The California Collection/TheCaliforniaCollection.cdr/his075/cath29.lzh/CATH29.TXT

Text File | 1991-06-30 | 6KB | 128 lines

CUL:Which Foundation is the Church built upon?

   "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on

   this rock I will build my church, and the

   gates of Hades will not overcome it."

   - Matthew 16:18

   Upon the misinterpretation of this passage an entire church has been
constructed - the Catholic church. According to their interpretation
Jesus is telling Peter that Peter is the "rock" upon which Jesus will
build his church. Thus, Peter was declared by the Catholic church to be
the first "pope" in a long succession of "popes". So the present-day
"pope" is considered by the Catholic church to be Peter's successor -
the one man alive today through whom God will continue to build his
church. All that constitutes the Catholic church today has resulted
from the many decisions made by the "popes" throughout the years.
Therefore, if the concept of a "pope" is removed from the Catholic
church then the entire Catholic church system must be removed along
with it.

   The question at hand is, "Is Jesus really saying that Peter is that
rock upon which he intends to build his church?" What better source of
the truth than the Truth itself. So, let's look at God's word to
clarify this. Isaiah states in chapter 44, verse 8:

   "You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no
other Rock; I know not one."

   There never was, nor will there ever be, a spiritual "rock" besides
the Rock, Jesus Christ. No man can ever take his place.

   Catholicism upholds the notion that Jesus was calling Peter to be
the rock, the foundation upon which Jesus would build his church. Does
the rest of scripture uphold this assumption? Take hold of what Paul
says in 1 Corinthians 3:11 through the inspiration of God:

   "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid,
which is Jesus Christ."

   Jesus could not possibly have meant for Peter to be the rock, the
foundation upon which he would build his church, unless, of course,
Jesus would cease to be that foundation. Jesus changed Simon's name to
Peter, which certainly means "rock". Peter certainly thought of himself
as having it all together, as being a "rock" in the Lord, yet Jesus
knew as he gave him a name which means "rock" that he would, just a few
short verses later, need to rebuke Peter for thinking of himself as
such a "rock".

   "Jesus turned and said to Peter, 'Out of my sight, SATAN! You are a
stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but
the things of men'." -Matthew 16:23

   What a comment to make to the "rock" who had just been elected the
"first pope" a few minutes earlier! Do you think Peter felt very
"infallible" at this point? I think not. And if that wasn't enough to
humble him, the "first pope" denied Jesus three times, only five
chapters later. Jesus gave him the name "Peter" only because he knew
that later on Peter would learn to stand firm in the truth, just as all
who follow him must.

   "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you." -1
Corinthians 15:58

   We should all be "rocks" in the Lord, not able to be moved from our
firm positions.

   So what is Jesus saying? He is saying, "Yes, Peter, you are now
called 'rock' because later you truly will stand firm in your faith."
For Jesus "calls things that are not as though they were." (Romans
4:17) He goes on to say, "And on this rock," (referring to himself, the
true foundation) "I will build my church." Jesus is the only rock on
which the church is built. No other foundation can possibly be laid!
The truth is made very clear.

   Furthermore, Jesus makes absolutely no reference here to such a word
as "pope" - nor does he make any reference to such an idea of the
"succession of popes". Nowhere in scripture is the word "pope" to be
found because God never intended there to be such a term, nor such a
person within his church.

   So we see that, according to the truth of God's word, Peter was not
the "first pope", nor should there be a "pope" today. Scripture also
declares that Peter was certainly not infallible, nor was he unmarried!
The "first pope" had a wife (Matthew 8:14)! Why, then, are "popes"
forbidden to marry today? Why not follow the example of the model
"pope"?

   "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the
faith and follow DECEIVING spirits and things taught by DEMONS. Such
teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been
seared as with a hot iron. THEY FORBID PEOPLE TO MARRY and order them
to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with
thanksgiving by those who believe and who KNOW THE TRUTH." -1 Timothy
4:1-3

   God knew long ago that such false teachings would arise. He warns us
over and over not to fall prey to such traditions of men:

   "Jesus replied, 'And why to you break the command of God for the
sake of your tradition? ... Thus you nullify the word of God for the
sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he
prophesied about you:

   "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far
from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but RULES TAUGHT
BY MEN." ' " -Matthew 15:3, 6-9

   Jesus COMMANDS us in plain, unalterable terms what to do if we find
ourselves involved in such a "church":

   "LEAVE THEM; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind
man, both will fall into a pit." -Matthew 15:14

   These are just a few of the many false teachings that you will find
within the Catholic church if you will but ask God to open the eyes and
ears of your heart to the Truth found in his Word, the Bible. Is your
salvation founded on the Rock, Jesus Christ, or on the ever-changing,
unstable rules instituted by a succession of "popes"? With the greatest
of love God is calling you today "out of darkness into his wonderful
light" (1 Peter 2:9) - out of the traditions of men that bind you, into
a living relationship with the God of the Truth that will set you free.
Won't you humble yourself before him and accept his invitation? I did.

   SOUND DOCTRINE BBS