WEBVTT

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Please fill me with the Spirit as he preaches your word. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

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Abraham but now you seek to kill me a man that hath told you the truth which I've heard of God this did not

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Abraham is my

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There we go. Are we on now? All right, cool. Title my sermon this morning is church fathers

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I want to preach on the subject of the church fathers

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I want to talk about

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What is the right position to have when it comes to the church fathers and why I don't recommend christians to reference them

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For matters of faith and practice why we as christians as bible-believing christians should not reference the church fathers

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in order to substantiate our claims about the bible or our practices in

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Church now, what are Church fathers exactly? What does that referring to? Well Church fathers is a historical term used to describe

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influential quote-unquote

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Bishops for the first eight centuries after the apostolic era, okay

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These men are basically responsible for writing sermons books and dissertations

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Refuting heresies and false doctrines for those first couple centuries after the canonization of the Bible and are often esteemed

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by many Christians today as being great men of the faith

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and they will often look towards these church fathers

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in order to confirm that what they believe

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is actually true or not.

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But folks, the Bible says to prove all things,

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hold fast that which is good.

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And if we wanna know what we are supposed to believe

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as Christians, we gotta go to the Bible, right?

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Not to some historical figure that existed

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a thousand years ago, hundreds of years ago.

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Yeah, are there people back in the day

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that believed right on salvation?

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believe right on baptism, believe right on church practices.

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Of course, but you know what?

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We don't need to reference them in order to confirm

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what we believe is true.

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Why? Because we have the Bible.

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We have the Word of God. The Bible tells us that the Word of God is able to instruct us in ways of righteousness.

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The Bible says that the Word of God can show us what God expects of us, what the standard of the church should be.

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It teaches us how to win souls to Christ, what the doctrine of justification is, what the doctrine of the Trinity is.

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And quite frankly, it doesn't matter if we came 1500 years after the fact, we still have...

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the timeless word of God to instruct us in these ways.

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Okay.

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Now who are these church fathers?

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Well, you have Clement of Rome.

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Okay.

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Clement of Rome is pretty much the earliest church father that most people would

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address and talk about. You have Ignatius of Antioch, you have Polycarp. These are basically

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some of the earliest church fathers that people reference. You have Justin Martyr,

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Arrhenius, Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian. These are second and third century church fathers.

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And then you have later church fathers such as Augustine, Jerome, and Chrysostom. These are all

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men.

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that both Protestants and Catholics will claim.

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So this is constant battle within mainstream Christianity

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as far as who belongs to who.

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People will say, well, he was actually

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a Bible-believing Christian.

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He actually agreed with us Protestants.

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And then the Catholics will say, no, because if you

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look at some of his writings, it very much

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resembles a lot of what the Catholic Church teaches.

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And then here I come and says, who cares?

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what these guys believe, who cares what side they were on.

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And quite frankly, I'm not really interested

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in the writings of people 1,500 years ago

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because 1,500 years from now,

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people are gonna go to a Barnes and Noble, right?

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And in order to find out who is, who was the big deal,

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who was the big shot back in 1,500 years ago,

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and I guarantee you, none of us are gonna be

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on those shelves.

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It's going to be, you know, Joel Osteen.

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It's going to be all these heretics and false prophets,

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because those are the ones that people are promoting the most.

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Okay?

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But luckily we have the Word of God,

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and we don't need to address or reference these Church Fathers

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in order to see, well, am I really interpreting this correctly?

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Is this really correct?

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You know, instead of going to the Church Fathers,

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let's go to God the Father, amen?

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Instead of going to some dude from hundreds of years ago

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Why don't we just stick to the Holy Spirit that can show us all things?

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You know the best why the Bible tells us that he gave us the Holy Spirit

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Which is the spirit of truth to enlighten us to the truth and what the Bible says about these things

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So it's essentially a title used to express the idea of spiritual ancestry

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This is basically what the Pharisees were doing in John chapter 8. We have Abraham to our father

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It's not like well, hey, this is what the Bible says. This is what the Old Testament is addressing

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This is what the Old Testament states. No, they're constantly going towards tradition and then they're using their so-called

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Ancestry to Abraham in order to lend veracity to who they are as the Pharisees and the spiritual leaders of that day

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But of course, we know that they were not of Abraham and quite frankly, even if there was a church

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that agreed exactly like us, we should still disregard it.

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Why? Because it becomes too fluid at that point.

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You can probably point to certain things in their writings that disagree with us doctrinally.

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So people can magnify those issues, magnify those differences, and say,

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well, yeah, but look what they taught here about baptism.

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You know, yeah, he said justification is by faith alone, but look what he says about baptism.

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Look how he uses the term priest. Look how he uses the term about, you know,

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the church services or whatever it may be. He seems to lean more towards being

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a Catholic. That's why it is a fool's errand to reference these Church Fathers

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because at the end of the day there were fallible men, whether saved or unsaved,

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there were fallible men and quite frankly, you know, I'd rather just go to the

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infallible Word of God because it's not going to contradict itself. The Bible

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does not contradict itself, right?

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You know all scripture is given by inspiration of God is profitable for doctrine for proof of correction and instruction in righteousness

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And you know i'm not saying that every single church father

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Was unsaved or a heretic what i'm saying is I don't care

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Okay, and what I'm saying is not worth referencing them when we already have a superior resource known as the Word of God

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They are inferior

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Resources to address and use to substantiate our claims

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Okay, because they're fallible men and at the end of the day, you know, I'm not I'm not for apostolic succession

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That's not that's not my thing. That's not our churches thing. You say what you're not for apostolic succession. Yeah for biblical succession

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Meaning that if there's a church out there that lines up with the Bible,

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then that church basically can trace its spiritual roots back to the first century AD churches.

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Because it lines up with the Word of God.

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So Catholics and Protestants alike, you know, they like these teachers because they believe that they help them to shape and instruct

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succeeding generations in proper church practices and

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beliefs and

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So they're often referenced by them

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Okay, and there's this constant battle between them as far as who belongs to who in my opinion. They both can have them

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I'm not interested in claiming one over the other.

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I'm not really interested in that at all.

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And keep in mind, people over here

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arguing about church fathers this and church fathers that.

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How about the fact that Jesus said, call no man your father?

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Right?

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How about the fact that Matthew 23, verse 9 says,

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call no man your father upon the earth,

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for one is your father, which is in heaven.

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So let's just start at the basics

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to say we shouldn't be calling spiritual leaders father.

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You say, what do you call your dad?

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I said spiritual leaders, father.

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It's obviously appropriate to call your biological father

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father, although most of us just call him dad.

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OK?

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Matthew 23 in its proper context is referring to spiritual leaders those who call themselves pastors

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bishops

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Reverend whatever may be any type of church leadership position

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Should not adopt the term father because Jesus Christ strictly forbids it and you know Catholics will look at something like that

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I say, you know, what you call your dad, you know fathers use so many times throughout the New Testament all in reference to

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That's okay. Now is there instances in the New Testament where spiritually someone addresses someone as being kind of like a father to someone else because they're discipling them?

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Absolutely, but there's never an instance in the New Testament where someone in the church calls a church leader father.

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Okay, you know though you have 10,000 instructors in Christ yet you have not many fathers

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That's what the Apostle Paul said and what he's referring to is the fact is that he begot them through the gospel

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He essentially spiritually birthed them by preaching the gospel to them getting them saved

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And so he's kind of like a spiritual father unto them yet

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You don't have any instance in the New Testament where any of Paul's converts called Paul father

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Father Paul, you know, hey, Father Paul, what do you think about that?

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It doesn't exist. Why? Because it's not a biblical term to use for spiritual leaders.

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Okay.

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And so, you know, I'm against using that term, but just for the sake of the sermon, so you know what I'm talking about,

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I'm going to be calling them the Church Fathers, because that's what Catholics and Protestants address them as.

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They're not my Church Father. They're not, I don't, I don't view them as my spiritual ancestors at all.

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And so, you know, I'm just using it for the sake of the sermon here.

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So we as a Church do not uphold apostolic succession. We believe in biblical succession.

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Look for a Church that sides with the Bible.

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Look for a church that lines up with the doctrines of the Bible doesn't matter how old that church is and look you can find

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A church today that's a hundred years old and a lot of them are just heretical

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They're completely heretical. You know you could even find the first Baptist Church somewhere

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It's been around for a hundred plus years. It doesn't give them credibility

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Okay, they just had more time to apostatize and believe false doctrine

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I'm not saying all of them are like that because there is definitely churches out there that are the first Baptist Church that remain loyal

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to doctrine to the Bible

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I'm just saying, you know, having longevity doesn't equal authenticity, doesn't equal credibility,

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because you just have more time to get into heresy.

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Okay, go to Mark chapter 7 if you would, Mark chapter 7.

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Mark chapter 7.

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I'm gonna give you some reasons why we as Christians should not reference the Church Fathers, okay?

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This morning I want to talk about that reason number one is because of the fact that it undermines the authority of the Bible

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Referencing church fathers often undermines, subverts the authority of the scriptures.

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Even though people claim, oh no, we believe that the Bible is the Word of God.

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We believe it's the final authority, but referencing the church fathers kind of cements that.

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It helps to validate that. It helps to confirm that.

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Well, you know what? I know what I believe according to the Bible,

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and I don't need any outside source to tell me if that's true or not.

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Now make no mistake about it. There are certain things and parameters that God

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has used in order to teach us people. Obviously he uses local New Testament

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churches, right? He uses the Holy Spirit. We have the Word of God. We have older

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men in the faith. But at the end of the day, God commands all of us to search

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the scriptures daily to see if these things are so.

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It's not like, well, we'll just take this person's word for it.

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I'm just going to believe what this person says, just blindly follow this individual

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because they're so popular, because they're so esteemed in mainstream Christianity.

