Evolution Of The Modern Church: A Historical View

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Evolution of the Modern Church: a Historical View

Introduction: Nehemiah 8:13-18 For nearly 1000 years Israel had not been living in booths during the Feast of Booths. Shocking, isn’t it? How could such an obvious command been neglected for so long? Let’s make a brief list of reasons:

• Joshua 2:10-11 The generation after Joshua turned to other gods and neglected the commands of the Lord. This was passed on from generation to generation throughout the period of the Judges.
• However, we still must consider the periods of the Judges and certainly Kings of Judah when the leaders and the people turned to the Lord and gave up their idols. Why didn’t people like Samuel, David, Hezekiah, and Josiah observe the Feast of Booths properly? The Law had certainly been read, but still the neglect.
• While we may be making some assumptions, there are typical human reasons for such neglect:
  • “We haven’t done this forever! Mom and Dad didn’t do it. Grandpa and Grandma didn’t do it. Obviously it is not that important.
  • “It seems so silly. Stop everything we are doing for a whole week and live outside under some branches and leaves! It just doesn’t make sense in these more modern times.”
  • “Really, how important is this to God? We are still remembering the Feast. We know that our forefathers lived in tents in the wilderness. Is God really going to be that picky?”
• The tendency for humans to depart from what God originally revealed has been going on from the very beginning, and it was going on in the first century:
  “I urge you, then, be imitators of me. That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.” (1 Cor. 4:16-17).

In this lesson we will look at a historical perspective of why there are so many interpretations of the Bible. One of the most common questions I receive when teaching people is, “How in the world did we get all these different doctrines and positions when there is just one Bible?” And, “Where did all these denominations come from?

Every Christian needs to be able to answer such questions. So, let’s take a look at how we got to where we are today religiously.

