Initially, this seems to confirm the bias of those who say they admire Jesus but have little regard for the church. He welcomes tips, suggestions, and any other feedback at bealenews at gmail dot com. When used in this sense, “apostle” does not necessarily denote a special office, and may be used of persons who had not personally witnessed the resurrection. “And in those days [shortly after the ascension of Christ], Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty.) Once converted, they continued to obey God, continued to keep the Sabbath, and, as long as Christians and unbelieving Jews were able to coexist on friendly terms, continued to meet in the synagogues. Even the conversion of the Gentiles was not seen as a radical departure from legitimate religious practice, probably because informed Roman officials were aware of Jewish proselytization and were willing to give proselytes the same privileges they gave the Jews. First, He chose humans to carry out His work. These have been handed down and entrusted to the Church (which means to its official teachers, the bishops in union with the Pope)” (ibid., p. 137). There is no reason to believe that their religious practice—their observance of the weekly Sabbath and annual holy days, their obedience to the Ten Commandments—differed from that of the Jerusalem church. Interestingly, the book of Galatians is often cited as “proof’ that the “Old Testament Law” has been abolished for Christians, especially Gentile Christians. From there the truth about Jesus spread and God caused the Christian church to grow. Further, a certain “abomination of desolation” did “stand in the holy place,” as Christ said. By simply reading the many New Testament references to the final tribulation period, the Day of the Lord, the Second Coming, the resurrection of the saints, and the establishment of God’s Kingdom on this earth, one can see clearly that James, Peter, John, Jude, and Paul lived and labored in expectation of the imminence of Christ’s coming. In several passages the word (ekklesia) is used in reference to local assemblies. How appropriate that the “harvest” of lives for the Kingdom of God should begin on this day. A large number of the Gentiles who were converted through Paul’s ministry were God-fearers. The unfailing Church of Jesus Christ, in other words, is built upon Simon the Rock - Peter. Second, the word is used in a broader sense of anyone who was “sent forth” as a messenger, or envoy. To many, the word connotes a place of worship, a building, perhaps with stained-glass windows and a steeple. The Jews who had come with Peter were astonished when they witnessed these uncircumcised Gentiles receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit (verse 45). The priest instructed the people on “how they should fear the Lord” (verse 28), but the people of the land refused to renounce their idolatrous practices. But Paul and Barnabas, having witnessed the conversion of uncircumcised Gentiles, vigorously disputed the claim of the circumcision party, and agreed to meet with the apostles and elders at Jerusalem to settle the matter once and for all (Acts 15:2). So do any of the scriptural references to “apostles” suggest a hierarchy of ruling bishops that would continue through history in unbroken succession? The king of Assyria, learning of this plague, sent a priest from the captives of Israel to “teach them the manner of the God of the land” (verses 26,27). This is the true Church—the Church as commanded by Jesus and described by Acts. The church, they say, is man’s invention. All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit (verses 17-18). Did they regard the weekly and annual sabbaths as “Jewish” customs that had no relevance for non-Jewish believers? Vine, the word “…was used among the Greeks of a body of citizens gathered to discuss the affairs of State….In the Sept. As Harrison points out, “The Jews’ unwillingness to permit the Samaritans to participate in the rebuilding of the temple (Ezra 4:1-2) produced a deep antagonism, reflected in the New Testament, and it led to the setting up of the schismatic worship at Mt. He appointed Peter to be the visible head of the Church. This vision of the Church also happens to be precisely the Catholic one. Now when Calvin speaks of preaching of the gospel, he means the written gospel. Or would they be shocked to find customs and beliefs, now labeled “Christian,” that were completely unknown to the first-century church? It is simply not believable that the early Christians would have abandoned this festival, or considered it archaic or having no meaning for New Covenant believers. Notice that Peter said Judas had been “numbered with us.” Obviously, the apostles saw their office as a unique office, and perceived that their ministry was to begin with the full number Christ had established. Raised as an evangelical Protestant, he is a convert to Catholicism. When Paul described himself as “an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God” (Ephesians 1:1), he was using the word (apostolos) in the official sense, recognizing the divine origin of the foundational office. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven” (Acts 10:10-17). 13:8) and does not change (Mal. In deciding, Jesus Christ would be presented with a myriad of different churches, all claiming to represent Him, profess His teachings, have His appointed ministers, and be His Church. They were simply replacing Judas. And tradition is not something that one individual hands off to individual to another but rather is something passed on within a community. As Catholic apologist Karl Keating says, “This oral teaching must be accepted by Christians as they accepted the written teaching that at length came to them…. He knew it didn’t mean that “unclean” meats (Leviticus 11) were now fit for human consumption, but wasn’t sure what it did mean. In time, envoys from the mother church would carry the message of repentance and remission of sins to Samaria, to Asia Minor, to far-off Rome, to the “uttermost parts of the earth.” Thousands would be converted. The apostles Jesus called, taught, and trained did not envision a line of successors. Further, abstaining from sinful activities such as idolatry and fornication, and harmful practices such as eating blood or things strangled, could hardly be described as “burdens.” The above passage (Acts 15:28,29) simply means that it was entirely unnecessary to burden the Gentiles with lengthy instructions. The firstfruits sheaf pictures “Christ the Firstfruits” (1 Corinthians 15:23) being presented alive before the Father. If the apostles were here today, what would they think as they examined modern