Subject: A New Reformation? |
Bible Note: Ok Darcy, Your example of a perfect church seems to be a small group of people who meet at a house for worship and bible study. No goverment, no leaders, no teachers aside from the Holy Spirit. But what steps were taken by the early church when multitudes were added to their number? They had to get organized to meet the needs of those new babes in Christ! "If all who profess the name of Christ understood the Bible in the same sense and interpreted the Bible in the same way, a creed distinct from the Bible would be unnecessary. In that case, all that would be necessary to ascertain that there exists agreement among the members of the Church would be simply a profession of faith in all the doctrines of the Bible. But, since it is not so,—since, among those who professedly regard the Bible as the rule of faith and life very different interpretations are put upon the word of God,—it becomes necessary that those who associate together in an ecclesiastical capacity should adopt a creed, in which there is a plain exhibition of what they understand to be the doctrines of the Bible. In no other way can it be known whether there exists among them that agreement which is indispensably necessary to secure co-operation in their efforts to advance the interests of Christ’s kingdom." (Pressly) It does no good to ignore reality. How can a group of people be in one accord if they lack that which plainly states THEIR interpretation of the Bible? John |