THE APOSTASY
1 Tim. 4:1-3.
If you were here last Sunday morning you were exposed to two prophecies from the Old Testament.
Both Isaiah and Micah predicted that in the “latter days” the church would be built.
According to Acts 2, a passage examined last week, God did build His church in the first century.
THIS MORNING WE WANT TO TAKE A QUICK LOOK AT THE FALLING AWAY PREDICTED BY PAUL IN 1 TIM. 4:1-3.
a) We want to examine some of the changes that were introduced to the church.
b) I am going to begin with what might be called “early problems.”
c) These problems perhaps have little bearing on us but they affected many of the early Christians.
d) One of the best-known early problems came from a man named Marcion.
e) In AD 85 a little boy named Marcion was born. History says that he was an elder’s son.
f)
After reaching adulthood Marcion came to
g) He was rich, intelligent, and zealous (Mattox, p. 73).
h)
History says that he gave ten thousand dollars to
benevolent work at the congregation in
i) Marcion believed that the church was drifting into legalism and Christianity was cold.
j) The letter of the law was being emphasized above a good spirit.
k) Marcion suggested that the Old Testament be discarded.
l) He even asserted that the God of the Old Testament is different than the God of the new.
m) Paul was the only apostle who understood the truth; the others had been trapped by Judaism.
n) Marcion rejected all of the Bible books except Luke and the letters written by Paul.
o) People like Marcion show that the words in 1 Tim. 4:1-3 were right.
p) People did depart from the truth. Men like Marcion rejected inspired sections of God’s word.
q) As time progressed the departures from the faith increased.
r) Another of the other early departures related to church organization.
i) God intended for local congregations to be governed by a plurality of men.
ii) The Bible describes these men by six different titles.
iii) These titles are: Elders, bishops, shepherds, pastors, presbyters, and overseers.
iv) Each of these titles refers to the same job.
v) The men described by these words are discussed more fully in 1 Tim. 3:1-7 and Tit. 1:5-9.
vi) The
“elders” (bishops/pastors, etc were to be in each congregation (Acts
vii) An elder spoke of his “fellow elders” in a local congregation (1 Pet. 5:1).
viii) These references show that at least two elders served together in a local congregation.
ix) As time passed men changed the plan.
x) In 233 AD one man was selected from an eldership and was made a “bishop.”
xi) In the Bible the word “bishop” is used synonymously with the term “elder.”
xii) About 200 years after the church was established a new meaning was given to this word.
xiii) Men decided to create a position that God didn’t create.
xiv) A single man was elevated to a special position.
xv) Even now there are religious groups that have a single bishop.
xvi) When we see this type of church organization it is a departure from the New Testament church.
xvii) Christ’s church was organized on the local level.
xviii) Any other type of organization is inconsistent with the word of God.
xix) When men began to leave the pattern other problems began to emerge.
xx) It didn’t take long for bishops to have authority over many churches.
xxi) With the passage of time one man had power of several congregations.
xxii) This practice still exists but it is contrary to the plan found in the New Testament.
2) IF MEN WERE WILLING TO APPOINT A SOLE BISHOP WITHOUT GOD’S AUTHORITY THEY WERE PROBABLY WILLING TO SET UP A SPECIAL PRIESTHOOD.
a) This is exactly what we find in history.
b) The Bible says that all Christians are priests – 1 Pet. 2:5, 9.
c) Though God made all Christians priests, men were not satisfied with God’s arrangement.
d) By 150 AD there was a growing distinction between “ministers” and the “rest of the congregation.”
e) It didn’t take too long before there was also a noticeable change in the worship.
f) Those who participated in the services had to be from the priesthood.
g) I spent a little time in a group where special people performed the worship.
h) Most know that in many religious groups there are certain people who perform the religious activities.
i) In this place things are different.
ii) Most know that members of congregation who are not preachers have baptized people.
iii) We have witnessed marriages performed by someone other than a preacher.
iv) The Lord’s table has been presided over by people who have had no formal religious schooling.
v) This would not and does not happen in many denominational groups.
vi) Groups down the street leave these tasks to those who have been professionally trained.
vii) Many leave these tasks for those who have gone to a seminary.
viii) In the first century church there were no professionally trained clergy.
ix) Christians, because they were priests, conducted the worship.
x) Because of the apostasy this was changed.
xi) If we are staying with the pattern for the church given by God this is how we do it too.
xii) The church of the New Testament does not have a clergy/laity system.
3) IF HISTORY RECORDS CHANGES TO CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORSHIP WE SHOULD EXPECT TO FIND THAT HISTORY ALSO RECORDS THE BEGINNING OF OTHER RELIGIOUS GROUPS THAT GOD DIDN’T ESTABLISH. IT DOES.
a) From the middle of the second century on there was a rapid growth in the number of sects.
b) With these groups came a whole new wave of religious teachings.
c) Things that were not taught by Jesus or the apostles were introduced.
d) One of the new teachings was Millennialism (Mattox, p. 116).
e) A man named Cerinthus said he was receiving special revelations from angels.
f) These alleged revelations taught that the kingdom would be established on the earth.
g) This is a teaching that we hear about from time to time.
h)
We are told that Jesus will come back to the earth and
reign in
i) This teaching is an error that was introduced long after the church was established.
j) A man by the name of Tertullian (160-220 AD) formulated the doctrine of original sin.
