The Battle Over the Bible

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The Battle Over the Bible


A cultural clash is ripping at the fabric of Western societies. It’s most pronounced in the United States, where history is being rewritten and culture reshaped in a battle over the Bible.

by Scott Ashley

Rob was a terrific young man—bright, good-looking and polite—the kind of person anyone would want for a son. His parents were proud of him, as they should've been. I'd known him since childhood and can't remember ever seeing a more pleasant, mature and trusting youngster. Brought up in a Christian home, he had everything going for him.



And then he went away to college.



Neither he nor his family was prepared for what would happen to him there. In one of his classes, Rob ran into an atheist professor who soon undermined and ultimately destroyed his belief in the Bible. It wasn't long before Rob abandoned his Christian convictions and threw away everything he'd been taught and believed about the Bible.



Rob (not his real name) wasn't the first casualty—nor will he be the last—in an ongoing war.



The United States, and indeed much of the Western world, is engaged in a war. No, not the war on terror, which is very real—but a war every bit as serious and with equally far-reaching consequences. Like the war on terror, it's a battle for survival between two starkly different visions of the future.



Some have labeled it "the culture war." That's a fitting description, though not entirely accurate. The issues run much deeper. At its core we're involved in a battle over the Bible.



The battle affects much more than religion. It spills over into politics, education, entertainment, the courts and many other aspects of life. Regrettably, the battle has already been lost in much of Western Europe, where religion and the Bible have been so denigrated that they play little role in public or private life.



There, belief in God is often viewed as a quaint notion—comforting to some, but judged irrelevant to the issues of today. Taking the Bible seriously is often dismissed casually and contemptuously. A century and a half of indoctrination with evolution, deconstruction of the Bible and two ruinous world wars have largely erased belief in God and the Bible.



Holding out—at least for now—against this rising tide of disbelief in God and the Bible are many people in the United States and a handful of other countries in the democratic West. Yet efforts to acknowledge and uphold belief in God and the Bible appear to be an increasingly uphill struggle. Many forces seem determined to take the United States on a course far astray from the one set during its first two centuries.



High stakes in the battle over the Bible



Is the Bible true? Is it what it claims to be—the Word of God? The stakes are high. U.S. court decisions increasingly reject longstanding laws rooted in the Bible. Some laws, like those prohibiting abortion, pornography and sex outside of marriage, were thrown out so long ago that they're seldom raised as legal issues anymore. Other laws, such as those banning homosexual activity, have been overturned only in recent times.



In many recent cases, courts and judges have shown outright hostility to such religious freedoms as prayer, display of the Ten Commandments and mention of God and the Bible in public life. Canada has even passed laws under which people can be fined or sent to prison for "inciting hatred" by simply quoting what the Bible says about particular acts of immorality! And make no mistake, the groundwork is already being laid for similar laws in the United States.



Consider some of the issues the conflict over the Bible touches:



• Abortion.

• Premarital and extramarital sex.

• Sex education and distribution of condoms and other forms of birth control in public schools.

• The role of government at all levels.

• International relations.

• Crime and punishment—what kinds of activities are classified as criminal.

• Illegal drug use.

• Religious freedom.

• Public expression of religious belief such as prayer and display of the Ten Commandments.

• Gay marriage.

• Legalization of intimate same-sex relationships.

• The direction and approach of public education from kindergarten through college.

• Teaching of evolution (and banning discussion of creation) in schools.

• Lawsuits over issues of personal responsibility.

• Obscenity, profanity and pornography.

• Entertainment—what we read, watch and listen to.



Of course, this is only a partial list.



If the Bible is not true, these are really non-issues, because there is no standard other than human reason for defining right and wrong. And this is exactly why many people want to undermine belief in the Bible.



But if the Bible is true, political and cultural leaders are increasingly defying its instructions—and drawing millions of unsuspecting followers with them along a dangerous and destructive path.



Built on a biblical foundation



It takes no great understanding of history to realize that America's founding fathers used principles and directives from Scripture as the basis for many U.S. laws.



Many prohibitions, such as those outlawing murder, stealing, lying and adultery in their various forms, obviously originated in and can be traced back to the Ten Commandments. It's only been in recent decades that laws banning blasphemy, swearing and working on the "Sabbath" (with Sunday assumed, incorrectly, to be the biblical Sabbath) have been wiped off the books in many states.



How did some of America's founding fathers view the nation's moral and legal foundation? They made their views quite clear in their own words.



George Washington, first president of the United States, said, "It is impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible" (quoted by William Federer, America's God and Country Encyclopedia of Quotations, 1996, p. 660, emphasis added throughout quotes).



In his farewell speech (Sept. 19, 1796), he stated: "Of all the dispositions and habits that lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports ... Let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion" (ibid., p. 661).



John Adams, the nation's second president, stated: "We have no government armed with the power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and true religion ... Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other" (ibid., p. 10).



James Madison, fourth president of the United States and primary framer of the U.S. Constitution, said: "We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God" (ibid., p. 411).



John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States and son of the second president, said in 1821 that "the highest glory of the American Revolution was this; it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity" (ibid., p. 18).



John Jay, first chief justice of the United States, stated that to best preserve the nation, citizens should select Christians as their leaders. "Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers" (ibid., p. 318).



In fact, in an 1892 opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court explicitly acknowledged that the nation was Christian: "Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian ..." (ibid., p. 599).



Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States, affirmed this when he wrote: "The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country" (ibid., p. 181).



Ronald Reagan, 40th president, stated in a 1984 speech: "Those who created our country —the Founding Fathers and Mothers—understood that there is a divine order which transcends the human order. They saw the state, in fact, as a form of moral order and felt that the bedrock of moral order is religion ...