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No, I got to see what they're saying.

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And yet, they may have some credibility, but at the end of the day, I need to open up the

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Bible and say, well, is that what the Bible actually says though?

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And if we go there's like, that's a contradiction of the Bible,

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then we no longer follow that individual.

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Why? Because the Bible is the final authority.

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The problem with church history and referencing church fathers

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is that people claim to believe in the Bible,

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but what they actually do is they uphold the teachings of the church fathers

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slightly more than the Bible itself.

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In other words, the Bible can clearly say something like,

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call no man father.

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But because you have so many church fathers that use this in their writings in their dissertations

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Then we must be misinterpreting that verse

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What is that that's called subverting the Word of God because look folks you don't need to go to the original Greek to know

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What Jesus meant by that?

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It's not hard if you know English you know what it says all right now if you're ESL. I get it, but

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Most of the time people can read Matthew chapter 23 and understand. Okay. I know exactly what he means by this

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I don't need to go to the original language

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I don't need to know what the Bible says about that or excuse me what some commentary says about that

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What some lexicon states in the original language?

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I can go to the Word of God and see what Jesus clearly said and I'm gonna stick with that

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Whereas what people do they'll read Matthew 23. Well, let's see what the church fathers say

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Well, that's interesting. The church fathers are constantly calling the bishops father

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They were constantly giving this commentary about this, that, and the other, and then it's like, well, maybe I'm just misinterpreting that.

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Well, now you have officially subverted the Word of God.

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Okay? Look at Mark 7 verse 5, if you would. It says,

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Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him,

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Why walk not thy disciples according to the Old Testament?

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Is that what it says?

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Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition?

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The elders but eat bread with unwashed hands

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So what is he saying?

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You know it sounds like the Pharisees who claim to be spiritual descendants of Abraham and even physical descendants are saying you

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Why are you contrary not to the Word of God but to?

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Tradition right he says in verse 6 he answered and said into them

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Well hath the Zias prophesied of you hypocrites as it is written this people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is

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far from you. How be it in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the

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commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the

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tradition of men as the washing of pots and cups and many other such like things

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ye do." So notice according to verse 8, because they uphold the traditions it

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causes them to lay aside the commandments of God.

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And what traditions are we referring to? The traditions of the elders.

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In other words, because they esteem these elders, it's causing them to undermine the commandments of God.

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And this is what we see today.

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You can have a portion of scripture that clearly addresses salvation, clearly addresses the Trinity, clearly addresses what baptism is all about

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But because you have these elders, these people from 1500 years ago saying something different

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Then people just go with that

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Well, they were more spiritual back then

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Well, they just knew the Lord better back then.

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Well, they just have more credibility back then,

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and so we're just misinterpreting that.

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That's why we need to go to this.

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And look, folks, you can go to,

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let's just talk about Protestant churches, okay?

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You have Protestants out here,

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and you know, these Protestants are basically,

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you know, Catholic Zero, okay?

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It's just die Catholic is what it is.

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You know, you'll have these Protestants out there.

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I've seen videos of Protestants online,

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and if you hit the mute button, you think it's a Catholic.

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You see, why?

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Not because of how they sound, but because of how they look.

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They got the little collar thing going on,

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like the Catholic priest. How many of you know what I'm talking about?

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I mean, there's Lutherans that do that stuff.

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And you're kind of like, why are they dressing like that?

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Why do they look like that?

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And then if you unmute them, they talk like Catholics.

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They talk like Catholics, they look like Catholics,

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and they practice like Catholics as well.

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And I'm going to explain why that is in just a bit.

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But these people come up with all kinds of weird ideas,

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like head coverings, for example.

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They'll talk about, oh, women are to wear head coverings,

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the head doilies over the head.

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And when you demonstrate what the Bible actually

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says about that and how a head covering is simply

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referring to a woman's long hair, you know what they do?

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They go to the Church Fathers.

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They go to church history.

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Well, here's the thing, though.

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So you're trying to disregard 1,500 years of church history?

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Yeah, because it contradicts the Bible.

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Yes.

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You know, people try to shame you for that.

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Oh, so what, you know more than 1500 years of church history?

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Yeah, the part that contradicts the Bible, yes.

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Because it's crazy how you can have what the Bible clearly says about head coverings

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in the Word of God and still decide to put on some doily on your head thereafter.

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Understand what I'm saying?

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But all of a sudden, because you have all of these prominent church leaders,

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prominent figures of yesteryear just promoting head coverings and doilies on the head,

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we just got to completely disregard what the Bible explicitly says,

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which is that it's referring to long hair.

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You understand what I'm saying?

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What is that? That's laying aside the commandment of God in order to hold to the tradition of men.

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Okay? And I've literally gotten to conversations with people about this.

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You know, I went preaching in Texas earlier this year, and you know, a guy came up afterwards and he's just like,

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Hey, I love your stuff, man. It's great. Love the stuff on the Jews. It's great.

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But, uh, how come no one in here is wearing a head covering?

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And automatically, you know, you just know.

17:33.500 --> 17:35.500
You're like, oh, he's one of those.

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I'm like, because the Bible doesn't teach it.

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What do you mean? It says it right here.

17:40.500 --> 17:42.500
So we're going through the scriptures, and then I'm showing him,

17:42.500 --> 17:46.500
according to the first Corinthians, that it's referring to long hair on women.

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And then he's like, so you're just going to disregard church history?

17:50.500 --> 17:52.500
Like, whoa, how come we just moved on from the Bible?

17:52.500 --> 17:57.500
Hold on a second. I just showed you from the Bible.

17:57.600 --> 18:02.700
You completely disregarded it, and then now you just want to talk about church history in order to substantiate your claim.

18:02.700 --> 18:05.800
Why is that? Oh, that's right, because it undermines the Bible, that's why.

18:06.800 --> 18:09.900
So someone can claim to believe in the Bible, but let me just tell you something.

18:09.900 --> 18:14.600
Once they just completely reject the explicit teachings of scripture, just mark it down.

18:14.600 --> 18:17.900
They don't believe in the Bible, they uphold the traditions of the elders.

18:18.400 --> 18:20.400
Okay, it says in verse 9,

18:20.400 --> 18:21.680
He said unto them,

18:21.680 --> 18:23.920
Fool well, ye reject the commandment of God,

18:23.920 --> 18:25.920
that ye may keep your own tradition.

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For Moses said, honor thy father and thy mother,

18:28.560 --> 18:31.360
and whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death.

18:32.100 --> 18:36.220
But ye say, if a man shall say to his father or mother, it is Corbin, that is to say a

18:36.220 --> 18:37.220
gift.

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But whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me, he shall be free.

18:40.420 --> 18:45.940
And ye suffer him no more to do aught for his father or his mother, making the word

18:45.940 --> 18:50.860
of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered, and many such like

18:50.860 --> 18:51.860
things ye do."

18:51.860 --> 18:56.160
So he's saying, look, you have this clear commandment in the Bible to honor your parents,

18:56.160 --> 18:57.940
but then you find all these loopholes.

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Not that are found in the Bible, that you made up according to your tradition.

19:01.940 --> 19:06.340
And what happens? You make the word of God of none effect through your tradition.

19:06.340 --> 19:12.340
Meaning that the Bible can just explicitly say something, but as long as you have a group of people agreeing

19:12.340 --> 19:15.540
on the interpretation of that, that that's not what it actually means,

19:15.540 --> 19:18.340
then you can just make the Bible say whatever you want.

19:18.340 --> 19:22.420
You can make the Bible say that long hair actually means doilies on the head.

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Now, I'm going to get into this in just a bit, but you know, one of the big things regarding church fathers that everyone disagrees on,

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and this is why again, it's not worth addressing church fathers, is this matter of baptism.

19:35.300 --> 19:37.300
That's a huge thing.

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Because you have these church fathers that claim to believe in salvation by grace through faith,

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they claim to believe in the right salvation, but they're baptizing babies.

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What's up with that?

19:49.800 --> 19:52.400
I don't want to get ahead of myself, but come on.

19:52.400 --> 19:55.240
If you're having people baptize babies

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or justifying the baptism of babies,

19:58.560 --> 20:01.040
talking about baptism, entertaining the idea

20:01.040 --> 20:04.560
of baptizing babies, that should be disregarded.

20:04.560 --> 20:06.960
That's like basic stuff.

20:06.960 --> 20:08.120
Super basic.

20:09.280 --> 20:10.840
Go with me if you want to 1 John chapter two,

20:10.840 --> 20:11.840
1 John two.

20:12.200 --> 20:16.120
While you're turning, I'm going to read to you from Titus chapter 3 verse 9. The Bible reads,

20:16.120 --> 20:23.480
but avoid foolish questions and genealogies and contentions and strivings about the law,

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for they are unprofitable and vain. Listen to this, a man that is inherited after the first

20:29.560 --> 20:37.480
and second admonition reject knowing that he that is such is subverted and sinneth being condemned

20:37.480 --> 20:39.100
of himself the Bible says.

20:39.400 --> 20:41.400
And this applies to church fathers.

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You read about a church father, he's saying right things, but then he says some really bad stuff.

20:46.400 --> 20:49.200
Oh, I'm done with this guy. Oh, done.

20:50.040 --> 20:53.460
Oh, not interested. Oh, he baptizes babies. I'm not interested.

20:53.460 --> 20:56.340
Oh, he's encouraging others to baptize babies. Not interested.

20:56.340 --> 20:58.920
Oh, I hear Catholic stuff in here. Not interested.

20:59.780 --> 21:04.320
Oh, but if you read Catholic stuff, doesn't that mean that maybe the Catholic Church was the first church?

21:05.500 --> 21:08.700
No, they're just some of the first heretical churches that existed.