Christianity? The truth that the Church was founded by Jesus Christ means that we better make sure we really understand what the Church is and that we belong to it. Lydia, a “seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God [Greek: sebomene ton theon: “a worshiper of God,” or “God-fearer”],” was a Sabbathkeeper who was converted through Paul’s teaching (Acts 16:13,14). B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI, Revised Edition, 1971, p. 4). When she told the men of Samaria of her meeting with Jesus, they went out to meet Him, and asked that He remain with them two days. His teaching persuaded them that “this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world” (verse 42). For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. By his Cross, Jesus gave birth to the Church: Third, there were those known as “God-fearers” who, though uncircumcised, worshiped the true God, believed the Hebrew Scriptures, and frequented Jewish synagogues on the Sabbath day. On the surface, this instruction seems to say that the four laws were the only “burdens” the Gentiles were required to bear. It is his Church. Is this truly an example of “apostolic succession”? Peter clearly did not take the vision to mean it was now permissible to eat unclean animals. By New Testament times, the Samaritans were claiming to be the descendants of Jacob. He founded a Teaching Church. This suggests that “apostolic succession” was an “oral teaching” Jesus gave His apostles, who in turn taught it to their successors. No sanctuary or liturgy; only Jesus speaking about God in real-time and then sharing a meal with those gathered on the hillside. He wrote on the ground with His finger, and to this day, we do not even know what He wrote. When he was in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia (in southern Galatia), “Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience” (Acts 13:16). But when he called Epaphroditus “my brother, and companion in labour, and fellow-soldier, but your messenger [apostolos], and he that ministered to my wants” (Philippians 2:24), he was using the word in its general sense. [i.e., the Greek translation of the Old Testament] it is used to designate the gathering of Israel, summoned for any definite purpose, or a gathering regarded as representative of the whole nation” (An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN, p. 76). 37 … But then—as it should be now—the Scriptures were not the source and summit of the life of the early Church. apologetics, His areas of interest include Eastern Christianity, Marian and Eucharistic theology, medieval history, and the saints. Further, Paul may have been using “apostles” in the general sense. Jesus said little about the church. Make it plain upon tablets, The apostolic church—the church that Jesus built—was a Sabbathkeeping church! The answer provided by Simon Peter set in motion the formation of the Catholic Church by Jesus. (Which is why the Church is fittingly called the mystical Body of Christ.) Thus, the “Israel tree” represents the converted “remnant of Israel” (Romans 11:5,7) and the Gentiles who were “grafted” in the place of those “broken off.”. Notice an analogy Paul used: “For if the casting away of them [the majority of Israelites] be the reconciling of the world [the non-Israelite peoples, or Gentiles], what shall the receiving [conversion] of them be, but life from the dead? 9:5). The next question then becomes: How can Protestants claim continuity with the Church founded by Christ? All this happened in A.D. 70, when the armies of General Titus entered the city. God revealed to Peter that he should go with them because He had sent them (verses 17-20). The gathering there is a mix of the invested, the curious and the skeptical. Probably, in most instances where apostolos is used of persons other than the twelve or Paul, it should not be taken to mean “apostolic office.” It is clear that Paul and the original twelve were apostles in a special sense. Yet most of these have disagreeing doctrines. Some have cited the example of Matthias’ replacement of Judas as evidence of apostolic succession. He has appeared on Fox News, C-SPAN and the Today Show and his writing has been published in the Washington Times, Providence Journal, the National Catholic Register and on MSNBC.com and ABCNews.com. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said, "And I say to you [Simon], you are Peter [Petros], and upon this rock [petra] I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." A short summary of this paper. Or has God provided another means whereby one may find the true church? He defended his apostleship on the basis that he had seen Christ (and was therefore a witness of the resurrection) and that his ministry had produced the fruits of the apostolic office (1 Corinthians 9:1). So how is our church the same one that Jesus founded? Did they adopt practices different from those of the Jerusalem church? On the contrary, scriptural evidence indicates the whole apostolic church—both Jews and Gentiles—continued their familiar practice of observing God’s festivals and Sabbaths. But here’s the catch. Peter is indeed preaching the Gospel and he is calling his audience to the repentance of baptism (Acts 2:38). The “yoke” Peter spoke of was the inability to remove the burden of past sins. They took it to mean their own generation! Furthermore as it was intended by Jesus that they to … Hearing and believing in this Word, then, meant being transformed into it. Second, there were the full-fledged proselytes of Judaism who had submitted to the rite of circumcision and had, for all practical purposes, become Jews. In fact, the Old and now the New Testaments are incredibly important. They knew that Christ had appointed twelve men, and that He had said that the twelve, “in the regeneration,” would “sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28; see also Luke 22:30). Some think of “the church” as the body of believers collectively, regardless of denominational boundaries, while others think of “the church” as a specific institution governed by ecclesiastical heads, or leaders. And if God is calling you, He’ll see to it that you find the true church—the one that Jesus built. In Corinth, Paul “reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks” (Acts 18:4). © Copyright 2021 Catholic Exchange. In Iconium, Paul again preaches in the synagogue, and again both Jews and Gentiles are present. None whatsoever! And even then, it wasn’t a single book. See also Chapter 25 of the Westminster Confession and the fourth book of The Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin.). 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