Truth Magazine

By Roland Worth, Jr.

The Catholic Church is quite proud of its “unity.” In contrast, they point to the immense division among those who claim the Bible as their ultimate authority. This indicates, so their argument goes, that the Bible is an unreliable final standard and that by submitting to the bishop of Rome schism can be avoided. How does this claim stack up against actual history? Poorly! To be quite blunt, the Catholic Church will find its claim believed only in proportion to the ignorance of its audience. For proof of this, let us examine the record of division in the early post-apostolic centuries. (It should be kept in mind that we do not know the exact year in which Catholicism came into existence. Many of the following events occurred in that period of transition between Christianity and Catholicism.) As our authority we will present quotations from the well known and respected French Catholic historian, H. Daniel-Rops in his volume, Church of Apostles and Martyrs (E. P. Dutton & Company, New York: 1960; reprinted 1963).

Heresies of the Second Century

“Heresies and schisms can be found as far back as one can go in Christian history. Whether it was a question of erroneous interpretation of dogmas or of the fact of Revelation, of aberrant moral tendencies or of secessions provoked by powerful individuals led astray by personal pride, these frictions and divisions had been very numerous: several had left livid scars on the body of the Bride of Christ. Thus in the second century we have observed the fanatical Montanus leading his followers into practices where faith and violence mingled in an apocalyptic exaltation. In the East particularly we have witnessed a proliferation of theories which by eviscerating Christian dogmas and history of their content, while preserving their vocabulary, had run the risk of burying the sound and healthy realism of the Gospel under sterile masses of speculation. Examples of these can be seen in Gnosticism and its countless variants. Thus again we have seen Marcion deriving some of his elements from Gnosticism and others from the ancient strata of Persian dualism, evolving a doctrine that enjoyed great influence on account of his own strong personality and which was an ancient expression of a kind of dualist Protestantism. There was not one of these tendencies which had not left its mark on some part of the Christian world” (p. 453).

Heresies of the Third Century

“Of course there were doctrinal difficulties too, of the kind we have seen springing up since the earliest years of Christianity. Heresy must indeed be regarded as an aspect of human intelligence defaced by sin, for it spread so prolifically. The old heresies of the second century were still alive: Montanism, to which Tertullian now brought his own alarming support, and Gnosticism, which was in the midst of disintegration but which swarmed everywhere in sectarian communities. Other heresies, of a rather different character, now arose; for instead of leaving the Church and establishing their own sects, the third-century heretics clung to a self-styled loyalty, claiming that they were still orthodox, even while they modified official dogmas to suit themselves. We shall see various bishops and not a few theologians straying along some very strange paths in this way, and it was not always easy either to bring them back to the fold or to expel them. These heresies were very numerous, varying in their terms of expression, but all connected with the fundamental problem of the Three Divine Persons and their relations with one another, and often including errors on the very reality of Christ. It is hardly possible to list them all. Modalism maintained that God existed only in one Person and not Three a Person who was successively called Father, Son and Holy Spirit according to the ‘modes’ of His action. According to the time, place, individuals and circumstances concerned, this theory was to exist under the separate names of Monarchianism, Patripassianism, and Sabellianism. Adoptianism, which was developed by a humble Byzantine leather-worker, Theodotus, alleged that Jesus was but a man who had been adopted by God. Subordinationism, a heretical trend, whose seeds can already be discerned in Origen, which his imprudent disciples were to carry to extremes, and which was to find its way into the heart of Arianism, tended to place Christ below the Father, in a second-class position” (p. 354).

Heresies of the Fourth Century

“The period that began with Constantine and lasted for rather more than one hundred years-witnessed the unfolding of ten or so heresies at least, with the most varied bearings on points of dogma. Several of these dated from the third century but they were to undergo considerable development during the fourth. Their names evoke scarcely an echo in Christian memories today. Very few of us have even heard, for instance, of the ‘Pneumatomachians,’ who denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit, or of the ‘Apollinarists,’ who believed in a tripartite division of human nature and maintained that Christ was human in His body and animal senses, but God through the Spirit alone. However, on points of theology which we cannot exactly understand, conflicts arose into which men hurled themselves with an impetuosity and a heroism which enabled them to embrace death itself and which are evidence of an ardent faith. Three of these deviations were to be of capital importance in the history of Christianity: Donatism, Arianism and the insidious current of Manichaeism” (p. 454).

