satan was a huge player in this whole problem
    He is “the god (ruler) of this world (age)” (John 12:31, 2 Corinthians 4:4),
    and he has always had a tremendous influence in the affairs of man.
    He did not want the churches to continue having the spiritual power they enjoyed in NT times.
    Signs, wonders, and miracles (SWM) were a powerful confirmation of the truth of the gospel,
    which obviously helps evangelism, and produces miraculous healings of various kinds.

    Those in charge of the big churches wanted to be in control
    They did not want God to be in control of the churches.
    And ditto for God’s anointed apostles and prophets (who ran the NT churches).
    And ditto for their powerful SWM, which were performed by the Holy Spirit.
    They did not want anyone in the church with more spiritual anointing than they had.
    They did not want to look spiritually inferior to anyone.
    They did not want to risk losing their power, prestige, jobs, etc.
    So, for all of these reasons, they chose to claim that God’s SWM ceased with the passing
    of the apostles, and came up with the convenient excuse of misusing 1 Corinthinans 13:10.


    Who and what can a person really trust?
    The only Spiritual Truth that you can trust at all is contained within the Holy Scriptures,
    and also when you know for sure that you are hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.

    .
     
    #1 evangelist-7, Feb 13, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 13, 2013
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