"The Mayflower Compact began with the words, 'In the name of God, amen.' The Declaration of Independence appeals to 'Nature's God' and the 'Creator' and 'the Supreme Judge of the world.' Congress was given a chaplain, and the oaths of office are oaths before God'" (speech transcript at www.reagan.utexas.edu/resource/speeches/ 1984/82384a.htm).



How the battle began



How did the United States come to stray so far from its religious and moral foundation?



As happened in Europe and much of the rest of the world, the theory of evolution and supposedly scientific explanations for the existence of a creation without a Creator gained wide acceptance. Starting in the educational establishment, these ideas quickly dominated the field and soon spread to all levels of society. (To learn more, request the free booklets Creation or Evolution: Does It Really Matter What You Believe? and Life's Ultimate Question: Does God Exist?)



As we might expect, it wasn't long before the Bible itself was put under the microscope and found wanting. But in reality, as time would prove, it wasn't wanting at all. Many critics, acting with woefully incomplete information, simply rushed to judgment, not knowing that hundreds of later historical and archaeological discoveries would confirm the Bible's astounding accuracy in great detail. (For more information, see "Can You Prove the Bible Is True?," beginning on page 7.)



When we fast-forward to the 20th century, we find some startling admissions from leading Western intellectuals as to why they so readily accepted the theory of evolution and rejected biblically based standards.



For example, writer Aldous Huxley, a fervent advocate of evolution, admitted: "I had motives for not wanting the world to have meaning ... The liberation we desired was ... from a certain system of morality. We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom" (Ends and Means, 1946, p. 270).



Julian Huxley, brother of Aldous and also a writer and leading proponent of evolution, wrote that "the sense of spiritual relief which comes from rejecting the idea of God as a super-human being is enormous" (Essays of a Humanist, 1966, p. 223).



Little did they know they were simply paraphrasing a profound truth about human nature and human reasoning that the apostle Paul expressed some 19 centuries earlier: "... The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law—indeed it cannot" (Romans 8:7, New Revised Standard Version, emphasis added throughout).



Humanity's hostility to God



Man's relationship with the Bible has never been very good. Ever since Adam and Eve, people have resisted others telling them how to live. So we shouldn't be surprised when intellectuals and self-appointed "wise" men come up with all kinds of arguments against God and the Bible.



As Paul wrote, people are naturally hostile toward God and His laws. Speaking through the prophet Jeremiah, God noted that we human beings have a great capacity for self-deception when it comes to seeing ourselves realistically: "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, New American Standard Bible).



Jesus Christ Himself said that "it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these

evil things come from within, and they defile a person" (Mark 7:21-23, NRSV).



Because of our greedy, self-seeking nature, it's no wonder the majority of mankind rejects God and His instructions. It's far more comfortable to make up reasons for thinking He doesn't exist or the Bible can't be His Word than it is to accept that reality—and to then acknowledge that we must start living by it.



Regrettably, this refusal to accept reality has tragic consequences. As God says through the prophet Hosea: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you ...; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children" (Hosea 4:6).



It never ceases to amaze me that people will turn their backs on God, disobey His Word and ignore His warnings—and then wonder why He doesn't intervene when they get in trouble and need His help.

"... Because you have rejected knowledge," He says, "I also will reject you."



The conflict continues



What are the results of this battle over the Bible? Recent studies reveal a surprising—and depressing—story. In a little more than a decade, from 1991 to 2004, the number of adult Americans who do not attend church has almost doubled, growing from 39 to 75 million.



Meanwhile, research shows that a majority —6 in 10 Americans—believe that living together with someone of the opposite sex before marriage, having sexual fantasies about others and gambling can be "morally acceptable" behaviors. More than 4 in 10 think that having an abortion and engaging in a sexual relationship with a person other than one's spouse is similarly acceptable.



Approximately a third see no moral problem with profanity, pornography, drunkenness and homosexual sex (The Barna Group, "Spiritual Progress Hard to Find in 2003" and "Morality Continues to Decay," www.barna.org).

It would be convenient to blame unelected lawyers and judges for America's moral slide. But such research shows that in reality they only reflect the moral mindset of a great number of its citizens and their desire to remove any stigma from their shameful actions.



Regrettably, many view such developments as "progress" and those who hold such opinions as "enlightened," while men and women who argue for biblical standards of morality are labeled as bigoted, judgmental, homophobic or worse.



God warns us in Isaiah 5:20 about this kind of perverted thinking: "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"



He adds in verse 25: "Therefore the anger of the LORD is aroused against His people; He has stretched out His hand against them and stricken them, and the hills trembled. Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still."



How you can win



Only God can change the heart of a nation, and if history is any guide, once a nation rejects Him and His laws, it will seldom repent and turn again to Him. Once a nation loses its moral foundation, it has nowhere to go but down. Our problems have grown so great that ultimately only Jesus Christ Himself can straighten them out—which is exactly why He must return to earth to establish the Kingdom of God (Matthew 24:21-22).



You may not be able to change your country, but you can allow God to change you. You can choose to turn to God and, with His help, live by the standards and values He reveals in His Word. You can prove to yourself that the Bible is indeed God's Word, then begin living it.



Follow God's admonition in Isaiah 55:6-7: "Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."



We would all do well to heed the warning of Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence, when he wrote: "God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of people that these liberties are of the gift of God? . . . Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever" (Federer, p. 323). GN





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Recommended Reading



What's behind America's startling moral decline? Does the Bible give us any indication and tell us where these trends will lead? You need to understand the remarkable story revealed in our free booklet The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy. Also be sure to request your free copies of The Ten Commandments and Is the Bible True? Download or request your free copies today

Spiritually Ignorant Americans Are Regularly Angry at God

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Spiritually Ignorant Americans Are Regularly Angry at God


A commentary by Howard Davis

Good News magazine writer, Portland, Oregon
Americans in general believe they are a religious nation on a mission of doing good in the world. The United States is a superpower, a leader among leaders. But it also has some of the world's highest rates of divorce and domestic violence, percentages of people in jail and burdens of public and private debt. There is an obvious disconnect between what Americans profess and the reality of how they live.