Conclusion

These facts play havoc with the Catholic argument from “unity.” It is like a beautiful diamond that sparkles in our hand but which, when we look at it under a magnifying glass, turns out to be a fake.

Truth Magazine XXII: 24, p. 397
June 15, 1978

By Robert E. Waldron

After Jesus’ baptism He was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. The account of the temptation of Jesus offers some of the richest lessons in scripture. In studying the temptation many have sought to explain why Jesus did not follow Satan’s suggestions by various, sometimes ingenious, ideas. These ideas may be true and are definitely worthy of thought. Jesus, however, knew best of all why He could not do the things Satan wished Him to do. We shall be guided in this study, therefore, solely by the replies Jesus Himself made.

The First Temptation

Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days during which time He fasted. Both Matthew and Luke indicate that Jesus felt no hunger until after the forty days. “And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He afterward hungered” (Mt. 4:2). “And He did eat nothing in those days: and when they were completed, He hungered” (Lk. 4:2). Hunger fell upon Jesus more as a blow than as something to which He had slowly grown accustomed. Mark shows that Satan hack been tempting Jesus already. “And He was in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan” (Mk. 1:12). Now Satan comes again.

“If thou are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread” (Mt. 4:3). Now we know Jesus had the power ‘to change one substance into another (see Jn. 2 where Jesus changed water to wine). We also know that several times Jesus used His power to provide food (Mt. 14; 15; Jn. 21); why not this time? Satan seemed to be tempting Jesus to prove His Sonship, but Jesus’ reply was not, “Satan, I do not have to prove my Sonship. Both you and I know who I am.” The temptation was more subtle than that. Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God,” (Mt. 4:4). If we are to understand what Satan’s temptation was we will do so only by understanding Jesus’ reply.

When Israel was encamped in the plains of Moab, poised to invade Canaan, Moses preached to them. He said, “All the commandment which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which Jehovah swear unto your fathers. And thou shalt remember all the way which Jehovah thy God hath led thee these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble thee, to prove thee, to know what was in thy heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or not. And He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by everything that proceedeth out of the mouth of Jehovah doth man live” (Deut. 8:1-3). If the Israelites had been asked to list their necessities they would have said: food and water. We cannot be critical of them without some self-examination. If someone were chosen at random and asked to list the necessities of life today, he would list food, water, and shelter. The Israelites needed to learn that their first necessity was to obey the words that ‘proceed out of the mouth of Jehovah. Oh how we today need to learn to include that necessity at the top of our list!

How, though, does this point tie in with Jesus’ refusal to turn stones into bread? Satan was telling Jesus to use the power He had for His sole benefit. It was not the Father’s will that Jesus’ power be used in that manner. Though Jesus knew He needed food He also knew one thing He needed more-to do the Father’s will. God did not give Jesus His great power so that if He had a headache He could merely wish it away, or if He became thirsty He could cause a glass of water to appear in His hand. He always used His power for the sake of others to produce faith in them. Thus it would have been contrary to the “word that proceeded out of the mouth of God” for Jesus to use His power for His benefit. Therefore He would not and told Satan why. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

The Second Temptation

“Then the devil taketh Him into the holy city; and he set Him on the pinnacle of the temple” (Mt. 4:5). If this pinnacle were the southern wall of the temple enclosure, then, according to Josephus, the wall was “vastly high” while ‘the valley immediately below was “very deep, and its bottom could not be seen.” The exact location of the pinnacle is not important. A fall from such a height would be fatal. Imagine Jesus standing there looking down into the depths of the valley below. Satan says, “If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, ‘He shall give His angels charge concerning thee’: and, ‘On their hands they shall bear thee up, lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone’ ” (Mt. 4:6). Is the true basis of the temptation here the Sonship of Jesus? What does Jesus reply? “Again it is written, ‘Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God’ ” (Mt. 4:7). Jesus knew what Satan was tempting Him to do. Satan was trying to make Jesus show a lack of confidence in God.

