Strange fire Charleston, TN The Church of God

[Yeshua1]

I have finally been able to get in touch with someone at The Church of God (Charleston TN) This is the question I asked

(Reference the original post to understand my questions)

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I don't read anywhere in scriptures where the Church fell asleep from 325 A.D. to 1903A.D Let God be true and every man a liar Romans 3:5

If this happened then how do you explain this scripture?
Matthew 16:18
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. It looks like for over 1500 years the devil may of prevailed.
Some great men of God for example William Tynsdale lived during this time that you claim the Church was asleep. The Church of God wouldn't even have the Kings James Bible if it wasn't for God raising this man. I just don't understand why people have to lie about Gods word. We live in times where we need to be like the bereans We need to take what men say and compare it back to the Word of God.


I'm looking for some advice on this Baptist Board on how to answer his questions (below) in a manner where it will be gentle. I know this will be tough. I know only God will open his eyes to truth. I believe some people have the gift of explaining things without being harsh and I pray I get a good response
from the members of this Baptist Board


This is his response


Tim thank you for your question! I would like to say I think the world of the work William Tyndale did for our Christ. I believe your question should be looked at from both a historical and biblical point of view. First let me establish a few points (1) the reason we call this period of 1578 years the "dark ages" which lasted from 325 A.D. to 1903 A.D. is because our rule of faith The New Testament was put down and a creed of men took its place. (2) The Church of God is said to be the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15) but starting in the fourth century our rule of faith was replaced and the Church is covered over by creeds and doctrines of men. The organization that ceased to be The Church of God stopped being that pillar and ground of the truth because the true faith was not being taught. (1) the new birth i.e. being born again was not being taught (2) the second definite work of grace subsequent to Justification namely, Entire Sanctification, stopped being taught (3) The Baptism with the Holy Ghost which is always subsequent to sanctification and always accompanied by the evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance stop being taught (4) Divine Healing: James 5:14 - 16 (5) Washing the Saints' feet: John 13:4-17 (6) Repentance: Acts 3:19 (7) Justification by Faith: Romans 5:1-9. All these truth stopped being taught.

So with all these doctrines not taught how do you say Tim that God's Church did not cease to function? I'm not saying that God's divine institution under the New Covenant died never to rise again but that it according to prophecy would arise again (Isaiah 54:5-17) (Isaiah 60:1-5). So I would like to ask you a question; were in history from 400 A.D. to 1500 A.D. is the pillar and ground of the truth? because there is not one group that taught all those points of biblical doctrine between those years. Now if people didn't teach sinners to repent and be born again how can you say that the Church did not cease to function? If justification by faith (Romans 5:1-2) is not taught how are people being born again? It is our belief that one is born again upon repentance into the kingdom of God. The Bible teaches that being born again and added to the Church are two different things. That is a sinner must be born again before he can be added to the Church.

There was a Reformation before 1903, correct?

 

[Tim71]

and the Ch. of God accepts all of the fundamentals.

If they accept all of the fundamentals Are you saying speaking gibberish is a fundamental of the faith?

 

[John of Japan]

If they accept all of the fundamentals Are you saying speaking gibberish is a fundamental of the faith?

No, "unknown tongues" are not a fundamental of the faith. My statement was not that all the things they believe are fundamentals of the faith, but that they accept the doctrines historically considered to be fundamentals of the faith.

The term "fundamentals" comes from a series of books edited by R. A. Torrey and mailed out free to pastors all over America from 1910 to 1915. This is where we get the term "fundamentalism." The books included articles on doctrines that are now considered to be fundamentals of the faith. This occurred before the Azusa Street Revival, so obviously tongues are not a fundamental either historically or Biblically.

There are various lists of the fundamentals out there. Here is the one first adopted in 1910 by the Presbyterian General Assembly (they were fundamentalists in those days):

(1) the inerrancy of Scripture, (2) the Virgin Birth of Christ, (3) his substitutionary atonement, (4) his bodily resurrection, and (5) the authenticity of the miracles.

My own list includes those doctrines specifically said to be essential: the doctrine of Christ (2 John 9-11; this includes a lot), the inspiration of Scripture (Rev. 22:18-19), the Gospel (Gal. 1:8-9).