BIBLE INSIGHT

Departing From The Faith - Part 3 by Paul Woodward (Reprinted from The Religious Reminder)

The Reformation - Origin of Denominations

By 593 AD a multitude of departures had taken place from the true church of Christ that was established in the year 33 AD, in the city of Jerusalem. Many so called "churches of Christ" had departed drastically from the teachings of Christ and it just kept getting worse, but the biggest change that occurred was in 606 AD.

Be reminded that up until this time even though it was in error the church was still known only as "church of Christ," but in this year 606 AD, the change that occurred resulted in the first full fledged denomination - the Catholic Church.

• 606 AD, Formation of the Catholic Church - the Roman Emperor Phocus crowned Boniface m as father and head of Christ's church here on earth. All Bible students know that God made his Son, Jesus Christ, to be the only head of His church. At this time several new names were added to the simple name "church of Christ." This new arrangement of government was called the "Holy Roman Catholic Apostolic Church of Christ," with Boniface In having become the Vicar of Christ and pope of the Catholic Church. This was the beginning of combining church and state. This was the first denomination to form.
• 105 AD, Greek Catholic Church - a division took place in the Roman Catholic Church resulting in the establishment of this 2nd denomination.
• 1520 -30 AD, The 3rd denomination to form - The Lutheran church. Martin Luther was a Catholic monk. He found a Bible chained to the pulpit in a monastery and began studying it. (The common people, then known as the laity, were not permitted to read the Bible). Luther began studying this Bible and found out the Catholic Church was not practicing many Bible truths, so he set out to reform the present Catholic Church. He did this in a number of ways, but the most powerful tool he used was to tack to the Catholic Church house door in Wittenberg, Germany, 95 objections to the Catholic Church. He called it his "95 Theses". This was a strong protest against the "Catholic Church". Therefore, the Catholics called him a Protester or Protestant.

NOTE - Even if Luther had been successful in reforming the Catholic Church it would still have been the Catholic Church and not the true Church of Christ.

Luther went on to write a new creed (later to be known as the Lutheran Catechism) which his followers used as they began to form the 1st Protestant church - the Lutheran church.

What was needed was not a Reform of the Catholic Church, but a New Testament Restoration of the true Church of Christ.

Following is a list of a few other Protestant denominations that were formed for one reason or another:

• 1534 AD - Church of England was formed by Henry VIII of England. King Henry wanted to divorce his wife, Catherine, and marry Ann Bollyn, but the pope in Rome would not grant him this privilege, so he had Parliament in England to give him a divorce. The King then withdrew England from the Catholic Church and formed a new church; he made himself head of this new church, which was just another denomination similar to the Catholic Church but had King Henry as its head. Even today the queen or king of England is still the head of this Protestant church. The king married Ann Bollyn after his divorce from Catherine. So this church was formed as the result of fornication or adultery.
• 1536 AD - The Presbyterian Church was established by John Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland. They have in Geneva a large statue erected to his memory. He originated the theory of Calvinism, which teaches that before God created mankind, He had predestinated some individuals by name to obtain everlasting life and others He predestinated to enter an everlasting hell. And in each of them it was impossible to change their destiny regardless of how good or how wicked they became. This is a false theory because God said in 2 Peter 3:9, The Lord ... is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Again in Acts 10:3435, "God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him."
• 1608-11 AD - John Smythe established the first Baptist church in England. The Baptist denomination today has about 17 different ranches, but most of them use the "Baptist Manual" as their creed. It is said that Smythe immersed himself. Then he immersed others, not into Christ, but into the Baptist church. The Baptist church has many false doctrines, one of which states that baptism is not necessary for remission of sins as taught in Acts 2:38. They say baptism is an outward sign that a person has already been saved from sin. However, Baptist churches do teach that baptism does put a person into the Baptist church.
• 1729 AD - John Wesley originated the Methodist church in Bristol, England. Wesley and a few others formed themselves into a Society for the purpose of overcoming the formalism and ritualism in the Church of England. Later this society took on the name "Methodist Church."
• 1830 AD - The Mormon church was established.
• 1831 AD - Seventh Day Adventist church came into being.
• 1866 AD - Christian Science church originated in Boston, Mass.
• 1919 AD - Several Pentecostal Holiness churches joined together and their general assembly took on the name "church of the Nazarene."
  
  All of these churches were Protestant except the Catholics. They all have human creeds to go by and none of their names are found in the Bible. Since 1919, other Protestant denominations have been formed, some even before 1919. Today there are well over 1200 different denominations over the world, and more are forming all the time.
  
  Remember, the true "church of Christ" is not Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish. The church of Christ is God's family wearing Christ's name. Amen.

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Habits by Randy Harshbarger (texran@lcc.net)

"'Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and ALWAYS keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!'" (Deut 5:29 NKJV).

Down through time, philosophers and theologians have debated the meaning of the word "habit." Aristotle and Augustine spoke of habits that belonged to a person. For example, one might possess a coat that is extremely useful in the wintertime; in the same way, one may possess certain habits that are judged to be virtuous or beneficial. By the longtime practice of a certain action or activity, it can be said that one is in the habit of doing this or that. We speak of good habits and of bad habits. Such things as smoking, or drinking alcohol, or eating too much are judged bad habits. Getting the proper rest, exercising, and eating properly are judged to be good habits.

Mortimer Adler wrote: "The familiar statement that a person does what he is in the habit of doing indicates that a habit is a tendency to a particular sort of behavior" (The Great Ideas: A Lexicon of Western Thought, p. 287). What we do regularly, largely defines who and what we are.

How can we apply this in the spiritual realm?

"These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11, NKJV). Luke speaks of the Bereans who daily searched the word of God; they were in the regular habit of considering and studying God's word. Earnest inquiry of truth is a good habit. A deep, serious concern about truth is something each of us needs to cultivate. We need to be in the habit of looking to God's word as our guide for life. Bible study must become a part of our behavior. The Bereans searched God's word without prejudice; they were open-minded concerning the things they found. Unwilling to take the word of others, they felt an obligation to search out truth for themselves. Their actions were not rash or impulsive; rather, they calculatingly examined for themselves, what God's word taught.

That is a good habit!

The righteous man finds delight in God's word, "...And in His law he meditates day and night" (Psalm 1:3). That is habit. That is routine. That is dedication. Doing something day and night, or regularly, takes time and effort. But the reward comes, not only now, but for all eternity. Bad habits are hard to break. Good habits require effort before they become a part of who we are. Let us examine God's word daily. Let us daily turn from sin as we endeavor to walk closer to the Lord. Good habits bind us to the Lord day by day.

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BIBLE INSIGHT is published for the members of, and visitors to, the Church of Christ at Beverly Shores, Leesburg, Florida, USA.
Carey Dillinger is the editor. He can be reached at the church address or via e-mail: dillinc@yahoo.com