21:08.700 --> 21:09.700
Amen.

21:09.700 --> 21:10.700
Okay.

21:10.700 --> 21:13.220
Well, how do you know that?

21:13.220 --> 21:16.420
Well, how about the fact that the Bible doesn't talk about Catholicism?

21:16.420 --> 21:17.420
Right.

21:17.420 --> 21:20.380
Yeah, but church history.

21:20.380 --> 21:21.380
Here's my church history.

21:21.380 --> 21:22.380
Amen.

21:22.380 --> 21:26.580
You know, it starts off somewhere maybe in Matthew chapter 15 or 16.

21:26.580 --> 21:29.900
You can see it explicitly laid out in the book of Acts.

21:29.900 --> 21:30.900
That's what we need right there.

21:30.900 --> 21:31.000
you

21:31.500 --> 21:34.000
Yeah, but we were talking about something else though.

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Something outside of Bible.

21:35.340 --> 21:37.680
Why do you need something outside of the Bible?

21:37.680 --> 21:41.500
When you have clearly, God spent so much time putting a Bible

21:41.500 --> 21:44.540
for you together, 66 books to instruct you

21:44.540 --> 21:46.860
in the ways of righteousness and how to administrate

21:46.860 --> 21:48.300
a local New Testament church.

21:48.300 --> 21:50.300
Why do we need some outside source

21:50.300 --> 21:51.860
in order to validate that?

21:51.860 --> 21:53.140
OK.

21:53.140 --> 21:54.460
Look at 1 John 2, 27.

21:55.500 --> 21:59.060
Now this is my favorite verse to use when Catholics say,

21:59.060 --> 22:02.300
you think you have the authority to interpret the Bible?

22:02.300 --> 22:06.500
Who gave you the authority to interpret the Bible?

22:06.500 --> 22:10.260
What gives you the authority to rightly divide the word of truth like that?

22:10.260 --> 22:12.100
Well, 1 John 2.27.

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But the anointing which he have received of him abideth in you,

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and ye need not that any man teach you.

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Who gave you the...apparently the Holy Spirit that dwells within me gives me the authority to do so.

22:26.400 --> 22:31.400
And again, you quote this to a Catholic and they'll say, well, you know, so you think you're interpreting correctly?

22:31.400 --> 22:33.400
Why don't you just address what the Bible actually says?

22:35.400 --> 22:41.400
He's saying here that the Holy Spirit, which is the anointing, is referring to the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.

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He abides in us, he leads us into truth, and we need not that any man teach us.

22:48.600 --> 22:56.400
We don't need a centralized institution in this world, in Rome, to teach us what the Bible actually says.

22:56.500 --> 23:04.280
He says but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things and is truth and is no lie and even as it hath taught you

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Ye shall abide in him so according to the Bible the Holy Spirit of God is sufficient to lead us into all truth now

23:11.420 --> 23:17.740
Obviously there are instances where you know you have a babe in Christ and they can't understand everything of the Bible

23:17.820 --> 23:24.400
Which is why God provides local New Testament churches, and he gave some apostles and some prophets and some pastors and some

23:24.500 --> 23:30.040
some teachers for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ later on he

23:30.040 --> 23:34.360
Says that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro carried about with every wind of doctrine

23:34.940 --> 23:39.220
You say well isn't that an institution yes, but they have to align though

23:39.980 --> 23:45.160
Meaning what the pastor is saying from the pulpit has to align with the Holy Spirit showing you from the Bible

23:45.740 --> 23:48.560
If they don't either something wrong with you or something wrong with me

23:49.800 --> 23:54.100
But here's the great thing, you know, let's just say, let's just pretend there's something wrong with me

23:54.100 --> 23:58.300
and you're like, well this is contradicting with what the Bible actually says, then go somewhere else.

24:00.300 --> 24:03.800
And guess what? Someone can go somewhere else and you're still a safe person.

24:04.600 --> 24:07.600
There's no teaching that if you leave this church you lose your salvation.

24:08.300 --> 24:11.500
There's no teaching that if you leave the one true church...

24:11.700 --> 24:18.180
There's no salvation outside of the one true church if you don't participate in the mass here if you don't participate and what's going

24:18.180 --> 24:20.420
On here, then you're not really saved. That's heresy

24:21.940 --> 24:28.140
The Bible tells us that he gives us these spiritual leaders to teach us all these things and that we can prove all things

24:28.140 --> 24:32.580
Hold fast with that which is good according to the Holy Spirit that abides within us

24:32.860 --> 24:35.820
Isaiah chapter 8 you don't have to turn there go to Acts 20 if you would

24:36.100 --> 24:39.160
Acts chapter 20 Isaiah chapter 8 in verse 27

24:40.700 --> 24:46.860
Excuse me verse 20 says to the law and to the testimony if they speak not according to this word

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It is because there is no light in them the bible says

24:52.220 --> 24:53.340
Okay

24:53.340 --> 24:56.540
If they're not speaking according to this word according to the bible

24:57.100 --> 24:59.660
It is because there is no light in them. Keep in mind, you know

24:59.660 --> 25:02.560
No prophecy of the scripture is given of any private interpretation

25:03.100 --> 25:06.220
You know, holy men of God speak as they're removed by the Holy Ghost.

25:06.220 --> 25:10.040
We can clearly see what the Bible tells us and judge it for ourselves.

25:10.040 --> 25:13.480
So why is it important for us not to reference church fathers?

25:13.480 --> 25:17.860
Well number one, because it causes people to undermine the Bible.

25:17.860 --> 25:18.860
Okay?

25:18.860 --> 25:23.860
You know, people have this idea that if a group of people all agree together on one

25:23.860 --> 25:27.740
doctrine it must be true regardless if the Bible explicitly teaches the opposite.

25:27.740 --> 25:28.740
And that's not right my friends.

25:28.740 --> 25:30.140
That is not right.

25:30.600 --> 25:36.880
Okay, it's not right to just go with the multitude and just because a bunch of people online believe it and look

25:37.080 --> 25:42.080
Definitely don't just go with the multitude just because people on Instagram everyone on Instagram believes it. Oh

25:42.880 --> 25:47.400
There's so many people that believe this doctrine or it must be true. That's not the way you test things

25:47.780 --> 25:50.700
You test it based upon the Word of God and look folks

25:51.160 --> 25:56.560
At the end of the day, there's instances where few people believe the actual truth on things

25:57.500 --> 25:59.500
And you might be the minority.

25:59.500 --> 26:00.800
Doesn't mean you're wrong.

26:00.800 --> 26:02.500
It means everyone else is wrong.

26:02.500 --> 26:03.500
Okay?

26:03.500 --> 26:04.500
So how do you know? Well, how about this?

26:04.500 --> 26:06.500
Broad is the way that lead to destruction.

26:06.500 --> 26:08.000
Many there be which go in their app.

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The vast majority of people in this world are going to believe in false gospel.

26:11.000 --> 26:20.500
Okay, and so it's important for us to recognize this that the Bible needs to remain the supreme authority in our personal lives and in the life of our church

26:20.580 --> 26:27.220
Okay, you're in acts 20 point number two as to why we should not reference Church Fathers is that it implies

26:27.300 --> 26:30.560
Listen to this it implies proximity to the Apostles

26:30.980 --> 26:34.460
equals accuracy in doctrine and in practice

26:35.100 --> 26:39.660
So people were like, yeah, but these guys were there from the start though.

26:39.660 --> 26:48.500
Like these church fathers, they're from 95 AD, 100 AD, 200, even 300 AD, and here you

26:48.500 --> 26:52.500
are in your little storefront office building.

26:52.500 --> 26:59.140
Pastor Bob and his little office building, little proddy, and you think you have authority.

26:59.140 --> 27:00.900
These guys were actually there.

27:01.000 --> 27:07.000
What are they implying? They're implying that because they're so close to the inception of New Testament churches

27:07.000 --> 27:12.000
that automatically equals accuracy. That automatically equals authority.

27:12.000 --> 27:16.000
That automatically means, don't question what they're saying because what they're saying is actually true.

27:16.000 --> 27:18.000
They were there! Okay?

27:18.000 --> 27:24.000
Now, what are they also implying? They're implying that, you know, someone can be there

27:24.000 --> 27:28.000
and it doesn't matter if they go apostate, because many of them did, by the way.

27:29.600 --> 27:37.480
Churches went apostate Christians went apostate people in the for even before the Bible was finished people went apostate

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You know what that's showing me. It doesn't matter how close someone is to the Apostles

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They can become heretics too. Look at Acts 20 verse 27

27:47.160 --> 27:50.080
For I've not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God

27:51.100 --> 27:53.120
And I want you to notice this in verse 28.

27:53.120 --> 27:57.120
Take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock

27:57.120 --> 27:59.720
over the which the Holy Ghost had made you overseers

27:59.720 --> 28:01.840
to feed the church of God which he had purchased

28:01.840 --> 28:02.680
with his own blood.

28:02.680 --> 28:04.400
So what is the apostle Paul doing here?

28:04.400 --> 28:09.400
He's actually addressing a group of pastors from Ephesus.

28:10.400 --> 28:13.200
Ephesus had many elders, elders is a pastor.

28:13.200 --> 28:14.800
These are terms that are used interchangeably.

28:14.800 --> 28:17.640
You have elder, you have pastor, you have bishop.

28:17.640 --> 28:21.020
These are all used to describe the shepherd, okay?

28:21.020 --> 28:23.000
And he's basically addressing them,

28:23.000 --> 28:24.680
he's instructing them because he's not gonna see them

28:24.680 --> 28:27.920
anymore, and he's telling them, hey, you need to make sure

28:27.920 --> 28:29.040
that you take heed unto yourselves,

28:29.040 --> 28:30.100
and what does he mean by that?

