"Have I Then Become Your Enemy Because I
Tell You the Truth?"
Galatians
4:16
"Truth has always bothered people and is never
comfortable."
Cardinal Ratzinger, October 9, 2000
"The New Testament is hidden in the Old, and the Old Testament
is revealed in the New."
Saint Augustine
The Bible is many books, yet
it is one book. It is many stories, yet it is one story. It is the story of
GOD's Salvation History of man. Using typology, a very useful tool for Biblical exegesis,
so many prefigurements, or symbols, in the Old Testament are found to point to
New Testament realities. Strict rules must be followed, and one is that the Old
Testament prefigurement is always inferior to the New Testament reality. Another
rule is that, never does an Old Testament symbol point to another symbol in the
New Testament, but always to a much greater reality.
Psalms 127:1 the
prefigurement,
"Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in
vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in
vain."
There is only one Church of GOD. All the rest were built by
man.
All churches on earth, save one, are negated by this verse. So it would
seem that unless you can prove that Jesus Christ founded your church, you have
labored in vain.
1Timothy 3:15 the reality,
"If I am delayed, you may
know how one ought to behave in the house of God, which is the church of the
living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth."
The house referred to in
Psalms 127:1 is explained here. Notice the word used in this verse is 'church'
not 'churches'. Also note that the Bible says it is the Church which is the
pillar and foundation of the truth. Non-Catholics appear to ignore this verse,
as when I ask them, their answer to me is, "It is the Bible which is the pillar
and foundation of truth".
Now the big question most pressing is, which church is
it?
Never fear for the Bible tells us which Church it is if we follow it and
believe the Word of GOD.
Matthew 16:18-19,
"And I tell you,
you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven,
and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose
on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Jesus Christ founded a Church.
Notice that He did say "church", (singular) and not churches. The gates of hell
not prevailing, is a promise that His Church will be protected by Himself from
within, and from without for all eternity. For
those who insist that the Church which Jesus Christ founded, apostatized soon
after the last Apostle died, then they have really said that the gates of hell
did prevail against it, and therefore they have called Him a liar for His
promise here.
Matthew 28:18-20,
"All authority in
heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am
with you always, to the close of the age."
This is the promise of
Jesus Christ to be with His Church every day in every century until the end of
time, and with no 1500 year gaps, not even one day. For those who say the Church
which Jesus Christ founded, apostatized soon after the last Apostle died, have
called Him a liar again for His promise here.
John 14:16-17,
"And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Advocate to
dwell with you forever, the Spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive,
because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you shall know Him, because He
will dwell with you, and be in you."
Here is the
promise that the Holy Spirit will be with the only Church which Jesus Christ
founded forever. For those who say the Church which Jesus Christ founded,
apostatized soon after the last Apostle died, have called Him a liar yet again
for His promise here.
John 16:12-13, and John 14:26
"I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them
now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for
he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and
he will declare to you the things that are to come."
Notice the future
tense He "will" guide and "will declare things that are to come".
For those
who say the Church which Jesus Christ founded, apostatized soon after the last
Apostle died, have called Him a liar still yet again for His promise
here.
Ephesians 3:20-21,
"Now to him who by the power at work
within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, to
him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and
ever."
Here is yet another promise from Holy Scripture that the Church which
Jesus Christ founded will last forever. For those who say the Church which Jesus
Christ founded, apostatized soon after the last Apostle died, they are being
judgmental of the Holy Word of GOD, and thus judgmental of GOD Himself as
well.
1John 5:10,
"He who does not believe the Son makes Him a liar;
because he does not believe the witness that GOD has borne concerning the
Son."
If you do not believe the verses of the promises of Jesus Christ and of
Saint Paul as listed above, then you have called both of them a
liar.
Ephesians 5:23
"Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as
to the Lord. For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the
church, he himself the savior of the body."
Since the Church which
Jesus Christ founded is His Body (Ephesians 1:22-23), then He is the Savior of
His Body. That is why the only Church which He founded is still here after 2000
years of incessant attacks, both from within and from without.
Acts 5:38-39,
"So in the
present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if
this plan or this undertaking is of men, it will fail; but if it is of God, you
will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing
God!"
Here is yet another reason why the only Church which Jesus Christ
founded is still with us after 2000 years of constant attacks. Aren't they who
do not believe His word, "opposing GOD", as I have shown here?
Those who attack the only Church which Jesus Christ founded,
should realize that when they attack it, they attack Jesus Christ Himself. It is
just as shown in Acts 9:4, when Jesus Christ said to Saul, who had been
persecuting his Church, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute
me?"
