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Editor's Notes

• #1: The Foundation of Faith: Jesus' Church or the Bible? Did Jesus leave us a church not a Bible this is a claim that many Catholics and Orthodox people make but is it true some claim that Christians for the first 400 years didn't even have the word of God to rely on I'm going to give you four reasons why that's not the case then they deal with a tricky objection that's often raised Number one the Old Testament already existed the Old Testament was already written and considered scripture before Jesus came and the Old Testament is over for 75% of the entire Bible so to say that people in the first century didn't have scripture is to be ignorant of History the Old Testament is what Jesus quoted all the time saying things like it is written have you never read in the scriptures and so on so God's word was Central in Jesus's mind he even encourages people not to live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God not by the word of any church leader or father who comes along but by the word of God �� Number two Jesus's words have been preserved if we never had the words of Jesus recorded or the words the apostles recorded we would have to rely on what the church fathers say but we aren't in that position Jesus Promised the apostles that the Holy Spirit would help them remember everything he taught Jesus says but the helper the Holy Spirit whom the father will send in my name he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I've said to you so the apostles by inspiration of the Holy Spirit have preserved the words of Jesus and they also wrote their own Letters by inspiration of the Holy Spirit which were considered to be scripture even in the first century we see the Apostle Peter consider Paul's writings all as scripture in 2 Peter 3 even Paul himself knew that what he was writing was from the Lord if anyone thinks that he is a prophet or spiritual he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord so if we have the words of the Lord Jesus and the apostles who are writing God's inspired word already written and even considered scripture in the first century then why would we not hold the scripture as our ultimate Authority in terms of what we should believe why would we hold a pope or church fathers that we like as our Authority why would we favor them over the words of God are they going to be clearer than the Holy Spirit inspired scripture think of this analogy imagine last time you with your friends and someone said let's meet up at 300 p.m. next Thursday at the mall but because you didn't write it down you forgot what the plans were to meet up and so you ask one friend and he gives you the wrong day you ask another friend and he gives you the wrong time while another friend mixes up the location so even though they all heard the original statement they didn't recall it right but let's say that original message was written written down let's say in a group chat you can always go back to it to check what was actually said and so the Bible is like that written message it keeps God's word accurate and unchanging if we only relied on people like church leaders to pass it down it could easily get mixed up over time but God made sure that his message stayed clear by having it written down already in the first century so let's go to that �� �� Number three the church isn't a particular institution it's the people of God well Jesus definitely did build his church Jesus wasn't referring to a particular organization or denomination when he said that he uses the Greek word eklesia which simply means the called out ones the people of God and it refers to Believers in a local area and other times refers to Believers all across the world so those who have true faith in the Lord Jesus and not their works are all part of Jesus's Church they're the people of God so there's no reason for anyone to make the assertion that the only true church is this one or that one whether Catholic Orthodox or another denomination as that isn't what the Bible speaks about and it's not historically accurate consider this analogy think about basketball players worldwide what makes someone a real basketball player it's not the gym they play at or the Jersey they wear it's their genuine love for the game of basketball some play in fancy NBA arenas others on Street courts or School gyms but they're all real basketball players because they love and play the game and that's exactly how Jesus church works just like no single gym can claim to be the only real basketball court so no single institution can claim to be the only real Church what makes you part of Jesus's church is your genuine faith in him just like what makes someone a basketball player is their love for the game not what court they play on �� Number four the church isn't consistent but the Bible is since the church is simply the people of God we as Believers are inconsistent people we can say some very good things but also some not so good things we can be right about certain pieces of theology but also wrong about others but that's also true with every Church Father who's lived they can say inconsistent things and they can be inconsistent with each other and that's why many of the church fathers considered scripture to be the Umpire to find out who is correct because scripture is always consistent plus not even the Disciples of the Apostles like polycarp considered their writings to be on the same level as the apostles polycarp said for neither I nor any such one can come up to the wisdom of the blessed and glorified Paul he when among you accurately and steadfastly taught the word of Truth in the presence of those who were then alive Ignatius of Antioch also said I do do not as Peter and Paul issue Commandments unto you they were Apostles I am but a condemned man they were free while I am even until now a servant so no Jesus didn't leave us just a church he gave us his word in scripture to guide the church the people of God so if anyone is saying something contrary to the Bible you say chapter and verse please cuz I check it with the Bible yo God's word is our foundation now for the tricky objection which you've been waiting for you might be asking what about the formation of the cannon didn't the church fathers or the church councils create the list of books to be in the Bible now it's important to realize that the councils and the church fathers did not create the cannon they merely recognized it just like if I have 10 handwritten letters on my desk seven are from my wife and three of them strangers when I correctly pick all seven of hers because I know my wife's hand writing those seven didn't suddenly become my wife's letters they already were I just recognized them as such same with the Bible the church fathers didn't make the scriptures God's word they already were they simply recognized which books bore the unmistakable marks of divine inspiration much like recognizing my wife's handwriting so the authority of the scripture comes from God not from a church declaring it so that's why even before the 4th century we see Church fathers citing the apostles writings as God's word and even the apostles themselves referring to each other's writings as scripture leave. ��
• #10: The Bible says how many Israelite Men there were…
• #16: "The Bible is like that written message—it keeps God's Word accurate and unchanging. If we only relied on people like church leaders to pass it down, it could easily get mixed up over time. But God made sure that His message stayed clear by having it written down already in the first century."
• #18: In Matthew 16:18, they are the people of God, so there's no reason for anyone to assert that the only true church is this one or that one—whether Catholic, Orthodox, or another denomination—as that isn't what the Bible speaks about, and it's not historically accurate.