Starting off 2011 with a lot going wrong, it is not surprising many Americans are mad at their spouses, criminals and Wall Street bankers who have plunged them into the worst economic problems in 80 years.



But surprisingly, many of them are also mad at God. They are blaming Him for the mess.



A CNN report on Jan. 1 said that a recent series of studies show a surprising number of Americans are angry at God, especially about life's personal disappointments.



Many Americans get angry at God when what they want to happen doesn't happen, even after they pray. Julie Exline, Case Western Reserve University psychologist and lead author of the report, was surprised that even atheists and agnostics also feel anger toward God.



From the beginning, many Americans have believed they are "God's people." But that idea is wearing off, as 20 percent of Americans now say "none" to the question: What is your religion?



Perhaps not surprisingly, young people, strongly affected by an entitlement culture of instant gratification, are particularly angry at God according to the study. He doesn't give them everything they want when they want it. They think He should deal with people on their terms. In other words, they would like God to be different than they think He is. But how would they know?



What is the cause for anger against God?

Religious people today know less now about the substance of faith—spiritual knowledge of the Bible—than any other generation in American history. It is because they don't understand Him that they have less confidence He is there on their behalf. And without biblical understanding, they will not understand the terms of His relationship that brings blessings. Without the Bible, they can't see the causes for their problems or understand that He will not bless them when they expect it.



They don't know how to think about God. They don't know how to relate to Him and be heard and blessed. Without the Bible, they have lost the terms of relationship. In their ignorance, they get angry.



A false grace for an ignorant America

For over a decade, researchers have noted a shocking decline in knowledge and belief in the Bible by Christians in America. Even before 9/11 in 2001, religious researcher George Barna concluded that 90 percent of American Christians no longer had a "Christian worldview."



"The Christian body in America is immersed in a crisis of biblical illiteracy," he warned. "How else can you describe matters when most churchgoing adults reject the accuracy of the Bible, reject the existence of Satan, claim that Jesus sinned...?"



In a substitution for biblical truth, Americans have broadly adopted a fuzzy idea that Jesus gave them cheap grace. Knowledge and obedience to biblical truth is now irrelevant in many people's minds. The Bible does not teach that "all you have to do to be saved by grace is believe in Jesus." This is a false assumption and untrue.



This "pop" grace is not biblically defined but has become a meaningless catchall for permission to define the relationship with God and other people in our own self-indulgent terms. This false grace sets up a false premise, making it possible for people to rationalize sin and disrespect toward God.



When the false belief systems this grace spawns fail to deliver success, people become angry. Unfortunately, they direct their angry disappointment against God. But He is not the cause. Their spiritual ignorance is the cause. That is exactly what the Bible says: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children" (Hosea 4:6).



True grace establishes God's law in your heart

The gospel of the Kingdom of God brought by Jesus Christ is a message of true grace—based upon active faith in the message He brought (John 1:14; Mark 1:15).



Americans broadly believe that God is a God of grace. But the devil is in the details of false teachings, assumptions and many sins that have developed under a false concept of grace.



Some American clergy preach a biblically illiterate grace devoid of Christ's teaching that you must be willing to forsake your sins and repent. They don't teach that sin is the transgression of God's law of love expressed in the Ten Commandments, which the apostle Paul called "holy and just and good" (Romans 7:12). Jesus said just calling Him "Lord, Lord" without doing what He says is vain (Matthew 7:21). He also said, "If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments" and, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets" (Matthew 19:17; 5:17).



The Bible is a book of spiritual truth that explains the will of God and how life really works. But you have to read it, know it and believe it. So make sure you are reading and believing it every day. Why not start with Lesson 1 of our exciting new Free Bible Study Guides?

Early Trends That Affected the Future of the Church

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Early Trends That Affected the Future of the Church

In Revelation 2 and 3 Jesus Christ sends a different message to each of seven churches in the Roman province of Asia (Asia Minor), part of modern Turkey.



The number seven shows completeness, just as seven days make a complete week. The seven messages of Revelation 2 and 3 paint us a comprehensive picture of trends that had already begun and would continue through the history of the Church—trends that would dramatically shape its future. The seven messages give us several good indications why the deep divisions among Christians developed and why this divisiveness continued to plague subsequent generations.



The seven congregations are represented as seven candlesticks in Revelation 1. Together they represent the Church and its mission to be the light of the world (Matthew 5:14).



Jesus stands in the midst of the seven congregations as the source of their light. He is always present and accessible. He will make good His promise always to be with His Church until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). But, as is obvious from the messages to the seven congregations, not everyone who comes into the Church will remain faithful to Him.



The seven messages accurately reflect conditions in the Church as it existed in the first century. But they are also prophetic; they reveal some of the reasons for divisions in later centuries.



Each of the seven congregations receives a warning: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). Each congregation's message is a warning to the other six congregations: The same or similar conditions could develop among them.



In these messages Christ cites examples of obedience and disobedience among His followers, showing whom He will bless and whom He will reject. He lavishes compliments where approval is due. He criticizes the unrepentant for faults that threaten their relationship with Him.