If you will read chapters 7 and 8 of Acts,
you will find that Saul was mercilessly persecuting the fledgling Christian
Church, committing Christians to prison, and even murdering Saint Stephen (Acts
7:58-59). Why didn't Jesus Christ say, "Why are you persecuting My Church"
instead?
So the big question to ask is, which Church
is it?
There are literally tens of thousands*of
different sects in the world today from which to choose.
To eliminate all of
the sects and to find the true Church, why don't you simply test for
it?
*World Christian Encyclopedia, April 2003, a
Protestant publication.
Here is the common sense, historical,
and "what Holy Scripture tells us, or doesn't tell
us" test:
1. Holy Scripture tells us that it
had to have been founded by GOD.
"Unless the LORD builds the house, those who
build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman
stays awake in vain." Psalms 127:1
"And I tell
you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of
hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew
16:18
2. Holy Scripture tells us that there is only one church, Psalms 127:1, Ephesians 1:22-23, 4:3-6.
3. Common
sense tells us that it must still be here today, as it was His promise to be
with His Church every day in every century until the end of time, as shown in
Matthew 28:20.
4. Common sense tells us, it has to be able to provide
genuine historical
documents attesting to its existence and continuity in every century for the
past 20 centuries.
Why is it that so many refuse to even read these documents
or deny that they even exist?
Are they afraid of what they might find?
"To
be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant", said by John Henry Newman, ex
Protestant.
Those who refuse to profit from the errors of history are doomed
to repeat them again!
5. Common sense tells us, it has to be able to show
an unbroken
line of hierarchal leadership for the past 20 centuries.
Only one Church can show this.
6. Common sense tells us, it has to be
able to find its image in Holy Scripture.
7. Holy Scripture tells us that the Holy
Spirit will be with His Church forever, John 14:16-17.
8. Scripture tells
us that the Holy
Spirit will teach His Church all truth over time, John
16:12-13.
9. Common sense and Holy Scripture tell us that the Holy Spirit
could not be teaching and guiding any church other than the one which Jesus Christ founded. This is simply because truth is one and those sects not founded by the Lord all have opposing viewpoints between one another. Except for the existence of GOD, every
doctrine taught by one, is denied by another. Their teaching is based solely
upon personal opinions, which have no bearing whatsoever on doctrinal
truth.
GOD does not care about man's personal opinions, but only for
doctrinal truth:
"They came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are a
truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone's opinion. You
do not regard a person's status but teach the way of GOD in accordance with the
truth.""
Mark 12:14, Matthew 22:16
Saint Peter emphasized the
rejection of personal opinion when he answered the high priest with,
"We must
obey God rather than men."
Acts 5:29
The facts speak for themselves,
leaving no room for opposing personal opinions:
"I appeal to you,
brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that
there be no dissensions among you, but that you be united in the same mind
and the same judgment."
1Corinthians 1:10
How can tens of thousands of
individual sects with millions of members, fail to understand that
very clear
and simple verse?
Here is another one on the same theme, also ignored by so
many:
"So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love,
any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy
by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one
mind."
Philippians 2:1-2. See Philippians 1:27 also.
It stands to
reason that if all of those various sects taught the same thing, then there
would be only one church, just as Holy Scripture demands.
"And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring
them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock,
one shepherd"
John 10:16
"And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another
Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the
world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know
him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you."
John 14:16-17. See also Acts 20:28.
What does
whom the world cannot receive mean? To whom did Jesus speak these words? It is clear that the
Holy Spirit is guiding the one Church which Jesus Christ founded.
10.
Holy Scripture tells us that there will be factions within the one Church of
GOD.
"For, in the first place, when you assemble as a church, I hear that
there are divisions among you; and I partly believe it, for there must be
factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be
recognized."
1Corinthians 11:18-19
The fact that factions (sects) are
present, causes those with the light of truth to shine forth apart from those
who are in error. Those who are of the one Church which Jesus Christ founded
have that light of truth.
11. Holy Scripture tells us that the only
Church which Jesus Christ founded will be subject to Christ and to Him alone.
Scripture does not say His Church is subject to man. That makes it a theocracy
governed by a hierarchy. The rule comes from the top down and not from the
bottom up as in a democracy. How many sects are controlled by the collective
will of the people? In the Church which Jesus Christ founded, if 99% of the
people wanted something changed, it would not, and could not be changed unless
it was by the will of GOD.
Acts 5:29, Ephesians 5:24-25, 29, Colossians
1:18
12. Scripture tells us that His Church will last forever, Ephesians
3:21, and Matthew 28:20.
Why then do some say it apostatized at some time or
another, and yet they cannot state the time, nor the place, nor provide any
authentic documented "proof" of this so-called apostasy?
