Denominational doctrines

B. J. Clarke

Introduction

This class should not have been in the MSOP curriculum but is necessary because of the
warnings from the Lord 1 John 4; Mat. 7:13-15. The class is designed to equip us to face
doctrinal matters.

1 Tim. 1:3 – a serious charge against teaching other doctrines. Doctrine as singular is
noteworthy, but in the plural is dangerous. Mat. 15:8-9; Mat. 21:23ff – only two choices of
doctrine: from heaven or from men. 2 John 9: one unit of teaching from Christ – not a
plurality.

The reason why this class exists: 2 Tim. 4:1-4. Acts 20:17ff – in the same congregation in
which Timothy was charged to teach. He knew that people would come to draw away
disciples into false doctrine.

*** Debates in class.

1:10 - 1:40

1st affirmative: 10 minutes – Define proposition; Ask 2 or 3 question. *These have to be

carefully formulated.

1st negative: 10 minutes – Answer the questions.

2nd Affirmative: 5 min.

2nd Negative: 5 min.

Swap affirmative and negative.

1:40-2:10.

1st affirmative: 10 minutes – Define proposition; Ask 2 or 3 question. *These have to be

carefully formulated.

1st negative: 10 minutes – Answer the questions.

2nd Affirmative: 5 min.

2nd Negative: 5 min.

There has to be an affirmative and a negative – the affirmative has to go first in order
to be negated by the second speech. The obligation of the negative is to follow the
affirmative arguments. The last speech of the debate should not add any new material.

To follow the argument is to respond the arguments themselves and not just propose
another argument on the same subject.

How understanding the coming church in the OT help us to refute denominationalism? It is

the prophecy of the one church. Just as in Acts 2:41 and 47 mentions that the saved were
added unto the church: one.

Eph. 3:9-11 – the church in the eternal purpose. Understood as the kingdom of God in the
OT and in the message of John the Baptist and Jesus – Mark 9:1 – fulfilled in Acts 2. In this
fulfillment was executed on the people as the inspired apostle says: repenting and being
baptized. The result was: 41, 47.

The church: purposed by God, prophesied by the prophets, prepared by John, presented by
the apostles – it belongs to Christ. In that sense, 1 Cor. 1:10ff shows that the division was
never in the purpose of God.

The difference between the multiple churches model and the Pentecost model of one
church. One preacher cannot preach 2 different doctrines but 2 whole churches can preach
different doctrines and that is fine…

The model started to be changed and led to apostasy – it was predicted (Acts 20:28ff: 2
Thess. 2:1-3; Mat. 7:5; 1 John 4:1); It was proved (2 Tim. 1:15; 2:16-18; 1 Tim. 5:11-15);

Were the people on Pentecost given the tight plan of salvation?

Acts 2:4, 38 – The apostles spoke as the Spirit gave them utterance – repent and baptism
(for the remission of sins); 2:47 – added to the right church. If we would ask what church
has he been added to, he would say: to none. He would have no idea of what a
denomination is.

To join the church of Christ implies not to join a denomination, but to join the same church
that we hear about in the NT.

The church is the house of God – is one house as good as another? God has specified one
place of safety every time. In the days of Noah, in the time of the Exodus, In the times of
Rahab. God has narrowed salvation to one place and one method.

It is consistent with God to have one place of salvation in the NT -

Eph. 5:23 – He is the savior of the body. To be saved one has to be in his body,

Eph. 4:4 – There is one body. He has to be in that one body.

Eph. 1:22-23 – The body is the church. One who is saved he needs to be in the one church,
which is the Christ’s body.

The phrase “body of Christ”, is equivalent to “church of Christ” – lower case “c” – it shows
belonging and not denomination.

In the day of Pentecost – the 3000 that were saved were also added to the church. The flaw
in the argument that all denominations are part of the same church is that not all
denominations are “backed” with the same authority.

How did we get from 1 church to thousands of denominations? Addition and subtraction.
Adding to the word or taking out from it.

- The first ‘apostasy’ was the going back to Judaism.

