(Mat 16:13-18) "Upon this rock I will build my church..."

I. Jesus Establishes the Church.

A. The Roman Empire: One of the greatest empires the world has ever known.

1. The Roman empires encompassed almost all the inhabited world.

> Tiberius Caesar was its leader.

2. The Roman religion was at that time Paganistic and Polytheistic.

> They practiced sexual orgies during their worship.

> They worship many gods, especially gods of sexuality.

3. Pagansim was an established religion.

> It was not merely a religion of the people, it was established by law and state.

> It was supported by the government both financially and politically.

B. The Jewish people: Were not an established nation at this time.

1. They were scattered throughout the Roman empire.

> Though they had some liberty to practice their religion, and had access to the Temple at Jerusalem, they had lost any true zeal for worship.

> They had become formalistic and self-righteous. They had lost any true relationship with the God of their fathers.

2. They despised the Roman rule, but used it when it was convenient for them.

> They tried to pit the Roman government against the religious zealots by asking the Lord to choose between them (Mark 12:13-17).

> But, later when they needed the Roman government to do something for them, they themselves bowed to Caesar (John 19:15).

C. The Church: Was established by Christ.

1. It was not of this world.

> Jesus alone was and is its head. It sought no state or government support.

2. It was not a rival of any other earthly government, religion, or power.

> Jesus never sought to overthrow Caesar. In fact Christians were taught to obey and respect civil authority (Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Pet. 2:13-16).

> Christianity was not even a threat to Judaism, since it had Judaism at its roots.

> The Pharisees saw it as a threat only because they were not practicing true Jewish worship.

 

II. Some Distinguishing Marks of the Early Church.

A. Christ organized His followers into A CHURCH.

1. No other type of organization was established.

> Evangelical organizations not under a local New Testament Church are not of God.

> Radio ministries, Outreach ministries, etc., must all be under the authority of a local New Testament Church.

2. The Biblical use of the word Church.

> Never is the singular form of the word used to describe Christianity as a whole. This is an important point because later the singular form of the word will be used to describe the "church universal", which the Bible never does.

> Whenever the Bible uses the plural form of the word, it always speaks of more than one singular church. "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye." [1 Cor 16:1].

B. The Church was given two types of officers.

1. The Pastor.

> He is to meet the requirements of his office (1 Tim. 3:1-7).

> He is have a pure and blameless lifestyle (not perfect, but not morally blameable).

> He is to be the overseer of all church matters (Acts 20:28).

> He was to lead by ensample and not as a Lord (1 Pet. 5:1-3; also: Phil. 3:17; 2 Thess. 3:9) [Note: ensample is a living testimony, and example is one who has passed on).

> He is to TAKE "the oversight thereof" (1 Pet. 5:2).

> He is to perform his office willingly, not by constraint, or for money (1 Pet. 5:2).

> He is to be of age and maturity in the Lord, so that he is not snared of the devil (1 Tim. 3:6-7).

> He will receive a reward of the Lord for his work’s sake (1 Pet. 5:4).

2. The Deacon.

> He must meet the requirements of his office (1 Tim. 3:8-13).

> He must be a serious, sober minded man, not given to excesses of any nature (1 Tim.3:8).

> He must be mature, having proved himself in the work of God (1 Tim. 3:10).

> He must have a godly wife, and only one (1 Tim. 3:11-12).

> His primary roll is that of a servant, keeping watch over the needy saints in the church (i.e. Widows, the poor, etc.) (Acts 6:1-6).

> The Deacons are selected by the church, and appointed by the Pastor (Acts 6:3).

> He will be rewarded for his work in this office (1 Tim. 3:13).

C. The Churches had no authority over each other.

1. Each church was separate and independent of the others.

> Each was Self-existing (Autonomous)

> Each was self-governing.

> Each was self-propagating

2. Jerusalem had no authority over Antioch; Nor Antioch over Ephesus; etc.

> They asked advice and inquired of each other for guidance, but their counsel was strictly voluntarily given and received.

> The Church government was Independent, Democratic, and Congregational; That is a church of the people, by the people, and for the people.

D. Two ordinances were established for the Church.

1. Baptism of believers.

> Baptism was ONLY for those who could knowingly make a profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

> They strictly objected to infant baptism, as it was not possible for an infant to declare faith in Christ.

> Baptism was ONLY by complete immersion in water.

2. The Lord’s Supper (Table).

> An ordinance ONLY for believers.

> An opportunity for confession, cleansing and renewal.

> It was not to be forsaken.

E. Only SAVED, Baptized, Believers could be members of the Church.

1. Salvation was by Grace through Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ without works, or any other merit (Eph. 2:8-9).

> Salvation by faith without works was a cornerstone of New Testament doctrine.

2. Believers were to follow the Lord in Baptism, BEFORE being allowed to become members of the Church, and BEFORE they could partake of the Lord’s Table.