28:30.200 --> 28:33.440
He's basically referring to the fact that they need to make sure that they're giving

28:33.440 --> 28:37.080
attendance to reading to exhortation to doctrine, right?

28:37.080 --> 28:41.400
That they're giving heed to spiritual matters and that they're feeding the flock of God.

28:41.400 --> 28:46.120
In other words, they need to make sure that they're nourishing up their congregation

28:46.120 --> 28:47.720
in the Word of God.

28:47.720 --> 28:48.720
Why?

28:48.720 --> 28:49.720
Why is that?

28:49.720 --> 28:50.720
Verse 29.

28:50.720 --> 28:51.560
I know this.

28:52.000 --> 28:58.720
that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock."

28:59.360 --> 29:04.240
So he says, look, you need to make sure you educate the churches, teach them doctrine,

29:04.240 --> 29:08.640
feed the flock of God, show them what the Bible says. Why? Because when I'm gone,

29:09.520 --> 29:14.000
false prophets are going to come here and they're going to try to devour and eat up

29:14.000 --> 29:17.760
the congregation of God. How? By teaching them false doctrine.

29:18.800 --> 29:25.360
by misleading them, by teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

29:25.360 --> 29:28.160
You know the apostle Paul said in 1st Timothy chapter 4,

29:28.160 --> 29:32.240
that in the latter times, you know the spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times

29:32.240 --> 29:37.520
some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.

29:37.520 --> 29:40.400
So he's like I know that when I'm gone, once the leader's gone...

29:40.700 --> 29:47.100
There's going to be a vacuum and you're going to have false prophets coming into the congregations trying to mislead people.

29:47.100 --> 29:49.100
Here's the kicker, verse 30.

29:49.100 --> 29:57.500
Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them.

29:57.500 --> 29:59.500
Isn't that interesting?

29:59.500 --> 30:05.500
So he says there, not only will people seek to infiltrate, let me just tell you, people have already infiltrated.

30:06.100 --> 30:09.300
In fact, you're not only going to have people coming out from the outside,

30:09.300 --> 30:12.500
you're going to have people being raised up from the inside,

30:12.500 --> 30:16.500
who apostatize to draw away disciples after them.

30:16.500 --> 30:19.220
And look folks, you know, I don't believe for a second

30:19.220 --> 30:22.260
that the Roman Catholic Church was the first church

30:22.260 --> 30:24.900
that Jesus Christ established for a second.

30:25.400 --> 30:28.560
And this is why I'm not a reformer.

30:28.560 --> 30:29.760
This is why I'm not a Protestant.

30:29.760 --> 30:30.260
Why?

30:30.260 --> 30:32.240
Because they believe, the vast majority of them

30:32.240 --> 30:36.760
believe that the Roman Catholic Church started off good

30:36.760 --> 30:38.160
and then deviated from the faith.

30:38.160 --> 30:40.280
It's like, what?

30:40.280 --> 30:42.640
They were good at one point.

30:42.640 --> 30:43.800
They started off right.

30:43.800 --> 30:45.760
It was the true church at one point,

30:45.760 --> 30:48.400
but now they got into Mariology and all this stuff.

30:48.400 --> 30:50.920
They were not the true church.

30:50.920 --> 30:51.800
They were never good.

30:52.600 --> 30:57.240
Now, here's my theory on it, and I can't be dogmatic about it, but here's my theory

30:57.240 --> 31:03.640
based upon what the Bible teaches is that you have people who went apostate from local biblical

31:03.640 --> 31:09.240
New Testament churches and then essentially branched off to becoming the Roman Catholic Church.

31:10.800 --> 31:18.160
During that particular time you have the Roman pagan gods and they are basically intermingling with them

31:18.400 --> 31:26.440
Using the same statues using the same temples just pretty much amalgamating Christianity with paganism, and that's why you have Roman Catholicism

31:27.200 --> 31:32.400
Okay, these are people who are coming up out of the congregations, which is why you have Rome

31:32.560 --> 31:37.840
There is a church at Rome. This is why people the Church Fathers are writing to Corinth

31:37.840 --> 31:42.920
They're writing to these churches that existed during the first century AD because these are people who have apostatized

31:42.920 --> 31:49.160
Oh, what gives you the right to say that these people want to apostate because what they write and what they say is contrary

31:49.160 --> 31:51.840
To this right here. This is the ultimate letter

31:53.600 --> 31:55.000
You're like, what about this letter?

31:55.000 --> 31:57.840
Ultimate letter right here.

31:57.840 --> 32:00.360
This is the standard.

32:00.360 --> 32:03.520
So he specifically says, grievous wolves will enter in.

32:03.520 --> 32:06.240
And look, God forbid, but it might happen to our church one

32:06.240 --> 32:07.120
day.

32:07.120 --> 32:11.120
And when I say one day, I don't mean in the near future.

32:11.120 --> 32:14.320
If the Lord tarries, let's just say 100 years from now,

32:14.320 --> 32:17.520
it's very possible that First Works Baptist Church can

32:17.520 --> 32:19.160
become an apostate church.

32:19.160 --> 32:20.200
So how do you know that?

32:20.200 --> 32:21.300
That's what happened to Ephesus.

32:22.400 --> 32:26.960
So it happened to Smyrna, it happened to Corinth, it happened to a lot of the churches.

32:27.680 --> 32:31.760
Why? Because people come from the outside, people are raised up from the inside,

32:31.760 --> 32:38.080
people apostatize, they teach false doctrine and lead the church into heresy.

32:38.080 --> 32:42.480
Proximity to the apostles does not mean that they're accurate in everything.

32:42.900 --> 32:50.600
Okay, it doesn't equal accuracy in doctrine and in practice turn with me if you would to Ephesians chapter 2 go to Ephesians chapter 2

32:52.140 --> 32:53.700
Ephesians chapter 2

32:55.400 --> 32:58.820
Forgive me if I speak fast, but it's because I'm passionate about this

32:58.820 --> 33:05.260
I'm angry about this and I think this should be important to Christians and we need to get back to

33:05.800 --> 33:08.820
Making sure that we reference the Word of God first

33:09.320 --> 33:13.420
Okay, and disregard everything else, especially if it contradicts the Word of God

33:14.120 --> 33:18.280
Second Thessalonians 2 1 says now we beseech your brethren by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ

33:18.280 --> 33:22.240
You're in Ephesians 2 and by our gathering together unto him

33:22.800 --> 33:29.600
That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word,

33:29.600 --> 33:35.880
listen to this, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand."

33:35.880 --> 33:42.040
So the Apostle Paul specifically saying if you get a letter from us, you know, sign the

33:42.040 --> 33:45.620
Apostle Paul, sign the disciple of the Apostle Paul.

33:45.620 --> 33:48.840
If it contradicts what I've previously taught, disregard it.

33:50.500 --> 33:52.500
Just because I was friends with someone doesn't mean anything.

33:53.500 --> 33:56.700
And look, I get it, there's instances where someone is referenced,

33:57.100 --> 33:59.300
and you know, people are like, oh, you're just going to disregard this guy?

33:59.300 --> 34:00.800
This guy was a disciple of John.

34:01.900 --> 34:04.000
This guy was a disciple of the Apostle John.

34:04.100 --> 34:07.200
But then you look into it, it's just like, this guy heard a sermon from John.

34:08.400 --> 34:10.100
Like, he might have heard him in person,

34:10.900 --> 34:12.000
but they probably weren't friends.

34:12.000 --> 34:16.700
It's just like, 100 years later, someone comes out and they're like, oh, there's this writing.

34:17.100 --> 34:22.860
There's this comment, there's this video, and it's a guy who was a follower of Wild Olive Tree.

34:22.860 --> 34:24.860
He followed him on Instagram.

34:24.860 --> 34:27.860
They're super close.

34:27.860 --> 34:31.860
And Wild Olive Tree even liked one of his memes.

34:31.860 --> 34:35.860
They must have been like this, you know what I mean?

34:35.860 --> 34:37.860
So this guy must be true or something.

34:37.860 --> 34:39.860
Proximity doesn't equal accuracy.

34:39.860 --> 34:41.860
Okay?

34:41.860 --> 34:43.860
And sometimes we like a post.

34:44.800 --> 34:48.480
Because it's funny, but then later on you actually click on the account and you're like,

34:48.480 --> 34:50.280
oh dang, this guy's a heretic.

34:50.280 --> 34:52.040
I didn't realize that.

34:52.040 --> 34:54.600
You know, because you're just doom scrolling, you know.

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Just doom scrolling and then you see something funny.

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I've accidentally liked the Catholic Post, believe it or not,

34:59.000 --> 35:02.000
because it was a funny meme.

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And I was just like, I went back, I'm like, whoa, this is scary.

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Like, I can't believe I did this.

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Did you feel, I took a shower after, you know, it's just like, you just don't feel right.

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But it's the same thing, you know, back then, oh, this person heard this John preach or something like that, or he followed John.

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He was one of the people who went to the church and automatically, oh, proximity must be true, must be accurate.

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Not true. Not true at all.

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Now, how should we judge these things? Look at Ephesians 2 verse 19.

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It says, Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God.

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and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the

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chief cornerstone.

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So when the Bible talks about the foundation of the apostles and prophets, it's not the

35:54.940 --> 35:59.400
rapture or anything taking place, it's a train, okay, they're just unloading.

35:59.400 --> 36:03.280
When it talks about the foundation of the apostles and prophets, there's two ways to

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interpret what this means.

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The first interpretation could mean that this is talking about the fact that the apostles laid a doctrinal foundation for New Testament churches, right?

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They basically went to the churches, this is how we're supposed to do things, they laid the foundation, taught them how to start churches and so forth, and there you have it.

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Which is a good interpretation. That would be a valid explanation of this.

