MidnightCall Magazine
In this issue:
- Before the Last Flood — By Norbert Lieth
- Gaza Flotilla: Aggression or Self-Defense? — By Arno Froese
- Far East AsiaTrendsToday – Part III:Geo-prophecy or Geopolitics? — By Wilfred Hahn
News From Israel MagazineIn this issue:
- The Myth of the Al-Aqsa Mosque: Part 1 — By Herbert Novitsky
- ON THE HORIZON:
- Obama Honors Jewish Heritage Month
- Building an Electronic Human Brain
- ‘Iran Critics Must Get Rid of Nukes,’ Says Turkish PM
- Israel Joins Prestigious OECD Club
- Israel Accepted after Unanimous Vote
- Spy Satellite Successfully Launched
Sola Scriptura
Sola Scriptura...
Immortality...
The Mark of the Beast
Dear Editor,
I would like to comment on your answer to J. Crowe regarding Sola Scriptura (by Scripture alone) and Catholicism in the December 2009 issue of Midnight Call. I find it puzzling that your belief about Scripture is not based on what is written in Scripture. The doctrine of Sola Scriptura is not found in the Old Testament or the New Testament.
If Sola Scriptura was true, then the early Christians would have needed to have Scripture available to them to provide the basis of their faith. But the canon of the New Testament was not finalized until the Church Councils in Hippo and Carthage in 393 and 397 AD. And even after this date, few individuals would have had access to a complete written Scripture because of its great cost (it took about 500 sheep to provide the vellum for one complete Bible) and the limited literacy of the people.
You indicated that “Either we have the full counsel of God to man contained in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, or we don’t.” When one considers that those Church Councils required the full counsel of God to select the books to be included in Scripture, then the only logical conclusion is that the full counsel of God is not limited to Scriptures. I believe in a God of infinite power, wisdom and majesty; He is not limited by a concept of Sola Scriptura that originate 1500 years after Christ’s death.
You also quoted 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” There is nothing in this verse that says that inspiration is limited to Scripture. Timothy also says (1 Timothy 3:15), “I wanted you to know how people ought to behave in God’s family—that is, the Church of the living God, which upholds the truth and keeps it safe.” The truth would not need to be upheld and kept safe if it was fully contained in Scripture. Scripture and tradition are both the basis of Christianity.
-G. DeMers, WI
Answer: If you consider the Bible as a purely historical, factual documentation from Catholic perspectives, then you are correct, no Sola Scriptura. The Church, however, is a living organism and not tied to any organization. Although various churches and denominations may contain the true Church of Jesus Christ, none can actually claim to be the living Church of our Lord Jesus Christ.
You are also confusing the church in Rome, as documented in Scripture, with the government-instituted church founded in 380 AD under Constantine I. These are two different, distinct identities. One is the work of the Holy Spirit, the other of man. Remember that Jesus stated: “I will build my church”; that is a spiritual matter. Before Jesus departed, He prophesied that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit would come and said, “He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” After the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost, the apostles were enabled to write down the full counsel of God. This was not because of documents they collected or discovered, but due to the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. The full counsel of God, “Sola Scriptura,” existed long before the founding of a visible manifestation of the Roman Church.
The last Jewish apostle, John, was instructed by Jesus Himself: “Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter” (Revelation 1:19). The same Lord caused John to write that nothing should be taken away or added to “the words of the prophecy of this book.” Note the words of the Apostle Peter: “We have also a more sure word of prophecy.” This is speaking in the possessive form; there is no indication that more should be added in the future. Read the Book of Hebrews; it begins with, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds” (Hebrews 1:1-2). Note the word “hath.” It does not say, “will.”
During the times of the apostles, the churches were urged to read the Epistles (Colossians 4:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:27). Our Bible is a Jewish book consisting of 66 books, and was completed during the time of the apostles. The fact that Christians in Rome contributed toward the collection and identification of the apostles’ writings cannot be denied. Neither can we deny that Martin Luther translated the entire Bible in the German language, or that Gutenberg invented the press. That’s a totally different issue. But to assume that the true Church cannot exist without a visible governmental institution such as the Vatican is not supported in Scripture. The true Church was founded by the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem, based on the foundation perfected in Jerusalem, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11). There is only one true Church, and it was not built in Rome or by the Vatican, but already existed during the apostles’ time, “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Ephesians 2:20). You are not identifying the Church of JesusChrist according to Holy Scripture.
The Church of Jesus Christ is a living organism, consisting exclusively of born again believers. It is not manifested in any visible denomination, organization or movement. If all churches, by whatever name, would close their doors tomorrow (and that includes Midnight Call Ministries), it would do no harm to the Church of Jesus Christ globally, because true Christians depend exclusively on Him who stated, “I will build my church.” The source of this authority is Sola Scriptura, inspired by God the Holy Spirit. Only the living eternal Word is our authority: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3).
Midnight Call Magazine’s #1 Feature!
Letters to the Editor
Readers have enjoyed the
opportunity of writing in and posing various questions and concerns
relative to the Body of Christ. They have benefited from the author’s
concise scriptural responses on topics such as the Rapture of the
Church, globalism, the Ecumenical Movement, false religions,
eschatology, general Scripture explanations and much more.