Jesus again quotes from Deuteronomy. “Ye shall not tempt Jehovah your God, as ye tempted Him in Massah” (Deut. 6:16). Obviously Moses was reminding the Israelites of a former occasion when they had tried God. The time to which he referred happened within the first few weeks after the Israelites left Egypt. The people were thirsty and murmured. God told Moses to smite the rock, and he did so, and water came forth. “And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the striving of the children of Israel, and because they tempted Jehovah, saying, ‘Is Jehovah among us, or not?’ ” (Exod. 17:7). The Israelites saw the plagues God brought upon Egypt. They saw God divide the waters of the Red Sea while His pillar of fire stood between them and the Egyptians. He had enabled Moses to sweeten the waters of Marah and had fed the children of Israel with manna, but these were not sufficient grounds for faith for the Israelites. God must needs continually prove Himself. This attitude is one of perpetual doubt. This is the attitude we see in people when they can look upon the handiwork of God, behold His providential works, have an abundance of material things, a family, health, and then say, “You know, sometimes I wonder whether there is a God or not.” Tempting God in this manner is caused by a blindness which refuses to accept the evidence God has given to support faith and which continually asks for proof. A mind like this is in a spiritual vacuum.

Satan was really attempting to get Jesus to express doubt by trying God out. “You say you are the Son of God. Well God said He would give His angels charge to guard you and to keep you from dashing your foot against a stone. Why not test God and see if He will?” Jesus, however, saw the trap and replied, “Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God.” If Jesus had done as Satan suggested,, He would have manifested a lack of confidence in God. If He, the Son of God, had manifested a lack of confidence in God, any grounds for our faith would have been utterly destroyed.

We need to draw a practical lesson for ourselves. Let us not say, “I wish God would do something; now to show that He really is.” How can we stand on the peak of God’s revelation, see the path of redemption from the Garden of Eden until now, observe the daily operation of God’s creation, and say, “Do something, God, so I will know you are there”? “Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God.”

The Third Temptation

In the third temptation of Jesus, recorded in Matthew 4, ‘The devil taketh Him unto an exceeding high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and he said unto Him, `All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me’ ” (Mt. 4:8,9). Satan sought to get Jesus to worship him. If ever the bald-faced audacity of Satan was ever manifested, it was then. The very idea of supreme Deity worshipping Satan is mind-boggling.

If Jesus had seen fit to fall down and worship Satan, then surely we who are far less in power could do no less than to follow His example. As I said, the consequences of such an action would have shaken the foundations of reason itself.

What was the appeal of this temptation? God had promised Jesus the “obedience of the peoples” (Gen. 49:10); “the nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession” (Ps. 2:8). For Jesus to follow God’s way to the throne on the “holy hill of Zion” led Him to the cross. It was the hard way, the sacrificial way. Satan’s way was easy. All Jesus had to do was to fall down and worship him. If He had done that, being who He was, Deity would have been divided. Deity would have submitted to an inferior being’s power. The scheme of redemption would have been completely thwarted.

Jesus answered Satan, “Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, ‘Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve’ ” (Mt. 4:10). For the third time Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy. Moses warned the people that when they went into the land, they were not to follow after the idols. One may make a god out of anything. Satan wanted to exchange himself for God and let Jesus worship him, but Jesus refused. “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve.”

It will be profitable to look at a few reasons why Jesus was perfect. They are exemplified in the temptation account. We blame sin on our human bodies, but Jesus had a human body and did not sin. Sin comes from the heart. It is the heart which allows the desires of the body to become lust. Surely the divine nature of Jesus is the ultimate explanation for His complete, lifelong perfection. There are, however, two things which we may study with great benefit. One reason why Jesus never sinned is that He was not ignorant. He knew everything that was right. Many times we sin because we do not know. We have not studied and learned. The more we know of God’s way the better we will be able to walk in it. Another reason why Jesus never sinned is that He always did what He knew was right. How often do we get to the end of a day and say, “I should have done this or that,” and did not do it? We can improve our service to God without learning anything else if we will immediately begin to do more of what we already know we should do. We can then further improve by studying the scriptures more diligently. Let us be imitators of Christ and “resist the devil and he will flee from you” (Jas. 4:7).

Truth Magazine XXII: 24, pp. 395-396
June 15, 1978

By Bruce James

Jesus claimed to be a physician Himself when He was in the house of Matthew eating a meal. Matthew being a tax collector, evidently had invited some of his fellow outcasts to eat with them. The Pharisees and scribes were shocked that Jesus would eat a meal with such people. But Jesus told them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick . . . I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matt. 9:913; Mk. 2:14-17; Lk. 5:27-32). Jesus’ claim here is that He is a physician to cure the ills of mankind.

