Did The Catholic Church Give Us The Bible? - Part One Series

PART ONE

Not too long ago, I was accused of following man-made doctrines and making decisions based on my interpretations and definitions because I consider the Bible alone as the final authority (Sola Scriptura) in my life as a Born-Again Christian. I was told that "according to the Bible, I was not of Christ and did not belong to His Church, but rather I was following a different religion and a different god." I was also told that "Christ didn't come down and give us a Bible. He came down and gave us a church and died for our sins. It is the Bishops of the Catholic Church who are the successors to the Apostles, and they gave us the Bible with the table of contents determined by a Catholic council in Rome in AD 382 until Luther took out seven books in the 1500s. The books called the "New Testament" were the books read at the Catholic Eucharist for the first 300 years of Christianity and are still practiced at Catholic masses. The Eucharist is the new covenant, the new Passover. Without the Catholic Eucharist, you don't have the Bible."

This message will address the early church, the authority, and history of the New Testament, the offices of Apostle and Pastor-Teacher, as well as Transubstantiation in Communion.

THE EARLY CHURCH

Jesus wasn't the founder of the Roman Catholic Church. Jesus, Joseph, Mary, and their other children were Jews, just as the Apostles, disciples, and early Jesus followers. The Bible calls every Born-Again Christian the Bride of Christ (John 3:29; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:27; Revelation 18:23,19:7; 21:2,22:17). Early Christians were known "as the way" that was based on Jesus' words, "I am the way, and the truth and the life … John 14:6. The words Catholic and Pope are not found anywhere in the Bible, which is the foundation of Christianity and is the absolute perfect revelation of Jesus Christ, as well as the absolute and final authority in the life of the Born-Again Christian because it is the only infallible, inerrant, inspired source of knowledge about Him, and the only dependable source for humankind to know God's voice because it has the answers to all eternal questions. His Word sustains everything in the Cosmos.

The Church Universal is composed of all Born-Again Christians and is God's ordained institution headed by Jesus alone. It is organized for teaching, worship, fellowship, the administration of communion and baptism, spiritual growth, support, and evangelizing the world. It was built on the teaching (Scriptures) of the Prophets and Apostles found in the Old and New Testaments (Ephesians 2:19-20). The Bible, and not the Catholic Church, is the authoritative source for the proclamation of the Bride of Christ and the norm by which that proclamation is tested. It cannot be changed by any additions, subtractions, or modifications offered by anyone, no matter what position or authority they claim to hold. Once a person attempts to conflate various verses, supplement, supersede, distort, or subtract from the Bible, they enter into heresy.

The Jewish Apostle Paul told the Church at Corinth, Galatia, and Thessalonica that he wrote with authority given to him directly by God to instruct them, and they should not distort or ignore them (1 Corinthians 14:37-38; 2 Corinthians 13:3, 10; Galatians 1:11-17; 1 Thessalonians 4:2,8; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15, 3:6, 13-18). The Jewish Apostle John wrote in the Book of Revelation that those who read and keep what was written in it would be blessed because it was given to him directly by God and gave a warning that if anyone adds or subtracts to what he wrote, there would be dire consequences for them (Revelation 1:1-3, 9-19, 14:13, 19:9-10, 21:5-7, 22:18-19).

The early Jesus followers continued to go to the Synagogue and followed Mosaic Law and Temple traditions. They practiced circumcision and followed kosher dietary laws. They observed the Jewish holy days and the Sabbath and met in each other's homes on Sunday (aka the Lord's Day). They did not look or operate like Roman Catholicism, and the absolute last thing the Apostles would have considered would be patterning their leadership structure to look like that of Rome because it killed Jesus and systematically killed their family and friends.

The New Testament teaches that Jesus was sent to Jews, the Apostles (Greek apostolos, sent ones) were sent to the world, and later Paul corroborates that the Gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek (Gentile). Claiming Jesus founded Roman Catholicism creates disharmony and requires Olympian apologetics to reconcile.

Jesus told the Disciples, "if I do not go away, the 'parakletos' (Gk = advocate, intercessor, comforter, helper) will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you" (John 16:7). His final instructions to them were for them to wait for power from the Holy Spirit, because at that point, "… you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8).