13. Holy
Scripture tells us that it is the Church and not the Bible which is
the
pillar and
foundation of truth. 1Timothy 3:15. See Ephesians 3:10
also.
Why then do some say it is the Bible and not the Church? Where does it
say that in Scripture?
14. Holy Scripture tells us that Christ's Church
was given the commission of guarding that truth,
"...guard the truth that has
been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us."
2Timothy
1:14
Did the truth go unguarded for 1500 years until Martin
Luther came
along?
15. Holy Scripture tells us that Apostolic tradition will be
handed down from generation to generation. 2Thessalonians 2:15
16. Holy
Scripture tells us that the Church which Jesus Christ founded is the
final authority on earth. Matthew 18:15-18
17. Holy Scripture tells us that
the true Church will hold to no private interpretation of
Holy Scripture. Acts 8:26-35, 2Peter 1:20-21
18. Holy Scripture tells us
that the true Church must be found all over the world,
Malachi 1:11, Matthew
28:19, Acts 1:8
19. Holy Scripture tells us that the true Church will
offer sacrifice, a
clean oblation, every day in every place, Malachi 1:11. A clean
oblation could not possibly mean the bloody animal sacrifices of the Old
Testament, but the Holy
Eucharistic sacrifice as
Jesus commanded when He said,
"This is my body,
which is being given for you; do this in remembrance of me", Luke 22:19.
Which of the tens of thousands of sects
offer sacrifice every day,
or every week, or monthly, or quarterly, or yearly, or not at all? Scripture
clearly says to offer a clean oblation every day.
"Give us this day our daily bread."
Matthew 6:11
"I am the living bread
which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for
ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my
flesh."
John 6:51
Which, if
any, of the thousands of sects abide by these Words of GOD? The true Church
which Jesus Christ founded does.
20. It
is the Church which Jesus Christ founded that gave the world the
Bible.
21. Common sense, history, and Holy Scripture,
tell us that there are over 135 well-grounded facts which point to
the one true Church which Jesus Christ founded, and to none other.
22.
Where is the authority? Holy Scripture is silent when a person searches it for
the verse which gives him or her the authority to found yet another church other
than the one which Jesus Christ founded. No one can simply hold up a Bible and
say "This is my authority", if they cannot find the verse which authorizes them
to make that statement. The lack of Biblical authority coupled with Psalms
127:1, negates every church on earth, save one, the only one founded by
GOD.
Here is where Jesus gave authority to His one and only
Church.
"He who hears you hears me, and he who
rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent
me."
Luke 10:16
"Jesus said to them
again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me,
even so I send you." And when he had said this, he
breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy
Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the
sins of any, they are retained.""
John 20:20-23,
also see Matthew 16:18-19, 18:15-18, 28:18-20.
23. Holy Scripture tells
us that the gates of hell will not prevail against it. However, heretics,
from within and from without, of all sorts, have
been trying to bring it down for almost 2000 years
(Galatians 1:13,
Philippians 3:6), and all have failed. None of them realized that the reason for
their failure is because His Church is protected by Jesus Christ Himself, who is
the Savior of His Body, Ephesians 5:23, Acts 5:38-39.
Now it is your turn to name the one
church which fits all of the listed criteria perfectly. You know that it has to
still be here, as it was His promise.
Those who do not believe what He has
said have called Him a liar, 1John 5:10.
"He who
believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see
life, but the wrath of God rests upon him."
John
3:36
Only one Church on earth fulfills all of the above
conditions.
Of the over 33,820*non-Catholic sects in
the world today, few can fulfill even one of them.
*World Christian Encyclopedia, April 2001, a Protestant publication.
"For the wrath of God is revealed from
heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those men who in their
wickedness hold back the truth of GOD."
Romans 1:18
"For he will
render to every man according to his works: to those who by patience in
well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;
but for those who are factious and do not obey the truth, but obey
wickedness, there will be wrath and fury."
Romans 2:6-8
"The
coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan will be with all power and
with pretended signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who
are to perish, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is
false, so that all may be condemned who do not believe the truth but had
pleasure in unrighteousness. But we are bound to give thanks to God always
for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God chose you from the
beginning to be saved, through sanctification by the spirit and belief in the
truth."
2Thessalonians 2:9-13
"If anyone teaches otherwise and
does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the
teaching which accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit, he knows
nothing; he has a morbid craving for controversy and for disputes about
words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, base suspicions, and wrangling
among men who are depraved in mind and bereft of the truth, imagining that
godliness is a means of gain."
1Timothy 6:3-6
"He who will not reason
is a bigot. He who cannot reason is a fool. He who dares not reason is a slave."
William Drummond
Galatians 4:16
©
Written by Bob
Stanley, May 27, 2002
Updated December 3, 2002
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