1. Departure Begins
   1. It started with elders in local churches. Paul warned the elders at Ephesus: “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:29-30).
   2. In the New Testament, God’s design for the local church was very simple. Paul writes in Philippians 1:1, “To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops (overseers) and deacons.” We also learn from Acts 20:17, 28 that bishops and elders refer to the same people. Further, 1 Peter 5:1-5 & Ephesians 4:11 show us that “pastors” are the same as bishops or elders. All three terms are descriptive of the same individual and every time they are spoken of they are spoken of in the plural, as in Acts 14:23 where “elders were appointed in every church.” So there was never one elder/bishop/pastor over a church. Also, elders were to take the oversight of the flock “among them” (1 Peter 5:2) and therefore had no authority outside of the local church.
   3. Very shortly after the death of the apostle John and the end of the first century, this New Testament pattern and practice began to change. Among the elders of most churches there arose one man who was considered “the Bishop” while the rest were still called “elders.” The motive for this departure was justified in an effort to fight against the rise of “gnosticism,” a strong movement within the church that is possibly spoken of in 1 John. If a church could appoint a strong bishop who could control the teachings of that church, the church could be saved from the false teachings of the gnostics. It was all the better if this bishop could claim to have some connection to one of the apostles. If he could say he was a disciple of the apostle John, he would carry more weight. Maybe he was a disciple of a disciple of the apostle John. He could then claim that his interpretation of the scriptures was correct because of such a connection and without bothering to make strong biblical arguments.
   4. By the end of the 2nd century, the bishops in the larger cities had increased in power and were influencing bishops and elders in the smaller cities. In fact, it was not long before these stronger bishops actually became the overseers of the smaller churches around them so that the smaller churches no longer had bishops. Soon, these powerful city bishops began to meet in synods to discuss differences in doctrinal issues. The bishops also found a way to increase their power by establishing a succession of bishops back to the apostles. By 190, Victor of Rome claimed to be the universal bishop, but he was ignored by the other churches as most believed all the bishops were equal.
   5. Let’s stop for a moment and note an observation. This departure came about as well-intentioned men attempted to fight the dangerous doctrines of the day. But instead of fighting with biblical argumentation, they cheated. Notice 2 Cor. 10:3-5. Paul tells us that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in casting down arguments that are against the knowledge of Christ. In other words, we are to use the word of God to defeat false teaching, not some carnal method (Cf. Titus 1:9). What is especially interesting is that in an effort to destroy one false teaching, these well-intentioned men created a monster bigger than the false teaching they were trying to defeat. One extreme begat another.
   6. Once Constantine became emperor and Roman persecution ended (313), churches became even more concerned with the differences in doctrines that were found between the city bishops. Constantine, desiring to use Christianity as a way to unify the empire under his power, called a council of bishops at Nicaea. Three hundred eighteen bishops attended and Constantine, though not a Christian, presided. The key to the discussion was the nature of deity. Was Jesus eternal, or was he created at some point in eternity. Constantine sided with those who taught Jesus was eternal and all but six of the bishops signed the Nicene Creed. While their teaching on this point was correct, they set a dangerous precedent. They had established doctrinal belief on the basis of decree instead of study and discussion in a local church.
   7. In the next three centuries the Roman bishop increased in power with the argument that Peter had been appointed the first Roman bishop which started a succession leading to him. The first pope came into power around 600.
   8. Now, ask yourself this question: what need was there for the average Christian to study the Bible? What one should believe or not believe was being established by the bishops. If anyone objected, they would be excommunicated (which had a serious economic and social impact in a land where Christianity was the state religion). The average person now was relying on what they were told the Bible taught and not on what they actually read. But there was UNITY among all churches!
   9. Then, when the barbarians overran the land in the 5th and 6th centuries, the ability to read and write was lost since barbarians could do neither. This put even more power in the hands of the bishops and people began to believe that they couldn’t understand the Bible without the bishop. This introduced the Dark Ages. By 1000 AD, it is estimated that only 1 in 10,000 could read or write. However, the belief that one cannot understand the Bible for themselves has persisted even to this day and is still a large reason for a lack of personal study.
2. The Evolution of Doctrines Pertaining to Salvation
   1. Contrary to Ezekiel 18:20, by the end of the 2nd century there were certain bishops teaching that when Adam fell it brought on a condition in which all men after him shared in his guilt. Cyprian, in 250, was the first to recommend baptism for children, stating that though children had no actual sin, they needed forgiveness for the sin inherited from Adam. However, at this point the doctrine of original sin was not generally accepted.
   2. From this point on the perception of baptism began to change. It took on powers independent of faith. Since a child or a person dying may not be able to express faith, baptism would need to have the inherent power of saving a person. This led to baptism later becoming a “sacrament” (an ordinance by which man is drawn spiritually to God). Further, elaborate baptismal ceremonies arose in order to give the event more “meaning.” Bishops or priests soon became the only ones with the right to administer baptism.
   3. Toward the end of the fourth century the controversy over original sin and human freewill intensified around two men: Pelagius and Augustine.
      1. Pelagius:
         1. A person is born with complete freedom to choose to do good or bad.
         2. It is possible to live without sin and some probably have.
         3. Sin is not transmitted through heredity.
         4. Each soul is created sinless at the time of birth in the same condition as Adam and Eve when they were created.
         5. Children are in a saved condition and have no need of baptism.
         6. Baptism for believers is necessary for salvation.
         7. By good works one can be saved apart from the death of Christ. Grace is available to the sinner after he proves himself worthy of it.
      2. Augustine had lived an immoral life and believed that to be a real Christian one had to remain unmarried. The conflict between immorality and becoming a Christian intensified until through a violent emotional experience he overcame his desire for the flesh and gave himself to a spiritual life. His experience made him believe that a person is not responsible for his sinful nature.
         1. Before sin, Adam had a choice of following God or not. But after his sin, he became depraved so that he could no longer choose good or seek fellowship with God.
         2. This depravity is transferred through heredity to his posterity. Thus every child is born with the curse of the penalty of the original sin.
         3. Thus, salvation is a result of God’s direct intervention in order to cause a man to want to come to salvation and to continue in salvation. Thus man has no freewill.
         4. Baptism is the point in which past sins are forgiven.
   4. We can see error in both these views, but neither view was completely adopted. Augustine’s views of original sin persisted, but his idea of grace by the direct intervention of God did not. As bishops and priests took more and more power, views of salvation focused on the sacraments which could only be administered by the clergy.
   5. Thus the priest administered baptism which gave you grace; the Lord Supper sacrificed Christ again (Mass) and gave grace; confession and penance were instituted to make sure the sinner was sincere in his repentance and had done some good to counteract the bad he had committed. Soon, as far as the worshiper was concerned, the church was nothing more than rituals and ceremonies through which the believer had some access to God.
3. Reformation
   1. The excesses of the Catholic Church increased to the point that in the early 1500’s the sale of indulgences became popular as the pope was trying to raise enough money to build St. Peter’s Cathedral. An indulgence grew out of the sacrament of penance. God could forgive the sin but there had to be a temporal punishment and the priest stated the terms of that punishment. Of course, since a sinner could not fully atone for his sins on earth, he would have to suffer more in purgatory after death. If an indulgence was granted, the amount of satisfaction for sin would be relaxed or forgiven. Through this system, living persons could even obtain indulgences for the dead & for sins not yet committed.
   2. The basis for the indulgence came from the idea that Christ, Mary, and all the saints had stored up a treasury of merits whereby all their goodness were stored up in a heavenly account. This account could be drawn upon and applied to any sinner at the discretion of the pope. A common sales pitch was, “When a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs.” Though indulgences are not bought and sold any more, the principle still exists whereby a person get so many years out of purgatory by saying the “Our Father” or the “Holy Spirit’s Prayer” or the “Rosary.”
   3. When these abuses got to the point where people were buying the satisfaction for sin prior to committing the sin, Martin Luther had to speak. He nailed 95 objections to the door of the cathedral in Wittenburg, Germany on October 31, 1517. Luther denied the power of the church to absolve sins and argued for a man’s individual relationship with God based on faith.
   4. After Luther, the Reformation got its biggest boost from John Calvin (1509–1564) laid forth his “systematic theology” in which he believed that God controlled absolutely everything and determined everything that would happen. The Catholic Church had put salvation in the hands of men and Calvin went to the other extreme and took salvation completely out of the hands of men.
      1. Total Hereditary Depravity — man has inherited depravity from Adam and is unable to choose God.
      2. Unconditional Election — Since man cannot choose God, God must choose man. Since all will not be saved, God has obviously chosen only certain ones for salvation. This election was done in eternity and without regard to any works of man actual or foreseen.
      3. Limited Atonement — Since God has only chosen certain people to be saved, Christ did not die for the whole world but only for those whom God chose.
      4. Irresistible Grace — In order for a person to know he has been chosen, the Holy Spirit send a special inward call by which the elect are irresistibly brought to Christ of their own freewill.
      5. Perseverance of the Saints — Since God has chosen, Christ has died, and the Holy Spirit has applied the salvation, man cannot chose to be lost nor so sin as to be eternally lost. He will persevere unto the end.
   5. Today, most denominations have rejected the “U” and the “L” and only accepted the TIP of the TULIP. This is why you see such an emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit in giving an inward call. But most today believe that a person has the freewill to accept that inward call and thus “accept Jesus in your heart.” Of course, though faith, repentance, and confession are thought of as necessities for accepting Jesus, baptism is relegated as a “work” and therefore still in the category of a Catholic sacrament and thus rejected as necessary for salvation.

Conclusion: Until about 40 years ago, you could have a good idea of what a person believed by what church they attended. Presbyterian? You believe the tenets of Calvin. Methodist? You follow a Wesleyan belief. But today, for most people the church they attend may not match with their personal beliefs. And, the church they attend won’t really care. Those who are considered “Evangelicals” are probably the most consistent in their beliefs and most insistent on teaching biblical principles.

The challenge for us and every church is to go back to the principle Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 4:17 and John taught in 2 John 9: “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.”

Berry Kercheville