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Another explanation and I will lead more towards this one would be that the foundation of the apostles and prophets is

36:33.200 --> 36:35.200
referring to Jesus Christ

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Because he is the foundation

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Right first Corinthians chapter 3 for other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid which is Jesus Christ

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In other words if you are a Christian or if you claim to be a Christian you better make sure you have the right salvation

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at the foundation

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Salvation by grace through faith. If you don't, anything you build upon it is completely faulty.

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It does not matter. It does not count in the eyes of God.

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Because you've got to make sure you have the right foundation, which is Jesus Christ.

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And that is a valid interpretation of this.

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Because he says the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, the prophets referring to the Old Testament,

37:14.800 --> 37:19.800
they were all built upon the foundation of their faith in Christ.

37:19.800 --> 37:21.200
Understand?

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So Jesus Christ is the foundation for salvation.

37:25.940 --> 37:26.440
Right?

37:26.440 --> 37:27.500
Everyone agree?

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He's the foundation for everything else

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and needs to be built upon the right salvation,

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the right gospel, the right doctrine of justification.

37:37.260 --> 37:40.780
But then it says this, Jesus Christ himself

37:40.780 --> 37:42.780
being the chief cornerstone.

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And what does that refer to?

37:45.320 --> 37:47.760
A cornerstone is the first stone that

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is laid that essentially offers the pattern for every other

37:51.680 --> 37:54.760
stone that comes thereafter.

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So Jesus is not only the foundation for salvation,

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he's also the one that we're supposed

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to reference thereafter on how we build upon that foundation.

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So if there's a stone that's a little off,

38:08.080 --> 38:08.300
Thanks for watching!

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We look at it like, oh, this doesn't match up the cornerstone.

38:11.740 --> 38:14.420
Do it again.

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Every single stone that is laid thereafter

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upon this foundation that claims to be laid upon the foundation

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of Christ needs to be examined in light of the cornerstone,

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meaning does it contradict Jesus Christ and his writings

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and the Bible?

38:31.700 --> 38:37.860
Right, so in other words, you know if we look at someone who claims to be built on the foundation of Jesus, okay?

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Given now, what is he building?

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Let's look at the building not the physical building

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Talk about the doctrinal building the practical building thereafter

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Let's see what they're building if it doesn't match up with the cornerstone and needs to be disregarded

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Completely disregarded

38:57.400 --> 39:01.320
Looks like a pyramid needs to be disregarded.

39:01.320 --> 39:05.160
Looks like a temple, a Mayan temple needs to go.

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Oh, but they claim to be built on the foundation.

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Yeah, but they're not following the chief cornerstone, though.

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Because Jesus Christ, he says here

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that we're built upon that foundation of salvation,

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but also the chief cornerstone.

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We need to make sure that everything aligns up

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with the Bible, because Jesus is the word of God.

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OK.

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It says in whom all the building fitly framed together

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Groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord and whom ye also are build it together for an habitation of God through the spirit

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What's the point? You know?

39:37.940 --> 39:43.020
Referencing church fathers is a fool's errand because many of the church fathers don't align with the cornerstone

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You look at what they read. Oh, yeah justification by faith. Okay, check. Hold on a second. It's just baptized babies

39:49.200 --> 39:50.900
Ain't nothing about that in the Bible

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This building needs to be disreported.

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You know how old this building is?

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I don't care about your cathedral.

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I'm not impressed by buildings.

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I'm not impressed by the outward adorning of the sepulcher that

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looks beautiful on the outside but within are

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full of dead men's bones.

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I'm not interested in that.

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I'm interested if the building actually lines up

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with the cornerstone.

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Does it line up with what the word of God teaches?

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And this is how we're supposed to judge things, my friends.

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Don't judge it based upon popularity.

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Don't judge it based upon how many sermons,

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and how many books, and how many dissertations,

40:29.340 --> 40:33.140
how much acclamation they receive from mainstream Christianity.

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We need to judge it based upon the cornerstone.

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Does it match up with what the Bible actually says?

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And you know what people seem to forget?

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that just because something is close to the first century AD, automatically that means that they can't go apostate.

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Remember in Revelation 2?

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Jesus is like threatening the church at Ephesus.

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He's like, repent or I'll take away your candlestick.

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This is before the Bible's even finished.

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He's already threatening churches and saying, if you don't fix this, I'm going to remove your candlestick,

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and basically they're not going to be a church anymore.

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And you know, eventually it's possible that like Ephesus did repent and they got it right.

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But let me just tell you right now, that candlestick eventually was removed.

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Why? Because you can go over there right now. That's not a biblical church.

41:22.400 --> 41:28.840
You can go to Ephesus and see the church at Ephesus and you know these people who claim that you know

41:28.840 --> 41:34.040
This is the original church of Ephesus in Asia Minor what you see in the Bible, you know

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But it doesn't match up with the cornerstone. So it needs to be disregarded and look folks

41:37.600 --> 41:40.460
That's why it's important for us not to emphasize relics

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But the relic though this is where baby Jesus was born. That's a hole that some Jews cut out in the wall

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In order to fool dumb Christians into thinking that's where Jesus was born to make some to make some money

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That's all it is and I'm not saying all the biblical sites there are not the legitimate ones that you visit

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But let me just tell you, you know, if a Jews telling you that

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You're just kind of like, I don't know.

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This is a splinter of the original cross.

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Just like, I don't know.

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How many of those you've given out?

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This is the original holy water.

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Did you say holy?

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OK, yeah, I'm done.

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It doesn't fit the cornerstone.

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This thing is holy water.

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Oh, man, this is the original building.

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Who cares?

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The building holds no supernatural capability.

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You come in, especially this building.

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Nothing supernatural about this physical building here.

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That which is supernatural is sitting in the pews, hey man?

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You know, that which is supernatural is the natural that has been given the supernatural, which is the new man.

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This building doesn't have the new man.

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Okay, there is no new man in this building.

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It's a physical building where we're supposed to meet.

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And so, you know, it's important for us to realize like, oh man, and look, is it cool to go to biblical sites?

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Yeah, it's cool to go to, I want to go to Cyprus, okay, in Greece. I don't really want to go to Israel, just be honest with you.

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You know, it's not really my thing. You know, I know there's people that are like, oh, I want to go to Israel and see all the biblical sites and it's just going to be so great.

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Why? There's all kinds of Christ-rejecting Jews there who don't like, you might get spit upon.

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You know, and it's not going to be a pleasant, and all they're doing is just, you know, they're still greedy, a filthy lucre

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Trying to make money off of you because you believe that this pile of sand has something to do with the bible

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And again, i'm sure there's biblical sites there that are legitimate or whatever, but i'm not buying into that's where jesus was born

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I'm just not going to buy into that

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And you go in there. It's just like

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ultra-orthodox

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Right, it's just like this is where jesus like why does it look so pagan?

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I don't know, people are offended at that.

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Catholics have this tendency to just honor,

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literally, an amputated hand.

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Like, this is the hand of Jude.

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We're talking about grave robbers here.

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What the heck?

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Someone literally dug up this body?

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That's morbid.

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And it's just like, oh, and then you bring that up,

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and you're like, well, what about Elisha?

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His body had power.

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And once they put the man's body on top of him, it revived.

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No one's come back to life because of Jude's hand.

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The only thing that's really amazing about that hand is how many people believe that it's actually supernatural.

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The only power that it has is the power of disillusion.

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Okay?

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Or excuse me, delusion.

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You know, it has the power of delusion, it has the power to deceive, it has the power to lie,

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and to cause people to believe that it has some sort of capability from God.

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You know, all the skull of Mary Magdalene.

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It's crazy.

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And so just because someone is close to a skull, to a grave, to a building, to the apostles,

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doesn't mean they're accurate. Okay? The Bible says in Colossians chapter 2,

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you don't have to turn there, but go with me for a word to Acts 15, Acts chapter 15.

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Acts chapter 15, I'm going to read to you from Colossians 2 verse 8 says beware

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Lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit

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after the tradition of men

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after the rudiments of the world and not after

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Christ what is he saying if someone is trying to lead you away from the cornerstone you need to be aware of that

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Beware of the tradition of men.

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Don't assume these things as being authoritative, supernatural,

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if it's not cut exactly like the cornerstone.

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So, point number two is that proximity to the apostles

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does not equal accuracy in doctrine and in practice.

46:12.100 --> 46:14.980
This is why we should not reference church fathers, okay?

46:14.980 --> 46:18.020
Number three is that if you reference church fathers,

46:18.020 --> 46:20.820
it can weaken your doctrinal position.

46:21.900 --> 46:26.020
It can weaken your doctrinal position when you reference church fathers

46:26.020 --> 46:32.460
Why because if you're referencing them you esteem them and they're gonna say something different than you and they're gonna say it better than you

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They're gonna use all these terminologies and so many people are gonna agree with them. You know what's gonna cause you to do

46:38.840 --> 46:44.420
Compromise on your doctrinal positions. That's a fact. Okay now look folks

46:45.500 --> 46:48.540
Even before the Bible was canonized you had Apostles

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Listen to me, there is apostles who are wrong.

46:52.600 --> 46:53.600
Amen.

46:53.600 --> 46:54.600
Amen.

46:54.600 --> 46:56.600
Yes, that's true.

46:56.600 --> 46:59.600
And, you know, I can't believe you said that.

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It's true.

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Because they're fallible men.

47:02.600 --> 47:03.600
Amen.

47:03.600 --> 47:04.600
Let me give you an example.

47:04.600 --> 47:06.600
James, the brother of Jesus.

47:06.600 --> 47:09.600
I'm talking about the half brother of Jesus.

47:09.600 --> 47:12.600
Talk about close proximity.

47:12.600 --> 47:14.600
Bro grew up with him.

