The
Facts
Speak
For
Themselves...
If You Can't Believe What The Bible Says, What, or
Who Can You Believe?
Let us briefly run through some of the most important
highlights of the foundation and the growth of the only Church which Jesus
Christ founded.
Matt 16:18, "And I say to thee, thou art Peter,
and upon this rock I will build My Church." Jesus Christ founds His
ONE and ONLY Church around 33 A.D.. At the same time He made Peter the
leader of the Apostles by changing his name from Simon to Peter. See the
file 'Primacy of Peter' elsewhere on this site.
Matt 16:18, "And the gates of hell shall NOT prevail against it."
The Church which Jesus Christ founded will be defended from within and
from without.
Matt 18:17, "And if he refuse to hear them, appeal to the Church,
but if he refuse to hear even the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen
and the publican." The Church which Jesus Christ Himself founded in
Matt 16:18, is already in existence at this point.
Matt 28:20, "...And behold, I am with you ALL days, even unto the
consummation of the world." Jesus Christ will be with the Church He
founded, every day in every century until the end of time. Right here Jesus
Christ guaranteed that the Church He founded is still with us to this very
day. Which Church is it?
John 14:18, "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you."
Jesus Christ will watch over the Church that He founded.
John 10:16, "And other sheep I have that are not of this fold, them
also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall
be one fold and one shepherd." All are not in the Church which He
founded, which is the one fold of the one shepherd.
John 14:16-17, "And I will ask the Father and He will give you another
Advocate to dwell with you forever, the Spirit of Truth whom the world
cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you shall
know Him, because He will dwell with you, and be with you." The Holy
Spirit will dwell with the Church that Jesus Christ founded, and with no
other church, and that Church will be the Church of truth.
John 14:26, "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will
send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your mind whatever
I have said to you." The Church that Jesus Christ founded will receive
its teaching from the Holy Spirit.
Matt 18:18, "Amen I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be
bound also in Heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed also
in Heaven." Here the Apostles are given the authority they need to
conduct affairs of the Church that Jesus Christ founded.
Acts 1:26, "And they drew lots between them, and the lot fell upon
Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven Apostles." They voted
among themselves to elect another Apostle. Isn't this how they elect the
Pope today?
Acts 15:7, "And after a long debate, Peter got up and said to them,
'Brethren, you know that in early days GOD made choice among us that through
my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word
of the Gospel and believe'." Here Peter reaffirmed the primacy given
to him by GOD in Matt 16:18.
Acts 15:4-12, the embryo Church held its first council, the Council of
Jerusalem. 4 - "On arriving at Jerusalem they were welcomed by the
Church..." 6 - "So the Apostles and the presbyters (priests)
had a meeting to look into this matter." 12 - "Then the whole
meeting quieted down..." "Rome had spoken." The issue was
settled. This is much the same as what the Church does in councils today.
1Timothy 3:15, "...but in order that thou mayest know, if I am delayed,
how to conduct thyself in the House of GOD, the pillar and mainstay of
the truth." The Church which Jesus Chrust founded is the One True
Church, and the Church of truth.
1Cor 3:10-15, "According to the grace of GOD which has been given
to me, as a wise builder, I laid the foundation and another builds thereon.
But let everyone take care how he builds thereon..." Here we see that
there will be a succession of Church leaders to carry on the building of
the Church.
Acts 20:28, "Take heed to yourselves and to the whole flock in which
the Holy Spirit has placed you as Bishops, to rule the Church of GOD, which
He has purchased with His own blood." Bishops will rule the Church
which Jesus Christ founded. Isn't that as true today as it was then?
1Timothy 3:8-10, 8 - "Deacons also must be honorable... 10- and let
them first be tried, and if found without reproach, let them be allowed
to serve." Deacons will be found in, and will serve in, the Church
that Jesus Christ founded.
1Cor 3:2, "I fed you with milk, not with solid food, for you were
not yet ready for it." Here Paul told us that knowlege of GODly things
will come over time. With the authority given to it, and with the guidance
of the Holy Spirit as shown prior in this text, the Church can make announcement
of doctrines such as it did in 1854, the Immaculate Conception, and in
1950, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
107 A.D., approximately, as St. Ignatius of Antioch, an Apostolic father
of the Church, was being taken to Rome in chains to be martyred, he wrote
several letters. In his letter to the Smyrneans he called the Church, which
Jesus Christ founded, by its proper name for the first time on record (*CCC
830). In paragraph 8.2 of his letter he said, "Just as where Jesus
Christ is, there is the Catholic Church."
Please read the full text of this letter elsewhere
on this website.
397 A.D., at the Council of Carthage, the Church which Jesus Christ founded,
finalized the Canon of the Bible. The Old Testament would retain all 46
books including the seven disputed books which it always had, which were
removed by the protestants later during the reformation. See the file 'Deuters'
elsewhere on this website.
1545, the Council of Trent was called in response to the protestant reformation.
One of the things the Church accomplished at Trent was a reaffirmation
of the canon of the Old Testament and all 46 books were retained.
Now with all the evidence I have presented in this text, what is
the name of the Church which Jesus Christ founded? Is it your church?
Written by Bob Stanley, Sept 2, 1997
Updated May 25, 2000
*CCC is the new Catechism of the Catholic Church...
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