The Church, when the messages were written, was suffering trials, persecution and imprisonment. Antipas, a local resident and martyr, had already been killed. Christ encourages the congregations not to lose heart, not to quit, not to compromise their beliefs, and—if necessary—to be willing to die for His sake. He reminds them to look ahead to the era of the Kingdom of God, when they will help Him rule the world in righteousness.



Jesus compliments the devoted members for their service, labor, patience, perseverance, endurance and faith. However, His criticisms and some of His other compliments are revealing. They show that the threat from within the Church was—and always will be—cause for concern.



Many members of these congregations had remained faithful in spite of many hardships and trials. But others had lost their first love. Some are lukewarm and spiritually blind—badly needing salve for their eyes so they can see their deteriorating spiritual condition. Christ warns them: "I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works" (Revelation 2:23).



Besides the growing problem of spiritually weak members, false prophets were infiltrating the congregations. Doctrinal errors were developing. The doctrine of Balaam, the teachings of the Nicolaitans and the beguiling influence of Jezebel are mentioned. Jesus tells the Christians in Thyatira: "Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols" (verse 20). This concerns the introduction of licentiousness—license to sin based on a wrong view of law and grace.



Dissent was developing from within. That was the real threat to the Church. Attending with members of these congregations were two types of people. The faithful members are those "who cannot bear those who are evil" and "have not known the depths of Satan" (verses 2, 24). But the implication is clear that others could and did "bear those who were evil," and some were beginning to plumb "the depths of Satan."



We find a portrait of the Church near the end of the apostolic era. Satan had successfully infiltrated congregations raised up by the apostles. He lures people away from the faith of Christ, using false prophets to introduce his attitudes and teachings.



But, in spite of the devil's efforts, many of the brethren remained strong and faithful, holding fast to the apostles' teachings. Christ complimented them: "You have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars" (verse 2).



Others, who had lost interest, were beguiled by the heresies of Satan—a being "who deceives the whole world" (Revelation 12:9). One entire congregation was already spiritually dead, having only a few members who were not already too defiled to count as converted Christians. Satan had succeeded in taking over a large portion of Christianity.



So here we find, from Christ's own messages to His Church, that two distinct classifications of Christians emerged from the apostolic era. One group was faithful; the other consisted of people who, for many reasons, were moving further and further away from the true faith of God.



Many who were unfaithful ultimately departed from God's truth. "They went out from us," says John, "but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us" (1 John 2:19).



Two distinct religions developed from the apostolic era—one faithful to Christ, the other deceived by Satan.

The Rise of a Counterfeit Christianity

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The Rise of a Counterfeit Christianity

Christ gave an ominous warning—that many would come in His name, teaching a different message that would deceive many. They would create a counterfeit of true Christianity, starting a religion that would largely supplant the true Church

"Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name . . . and will deceive many" (Matthew 24:4-5).



Jesus Christ told His apostles to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in His name. Most people who are familiar with the Bible realize that those apostles zealously embarked on that mission. Their converts were first called Christians in the city of Antioch (Acts 11:26). Over the centuries, vast numbers of people were born or converted into what eventually became the hundreds of denominations known collectively as "Christianity"—to the point that it became and still remains one of the world's most popular and dominant religions.



People assume that all, or at least almost all, who bear the name Christian follow the beliefs, teachings and practices of Jesus Christ. But the Bible tells us that not everyone who accepts the name of Christ is really a Christian!



Jesus foretold that some would claim His name but deny Him by their actions. He said they would "call Me 'Lord, Lord,'" but "not do the things which I say" (Luke 6:46).



Christ and His apostles spoke of false prophets, false apostles and false brethren. They revealed that two opposing religions would emerge, both claiming to be Christian. One—the actual Church Jesus founded—would be led by God's Spirit and remain faithful to His teachings. The other—guided and influenced by a different spirit—would accept the name of Christ but twist His teachings to create a convincing counterfeit of the true Church of God.



Both would use Christ's name and claim His authority. Both would perform works that would outwardly appear good and right. Both would claim to be following Christ's true teachings. But only one would faithfully represent its founder, Jesus Christ. The other would capture the minds and hearts of humanity by attaching the name of Christ to biblically insupportable religious customs and doctrines that Jesus and His apostles neither practiced nor approved.



The apostles repeatedly warned Jesus' followers to beware of false teachers who would introduce counterfeit-Christian beliefs. Jesus Himself warned: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name...and will deceive many" (Matthew 24:4-5).



The New Testament presents a concise historical sketch of the roots of these two religions that profess to be Christian—one real, one counterfeit. Christ's apostles described the origin of each and their fundamental characteristics.



We have already examined the apostles' description of the Church Jesus founded. Now let's look at the record they left us of another supposedly Christian religion—one that distorted and corrupted the truth and grew to become far more powerful and influential than the small Church Jesus promised would never die out.



Teaching the traditions of men

Where do most churches get their teachings and practices? Most of their members assume they come from the Bible or from Jesus Christ Himself. But do they?



Jesus commanded His apostles to teach others exactly what He had taught—"teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:20, NIV). He condemned the replacing of God's commandments with traditions and human reason. Speaking to the Pharisees, Jewish religious leaders of His day, He said: "For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men...All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition" (Mark 7:8-9).



Jesus taught that His Church should keep the commandments of God: "If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments" (Matthew 19:17). He warned: "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied [preached] in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" (Matthew 7:22-23). He knew that false teachers would arise who would reject the commandments of God for a distorted gospel of no law—lawlessness!



Like Jesus, the apostles consistently taught obedience to God. Peter and the other apostles risked their lives to make it clear that "we ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). Paul expressed the same commitment he shared with the other apostles—of a life of obedience. "Through him [Christ] and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith" (Romans 1:5, NIV).



Paul later cautioned members of the congregation in Colosse to hold fast to what he had taught them: "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught" (Colossians 2:6-7).