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He grew up with the Lord Jesus Christ.

47:17.700 --> 47:19.700
He's his younger brother.

47:19.700 --> 47:21.700
You know?

47:21.700 --> 47:23.700
And you know, it's likely, let me say this, it's likely

47:23.700 --> 47:25.700
because they share

47:25.700 --> 47:27.700
the same mother,

47:27.700 --> 47:29.700
it's likely

47:29.700 --> 47:31.700
that he might have kind of resembled him a little bit.

47:31.700 --> 47:33.700
It's very likely, right?

47:33.700 --> 47:35.700
That's how it is sometimes.

47:35.700 --> 47:37.700
You know, I have half siblings, some of them

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look like me.

47:38.800 --> 47:43.360
I'm the better version, but you know they kind of look like me. There's some resemblance, right?

47:44.000 --> 47:48.160
It's likely that he did. He's close. And in fact, he is the pastor

47:48.840 --> 47:52.400
James was the pastor of the first church in Jerusalem a

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Church that ran like five thousand six thousand people like a large church people esteemed him

47:59.040 --> 48:01.440
He was but you know what he was wrong in a lot of ways

48:02.000 --> 48:07.600
In fact, he was responsible for causing the Church of Jerusalem to only reach Jews.

48:07.600 --> 48:10.640
Now, no one questions that because it's James.

48:10.640 --> 48:13.080
Oh, but that was James.

48:13.080 --> 48:14.080
So what?

48:14.080 --> 48:19.480
He's disobeying the Lord's command to reach all people.

48:19.480 --> 48:22.920
To go into Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the other most parts of the world, the Church

48:22.920 --> 48:25.440
of Jerusalem is primarily reaching Jews.

48:26.200 --> 48:32.640
What's wrong with that? You know well first of all I'm I'm I'm against just having a church of just one particular ethnic group

48:32.640 --> 48:34.640
I talked about that last time right?

48:34.760 --> 48:39.420
But you say why because the Bible commands us to go everywhere and to reach everybody okay?

48:40.480 --> 48:47.240
But also when you're only reaching Jews the likelihood of heresy infiltrating church increases

48:47.800 --> 48:50.400
And the church at Jerusalem became judaist

48:51.700 --> 48:58.900
Now, it's interesting over the fact that, you know, when are they first called Christians?

48:58.900 --> 48:59.900
In Jerusalem?

48:59.900 --> 49:01.780
No, in Antioch.

49:01.780 --> 49:04.660
Antioch came after the Church of Jerusalem.

49:04.660 --> 49:07.120
I mean, that has to say something there.

49:07.120 --> 49:10.020
So their first calling is like, why are they first called Christians there?

49:10.020 --> 49:13.580
There's Christians in Jerusalem at the Church of Jerusalem.

49:13.580 --> 49:15.220
They got the apostles there.

49:15.220 --> 49:16.540
It all started there.

49:16.540 --> 49:17.540
Why aren't they called Christians there?

49:17.540 --> 49:19.220
It's probably because they've been Judaized.

49:20.300 --> 49:28.300
Influenced by Jews, Pharisees are there, they're teaching heresy, they've gone astray in a lot of ways.

49:29.300 --> 49:35.300
Now why don't we use him as an example of what to do? I'll tell you why, because he's clearly disobeying the Word of God.

49:35.700 --> 49:38.700
By allowing these people into the church. Look at Acts 15 verse 1 it says,

49:38.700 --> 49:41.300
And certain men which came down from Judea,

49:41.300 --> 49:43.200
Taught the brethren, and said,

49:43.200 --> 49:47.500
Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

49:47.500 --> 49:48.700
So that's damnable heresy.

49:50.000 --> 49:51.700
It's weird, it's like,

49:51.700 --> 49:54.200
You guys gotta be circumcised if you want to be saved.

49:54.200 --> 49:55.700
And it's like, what about my wife?

49:56.700 --> 49:58.700
How's it work for like the girls?

49:59.400 --> 50:02.000
But this is what they're teaching. Now these are damnable heretics, right?

50:02.500 --> 50:05.860
verse 2 says when therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and

50:05.860 --> 50:12.980
disputation with them they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain other of them

50:12.980 --> 50:18.260
should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. Skip down to verse 5.

50:18.260 --> 50:22.500
But there arose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed

50:23.000 --> 50:30.320
Saying that it was needful to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses and the apostles and elders came together

50:30.320 --> 50:34.760
For to consider of this matter. So what do you have here? They're like these heretics come

50:34.760 --> 50:38.800
They're like hey if you want to be saved you got to be circumcised Paul Martin

50:38.800 --> 50:41.320
What let's go talk to James and them about this

50:41.840 --> 50:47.820
They get there. There's Pharisees in the church, and I want you to notice that it says which believed

50:48.560 --> 50:50.400
What does that mean means they're saved?

50:51.000 --> 50:53.960
Okay, they believe in the right salvation.

50:53.960 --> 50:57.340
And I don't know why these guys are talking.

50:57.340 --> 51:00.760
Like, I'm sorry, what'd you say, long rope?

51:00.760 --> 51:02.980
Like, you're not in this conversation.

51:02.980 --> 51:06.700
You still are like, you're still abiding by your, you know,

51:06.700 --> 51:08.420
you're still abiding by your old ways.

51:08.420 --> 51:10.420
You're yourself a Pharisee, but you believe.

51:10.600 --> 51:15.000
And they're coming up and they're saying, well, you know, it's needful to circumcise them.

51:15.000 --> 51:18.500
And what they're basically saying is like to believe, obviously, it's only by faith in Christ.

51:18.500 --> 51:25.400
But they're saying, but you should still circumcise them and command them to keep the law of Moses.

51:25.400 --> 51:28.000
But that's unlawful. It's not according to the Bible.

51:28.000 --> 51:33.100
No, they don't need to be circumcised. And no, they don't need to keep the law of Moses.

51:33.100 --> 51:37.800
This is something that's being imposed upon them through a Pharisee.

51:38.000 --> 51:44.720
who according to the Bible was saved but was off. Now James should have said, hey, no one asked you.

51:47.040 --> 51:52.400
Like, who asked you? You know, that's wrong. No, we're not going to do that. Tell them they

51:52.400 --> 51:57.360
don't have to get circumcised. They're good. That time has passed. You know, this is what the Bible

51:57.360 --> 52:03.680
says. Circumcision availeth nothing, neither uncircumcision. You know, this is what the word

52:03.680 --> 52:04.680
He was the leader.

52:06.400 --> 52:08.400
Skip down to verse 23.

52:08.400 --> 52:10.400
As the leader, that's what he should have said. Look at verse 23.

52:30.300 --> 52:37.600
It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, you know this council, they're getting a council together

52:37.600 --> 52:41.800
They're getting a little group together to discuss this matter

52:41.800 --> 52:45.500
To send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul

52:45.500 --> 52:48.700
Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

52:48.700 --> 52:54.000
We have sent them therefore Judas and Silas who shall also tell you the same things by mouth

52:54.300 --> 52:59.900
For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things

53:00.300 --> 53:07.440
That ye abstain from meats offered to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication

53:07.900 --> 53:11.980
From which you keep yourselves ye shall do well fare you well. So what's going on here?

53:12.620 --> 53:17.760
James hears this is like no we're not going to circumcise them, but we do need to do something about Gentiles

53:19.200 --> 53:23.960
So what James is doing is make he's making another set of rules for Gentiles

53:24.880 --> 53:28.680
Okay now abstain from fornication. Yeah, everyone has to abstain from fornication. What do you mean?

53:29.440 --> 53:31.440
Everyone has to abstain from blood. What are you talking about?

53:32.000 --> 53:37.000
Everyone has to abstain from idols. Why are these rules only being imposed upon the Gentiles as though?

53:37.000 --> 53:43.780
It's some sort of separate commandment for them. I'll tell you why it's because James is trying to compromise here to please his Jew buddies

53:44.640 --> 53:46.000
That's why he's doing it

53:46.500 --> 53:49.560
Okay, whereas this this shouldn't even be a conversation

53:50.340 --> 53:54.780
They're integrated to the New Covenant. This is the New Testament. This is what we have to do

53:54.780 --> 53:58.240
Now what is the point of this? The point is is that when you allow

53:59.220 --> 54:02.000
elders church fathers people of

54:02.520 --> 54:09.540
Reputation as the Apostle Paul called them in Galatians chapter 2 to have a voice to influence doctrine

54:09.540 --> 54:13.180
It tempts people to kind of compromise a little bit

54:14.000 --> 54:17.280
You know, we had a, there's a pastor recently

54:17.280 --> 54:20.080
who used to run with churches like ours,

54:20.080 --> 54:22.800
fundamental Baptist, and now he's getting

54:22.800 --> 54:25.760
all onto church history, he's getting into the church

54:25.760 --> 54:29.000
fathers, and now he's like, yeah, I mean, like,

54:29.000 --> 54:30.560
you know, Baptist, I would think if someone

54:30.560 --> 54:33.680
doesn't get baptized, you know, just kind of,

54:33.680 --> 54:35.840
you kind of wonder if they're saved or not, you know?

54:35.840 --> 54:38.320
It's kind of necessary that they have to get baptized

54:38.320 --> 54:39.720
to confirm that, what?

54:41.000 --> 54:46.600
And he's just like, you could see why they would believe these things in the past when you read their writings or whatever

54:47.240 --> 54:53.480
And he's talking to this Calvinist and the Calvinist literally gives the wrong interpretation of James 2. He's like, oh yeah faith

54:53.560 --> 54:55.560
works his dead being alone

54:55.800 --> 54:57.480
You know faith

54:57.480 --> 55:03.320
Works is a byproduct of faith all this nonsense all this workspace salvation and the pastor doesn't correct them at all

55:05.480 --> 55:07.960
He's just like yeah, you know like baptism, you know

55:08.200 --> 55:13.580
Would say you know if someone chooses they have the opportunity to be baptized and they don't just kind of question their salvation

55:13.580 --> 55:15.580
Well, what?

