Tag: biblical truth

  • 3. How Biblical Are Churches?

    3. How Biblical Are Churches?

    Churches are entirely unbiblical.
    Churches today survive by convincing their members that without the interpretation of their theologians, all would be lost.

    To my dismay, I eventually had to realise: Theology is not theology.
    Although we have only one Bible, we have many different theologies.
    Some practise infant baptism, others believe they must be immersed seven times to be truly baptised.
    Still others claim to be the end-time church—and many other differences.
    Yet according to the measure of the Bible, all churches are unbiblical.
    For whoever transgresses even one commandment has broken them all.

    Additionally, in the end times, the faithful are called out of the (still) future Babylon.
    This Babylon consists of economy, politics, and religions.
    Furthermore, most religions strive for official recognition by the state.
    But when the state recognises something, religious groups are not allowed to deviate too far from state mandates.

    For example: if the state promotes same-sex relationships, then a state-recognised religious group is not allowed to publicly uphold the biblical prohibition of homosexual relationships.
    This shows clearly: No state-recognised religious group can be biblically justified.

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    The first congregation, as described in the book of Acts, was not a religious group.
    They were people who lived together voluntarily and shared their small possessions with one another.
    Of course, we also read about problems and the like—but strictly speaking, it was never a religion.

    In the beginning, the believers were one large family.
    The twelve patriarchs were brothers and had one father.
    This small family simply grew into a very large one.

    Only over time did elements emerge that make up what we now call a religion:

    “(usually accepted by a larger community) a certain belief, defined by teaching and statutes, along with its confession.”
    (Duden online, https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Religion, retrieved 2023-03-18 22:06)

    The Duden explains quite simply that a religion is defined by teaching and statutes—that is, by human rules.

    That is why Jesus also said:

    “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye build the tombs of the prophets and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
    Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
    Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city.”

    (Matthew 23:29–34, Elberfelder 1905)

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    And on another occasion, Jesus said to the theologians of His time:

    “Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
    Why do ye not understand my speech? Even because ye cannot hear my word.
    Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.
    When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
    And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.”

    (John 8:42–45, Elberfelder 1905)

    As soon as man introduces his own rules and makes faith dependent on anything, it becomes a religion.
    And when it becomes a religion, it is an unbiblical grouping.

    But if a person has the Holy Scripture as his foundation and believes sincerely, then it is a blessing when other believers gather, and they live together.
    Such a group is biblically grounded and does not require external signs.

  • 1. Are Jews and Christians Different?

    1. Are Jews and Christians Different?

    From a general point of view, Christians and Jews are regarded as similar but not the same. I often find that most people are unaware that “the Jew” as a single identity does not truly exist. Within Judaism, there are many different denominations. There are even Messianic Jews who have also accepted our Saviour. However, all of these belief systems are entirely man-made and not in harmony with the Bible.

    The Holy Scriptures consistently distinguish between two groups: God’s people (faithful followers) and idolaters (all others). Whether we call ourselves Orthodox Jews, Messianic Jews, Catholic Christians, Protestant Christians, or anything else, it does not matter to God or His Son. Our Saviour does not care in which group we feel most at home—so long as we sincerely follow Him.

    In the Holy Scriptures, God’s people are, after King Solomon’s reign, divided into two camps: ten tribes in the northern kingdom (House of Israel) and two tribes in the southern kingdom (House of Judah). Over time, only the southern kingdom remained as a recognisable group. Their brothers from the northern kingdom intermingled with other peoples and thus became lost.

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    Jesus was born in the southern kingdom and first taught them. But when they did not accept Him, He said:

    “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”
    (John 10:16, Luther 1545)

    When Jesus speaks of sheep not of this fold, He refers to the lost northern kingdom. We also find confirmation of this in Scripture:

    “And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
    (Matthew 24:31, Luther 1545)

    “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.”
    (Revelation 7:9, Luther 1545)

    From a biblical standpoint, there is no fundamental difference between Jew and Christian. Already in the books of the minor prophets it is foretold that both houses will be reunited into one people.

    Historically, too, there is no distinction between Jews and Christians. As mentioned, our Saviour was born into the tribe of Judah. His disciples—including more than just the well-known twelve—were Jews as well. Jesus and later the apostles preached in Jewish synagogues. Their lifestyle was what we would today label as “typically Jewish.”

    In the early Christian community of the first century A.D., those who chose to follow Jesus effectively chose a denomination within Judaism. Because this group taught certain distinct doctrines, they were referred to as a sect. Today, the word “sect” carries a negative connotation, but originally it simply meant:

    “A smaller religious community that split off from a larger religious group because it emphasised different positions than the original community.”
    (Duden Online, accessed 18 March 2023, 21:46)

    If you watch a documentary or read an entry in a Bible lexicon, you’ll find that there is no debate on this point: the first Christians were Jews. In this sense, there is no essential difference between Jews and Christians. Strictly speaking, there is only one people of God, among whom no distinction is made based on ancestry.

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