The Plague Of The Church

But there were false prophets also among 

the people, even as there shall be false 

teachers among you, who privily shall 

bring in damnable heresies, even denying 

the Lord that bought them, and bring upon 

themselves swift destruction. And many 

shall follow their pernicious ways: 

by reason of whom the way of truth shall 

be evil spoken of.

2Peter 2:1-2 

     In the early Church people had to fiend off the great heresy of Gnosticism. This heresy had two major divisions: 1. Ascetic life. 2. Life with all its pleasures. There were other influences, Judaism, for one, and the views of philosophers, especially the Greek philosophers. There came into the Church dualistic views, that is, the view of flesh and spirit that the fleshly considered flesh to be evil, and the other that spirit was good. We can see these views in the religions of the Orient, but as for Christianithy: there was a great influence through the Gnostic and Neoplatonic movements. Yes, it is true that the Scriptures seem to support the idea of separation from the world. This separation was not for people to become hermits, or to cloister into monasteries. It was that Authentic Christians would separate themselves from the worldly culture that is in absolute contradiction the will of God. Two other major contributions to this thinking came not only from heretical philosophy, but also economically. Political problems: i.e., barbarians coming against Rome, the growing Islamic religion attempting, as it does today, to force their religious and political views upon people: do or die!

     Stressing the Spiritual side of Christianity has led to the misuse of the gifts of the Spirit. There is as was a stress laid upon the Church that separated Church leaders to become more than what Jesus requires of Church leaders. To be separate they began to dress elegantly, to do certain rituals, requiring certain spiritual things that cannot be found in Scripture. Ritualistic performance seems to have taken the place of private worship: do this or that and you will "feel" pious, even godly. Believe this man or that man, and you will have the "truth." Jehovah Witness, Mormons come to mind where a man and his beliefs are consider sacred. We see this with Calvinism, with even Arminianism, or Augustianism. This need to have a celebrity, a "star" as a leader becomes more important than the only One Who should be our leader: Jesus Christ. The seeking for a blessing rather just receiving God's blessing: eternal life, is a problem inasmuch as it takes away from Authentic Christian Faith. Clement of Rome ends his letter to the Corinthian Church: "Blessings sought for all that call upon God.May God, who seeth all things, and who is the Ruler of all spirits and the Lord of all flesh—who chose our Lord Jesus Christ and us through Him to be a peculiar (Comp. Tit. ii. 14.) people—grant to every soul that calleth upon His glorious and holy Name, faith, fear, peace, patience, long-suffering, self-control, purity, and sobriety, to the well-pleasing of His Name, through our High Priest and Protector, Jesus Christ, by whom be to Him glory, and majesty, and power, and honour, both now and for evermore. Amen." 

     It is time for a revival, that is to revive the Christianity as it was preached and taught, by Jesus and His disciples, by men who were taught by the disciples, who were submitted to the Lord Jesus Christ and not to a man, to an ideology, to a theology that was not of God. This is the question for us: Are we doing the same?

Who hath wrought and done it,

     calling the generations from

the beginning? I the LORD, the first

     and with the last: I am He.

                   Isaiah 41:4; comp. Rev. 1:8,17

Repent and be healed

Richard L. Crumb