Finding Jesus in the Bible…So We Can Follow Him in Life
Bible Reading Plans
- Plan One: New Testament Only
- Plan Two: New Testament + Psalms
- Plan Three: New Testament + History
- Plan Four: The Entire Bible – Year 1 of 3, Year 2 of 3, Year 3 of 3
Don’t know which plan? Go to A Christ-Centered Bible Reading Plan: Quick Start.
Extras
Verse of the Day, Audio Capsule, and Video Minute
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The One True Church
Chapter 10 – “The Chicken or the Egg?”
I have spent the first nine chapters of this book describing my experiences with and without church, with and without Jesus, and with and without the Bible. I don’t for a minute expect that any of that will convince you of anything. It shouldn’t.
What will convince you of the one true church that preceded the kingdom of God is…the chapters that follow. For in those chapters, I will show you where in the Bible you will find teaching about church and the kingdom of God – and what makes them different.
I’m going to lay out a biblical case for the New Testament church being the one true church – the one that Jesus said He would build. In laying out a biblical case for any claim, I give you more than enough Scripture to be like a Berean.
Acts 17:10 The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.
Acts 17:11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
Even so, some of you will not believe. For not even all the Bereans believed. Notice how the passage above continues.
Acts 17:12 Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men.
“Many” – not all!
The biggest stumbling block that people face when trying to understand this subject is the issue of church authority versus biblical authority – and which one prevails.
“Which came first: the chicken or the egg?” If it’s church and the kingdom of God we’re talking about, the answer is obviously the church. For it’s more than clear that the church preceded the kingdom. But if the question is about church and the Bible, the answer is also clear – but not as obvious.
You’re either going to accept the church as having authority over the Bible or the Bible having authority over the church. The single most glaring difference between Protestants and Roman Catholics is how they view this issue.
If the church and the Bible seem to contradict each other, Roman Catholics resolve it in favor of the church’s position. By contrast, Protestants resolve it in favor of the Bible. It’s been that way ever since Martin Luther posted his “95 Theses” in 1517 – the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.
The Roman Catholics argue that if it weren’t for the church, we wouldn’t even have the Bible – at least, not the New Testament. Protestants don’t deny that the church has preserved the apostles’ writings, but simultaneously insist that those writings have authority over the church that preserved them.
If you give this matter sufficient consideration, you will eventually see that, if the Roman Catholics are right on this point, then lay folks should not read the Bible for themselves lest they misinterpret it. It would be a far more efficient use of time, and far safer, to let the church tell you what the Bible means.
Protestants have always been right on this point. They call their belief “Sola Scriptura” – Latin for “Scripture Alone.” The only thing wrong with Protestants today is that they have not followed that belief to its logical conclusion. Instead, they have simply created many smaller and more diverse versions of the Roman Catholic Church.
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