> Baptism came BEFORE any believer could partake of the Lord’s Table.

> The Lord’s Table could ONLY be received from the Church and in the Church capacity. It was never to be performed nor partaken of outside of the Church.

3. Each believer acts as his own believer priest and intercedes directly to God on his own behalf and in the behalf of others.

> Every believer receives full access to God as part of the priesthood, upon his salvation (1 Pet. 2:5; Heb. 10:19-22).

F. The Holy, Inspired, Word of God, was to be the ONLY rule and guide.

1. The Bible was, and is, the ONLY book for the New Testament Church.

> They had, and needed, no other authority than the Word of God.

2. The Scriptural authority was for each Church and for each Individual.

> Each member of the Church was to read, study, and practice the Word of God.

3. The Church was to act as executers of the Word, never as legislators.

> The Church was to Teach, Uphold, and Administer Discipline in accordance to the Word of God, but never to add, change or remove anything from God’s Word.

> The Church was never to create new laws, nor revoke old laws.

G. Members joined the Church on a purely voluntary basis.

1. There was to be no physical or governmental compulsion.

> The true Church wanted no one to join by force of any kind.

2. The Bible admonition to "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve" was the only means of persuasion.

> It was a matter of distinct individual choice. It could not be accepted or rejected by another on your behalf.

3. No denominational names were given to the Church.

> The term Baptist was a name given to a group of believers based on their practice and not on any denomination.

> Jesus did this when he called John "The Baptist."

> Christ called His followers "disciples" (or students). A group of disciples meeting at a certain area were called "A Church." When several of these groups were spoken about, they were referred to as "Churches."

H. The Separation of Church and State.

1. The early church wanted no governmental control of the Church.

> Forced religion or church membership would create an unregenerate membership.

> Those who were forced to practice a certain religion, were never truly free to "choose whom they would serve."

2. The greatest reason for persecution and martyrdom was the issue of forced worship.

> The early church desired that men choose God out of their own conscience and heart, and not by state compulsion.

IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE DISTINCTIVE MARKS OF THE EARLY CHURCH, BECAUSE THESE WILL BE THE DECIDING FACTORS ON THE COMING PERSECUTION.

III. Enemies of the Church (Phil 3:17-19).

A. At this point in history the church had three enemies.

1. Pagan Rome (Acts 19:23-34).

> The most violent of the three.

> They had the authority and backing of the government.

> Since Christianity was against the law, it was open season on Christians.

2. Religious Jews (Acts 22:22-30).

> The most adamant of the three.

> They hated Christianity so much that they used the Roman pagans to exact violence.

> The only thing holding them back was that they had to get permission from the Romans to execute anyone.

3. False teachers (2 Pet. 2:1-3).

> The most deceitful of the three.

> They will creep in SECRETLY ("privily"); Means to sneak in while no one is looking.

> They will assume positions SUBTLY ("feigned words"). Gk. "Plastos" - artificial plastic.

B. The three enemies had three reasons.

1. Pagan Rome was bored.

> It had conquered the world, and now it had nothing to do.

> They built sporting arenas and had great competitions.

> The Christians gave them an enemy and a sporting event.

2. Religious Jews were envious.

> Christianity was succeeding by love, at which they could not do by force.

> No matter how hard they pushed and pronounced judgement against their followers, they could not force them to follow them whole heartedly.

> But, Christianity, while giving them full liberty, drew thousands.

3. False teachers were making merchandise of them.

> The false teachers were taking advantage of the situation.

> Y2K Books; The Passion; Narnia; Da Vinci Code, etc.

Christianity Would pick up many more enemies along the way...

But, for now there were THREE!

 

IV. The Rise of the Roman Church.

A. The Roman Empire began to crumble.

1. They conquered mighty armies, but lost to the immoralities of the flesh.

> They could defeat great enemies form without, but could not defeat the enemy within.

> They began to fight among themselves. So fearful was the government of overthrow, it became a crime to say anything that was not politically correct (SOUND FAMILIAR?)

2. By 300 AD. Roman emperor Constantine hit on an idea that he thought would solidify Roman power once again.

> Christianity was growing ever strong despite every effort to eradicate it.

> The more they persecuted Christians the stronger they got.

> So emperor Constantine decided that Christianity would become the state religion.

> Instead of persecuting them, he would join them. Thus uniting his army with the Christians.

3. He promised to remove Christian persecution by making it the religion of the state.

> He said, "Give us of your spiritual power, and we will give our temporal power."

> Help us grow into the strong, persistent people you are, and we will remove persecution from you.

B. The mixing of Paganism with Christianity.

1. Constantine brought pagans to the Christian religion without taking paganism out of their hearts.

> Realizing the baptism was Christianities way of identifying with the church, he marched his army through the river, and proclaimed them baptized Christians.

> They were still pagan soldiers at heart, but they were now baptized Christians as well.

