Alan Gross
Well-Known Member
What man has come up with is going to conflict with God's Revelations of church Truth, as seen in the Bible. Or, maybe not seen, before. And the Harlot Daughters clinging to their Mama, by their devotion to the non-Biblical teaching of The False Prophet, identifies them as Catholic.
This is JESUS CHRIST’S Promise of Perpetuity TO HIS ORGANIZED ASSEMBLIES that HE STARTED DURING HIS EARTHLY MINISTRY “Upon this Rock” as Jesus Said, Referring to Himself,
“I Will Build (Continue to EDIFY & TEACH) My church; and the gates of hell [Hades] will not prevail against It” [Matthew 16:18].
…
We may find various interpretations of this statement of Jesus, but despite a great variety of ideas in detailed interpretation it is fairly clear to all that we have here a PROMISE of our Lord that His church would not be overcome by the powers of evil.
…
Whatever this church was, it could not fail if Jesus Spoke The Truth.
…
We believe that this church was what would now be called a Baptist church, and anyone who will honestly examine the organization and doctrines of this New Testament institution in comparison with the organization and doctrines of SCRIPTURAL Baptist churches today will reach the same conclusion.
…
If the church that Jesus built was not a Baptist church, then we need to find out what kind of church it was, and join that church, if we want our service to be pleasing to Him.
…
One thing we can be sure of: if Jesus Spoke The Truth — and what real Christian would deny this? — the church that Jesus built has been in the world ever since and will be here till He Comes Again.
…
The popular “Protestant” dogma in this connection speaks of an “invisible” church to which all Christians belong.
…
More on this as we go along, but for the present note a few simple facts:
…
a. Neither the expression “invisible church” nor the idea of such an expression can be found in the New Testament.
…
b. The whole purpose of the “invisible church” dogma is to justify the Protestant splits
from Roman Catholicism.
…
But since Baptists are not Protestants and were never a part of the heretical Catholic system,
we have no need of any such dogma to justify our existence.
…
c. Most Protestants and many ignorant Baptists suppose that Christ built two churches;
that is two kinds of churches: the “invisible church” of their own vain imagining and the organized assemblies that they cannot help recognizing in the New Testament.
…
Then, to add insult to injury, they call their imaginary monstrosity the “true” church!
…
But the Bible says there is only one body (church), that is, one kind of body, just as there is only one baptism, that is, one kind of baptism [Ephesians 4:4-5].
…
d. Since there is no just reason to do otherwise, we must understand that Jesus used the word, “church” [Greek “ekklesia] in Matthew 16:18 in the same general sense that it has everywhere else in the New Testament: that is, an assembly, almost always an organized assembly.
…
The word here is used abstractly; that is, it expresses an idea whose realization is to be found
in a particular organized assembly
This is JESUS CHRIST’S Promise of Perpetuity TO HIS ORGANIZED ASSEMBLIES that HE STARTED DURING HIS EARTHLY MINISTRY “Upon this Rock” as Jesus Said, Referring to Himself,
“I Will Build (Continue to EDIFY & TEACH) My church; and the gates of hell [Hades] will not prevail against It” [Matthew 16:18].
…
We may find various interpretations of this statement of Jesus, but despite a great variety of ideas in detailed interpretation it is fairly clear to all that we have here a PROMISE of our Lord that His church would not be overcome by the powers of evil.
…
Whatever this church was, it could not fail if Jesus Spoke The Truth.
…
We believe that this church was what would now be called a Baptist church, and anyone who will honestly examine the organization and doctrines of this New Testament institution in comparison with the organization and doctrines of SCRIPTURAL Baptist churches today will reach the same conclusion.
…
If the church that Jesus built was not a Baptist church, then we need to find out what kind of church it was, and join that church, if we want our service to be pleasing to Him.
…
One thing we can be sure of: if Jesus Spoke The Truth — and what real Christian would deny this? — the church that Jesus built has been in the world ever since and will be here till He Comes Again.
…
The popular “Protestant” dogma in this connection speaks of an “invisible” church to which all Christians belong.
…
More on this as we go along, but for the present note a few simple facts:
…
a. Neither the expression “invisible church” nor the idea of such an expression can be found in the New Testament.
…
b. The whole purpose of the “invisible church” dogma is to justify the Protestant splits
from Roman Catholicism.
…
But since Baptists are not Protestants and were never a part of the heretical Catholic system,
we have no need of any such dogma to justify our existence.
…
c. Most Protestants and many ignorant Baptists suppose that Christ built two churches;
that is two kinds of churches: the “invisible church” of their own vain imagining and the organized assemblies that they cannot help recognizing in the New Testament.
…
Then, to add insult to injury, they call their imaginary monstrosity the “true” church!
…
But the Bible says there is only one body (church), that is, one kind of body, just as there is only one baptism, that is, one kind of baptism [Ephesians 4:4-5].
…
d. Since there is no just reason to do otherwise, we must understand that Jesus used the word, “church” [Greek “ekklesia] in Matthew 16:18 in the same general sense that it has everywhere else in the New Testament: that is, an assembly, almost always an organized assembly.
…
The word here is used abstractly; that is, it expresses an idea whose realization is to be found
in a particular organized assembly
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