Following Christ's example, Paul warned the Colossians not to accept traditions as replacements for the commandments of God: "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ" (Colossians 2:8; compare Mark 7:8-9, 13).



Why did Jesus Christ and the apostles sound such urgent warnings to avoid the traditions of men?



Subversion from within the Church

As the apostles strove to establish still more congregations of believers among the nations, a phenomenon arose that eventually produced an alternate and outwardly Christian religion—but one quite different from the Church Jesus and His apostles established.



New and different doctrines were subtly introduced. Some began subverting the Church by challenging and contradicting the teachings of Christ's apostles. Paul warned, "For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain" (Titus 1:10-11).



To counter this trend, Paul instructed fellow elder Titus to carefully consider the background, knowledge and character of anyone being considered for ordination: "Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless... He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it" (verses 7, 9, NIV).



Increasingly, "false apostles" began contradicting and undermining the teachings of the true apostles of Christ. Paul cautioned the church in Rome: "I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep an eye on those who cause dissensions and offenses, in opposition to the teaching that you have learned; avoid them. For such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the simple-minded. For while your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, I want you to be wise in what is good and guileless in what is evil" (Romans 16:17-19, NRSV).



Competing religious leaders, masquerading as ministers of Christ, began teaching their own false doctrines "in opposition to" Christ's apostles and other of his faithful servants. At first they came predominantly from a Jewish background. But then false teachers emerged from people of other backgrounds within the Church. The subversive doctrines that eventually grew to be the most influential were a blend of pagan and misguided Jewish philosophies synthesized with the mysticism popular at that time.



Simon the Sorcerer was one such false teacher mentioned early in the Scriptures. After his baptism by Philip, Simon attempted to buy the office of apostle from Peter, hoping to obtain the power to grant others the Holy Spirit. Motivated by greed for power and influence, he faked conversion and managed to receive baptism to appear Christian (Acts 8:9-23). Later historical sources indicate that he blended various elements of paganism and mysticism into a counterfeit Christian philosophy.



A dangerous trend was established. Soon "false apostles," "false teachers" and "false brethren" abounded.



A counterfeit Christianity was born. And it would grow. In saying his farewell to the elders of the church of Ephesus, Paul stated: "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears" (Acts 20:29-31).



A different gospel gains ground

The impact of distorted teachings devastated the early Church. For example, Christians in the Roman province of Galatia turned en masse from the teachings of the apostle Paul and to a corrupted, cunningly devised but counterfeit gospel promoted by these false apostles.



Paul described the approach they used and the effect the false teachers had on Christians in Galatia: "I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ" (Galatians 1:6-7).



The brethren in that area were being swept into one of the many sects making up the emerging false Christianity. Paul had to contend with religious strife generated by Jewish and gentile elements in the Galatian congregations.



These cunning pretenders did not reject outright the gospel Paul taught. They simply perverted aspects of it. Then they seduced the Galatian Christians into accepting their gospel—a deadly mixture of truth and error. It contained enough truth to appear righteous and Christian, but it contained sufficient error to prevent any who would accept it from receiving salvation.



Notice Paul's blistering condemnation of that "different" gospel: "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed" (verses 8-9).



A gospel of no law

Jesus warned His apostles this would happen: "Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold" (Matthew 24:11-12). Jesus explained that lawlessness, the key element in the message of the false teachers, would make their ideas appealing and popular. Disregard for God's law would finally become the foundation of a popular and successful counterfeit Christianity.



The false prophets devised their message and doctrines by verbally acknowledging Jesus as "Lord" while refusing to obey Him (Luke 6:46). Jesus Himself warned of their deceitful, cunning approach: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves" (Matthew 7:15).



Jesus made it clear that teachers of lawlessness, who outwardly appear as innocent sheep performing devoutly religious acts, are not His apostles or servants: "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" (verses 22-23).



God's law: the religious battleground

Controversy over God's law erupted within the Church as soon as the first gentiles were converted. Certain Jewish believers wanted to force circumcision and other physical requirements on the gentiles. They demanded that gentile converts be physically circumcised to receive salvation (Acts 15:1).



In a major conference in Jerusalem, the apostles and elders determined that physical circumcision should not be regarded as a requirement for the gentiles' salvation (Acts 15:2, 5-10). Peter noted that God had recently given the Holy Spirit to several gentiles without their being circumcised, demonstrating His will in the matter (verse 8; Acts 11:1-4, 15-18).



The same Jews also demanded that gentiles observe the temple ceremonies and rituals, which pointed to greater spiritual realities such as the sacrifice of Christ. The apostles insisted that Christ's sacrifice was sufficient for the forgiveness of sins through the grace of God (Hebrews 7:26-27).



The temple sacrifices and rituals were only temporary institutions until the sacrifice of the real "Lamb of God" (John 1:29) and His work in the lives of believers. The apostles taught that they were no longer required (Acts 15:11; Hebrews 9:1-15) because they were "concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation" (Hebrews 9:10).



But the apostles never regarded God's spiritual laws, summarized by the Ten Commandments, as being in the same category with "fleshly ordinances." They always supported obedience to God's commandments. Paul made this clear: "Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters" (1 Corinthians 7:19). He concluded: "Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law" (Romans 3:31).



Distorted view of God's grace

Just as Jesus had foretold, unscrupulous teachers pounced on the teachings of Paul and the other apostles and twisted their meaning (2 Peter 3:15-16). By distorting the apostles' words, first about grace and then about those "fleshly ordinances" that are no longer necessary, they discovered a way to excuse their unlawful behavior: "For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness [shameful behavior] and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ" (Jude 4).



