Crumbs from the Lord's Table

The One Church built by Christ

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Sola Scriptura or Bible alone revisited
Sola Fide or Faith alone revisited
The One Church built by Christ
Peter the Rock / Stone misconception revisited
What the Bible says of Jesus' Only Church
1. Church is the Pillar of Truth, Manifold of Wisdom
2. A Church Witnessing unto all nations, so undoubtedly one Visible to all
3. One Single Visible Church in succession till His return
4. Revelation 12 - Church in the wilderness - not an invisible church
5. No separate invisible on earth ; One General Assembly: Visible on Earth with invisible in Heaven
6. An Imperfect Kingdom with Good & Bad Co-existing
7. The Vineyard appointed to new imperfect servants with successive authority till His return
Church Fathers say their church is Catholic
What the founder of Sola Scriptura & Sola Fide said of the Catholic Church
Did Luther or any other have the authority from the Lord or His Church
Who then is the Whore of Babylon?
The Catechism of the Catholic church on the separated communities and their Salvation
The various Christian denominations and their evolution
Email
Catholic Apologetics Links

The One Church of Jesus Christ

(which one from the 35,500 or more)

 

The Protestant Reformation of the 16th century brought about the evolution of newer Christian denominations into the Christian world which was till then dominated by Christianity’s only church, the Catholic church. Martin Luther, the father of the Reformation who was himself a Catholic priest posted his 95 theses at the All Saints Church (Castle church) door criticizing the corrupt practice of Indulgences in the Catholic church. The church that produced many a great saints like St. Antony, St Francis, and numerous others and the Saint of our time Mother Teresa, had its own bad times as well with immoral and corrupt among the clergy and even bad and immoral Popes. This lead to the evolution of various Christian denominations founded by Luther, Zwingli, Hus, Calvin, etc, all who were devout Catholics. Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, all of them were of Catholic upbringing, and Luther and Zwingli both having undergone Catholic seminary life were Catholic priests who had accepted the vow of celibacy. They were practicing Catholic priests administering the Catholic Sacraments and known for their devotion to the Virgin Mary, till after the reformation. Reformation was called for by Luther to Reform the Catholic church from these practices. On October 31, 1517 Luther nailed his famous Ninety-five Theses challenging indulgences to the All Saints church (Castle Church) door in Wittenberg. This was the customary manner of calling for a debate, but this act was the spark which lead to Luther’s breakaway from the parent church and the evolution of the Lutheran church. Luther had in fact wanted only to Reform or clean the Catholic church from its corruption, as his 95 Theses shows. The clauses from his theses clearly show that he acknowledged the Catholic church as being the true church, the dignity of the Chair of Peter, the place of the Pope as Peter’s successor and the Pope as being guided by the Holy Spirit. Martin Luther founded the doctrines of Sola Scripture (Bible alone) and Sola Fide (Faith alone) which are the two pillars of Protestant doctrine. Martin Luther condemned the doctrinal views of John Calvin and Huldrych Zwingli, two other leading Protestant figures though they all claimed to follow the same Bible. The reformers Luther, Zwingli and Calvin soon disagreed among themselves and divided their movement according to doctrinal differences —first between Luther and Zwingli, later between Martin Luther and John Calvin -  consequently resulting in the establishment of diverse Protestant denominations such as the Lutheran, Reformed, Anabaptist, and others. Following Martin Luther’s excommunication from the Catholic Church in 1520, which marked the beginning of the Protestant movement, over 35,500 different denominations have been created in about 500 years.

 

 

The Holy Bible in various instances talks of the church as thus

 

 

Eph 5:23  Christ is the saviour of the church.

 

For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of

the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

 

 

Mt 28:19,20, Mr 16:15, Lk 24:47 His church is a church ‘teaching all nations; witnessing unto all nations’ (a visible one among all nations then) and a baptizing and gathering church. He is with this church ‘always’ ‘ till the end’. 

 

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of

the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to

observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo,

 I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Mt 28:19,20

 

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel

to every creature. M'r:16:15

 

 

And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his

name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Lu:24:47

 

 

 

Jn 14:16 His Holy Spirit is with the church forever.