This was a common picture to the Jew. Jeremiah asked: “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?” (Jer. 8:22). The world needed someone who could heal the sickness of the soul. And, in reality, the physician in Jesus’ day had at least two things going against him: (1) to all Jews, dead bodies were unclean and to touch one was to become unclean yourself. Therefore, Jewish doctors knew very little of anatomy. There is a story that is told of how these doctors would boil the body of a criminal until the flesh came away from the bones, so the bones could be examined and counted. But to go into detail would be too gross to say the least; (2) the Jews also believed that all suffering was due to sin, and to the personal sin of the sufferer. Therefore, when a physician tried to heal someone it was said that he was interfering with the action and decree of God. This was a definite hindrance to the doctor in Jesus’ day, and it is for these two reasons that physicians then were more like witch doctors than anything else.

Let us ask what the picture of Jesus as a physician reveals’ about Himself. Well, what are the characteristics of a doctor?

1. The word physician comes from the Greek word phusikos which is connected with phusis which means nature., A physician is a man whose study is nature, the essence and basis of life. He sees man not as a prince or pauper, a laborer or stockbroker, but as a human being in need of healing. He sees men as they are-and so does Jesus Christ.

2. The physician is trained to diagnose ailments. He sees those things which you and I cannot see. Unless he finds the cause of the trouble then he cannot find the cure. Jesus can diagnose the sickness of sin, and can reveal, exactly where that sickness attacks each individual life.

3. The physician, knowing what is wrong, then wants to help-to heal. You or I might regard the illness as repulsive or ugly and, therefore, shun the sufferer, but not the doctor. Jesus never turns from the sinner but is always willing to apply the healing balm to whosoever will.

4. The physician is a man who will risk his own life to save the one who is ill. Think of all the infectious diseases that man has had to deal with in the past and how many doctors died trying to find a cure! Jesus did not hesitate to die to find a cure for men.

Most certainly, Jesus proved that he has the ability to miraculously heal any physical ailment infecting mankind. This He did while He was here on earth. And He can heal the spiritual ailments too. But we must obey the Divine Physician’s instructions–yes, take the prescription for the cure. We must believe and obey the gospel if we are to ever be saved (Heb. 5:8, 9). There is no other balm in Gilead, nor any other physician there.

Truth Magazine XXII: 24, pp. 394-395
June 15, 1978

By Dennis C. Abernathy

To read the account of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus (better known as Paul) is a thrilling experience indeed. Outside of Jesus Himself, Paul is probably the most prominent man considered in the New Testament. There is much to be learned in the life of this great man (and a great man he truly was). Paul was truly great because he loved and served the Lord. We look to him and hold him in high esteem because he was a follower of Christ. “Be ye followers (imitators) of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1).

As we observe the life of Saul, we find that he was a Jew in the strictest sense of the word. “I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day” (Acts 22:3). Also we read in Phil. 3:5, “Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee.” Then in Acts 26:4-5 we read, “My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews; which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.” Last of all, we read in Galatians 1:14, “And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.” It is evident from the foregoing scriptures that Paul was a very religious person (even from his youth up). He was a very strict Jew (mentioning his pure descent, his education under Gamaliel (a very eminent Jewish teacher), his being a Pharisee (noted for their strictness concerning the law), and not only that, he was more exceedingly zealous, which caused him to stand over and above many of his equals).

Now who would deny that Saul loved God and was trying to serve him? Certainly not I! This gives us some information about his up-bringing, but we notice something else about the life of Saul. While he was very religious, strict as to the law, very zealous toward God, at the same time we find that he persecuted the church! “For ye have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure, and tried to destroy it” (Gal. 1:13). In writing to Timothy, Paul later said of himself that he was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent aggressor” when it came to the church of the Lord. Saul did all that he could to stamp out the church of Christ. He opposed it with all his might. He imprisoned disciples (Acts 8:3; 22:4). He beat them (Acts 22:19). He compelled them to blaspheme(Acts 26:11). He voted to kill the saints (Acts 26:10; 7:58; 22:20). He was so “furiously enraged” at the saints, that he pursued them to foreign cities to bring them back and persecute them. How much worse could one be? Talk about sinners! Well Paul did not think one could be any worse than he was. He referred to himself as “chief of sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). Paul was sincere and very conscientious, of which there is no doubt, for we read in Acts 23:1 “. . . Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” Also in 24:16, he said, “And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward men.” And then again, we read in 26:9, “I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.” So there we have it. Paul thought he was doing right, was sincere, and had a clear conscience. Do you suppose for one minute that he was pleasing to God in the condition? (Just here it would do some of our own brethren a lot of good to ponder Paul’s case. Will God simply overlook sins committed in ignorance while one is doing his best to do right? If He will, then Paul was pleasing to Him in his condition.) No, my friends and brethren, Paul was not all right in that condition, and he knew it when he heard the truth. I say this respectfully, but will say it nonetheless. If your “best” is not in harmony with the will of God, then it is not good enough.