To them, grace excused sin—the breaking of God's law—by allowing them to disregard scriptural teachings they did not like. They twisted Paul's explanation that we cannot earn salvation with our own "works" into an excuse for making no effort to obey God.



Peter pinpointed their real problem. They "despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries" (2 Peter 2:10). A dominant characteristic of these deceivers was their eagerness to verbally attack and undermine the apostles and elders who were the true shepherds of God's flock.



As a consequence, said Peter, "they have forsaken the right way and gone astray...For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption" (verses 15, 18-19).



Now a problem even more sinister developed among the scattered congregations of God's people. False teachers, instead of trying to impose more law on gentiles, began exploiting God's mercy—the grace of God—to advocate the idea that Christians have been liberated from the law and no longer need to obey it. However, God says transgressing His law is sin (1 John 3:4).



These teachers misrepresented God's law as an unnecessary burden. John responded: "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3).



Contrary to the idea of being liberated from law, James calls God's commandments a "royal law" and the "law of liberty" (James 2:8-12). God designed His law to guarantee freedom from the consequences of such evils as adultery, murder, theft, fraud and covetousness.



It is sin, not God's law, that enslaves us (Romans 6:6). We become free from the enslavement to sin by obeying God (verse 17). Paul explains that obedience and righteousness are inseparable. "For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous" (Romans 2:13, NIV).



To better understand the truth about law and grace, send for or download our free book The New Covenant: Does It Abolish God's Law?



Satan the devil: master deceiver

Scripture reveals that those who promoted these lawless principles were influenced by an unseen spiritual power, Satan the devil. Paul said: "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works" (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).



Satan hates God's law. He is a master deceiver. Naturally, he will spare no effort to infiltrate the Church Christ founded.



To accomplish his purpose, Satan uses people to mislead other people. It is easy for him to influence human beings who desire to teach others when they are motivated by personal ambition. This is especially true if they lack a proper understanding of the Scriptures. Satan simply takes advantage of their desire to be spiritual teachers. He seduces susceptible individuals to pay lip service to Christ while creating their own new sets of beliefs and ignoring or disobeying portions of God's laws.



Paul told Timothy to "charge some that they teach no other doctrine" and have a "pure heart," "good conscience" and "sincere faith...from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm" (1 Timothy 1:3, 6-7).



Sincere but misguided religious leaders can and do accept doctrines that in their mind permit them to break some of God's commandments. Then they persuade others to believe as they do. Sadly, through the devil's influence, they convince themselves that their misguided concepts are righteous—that God is pleased with them. They believe the false doctrines they teach. Although sincere, they are sincerely mistaken.



Paul says, "The coming of the lawless one [a future teacher who will advocate doctrines contrary to God's laws] is according to the working of Satan...with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie" (2 Thessalonians 2:9-11). Probably none of the misguided teachers perceives he is in reality advocating Satan's point of view.



However, by creating a counterfeit Christian religion—one that is not entirely different from the true Church but rejects some of the essential biblical teachings that lead to eternal life—Satan is attempting to thwart God's plan for the salvation of mankind. Remember, Jesus says, "If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments" (Matthew 19:17). That is exactly what the devil wants to prevent. He promotes a lawless Christianity that teaches we can selectively obey—or even ignore—God's commandments.



Lawlessness in varying degrees is the centerpiece of Satan's counterfeit doctrines. His purpose is to convince people that they are serving Christ while cutting them off from salvation by clouding their understanding of what sin is so they will continue in sin—so they will practice at least some degree of lawlessness.



To accomplish his purpose, Satan exploits human nature. He sways people to believe his deceptions (1 John 5:19; Revelation 12:9). Satan retains just enough truth in his doctrines to persuade people they are following Christ. But he introduces sufficient error to prevent them from living the way that God requires as a condition for inheriting eternal life.



Why disobedience appeals to human nature

Satan is successful in deceiving humanity for good reason. The apostle Paul explains that the natural mind of man—the mind that is not guided by God's Spirit—cannot always see the purpose behind God's laws. "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14).



Most people are not overtly hostile toward many of God's laws. They usually recognize that deeds such as murder and theft are wrong. However, they are hostile—perhaps without recognizing their ingrained hostility—toward laws that challenge their own personal, natural way of thinking. In that sense lawlessness appeals to people.



Paul explains why disobedience can appeal to our baser instincts: "The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be" (Romans 8:7). The carnal, or fleshly, mind not only lacks spiritual discernment, it resents God's authority as expressed in His laws. The Holman Christian Standard Bible translates this verse: "The mind-set of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit itself to God's law, for it is unable to do so."



We call this sinful tendency human nature—a combination of human weakness and acquired attitudes resulting from Satan's influence on people. Satan exploits human nature. He uses his false teachers to convince other people that they are "liberated" from the laws of God, thus excusing their tendency to be hostile toward God's laws. So, rather than abandoning a life of lawlessness, those led astray by this deception continue in sin. Thinking their disobedient actions are permissible to God, they fail to recognize, at least in some of their beliefs and behavior, the seriousness of their sinful actions.



But the apostle James makes it clear that this approach and attitude to God's royal law are entirely wrong: "For whoever shall keep the whole law and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all" (James 2:10). The context shows that James is speaking of the Ten Commandments (verses 8-9, 11). God's fundamental law is made up of 10 points, and He requires us to observe them all—in letter and spirit.



A falling away from truth begins

Christ praised the church in Ephesus for refusing to follow false apostles who tried to take advantage of their human nature and seduce them: "I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars" (Revelation 2:2).



But not everyone in every congregation followed the example of the church in Ephesus. Many accepted the teachings of the false apostles and reverted to sinning. That is why Peter wrote: "For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them" (2 Peter 2:20-21).