2. Thus Constantine introduce two themes that were against true Christianity.

> A state ran religion, and baptismal regeneration.

> The new Roman church fully instituted these two practices and they began to enforce them on all Christians.

C. It was not long before these church leaders began to impress upon people, that since baptism was the means of salvation, why not be baptized as soon as possible.

1. So infant baptism became the common practice of the church of Rome.

> In fact, the people were taught that if a child died before baptism, he would perish in hell.

> So infant baptism became a huge ritual, and introduced new members to the Roman Catholic church at birth.

2. Two questions arose about infant baptism that led to more error.

> First, if baptism removes all of Adam's sin, what about those sins that are committed after being baptized.

> This was such a moving argument, that Constantine himself decided to wait and be baptized at the point of death.

> The second question was, what would happen to a child that died before baptism?

3. The Roman church introduced two doctrines to answer these two questions.

> First, the doctrine of indulgences; Whereas a person who sinned after his baptism, could compensate the church and draw on the saintliness of church leaders.

> This would later grow to absurd measures.

> The second doctrine introduced, was the teaching of purgatory. Whereas a person who died before baptism could be placed, until he could purge his original sin.

> This would also grow into an absurd doctrine.

D. Additional paganism was also introduced.

1. The pagan Romans worshiped the sun God, whose wife had a son that was sacrificed for others.

> I believe paganism was a perversion of the true story of God handed down from Ham, Shem, and Japeth.

> A study of astrology will show that these same truths are written in the stars.

> So somewhere in their pagan history they were told of the great God whose wife bore him a son, that would give his life for humanity.

> Now that they joined Christianity, it was an easy fit to merge these two together...

2. From this came Mary worship, since the Romans worshiped their sun goddess.

> A thinking person can see how all of this fit together.

> All religion is but a perversion of history – HIS Story!

 

E. AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT POINT - The diversion of true history.

1. Eight out of ten historians say that the church of today is a direct descendent of the Roman Catholic church.

> Most historians follow all Christianity through the Roman church.

> According to most historians, Christians went with the freedom granted to them by the Roman government, and remained in the Roman church.

> We know that Martin Luther did so; As did John Calvin; and Savanarola; and many others came out of the Catholic church during the REFORMATION (more later).

2. But, if all Christianity went with the Roman church, and did not emerge until the 1600's, who did they Roman Catholics burn at the stake for the next 1200 years?

> Who were the more than 50,000,000 martyrs that were drowned, burned, and beheaded?

> It was those that were opposed to infant baptism!

> It was those that were opposed to a state church!

3. It was those that once had two enemies, but now had three...

> True pagans, that would not unite with the Roman church, hated Christianity even more.

> The Roman government that granted freedom to Christians wanted to force these RE-Baptizer's to come under the Catholic church, which now had the power to execute...

> And, of course the Jews still hated Christianity!

4. Even among this group there was a remnant who refused to acknowledge the baptism of Constantine's army...

> They refused to acknowledge the baptism of all infants.

> They RE-BAPTIZED converts that were saved out of the Catholic church.

> They rejected the State run church as un-Scriptural.

> They refused to submit to papil authority – the pope.

> These are our ancestors. They never went in with the Catholic church, therefore we never had a reformation. We have practiced BELIEVERS baptism since John the Baptist.

V. The Dark Ages 600-1300 AD.

A. As paganism grew in the ranks of the church, more paganistic doctrines were introduced.

1. Pagan worship has been around since the days of Abraham.

> Again, understand that all we know of God came down from our three ancestors, Ham, Shem, and Japeth.

> When Moses sent Joshua into to utterly destroy the inhabitants of Canaan, and posses the land, they were engrossed in idolatry.

2. It was God's command to destroy every image.

> "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image..."

> They were commanded to occupy the land and rid it of idolatry.

> But, instead many Israelites took part in the idolatry of the pagans.

3. Several reasons why they converted to paganism, instead of converting the pagans to God.

> We worship an invisible God - "We want a God we can see..."

> Paganism included sexual practices in its rituals. Immorality took the place of spirituality.

> The devil fights true religion, but encourages idolatry. You must resist the devil to serve God; But God honors your free will if you resist Him.

4. Hence paganism made great headway in the church.

> This is why the Roman church is steep in idolatry and image worship.

> Later this grew to include the worship of saints.

> If one could obtain indulgence by the saintliness of a church leader who died, then how much better to have an image of that saint to protect you.

 

 

B. During this time there was a remnant who refused to follow any of these church edicts.

1. They were called by many names.

> Donatists, Paterines, Paulicians, Petro-Brussians, Arnoldists, Henricans, Albigenses, Waldenses, and Ana-Baptists.

2. Though the did not agree on every point, they had FOUR things in common:

> Rejection of infant baptism;

> Rejection of baptismal regeneration;

> And rejection of State or Papal authority over the church!

3. They had one other thing in common:

> They suffered greatly for their stand