55:15.580 --> 55:18.460
Like do you think that guy's a hair? No, I know that he's a heretic

55:19.660 --> 55:21.660
Whether he saved or not

55:21.940 --> 55:23.940
Doesn't matter

55:24.100 --> 55:31.540
But that's what happens my friends when you get into church history the church fathers, you know what that means it's you start compromising

55:33.100 --> 55:37.580
Well, you know all these people believed you have to be baptized in order for salvation

55:37.580 --> 55:44.480
I don't agree together Baptist for salvation. Let me find some middle ground where I can appease both the Jew and the Gentile

55:44.580 --> 55:46.580
He's being like James

55:46.940 --> 55:51.580
Where he wants to placate both sides don't play Kate anybody serve the Lord Jesus Christ

55:52.540 --> 55:57.960
And if no one agrees with you, that's tough on them. So what you guys are all wrong case closed

55:59.600 --> 56:02.100
And look folks, when it comes to the subject of baptism,

56:02.100 --> 56:04.540
this is a major thing when it comes to church fathers.

56:04.540 --> 56:06.280
It's probably one of the main reasons

56:06.280 --> 56:07.940
I don't reference them at all.

56:08.820 --> 56:10.540
Because their belief on baptism.

56:10.540 --> 56:12.880
And you know we have people come to our church

56:12.880 --> 56:13.720
and they're like, well, you know,

56:13.720 --> 56:16.200
there's some good church fathers out there.

56:16.200 --> 56:17.800
You know, they're right.

56:17.800 --> 56:19.000
I'm right too though.

56:20.040 --> 56:21.040
You got me right here.

56:22.640 --> 56:23.840
He's right too.

56:23.840 --> 56:25.000
You got him right there.

56:25.920 --> 56:27.400
There's a bunch of people here who are right.

56:27.700 --> 56:29.700
In fact, a lot of ways we're more right than them.

56:31.380 --> 56:36.820
Oh, but it's just this guy 1500 years ago though. This guy 700 years ago. It's just so cool.

56:38.900 --> 56:42.740
Dude's wearing a dress and he's got a picture and a robe with the circle.

56:46.600 --> 56:48.600
He's not mogging.

56:48.600 --> 56:49.840
He's not a mugger.

56:52.200 --> 56:59.040
Justin Martyr in his book first apology chapter 61. This is someone who is addressed constantly in Bible colleges

56:59.560 --> 57:02.280
fundamental Baptist Bible colleges Justin Martyr

57:02.960 --> 57:07.560
He says then they are brought by us where there is water and are regenerated

57:08.160 --> 57:11.300
In the same manner in which we are we were ourselves

57:12.080 --> 57:17.880
Regenerated later in the same chapter. He says since at our birth we were born without our knowledge or choice

57:18.500 --> 57:23.000
by our parents coming together, and are brought up in bad habits and wicked training,

57:23.000 --> 57:27.400
in order that we may not remain the children of necessity and of ignorance,

57:27.400 --> 57:31.300
but may become the children of choice and knowledge, and may obtain in the water,

57:31.300 --> 57:34.500
listen to this, the remission of sins formerly committed.

57:37.100 --> 57:39.100
See ya, not interested.

57:39.100 --> 57:41.100
You're taking them out of context.

57:41.100 --> 57:43.100
Well, I guess it's good that we just have the Bible, huh?

57:43.100 --> 57:45.100
So we don't have to worry if we're taking them out of context.

57:45.100 --> 57:47.100
But the context seems pretty clear.

57:49.100 --> 57:53.100
May obtain, in the water, the remission of sins.

57:53.100 --> 57:55.100
Okay?

57:55.100 --> 57:59.100
Tertullian, another guy that fundamental Baptists often address on baptism,

57:59.100 --> 58:01.100
in chapter one, says, happy is our sacrament of water.

58:01.100 --> 58:03.100
Alright.

58:03.100 --> 58:04.700
Done.

58:05.000 --> 58:08.020
Calling things sacraments you're done not interested

58:08.680 --> 58:13.420
Happy is our sacrament of water in that by washing away the sins of our early blindness

58:13.940 --> 58:16.860
We are set free and admitted into eternal life

58:18.220 --> 58:20.220
He ain't saying that no more

58:21.320 --> 58:28.860
Surreal of Jerusalem says in lecture 3 section 9 through 10 if any man received not baptism he has not salvation

58:29.400 --> 58:34.280
Except only the martyrs saying that martyrs don't necessarily have to be baptized because they're martyrs

58:37.700 --> 58:42.360
Augustine now Augustine is a guy that people quote and look people fight over these people all the time

58:42.900 --> 58:49.820
Okay on the merits and forgiveness of sins and on the baptism of infants because even renewed parents beget children

58:50.140 --> 58:55.660
Not out of the first fruits of the renewed condition, but currently out of the remains of the old nature

58:57.000 --> 59:02.200
And the children who are thus the offspring of their parents remaining old nature and are born in sinful flesh

59:02.520 --> 59:09.980
Escape from the condemnation which is due to the old man by the sacrament of spiritual regeneration and renewal now. This is a consideration

59:11.160 --> 59:15.880
Which on account of the controversies that have arisen and may still arise on the subject

59:15.880 --> 59:21.640
We ought to keep in our view and memory that a full and perfect remission of sins takes place only in

59:22.260 --> 59:23.200
baptism

59:24.100 --> 59:31.400
Now this is why a lot of Protestants still believe in baptizing their babies even though they don't believe that baptism saves people.

59:31.400 --> 59:39.100
But there's a segment of mainstream Christianity out there that will say, well, you know, salvation is only by grace through faith alone, for sure.

59:39.100 --> 59:45.900
But baptism should also be instituted upon babies, not to save them, but to introduce them into the new covenant.

59:46.100 --> 59:52.420
Okay, and they give all these church father examples and all these people who talked about it, so they must be right

59:52.700 --> 59:56.660
Here's the problem with that though. There's no example of any baby

59:57.420 --> 59:59.420
Being baptized in the Bible

59:59.780 --> 01:00:04.540
Yeah, but there's examples of household. There's households in this world right now that have no babies

01:00:07.900 --> 01:00:11.820
There can be a household with no infants and no babies.

01:00:11.820 --> 01:00:16.060
That's a fact. And back then it was the same exact thing.

01:00:16.060 --> 01:00:20.220
Okay. And look, you know, if God wanted us to baptize our babies, He would

01:00:20.220 --> 01:00:24.220
explicitly put one of one being baptized. They have to

01:00:24.220 --> 01:00:27.180
infer that into the text because they're following their church

01:00:27.180 --> 01:00:28.000
fathers.

01:00:28.600 --> 01:00:30.600
And you know what? What happens?

01:00:30.600 --> 01:00:32.600
Fundamental Baptists are like, oh man, you know,

01:00:32.600 --> 01:00:35.100
Church fathers are doing this, so I can see why.

01:00:35.100 --> 01:00:37.600
Let me find some, let me just find a medium here.

01:00:37.600 --> 01:00:39.100
Let me find common ground.

01:00:39.100 --> 01:00:41.100
Let me just compromise a little bit.

01:00:41.100 --> 01:00:43.100
No, why don't you just save their heretics for believing

01:00:43.100 --> 01:00:45.100
that you have to baptize babies? How about that?

01:00:45.100 --> 01:00:47.100
Why don't you grow some stones,

01:00:48.100 --> 01:00:50.100
and actually call it out for what it is?

01:00:50.600 --> 01:00:58.240
Okay, why don't you stop trying to placate Catholics and wannabe Catholics known as Protestants and just say what the Bible says

01:00:59.000 --> 01:01:00.840
Stop trying to placate

01:01:00.840 --> 01:01:06.880
Heretics and false doctrine and actually side with what the Bible says baptism is only for those who are saved

01:01:07.900 --> 01:01:12.700
And you know what babies, they don't know how to profess Christ, they can't understand the gospel,

01:01:12.700 --> 01:01:17.020
they don't know how to make a profession of faith, and so therefore they're disqualified

01:01:17.020 --> 01:01:19.980
from baptism until they can come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

01:01:20.940 --> 01:01:27.980
Okay, go with me through it to Romans 11. Romans 11. I got 30 more minutes, I'm just kidding.

01:01:30.800 --> 01:01:36.300
What's the point here? The point is, there's no reason to reference Church Fathers, because we have the Word of God.

01:01:36.600 --> 01:01:39.320
God the Father we have God the Son we have God the Holy Spirit

01:01:39.720 --> 01:01:43.680
You know every single one of them told us to search the scriptures for in them

01:01:43.680 --> 01:01:48.540
You think you have eternal life and they are what's testify of me the Spirit of God is the Spirit of truth

01:01:48.540 --> 01:01:50.980
That brings into remembrance all things whatsoever

01:01:51.080 --> 01:01:55.760
We have heard of Jesus Christ God the Father is the one who enlightens us

01:01:55.760 --> 01:02:01.680
He helps us to understand through the preaching of God's Word it all goes back to the Word of God

01:02:02.600 --> 01:02:08.840
Not some church father who believe whatever and lastly here's a reason why you should not reference church fathers

01:02:08.840 --> 01:02:14.120
And that is because it places listen to me a geographical location as a place of authority

01:02:15.400 --> 01:02:17.960
Let me say that again. It places a

01:02:18.920 --> 01:02:23.100
Geographical location as a place of authority what I mean by that well

01:02:23.100 --> 01:02:29.000
We should listen to this because he was the first bishop. He was a bishop of Rome and Rome

01:02:29.700 --> 01:02:33.160
Was the place where a church was established according to the Bible?