o One of the first falling away was the church organization but not the only
one.
o An apostasy is a deliberate departure from a professed position.
o The first of these was to abandone the allegiance of Christ by binding
circumcision.
o About 52 AD Paul warned the Thessalonians about it in 2 Thess.
 o The whole letter to the Hebrews was a warning about falling away into the
Law of Moses. Heb. 6:4-6; 10:25-39; 12:25.
- Gnosticism
o The book of Colossians warns about the philosophies that were creeping into
the church.
o It substracted from the adequacy, centrality, superiority and supremacy of
Christ.
o It was somehow patterned after Judaism but included worship of angels,
asceticism and mysticism: first symptoms of the 2nd century Gnosticism.
o It considered matter as evil and slowly the doctrine fell into Docetism (naïve
Gnosticism appears in John).
o Jesus Christ, in that doctrine, did not really died, it only seemed to had died.
o John fought this heresy – 1 John 4:2-3; 1 John 7.
o Col. 2:9 – Paul had already foreseen this departure.
- Catholicism
o Acts 14:23 – the specified church organization was to ordain a plurality of
elders in every congregation.
o 1 Pet. 5:2 – among you. Over one specific congregation. Not equal authority
over any church. Heb. 13:7, 17; 1 Pet. 5:3.
o The progression was done by spotlighting one elder in every congregation
which turned into the chief elder, and from there a group of those chief
elders from which one is converted into the pope.
o The enlargement of the jurisdiction of bishops – church officers assumed
more power and precedence for one church over others.
o Leo the I in 434 is considered as the first pope. The Roman Bishop.
o Other doctrinal departures:
 The introduction of holy water 120 AD
 The observance of lent 140 AD
 Origin of priestly robes 257 AD
 Beginning of celibacy 305 AD
  First recorded practice of sprinkling with Novatian 250 AD. Baptize
(immerse): baptizo; sprinkling: rantizo; pouring: cheo. The last two
are never referred in the NT for baptism.
 Acts 8:35; Mat. 3:13 – they show that baptism is immersion
and rising again. John 3:23. There had to be much water. Col.
2:12; Rom. 6:4 – baptism is a burial - people that are death in
sin are buried, not the other way around.
 Baptism saves us – 1 Pet. 3:21.
 1 John 5:11 – eternal life is in Christ. Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3.
We get into Christ by baptism. 2 Tim. 2:1 – grace is in Christ
Jesus; 2 Tim. 2:10 – salvation is in Christ. Rom. 8:1 – no
condemnation in Christ. To be put into Christ before by
baptism makes baptism itself foolishness – it would put you
in a place where you already are.
 Clinical baptism in general use came to be legalized in 8th century.
 Origen is credited with the doctrine of purgatory, as early as 220 AD.
 Private confession to a priest 390 AD, in general use until 1215.
 Veneration of images began in the 6th century.
 In the year 666 AD Pope Vitalian approved the use an organ in
worship. Eph. 5:19.
 The doctrine of transubstantiation: second council of Nicaea.
 The selling of indulgences.
 1229 – taking the bible from the people and the right to interpret it.
 1870 – infallibility of the pope.

Protest against apostasy

- John Wycliffe 1325-1384.

o The morning star of the reformation. He fought for the right to read and hear
the Scriptures in the common language.
o The councils and the decision of the papacy should be weighed against
Scriptures.
 o He concluded that Christ never ordained the papacy, he rejected
transubstantiation and purgatory.
o The archbishops tried to prohibit him to preach.
o After his death they burned his books and his remains exhumed.
- Martin Luther 1483 – 1546
o He entered an Augustin monastery and soon started to reject the catholic
doctrine of indulgences.
o This led him to write a protest against the selling of indulgences. The 95
thesis nailed to the Wittenberg Cathedral.
o Leo X excommunicated Luther and organized the diet of Worms.
o He did not totally adhere to an alliance to Scripture – he was concerned with
reforming the catholic church and not restoring the NT Christianity.
o The Augsburg Confession took the place of Scripture as the final authority
and made the true Spirit of reformation ceased.
- John Calvin 1509 – 1564
o He attended the university of Paris to study of classics and law in Orleans.
o In 1533 John Calvin had his conversion experience that led him to preach
the ideas of the reformation.
o In 1536 he published the first editions of the Institutes. He was the first in
articulate systematically the main ideas of the reformation.
o The result was the known TULIP – T: Men are totally depraved; U: God has
chosen a definite number from all eternity to be recipients of eternal life
without any works; L: Jesus died only for those who were elected; I: Only
those who were elected would receive the direct operation of the Holy Spirit;
P: The elect saints will always persevere in his relationship with God.

The proliferation of apostasy

- The protest turned into proliferation.

- The emphasis of Luther on faith against the works of righteousness in the catholic
sense led him into reject the letter of James.
 - Luther and Calvin did much good to reject Catholicism, but they have done much
wrong in deceiving people.
- Preachers have fought much to undo the errors of Luther and Calvin as they did
much to undo the errors of the Cat. Church.

The prescription to cure apostasy

- We propose to complete what the reformers left undone. An entire restoration of the
order of the ancient gospel.
- The prescription is that of 1 Pet. 4:11: speaking only that which is in accordance
with the Bible; speaking all what the Bible says – not adding or subtracting.
- Thus, all creeds, dogmas, catechisms, etc., would disappear in order to give place to
the head of the church: Jesus Christ.
- If we could reach this task religious division would disappear.

The nature of unity for which Christ prayed

Christ lived a life of prayer: before selecting the apostles, at the tomb of Lazarus, at
Gethsemane. Heb. 5:7. And at the same time, in John 17, the “true Lord’s prayer” is
recorded. Personal and passionate petition to his father for: Himself; His apostles; all who
believe in his word through his disciples – for unity.

A fixation on unity

One as Jesus and the Father: 17:21 – to be one in God. A healthy fixation on unity. 1 Cor.
1:10ff; Eph. 4:1-6. Make every effort to be in one Spirit. The task of preserving the unity of
the Spirit is one forever.

The fixation on unity has to be coupled with a fixation in doing what God commanded in
the way that He has commanded.