 

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter,

that he may abide with you for ever.

 

 

Joh:16:12-14 His Spirit will guide the church into all truth.

 

I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all

truth:

 

 

Mt 16:18 Gates of hell shall not prevail against the church.

 

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I

will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

 

 

1Tim 3:15 Church is the pillar and bulwark of truth

 

But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave

thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the

pillar and ground of the truth.

 

 

Eph 3:9,10 Church is the manifold of wisdom to which the hidden mysteries from the beginning have ‘now’ been revealed. For men to ‘see’.

 

And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which

 from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created

all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities

and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold

 wisdom of God.

 

 

M't:5:14-16 The church is the light of the world. It cannot be hid. It is to shine 'before men' for the world to see its works.

 

M't:5:14-16 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill

cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a

bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the

house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good

works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

 

 1 Cor 11:18, 19: Unlike what is taught by the protestants, the true church is not invisible or hidden when corruption creeps in, but ‘the true church is made manifest when divisions and heresies spring up’.

 

1Co:11:18, 19: For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there

be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies

among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

 

Mr 3:27-30 No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder it unless he tie up the strong man.

 

M'r:3:27-30: No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil

his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will

spoil his house. Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto

the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall

blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy

Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:

Because they said, He (Jesus) hath an unclean spirit.

 

 

M't:13:31, 32: The church sown as a mustard seed grows to become the greatest among herbs and a tree for all to come and lodge in.

 

M't:13:31, 32: Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The

kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man

took, and sowed in his field:  Which indeed is the least of all seeds:

but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh

a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches

thereof.

 

Lu 10:16 & Mt 18:17 He that hears the church hears the Lord and the Father, He who does not hear is to be treated as an unbeliever.

 

 

Lu:10:16 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you

 despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.

 

 

M't:18:17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church:

but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen

man and a publican. 

It says this about God’s words

 

 

Isa:40:8: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God

 shall stand for ever.

 

 

M't:24:35: M'r:13:31: Lu:21:33: Heaven and earth shall pass away, but

my words shall not pass away.

 

And about Jesus Christ it says;

 

 

Heb:13:8: Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

 

But how sad that with the coming of the Protestant Reformation, these trustworthy words of the Lord are forgotten and the church that the Lord Himself set on earth has been forsaken by the Protestants and other denominations. They claim that true church on earth was taken over by the antichrist and say that a small group of true believers existed aongside the Catholic church, and that this group being persecuted by the Catholic church, practiced their belief in hiding. The reformers to substantiate their stand against Christendoms only church till then, the Catholic church to which they all (Luther, Zwingli, Huss, Calvin) belonged had been taken over by the devil and that the Lord had deserted it from somewhere around the 4th or the 7th century. And that from then on till the Reformation, the true church remained invisible alongside the Catholic church. A claim for which they have no base or support from the Bible though they all claim to be Sola Scriptura or Bible only believers.

Yet another claim is that there existed no visible church in that period from the time the antichrist took over the church in the early fourth or seventh century (they are not sure when), but there was a group of true believers who practiced Christianity and were part of an 'invisible church' for a period of more than 1200 years.  But from the verses pointed above, this claim is mere imagination. For, the True church does not have these two qualities. Also, the writings of the Church Fathers who were of the apostolic era and who were direct disciples of the apostles, show that the church of that era was one that followed the Catholic ways like devotion to Mother Mary, the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, infant baptism, the Primacy of Peter and the Seat of the Pope, only to name a few.

 

 

The anti-catholic doctrine that the church of Jesus had gone apostate or taken over by the antichrist implies that;

 

 

Eph 5:23    Christ is the saviour of the church (still He could not save the church that He send to witness to all nations. The ‘saviour’ of the church could not save his church when corruption crept into his church. The church failed its mission for around 1200 years.)