People began turning away from the teachings of Christ's true apostles. They accepted the philosophies of false teachers. Peter had explicitly warned that this would occur. He said false teachers would arise "among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed" (2 Peter 2:1-2).



Peter anticipated that not just a few—but many—Christians would turn aside from the truth to follow doctrines that were more appealing to the carnal mind. Later John confirms that this is indeed what happened: "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us" (1 John 2:19).



Barnabas and Paul encountered a false prophet determined to turn people away from the truth. "Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus...But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith" (Acts 13:6-8).



On other occasions the problem lay with false brethren (Galatians 2:4). Paul referred to his trials "in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren" (2 Corinthians 11:26).



These false Christians had not become a genuine threat just to Paul's safety and effectiveness, but they had also become a significant part of the visible Christian community. Some may have finally gone out from God's special people but continued calling themselves Christian. Others became members of new and supposedly liberated sects that retained the name Christian. Still others probably remained in the fellowship of true believers and over time subverted congregations to their own heretical teachings.



A false Christianity was beginning to take a firm hold.



True Christians forced out of congregations

As the teachings of false ministers gained in popularity, their followers gradually grew to be the majority in some congregations. The apostle John records one such tragic example: "I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church" (3 John 9-10).



Incredible as it sounds, those who were faithful to the teaching of the apostles were expelled from this congregation! They had become the minority. The majority had chosen to follow Diotrephes, who, in his own lust for power and influence, falsely accused the apostle John. Satan had succeeded in placing his minister over this congregation, expelling the faithful servants of Jesus Christ.



Remember, Jesus had already warned His true servants that this would happen: "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves" (Matthew 7:13-15).



He also said, as earlier quoted: "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men" (Mark 7:6-8, NIV).



Now we can understand why Paul explained to Christians in Rome the appropriate response to those who were stirring up division within the Church: "I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them" (Romans 16:17, NIV).



Counterfeit Christianity become dominant

By the end of the third century the true servants of God had become a distinct minority among those who called themselves Christians. The counterfeit Christianity had become the majority.



False teachers had successfully gained a far larger following than the faithful ministers of God. However, history shows the counterfeit sects were not united in their beliefs. Many factions existed among them.



Nevertheless, divided and unconverted as it was, this new brand of Christianity rapidly expanded its membership and became the visible Christian church. Claiming to offer salvation, but without the necessity of real repentance, it held just enough truth to appeal to the masses.



In spite of its faults, it appeared to offer a hope unequaled by any pagan religion at that time. None of the pagan religions offered a believable way for people to receive forgiveness of sins and obtain eternal life. This new religion seemed to offer just that. Little did its followers realize that its promises, without real repentance, were made in vain.



By the end of the third century this counterfeit Christianity was a squabbling, bitterly divided religion. But at the beginning of the fourth century two things happened that abruptly altered the course of Christian history. First, the Roman emperor Diocletian intensified the policy of many previous Roman emperors of persecuting Christians and ordered that all Christian manuscripts be burned. This dramatically renewed a climate of fear throughout the Christian community.



Ten years later another emperor, Constantine, came to power. He had defeated another powerful contender for the right to replace Diocletian as emperor, but he still had many enemies, and his political position remained insecure. In all the empire, only Christians were unaligned politically. Constantine immediately saw an opportunity to use this formerly persecuted and politically alienated religious body to strengthen his hold on the empire.



First he legalized Christianity. Then, only two years later, he called all the divided professing Christian groups together to hammer out a unified system of belief. He wanted a united religious body that was politically committed to him.



To achieve this, Constantine presided over doctrinal deliberations and dictated statements of belief whenever disagreements could not be resolved amicably. He soon successfully molded the bickering groups of counterfeit Christians who were willing to accept state control into a strong and unified vassal of the Roman Empire.



Williston Walker, former professor of ecclesiastical history at Yale University, tells us that, in the year 323, "Constantine was at last the sole ruler of the Roman world. The church was everywhere free from persecution . . . But, in winning its freedom from its enemies, it had come largely under the control of the occupant of the Roman imperial throne. A fateful union with the state had begun" (A History of the Christian Church, 1946, p. 111).



A religion transformed through syncretism

As this new religion—now supported by the Roman emperors—grew in power and influence, it sought to become a truly universal church. In its ambition to add more members, many new converts—and many new practices—were welcomed into its fold.



Charles Guignebert, professor of the history of Christianity at the University of Paris, described the process: "Now at the beginning of the fifth century, the ignorant and the semi-Christians thronged into the Church in numbers...They had forgotten none of their pagan customs . . . The bishops of that period had to content themselves with redressing, as best they could, and in experimental fashion, the shocking malformations of the Christian faith which they perceived around them...



"[Properly instructing converts] was out of the question; they had to be content with teaching them no more than the symbol of baptism and then baptizing them en masse, postponing until a later date the task of eradicating their superstitions, which they preserved intact...This 'later date' never arrived, and the Church adapted to herself, as well as she could, them and their customs and beliefs. On their side, they were content to dress up their paganism in a Christian cloak" (The Early History of Christianity, 1927, pp. 208-210).



What was the result? This state-dominated Christianity became a bizarre synthesis of beliefs, practices and customs from many sources.



As Professor Guignebert explained, "It is sometimes very difficult to tell exactly from which pagan rite a particular Christian rite is derived, but it remains certain that the spirit of pagan ritualism became impressed upon Christianity, to such an extent that at last the whole of it might be found distributed through its ceremonies" (p. 121).



In those early centuries the counterfeit Christianity that the apostles of Jesus Christ had fought so hard to contain grew in size and popularity. In later centuries this religion would fragment repeatedly into competing denominations. Tragically, however, none completely returned to the original practices and teachings of Jesus Christ and the apostles. This fact is recognized by many modern biblical scholars (see "Changes in Christian Scholars' Perspective on God's Law").