Those who belong to God are the ones who receive and keep the words spoken by Jesus.

The true identity in which the church has to be found is the word of the apostles. The same
unity that they have between the Son and the Father: a unity in purpose and teaching – what
one has set the other cannot contradict.
The formation of unity

Christ died so that there could be one people of God in unity. Eph. 2. The separation
between Jew and Gentile was bridged by Christ. But this is not automatic.

Mat. 12:46-50 – this is how we can be in unity to God: by doing the will of God. Mat. 7:21;
Luke 8:21. This is a passage to point them when they ask if the coC believes that only they
are going to heaven. We should be able to find the will of the Father in the Bible – Can we
find, for example, the sinners prayer in it?

Religiousness and obedience to Christ are not identified. He will not know many who claim
to be God’s children.

John 3 – being born again of the water and the Spirit it is included as part of the will of the
Father to be done in order to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Acts 8: the Spirit and Water
are involved in conversion.

Ps. 119:63 – the standard for fellowship in the eyes of the psalmist is the same as that of
Jesus – who does the commandments of God. Many verses in Ps. 119 show us what is the
real need of fellowship but also who can be in fellowship with God and the righteous.

The fragmentation of unity

There are reasons, already predicted by Jesus, of why there will be a fragmentation of the
unity: When some reject the words of Jesus. Luke 12:51-53. The alliance to Jesus will
cause fragmentation with others.

For some the emphasis on the unscriptural nature of unity movements, they would claim
that we are disrupting unity. Unity should be at the cost of purity of doctrine. Jas. 3:17.

Rom. 16:17: avoid them; 1 Tim. 6:3-5: withdraw ty self; 2 John 9-11: do not receive them;
Gal. 1:6-9: let him be accursed.

Roman Catholicism

Book: A discussion between a preacher and a priest.

The story of a preach finding a catholic tract presenting a bias discussion against
Protestantism, led to a real discussion between a Christian and a Roman Catholic priest.

Some questions of the preacher to the priest:

- Why call the priest father?

o It is not to be taken literally and there is an example in Paul calling Timothy:
Son.
o The problem is that “Father” became an ecclesiastical title and not just a
warm and dear address to a beloved younger brother. There are no religious
titles that exalt someone above others.
- Why the images or icons? Deut. 4; Ex. 20:4, 5.
o The prohibition was to worship the images, not the making of images itself.
Besides there are images made approved by God.
o The problem is that the NT has no examples of the church using images.
One of the images made in Israel became an object of worship. 2 Kin. 18:4.
o The images in the Catholic Church does receive adoration. Exactly what
God prohibited.
o There is a complicated history concerning the use of images.
o The omission of the second commandment reveals that it is not in the Bible.
- Why making the mass in Latin?
o People, despite the language, lift up their hearts to God. The priest addresses
the God in Latin, and the people in English.
o 1 Cor. 14 – condemns confusion in the assembly. 14:7-11. The people have
to worship with understanding not just devotion.
o This is not done anymore. 1 Cor. 14:28.
- Why one bishop over a plurality of churches?
o Timothy was left in charge over the churches at Macedonia.
o 1 Tim. 3:1 – There are bishops in the church of Christ, and de Falco gives no
other examples or commands about one bishop.
- Why do you teach that Peter was the first pope if he was married?
 o Horrible answer: Peter’s wife probably died or he left his wife. This has
changed, the Roman Catholic Church is not a monolith.
o There is a big conflict in Scripture concerning the value of marriage: Jesus
and the authentic letters of Paul seem to oppose it, but the pastorals embrace
it.
- The foundation of the Church upon Peter.
o The more I read Mat. It seems clear that Jesus gave a prominent role to
Peter. The passage is fabricated, but I think is based on a very early
tradition.
o The very fact that Peter was considered a pillar in Jerusalem, seems to fuel
this tradition.
o Peter probably was not at Rome, but the tradition of 1 Peter (Babylon IS
Rome), probably grew out of a tradition of Petrine origin at Rome.
o These traditions are much later, yes, but they constitute an ecclesiastical
tradition.
o The idea of papacy is a glorification of a man.
- Why does the Priest do not have the right to marry?
o It is a voluntary decision to become Eunuchs for the kingdom.
- The rich man and Lazarus: purgatory.
o Matt. something teaches something about the world to come in which some
sins can be forgiven.
o Of course this is one of the most apocalyptic sayings of Jesus, but it does not
refer the purgatory or even heaven or hell, but the Jewish hope of the
kingdom of God.
- Why Mary the Mediatrix?
o Luke 2; we can pray to different “mediators” who pray for us, and this does
not make them the authors of our redemption.
o There are no verses that allow prayer to any other than God through Jesus.
o The use of John 2 is pointless, Jesus did his will and the will of the Father.
o The whole NT presents Christ as the only Mediator.
o The name “Theotokos” is problematic.
o The perpetual virginity of Mary is defended on the grounds that the word
“adelfoi” can mean other than brothers – relatives or cousins.
o There is a great emphasis on Mariolatry.