We now have Saul on his way to Damascus to pursue the Christians with the authority and orders of the chief priests. As he later related the events of this journey, he said, “At midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me” (Acts 26:13). Saul was overwhelmed by this and, having fallen to the ground, “heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ ” We learn, of course, that there was a special reason for this unusual happening in connection with Saul. We go to Acts 22:14-15 and find Ananias telling Saul, “The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will and to see the Righteous One, and to hear an utterance from his mouth. For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard.” We read further in Acts 26, “But arise, and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to. the things in which I will appear to you; delivering you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I. am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me” (vs. 16-18). Read also 1 Cor. 9:1. Is it not clear then that Saul had actually seen and heard Jesus that day? Is it not just as clear why he did? There is no need for you and me to expect any such thing to happen to us, for it never so-happened again.

When the Lord showed Himself, and spoke to Saul, it surely made a believer of him. He was convinced that He was the. Christ and immediately he wanted to know “what shall I do Lord?” (22:10). I believe the person who is truly convinced that Jesus is the Christ will want to know what he must do to obey Him. Just here we might note that Saul was not saved simply because he believed. Those who have Saul saved from his sins on the Damascus road do err not knowing the Scriptures. The Lord emphatically told him, “But rise, and enter the city, and it shall be told thee what you must do” (9:6). May I strongly urge upon you that whatever would be told Saul, it was a must! He had to do it! He was not told something he “may do” or can do “if you want to.” I suppose some feel that if a person does all he knows to do (even though he does not do what he “must” do), it will be fine with the Lord! Not so. There are some “things we must do” today just as there were things Saul had to do. Never forget that!

It seems evident to me that Saul was in sheer agony for three days. No doubt his sins were “ever before him.” He had time to think of what he had been doing and to whom he had been doing it. Can you imagine the force of the Lord’s words? “Saul, why are you persecuting me?” No doubt Saul was sorry; repentance is shown. Acts 9:9 says, “And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.” Next we read of Ananias, the preacher being sent to Saul. At first he did not want to go (he knew the havoc this Saul had wreaked out on the church), but the Lord convinced him and he went. Saul was waiting just as the Lord told him to do. Ananias told him, “And why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16). Chapter 9:18 informs us that “he arose and was baptized.”

Observe if you will, that baptism is for the washing away of sins. They are washed away in the blood of the Lamb (Rom. 6:4). That is why there was no delay to perform the act. When one understands that until he is baptized he is still in his sins, he will not delay. This is why some wait for weeks on end to get up a group of candidates for baptism and have a baptismal service. They do not believe that baptism is essential to the washing away of sins. But, my friend, Saul understood it; therefore, he did not delay!

How wonderful it is to see the power in the gospel. Paul could see it, for never again was he to be ashamed of it. He knew it to be God’s “power to save” (Rom. r :16). What a change the gospel wrought in the life of SauR He became a great hero of the faith, endeared to all of us, because of his humble obedience, strict conviction, and patient endurance. The hateful persecutor now became the persecuted (2 Cor. 11:23-28). He suffered for his Lord, as he had heaped suffering upon the saints before, and he did it gladly. “For this reason I also suffer these tl#ngs, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day” (2 Tim. 1:12). What wonderful harmony in the Word of God. Listen to the admonition of Peter, “Therefore, let those also who suffer; according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right” (1 Pet. 4:19).

To you who are reading these words. Have you been obedient to the gospel of Christ? Have you done what Saul did? Why are you delaying? Arise, be baptized, and wash away you sins.

Truth Magazine XXII: 24, pp. 393-394
June 15, 1978