Meanwhile, those who through these many centuries have faithfully continued to yield their lives to God in sincere obedience to His laws are still, comparatively speaking, only a "little flock" in a confused world.

What Did the Early Church Believe and Practice?

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What Did the Early Church Believe and Practice?

The book of Acts is an eyewitness account of the early Church from Christ's death until about A.D. 60. Chapter 2 records the beginning of the Church, when God sent His Spirit to 120 followers of Jesus Christ.



Many Bible readers are familiar with the miraculous events of that day—of the place they were assembled filling with the sound of a mighty wind and what appeared to be tongues of fire alighting on those gathered there. Another miracle occurred as those people, now filled with God's Spirit, began to speak in the languages of people from many lands so that all could understand their words.



Often overlooked in this account is the day on which these events occurred, the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1), one of the festivals God commanded for His people many centuries before (Leviticus 23). In revealing these festivals, God said that "these are My feasts . . . the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations" (verses 2, 4). God proclaimed that these festivals were to be "a statute forever throughout your generations" (verses 14, 21, 31, 41).



The Gospels show that Jesus Christ observed the same festivals (Matthew 26:17-19; John 7:10-14, 37-38). Both the book of Acts and Paul's letters show the apostles keeping these festivals during the decades after Christ's crucifixion (Acts 2:1-4; 18:21; 20:6, 16; 27:9).



Most churches teach that the festivals were "nailed to the cross," that they were somehow annulled by Christ's death. Yet the unmistakable record of the Bible is that the early Church continued to observe them, but with greater grasp of their spiritual significance.



Speaking of one of these God-given feasts, the apostle Paul urged the church in Corinth—a mixed group of gentile and Jewish believers—to "keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:8). Paul was clearly referring to the Feast of Unleavened Bread (see Leviticus 23:6; Deuteronomy 16:16).



Paul explained the significance of the Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7; Leviticus 23:5) and gave instructions on how to properly observe this ceremony (1 Corinthians 11:23-28).



The many references in the Gospels, Acts and Paul's epistles prompt an obvious question: Since Jesus, the apostles and the early Church kept these days, why don't churches teach and observe them today? After all, Paul directly tied the feasts to Jesus, His purpose and His sacrifice for mankind (1 Corinthians 5:7). (To learn more about these festivals, send for or download our free booklet God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind.)



The Gospels and the book of Acts are equally clear that Christ, the disciples and the early Church kept the weekly Sabbath—from Friday evening to Saturday evening, the seventh day of the week—as their day of rest and worship (Mark 6:2; Luke 4:16, 31-32; 13:10; Acts 13:14-44; 18:4). Jesus even called Himself "Lord of the Sabbath" (Mark 2:28).



It was Jesus' custom to go to the synagogue every Sabbath to worship (Luke 4:16). Contrary to the teaching of those who say that Paul abandoned the Sabbath, it was his custom, too, to go to the synagogue every Sabbath (Acts 17:1-3), using the opportunity to teach others about Jesus Christ.



The weekly Sabbath is another of God's festivals, like those mentioned earlier. It is, in fact, the first of His feasts listed (Leviticus 23:1-4). It is included in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15).



As with God's other feasts, the Sabbath is ignored by the overwhelming majority of churches. Rather than keeping the Sabbath as God commanded, most churches meet on the first day of the week—Sunday—a day nowhere commanded in the Bible as a day of worship. Why? If we are to observe any day as a weekly day of rest and worship, shouldn't it be the same day Jesus Christ and the apostles kept? (Be sure to request or download our free booklet Sunset to Sunset: God's Sabbath Rest to learn more.)



We also find other differences in teaching and practice. Many churches teach that obedience to God's law is unnecessary, that Christ kept it for us or it was "nailed to the cross" with Christ. This is directly contrary to Jesus' own words (Matthew 4:4; 5:17-19) and the teaching and practice of the apostles (Acts 24:14; 25:8; Romans 7:12, 22; 1 Corinthians 7:19; 2 Timothy 3:15-17).



Following Christ's example, the apostles powerfully preached about Jesus Christ's return to establish the coming Kingdom of God (Luke 4:43; 8:1; 21:27, 31; Acts 1:3; 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 28:23, 31). But Paul warned that, even in his day, some were already preaching "a different gospel" (2 Corinthians 11:4; Galatians 1:6).



We see much confusion in churches about what the gospel is. Most view it as a message about Christ's life story and His death to "save" us without really understanding why He came and why He had to die and without proclaiming the message of God's Kingdom that Christ Himself taught (Mark 1:14-15).



Similarly, Jesus and the apostles did not teach that the righteous ascend to heaven at death (John 3:13; Acts 2:29, 34), and they understood that man does not possess an immortal soul (Ezekiel 18:4, 20; Matthew 10:28) that would spend eternity in either heaven or hell. (For the truth on these matters, download or request our free booklets The Gospel of the Kingdom and Heaven and Hell: What Does the Bible Really Teach?)



Furthermore, nowhere do we find popular religious holidays such as Christmas approved in the Bible. The only time Easter is mentioned in the Bible (Acts 12:4, King James Version), it is a blatant mistranslation of the Greek word for Passover. Lent and its practices are nowhere found (see our free booklet Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Observe?).



These are some of the major differences between the Christianity of the time of Christ and the apostles and that commonly practiced today. Shouldn't you look into your Bible to see if your beliefs and practices square with what Jesus Christ and the apostles practiced and taught? As noted, we have many resources that can help in your study of God's Word. Download or request your free copies today