 

 

Mt 28:19, 20 His church is a church ‘witnessing unto all nations’ and a baptizing church. He is with the church ‘always’ ‘ till the end’.  (The church deserted it’s mission to witness unto the world for 1200 years. It went into hiding, it became invisible No trace of its witnessing was visibly seen or heard of for 1200 years. He who promised his presence ‘always’ and ‘till the end’ deserted the church for around 1200 years when corruption crept in).

 

 

Jn 14:16 His Holy Spirit is with the church forever (The Holy Spirit whom Jesus send to be with the church ‘forever’ deserted the church for a 1200 years.)

 

 

Jn 16:12-14 His Spirit will guide the church into all truth. (The Spirit let the church be guided into error than into all truth).

 

Mt 16:18 Gates of hell shall not prevail against the church (Gates of hell prevailed for more than 1200 years)

 

 

1Tim 3:15 Church is the pillar and bulwark of truth (Church became the pillar and bulwark of error for 1200 years)

 

 

Eph 3:9-10 Church is the manifold of wisdom (The church to which the mystery hidden from the beginning was revealed and called to be the manifold of wisdom was for 1200 years or so the manifold of error).

 

 

M't:5:14-16 M't:5:14-16 The church is the light of the world. It cannot be hid. It is to shine 'before men' for the world to see its works. (the light failed to shine for 1200 years, The city was hid for 1200 years. No light shone ' before men' for 1200 years) 

 

 

Mr 3:27-30 No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder it unless he tie up the strong man. (Devil entered God’s house,  tied up the strong man and plundered his house for 1200 or more years).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

M't:13:31, 32: The church sown as a mustard seed grows to become the greatest among herbs and a tree for all to come and lodge in. (The Kingdom on earth was left undergrown for around 1200 years).

 

 

Lu:10:16 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.  (He who does not hear the church is the true believer. He who despises the Father and the Son is the true believer).

 

 

M't:18:17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.  (If he neglects the church He is the true believer).

 

 And about God’s words

 

Isa:40:8: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. (grass withers, flower fades, but the word of God keeps changing).

 

 

And about Jesus Christ;

 

 

Heb:13:8: Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. (Jesus keeps changing everyday)

 

 

If this is so, then ‘Bible alone believers’, why believe in a false Bible. The word of God concerning the church in the above verses were false as per Protestant / Pentecostal doctrine, to them even the ‘word of God’ has passed and to them Jesus Christ is not the same yesterday, today and forever. That Jesus has lied, and the church He sent out has failed. To them He keeps changing yesterday, today and forever. The Protestants who claim their belief to be based solely on Scriptures then imply that the Bible itself is false. The words in it except a few of them are false.

 

 

 

Then let me ask a Pentecostal or Protestant, if it was that the above is true, then you believe in a failed hope, a failed God whose words have no value. The religion is worthless. The belief is in vain because you believe in a Jesus who is not true to his words. Which of his words can then be trusted and which not? Which of His words will He change next? Protestants and evangelicals believe in a Jesus who breaks promises. They believe in a God who is inferior to the devil and can be subdued by the devil, unlike the God that the Catholics believe in. To the Catholics, all His words are true and so the hope He gives is true. A God who is Almighty, who has let the devil roam for a limited time and will bind him at the appointed time, and a Christ who is true in every word like He said ‘Heaven and earth shall pass but the word of God shall stand forever’. To us Catholics He is true to ‘every word’.  To the True church the Lord Himself blessed, all His words are true. Jesus never fails. His Spirit guides into all truth. Yes, He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is the saviour of His church. He is the Lord Almighty and no one can plunder His house. He is its protector always till the end.

 

 

To those claiming to be ‘Bible alone’ believers, why neglect the verses discussed above and accept only a few verses that suits to their belief and leave out the rest.

 

The Scriptures every Christian uses, be it from any denomination, this Holy Bible, where did they get it, except from the Catholic church who preserved it from the beginning till now. The same Bible is used by all Bible alone Christians. The Bible given to them by 'the apostate church'.

 

 

 

                            Next Page>> Peter the Rock / Stone revisited

 

 

 

Christ Reigns!