k) Original sin is the idea that babies are born with sin; they come into the world stained by sin.
l) Millions of people believe in original sin.
m) What many do not realize is that this teaching is an error that arose about 200 BC.
i) This teaching did not originate with any Old Testament or New Testament writer.
ii) This error, as you can imagine, paved the way for infant baptism.
iii) If infants are in sin they need to be baptized.
iv) Because men concocted the doctrine of original sin, infant baptism was introduced.
v) This practice is also absolutely foreign to the New Testament but men started to teach it.
n) As time continued to pass more and more departures from the New Testament church were witnessed.
i) Christians knew that the Jews and the pagans had special festivals and celebrations.
ii) Jewish and pagan priests taunted those who were Christians.
iii) They said, “You have no temples, altars, victims, or priests. You have no holy days.”
iv) New Testament Christianity did not fit in with the ways of the world.
v) This caused some to conclude that Christians also needed to have special days.
vi) Some felt like they were being left out & couldn’t offer as much as the pagans & Jews.
vii) Thus, religious holidays like Easter were invented.
viii) We do not read about an Easter celebration in the Bible.
ix) There is no record of a religious Christmas celebration.
x) The church of the New Testament is to be distinct from the world.
xi) However, those who professed to be Christians wanted to be like their world.
xii) Thus, those who claimed to be Christians introduced special days.
xiii) About 300 years after Christ left the earth a number of “councils” began to meet.
xiv) At these councils men came together to discuss questions and determine doctrine.
xv) This same type of thing is still being done.
xvi) Many denominations have a “council” that meets or an annual denominational meeting.
xvii) For many this is a special treat. This is an event to look forward to.
xviii) According to scripture this type of meeting is apostasy.
xix)
God organized the church and gave it local control
(Phil. 1:1; Acts
xx) The doctrine has been delivered once for all time (Jude 3).
xxi) Having boards, councils, synods and annual meetings changes the plan that God instituted.
xxii) As time progressed the changes continued and grew.
xxiii) When Gregory the Great arrived (540-604 AD) the “mass” was established.
xxiv) We have heard this term.
xxv)
Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper. This was the communion (1 Cor.
xxvi) Men changed the Lord’s Supper into something called the mass.
xxvii) This change said that the elements were the actual body and blood of Christ.
xxviii) It was also during this period that the people designated as priests took on a new role.
xxix) They would determine if a Christian who had fallen into sin had genuinely repented.
xxx) In the New Testament it is taught that there is one lawgiver and judge, Jas.4:12.
xxxi) It is taught that God is the one who knows what is in the heart of men, Lk. 16:15.
xxxii) The apostasy caused men to take on responsibilities that didn’t belong to them.
xxxiii) Though men had no right to do what they did they did it anyway.
xxxiv) One of the things done by men was make sinners pay for their sins.
xxxv) People were told that priests had to receive a payment for their sins.
xxxvi) Once the priest was satisfied that payment had been made he would restore the church member.
o) As these things were taking place another alteration was on the horizon.
p) The Jews used instrumental music in worship. The idolatrous Greeks did the same.
q) Christians were unique because they offered the “fruit of their lips” to God, Heb. 13:15.
r) They sang (Eph. 5:19) while others played instruments of music.
i) They did this because this is how God designed Christian worship.
ii) Some became dissatisfied with this arrangement.
iii) If the pagans had musical instruments some Christians wanted to have the same thing.
iv) Organs were not introduced till the 8th century but other instruments were used before that period.
v) Even choirs were introduced to the worship.
vi) If you have ever wondered where choirs came from the answer is found history.
vii) Choirs did not come from God; they are not found in the New Testament.
viii) Christians are told to sing to each other, Col. 3:16.
ix) Men decided that they wanted something else (professional singers) and changed the plan.
x) The same is true of instruments like organs.
xi) Choirs are an addition to the plan God gave to His people.
s) Catholicism arose and brought with it numerous departures from the New Testament.
i) Those associated with this form of religion taught celibacy. Some men could not marry.
ii) This teaching is in direct conflict with 1 Tim. 4:1-3.
iii) Paul said that anyone teaching the doctrine of celibacy is guilty of apostasy.
iv) Catholicism also taught that some foods needed to be avoided, another mark of apostasy.
v) The rise of Catholicism resulted in opposition.
vi) After the opposition came reformation (AD 1517-1800).
vii) One of the reformers was Martin Luther.
viii) He and others thought that religion needed to be reformed.
ix) After Luther other reformers line the walls of history.
x) There was Zwingli, Calvin, the Anabaptists.
xi) Some of us are familiar with is Meno Simons; he was part of this movement.
xii) As history progressed we find the Mennonites and their part in this history.
t) A lot of history has gone by but it all boils down to two basic thoughts:
u) First, God established His church and men failed to stay with heaven’s plan.
v) This is an undeniable fact.
w) Second, some who were concerned about the departures wanted to reform the church.
x) If an institution from God has been corrupted it is not enough to reform it.
y) It needs to be restored. It needs to be put back as it once was.
z) These two sentences sum up the religious group called the Church of Christ.
aa) Because of the apostasy it is our goal to restore and therefore be the church of the Bible.
bb) We hope that this goal is shared by you.
cc) We hope that you have become the church described in the Bible and are a faithful member of it.