01:02:33.980 --> 01:02:37.100
Okay, Romans 1 verse 7 says to all that be in Rome

01:02:37.460 --> 01:02:42.620
Beloved of God called to be saints grace to you in peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ

01:02:43.200 --> 01:02:47.720
So what is this? It's showing us that there were believers in Rome. There was a church in Rome

01:02:47.720 --> 01:02:52.360
They were teaching doctrine what they assert is that Clement and people thereafter

01:02:53.280 --> 01:02:59.980
Maintained the same faith that was established all the way back when the Bible was being written and the Apostle Paul's writing

01:02:59.980 --> 01:03:02.120
To the Romans in Romans chapter 1, okay

01:03:03.000 --> 01:03:09.320
So ergo, it must be a legitimate church and therefore that is the central place of worship and power

01:03:09.320 --> 01:03:13.720
and now you have the Roman Catholic Church, that's where it comes from.

01:03:13.720 --> 01:03:18.280
They can find all their spiritual ancestry all the way back to Rome.

01:03:18.280 --> 01:03:24.600
But let me just remind you of the warning that the Apostle Paul gave to Rome.

01:03:24.600 --> 01:03:26.120
Look at Romans 11 verse 20.

01:03:26.920 --> 01:03:29.560
Well, because of unbelief they were broken off referring to Jews.

01:03:30.500 --> 01:03:35.460
And thou standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear.

01:03:35.460 --> 01:03:42.500
For if God spare not the natural branches, take heed, lest he also spare not thee."

01:03:42.500 --> 01:03:48.420
What is he saying? Telling the Romans, hey, if this church goes apostate, you're getting broken off too.

01:03:48.420 --> 01:03:52.900
Doesn't matter if someone continues to put, you know, First Baptist Church of Rome.

01:03:53.700 --> 01:03:57.700
Doesn't matter if you claim to believe, doesn't matter if you started in the same building

01:03:57.700 --> 01:04:04.580
where the apostle Paul was writing to, if you get into heresy, if you get into apostasy,

01:04:04.580 --> 01:04:08.020
you, like the Jews, will be broken off.

01:04:08.020 --> 01:04:11.380
You know what happens to the church at Rome? It was broken off.

01:04:11.380 --> 01:04:15.700
It became a branch that was completely broken off. Now, they could be grafted in.

01:04:15.700 --> 01:04:19.460
If there's a church in Rome that believe in the right salvation, the right doctrine, they could be grafted in.

01:04:19.460 --> 01:04:20.900
But at the end of the day,

01:04:21.400 --> 01:04:25.400
That Roman Catholic Church is a broken off branch.

01:04:26.600 --> 01:04:30.640
Or it's simply a foreign rotten branch

01:04:30.640 --> 01:04:34.480
that has taken the place of a tree that once existed there

01:04:34.480 --> 01:04:35.920
that was an actual church.

01:04:37.000 --> 01:04:38.560
Go to John 4 and we're done.

01:04:38.560 --> 01:04:40.120
John chapter 4 and we're done.

01:04:41.880 --> 01:04:44.960
Don't place such an emphasis on geographical locations

01:04:44.960 --> 01:04:46.360
for spiritual matters.

01:04:47.000 --> 01:04:52.000
And I mean like, oh, this is where the original fill in the blank was.

01:04:52.000 --> 01:04:53.280
This must be a good place.

01:04:53.280 --> 01:04:56.320
Look folks, Bethel was a great place of worship.

01:04:56.320 --> 01:04:57.880
It meant the house of God, right?

01:04:57.880 --> 01:05:01.120
I mean, we're going through the book of Genesis studying Bethel.

01:05:01.120 --> 01:05:04.880
It is the house of God where God met with his people and the patriarchs.

01:05:04.880 --> 01:05:10.280
But by the time we get to Jeroboam and Rehoboam, it became a place of idolatry, became a place

01:05:10.280 --> 01:05:13.400
of paganism, became a place of devil worship.

01:05:13.400 --> 01:05:19.680
Even though it's called Bethel, which means House of God. That's where they worship golden calves. That's where they worship

01:05:20.200 --> 01:05:26.860
Devils, so it doesn't matter if that's where originally, you know, the House of God was is not where the House of God is anymore

01:05:27.200 --> 01:05:32.480
Look at John 4 verse 19, the woman saith unto him, sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

01:05:32.480 --> 01:05:39.520
Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men

01:05:39.520 --> 01:05:46.960
ought to worship. So what is she fixated on? She's fixated on a location. We say it's this mountain,

01:05:46.960 --> 01:05:53.440
you're saying it's Jerusalem. She's talking about geographical locations. Verse 21, Jesus sayeth unto

01:05:53.440 --> 01:05:54.680
to her woman?

01:05:55.500 --> 01:06:02.100
Believe me the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem

01:06:02.440 --> 01:06:07.880
Worship the Father ye worship you know not what we know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews

01:06:08.100 --> 01:06:14.300
The hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in

01:06:14.720 --> 01:06:21.400
Spirit and in truth for the Father seeketh such to worship him the Bible says so he's saying

01:06:22.200 --> 01:06:25.400
You're bringing up something that's not going to matter.

01:06:25.400 --> 01:06:27.900
And look, we know for a fact you can't worship in Jerusalem, right?

01:06:27.900 --> 01:06:31.000
I mean, you could, technically, because God is the Spirit,

01:06:31.000 --> 01:06:32.800
and you can worship in Spirit and in truth,

01:06:32.800 --> 01:06:36.300
but that's not where the house of God is.

01:06:36.300 --> 01:06:39.200
You don't get off a plane in Israel

01:06:39.200 --> 01:06:44.000
and just feel a sense of just the Spirit of God.

01:06:44.000 --> 01:06:47.100
Like, this is the biblical land, you know?

01:06:47.100 --> 01:06:49.300
Because now God calls it Sodom and Egypt.

01:06:50.000 --> 01:06:53.120
It's like gay. It's like super queer. It's gay. It's perverse

01:06:53.920 --> 01:06:56.280
Even though it's Jerusalem, even though it's Israel

01:06:56.680 --> 01:07:01.140
So the Lord is saying here it doesn't matter if you go to this mountain if you go to Jerusalem

01:07:01.400 --> 01:07:05.040
We're not looking for geographical locations to be able to worship God

01:07:05.240 --> 01:07:10.660
You know don't centralize something like that because at the end of the day we worship God in spirit and in truth

01:07:11.000 --> 01:07:15.940
So what's the point here? The point is, you know, yeah, there was a church at Rome, but not anymore

01:07:17.500 --> 01:07:20.340
And you shouldn't look, well, that's where the original church was.

01:07:20.340 --> 01:07:24.100
Paul was addressing that church, and then Peter took over,

01:07:24.100 --> 01:07:25.740
and that's where the seat of authority is.

01:07:25.740 --> 01:07:26.820
Not anymore, though.

01:07:26.820 --> 01:07:27.740
Not anymore.

01:07:27.740 --> 01:07:30.140
Same thing with the churches of Asia and so forth.

01:07:30.140 --> 01:07:31.700
What's the point?

01:07:31.700 --> 01:07:37.380
How about you actually spend more time referencing this?

01:07:37.380 --> 01:07:39.460
We need to raise up more Christians that are not lazy.

01:07:40.600 --> 01:07:45.720
And, you know, go into commentaries of church fathers to explain what the Bible says.

01:07:45.720 --> 01:07:50.840
Why don't you just go to the best commentator to ever exist, which is the Holy Spirit, and read the Word of God.

01:07:50.840 --> 01:07:56.760
I know it takes more work. I know you have to memorize more. You have to read more. You have to pray more.

01:07:56.760 --> 01:07:59.560
But at least what you'll get is accurate.

01:07:59.560 --> 01:08:02.120
And at least you won't be tempted to baptize your baby.

01:08:03.600 --> 01:08:07.200
At least you won't be tempted to just start justifying, wondering,

01:08:07.200 --> 01:08:10.400
well maybe the Catholic Church is the one true church.

01:08:10.400 --> 01:08:14.240
It's not going to happen. Stick to the word of God and it doesn't matter if the

01:08:14.240 --> 01:08:19.280
majority out there mocks you, makes fun of you,

01:08:19.280 --> 01:08:23.280
says, oh you're just going to ignore all these years of history?

01:08:23.280 --> 01:08:28.800
Yes! Because the victors make the history.

01:08:29.700 --> 01:08:37.100
No one's writing a biography of some man of God who actually believed right on salvation from 1500 years ago because it doesn't fit their narrative

01:08:37.900 --> 01:08:39.960
That's how it's gonna work. Let's pray father

01:08:39.960 --> 01:08:46.160
We think thank you so much for your word and thank you for men of God in the past who faithfully held to doctrine

01:08:46.500 --> 01:08:51.540
And we don't need a book to tell us about them because of the fact that obviously us being here

01:08:51.540 --> 01:08:57.220
is a testament to someone who won them to the Lord and they won others. And we see the perpetuity of

01:08:57.220 --> 01:09:02.740
salvation, the perpetuity of the Word of God and churches that believe in God's Word. And we know

01:09:02.740 --> 01:09:08.180
that just as you preserve the Word of God, you will also preserve godly churches until the second

01:09:08.180 --> 01:09:11.780
coming of Christ. And I pray that you bless us as we go on our way, Lord, help us to have faith in

01:09:11.780 --> 01:09:13.780
and your word to put in the work to study it

01:09:13.780 --> 01:09:14.500
and to understand it.

01:09:14.500 --> 01:09:16.100
In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

01:09:21.800 --> 01:09:25.500
Please turn your song books to song number 145.