Vatican City Seek

An Interactive Detective Story Tony Kovach Do you enjoy a good mystery story? Fictional whodunits and their factual counterparts are popular because it is intriguing to see how the suspect is finally caught. Today a worldwide, real- life mystery is playing out, and chances are it has touched your life. Can you solve it? Let's find out. Although the Bible tells us that Jesus established a Church (Matt. 16:18) and reminds us of our Savior's desire for Christian unity (John 17:20-21, Eph. 4:16, 4:12-13), we've seen a recent explosion of new churches. They claim to be Bible-_base_d churches; often they have broken off from some larger church or denomination. With as many as 28,000 different Christian churches today, the mystery to many is <which one is Jesus' true Church? In this article you will learn how to solve that mystery. You'll be the gumshoe (detective) in an interactive _script_ural investigation. The boom of ministries, each with its own interpretation of _script_ure, has produced a lot of victims of this crime against true religion, disunity. Jesus predicted this would happen in the last days: See that no one deceives you! for many will come in my name. . . . And then many will be led into sin; they will betray and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and deceive many; and because of the increase in evildoing, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved (Matt. 24:4,10-13). Good, intelligent people can be conned by crooks. Similarly, we can be sure that, since Jesus established only one Church, many good people are being misled-perhaps by a sincere pastor, but possibly by a wolf in sheep's clothing. Being a good detective Begin with what you know. Be _object_ive. Don't subjectively decide because you think something is true. A good investigator starts with <evidence, not beliefs or biases. The sleuth must leave personal opinions behind, examining facts with an open mind. Be prepared to do some research, and go to the sources with your questions. Remember, you must have proof! No room for reasonable doubt. Detectives build on facts, both to eliminate possible suspects and to gain clues to help them find their culprit. If we find a church's teaching violates a _script_ural fact, that will eliminate that church from consideration as Jesus' true Church. We're looking for a Church whose worship and teachings agree with undisputed biblical facts. Notice that, since Jesus came for sinners (Matt. 9:13, Rom. 3:23), we don't look for a Church with perfect pastors or members; instead we seek a church that teaches the truth (1 Tim. 3:15), as our Lord willed (John 16:13, Luke 10:16). Okay, gumshoe! Grab your notepad and procedural manual (Bible), and let's get started. There's no sense in conducting an investigation if there's nothing to solve. Let's begin with a basic question: Did Jesus start a Church? What does Jesus say? We read in Matthew 16:18 that Jesus <established a Church: [U]pon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. This tells us Jesus promised us <an enduring Church. Galatians 1:8 gives us another clue we should track: But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let that one be accursed! Let's see how these verses help us in our hunt. We turn to biblical scholars, who tell us that Galatians was written around A.D. 48-55. When Paul wrote it, Jesus' true Church already existed. Paul said that any new church or new gospel that came after Jesus was accursed ; it would be a false gospel. History, then, can help us find the true Church, since a church that can't trace its origins or teachings to Jesus' time, by Paul's definition, is accursed as a false gospel. To check the historical credentials of a church, we should ask: When did the church get started? Who are its founders? Let's understand why these questions benefit our search. If we find that a church first started long after Jesus' time, that proves a church is another [false] gospel and the founders are among the false prophets Jesus said would come. I think we're onto something, gumshoe! Let's hit the pavement and check out some leads. Checking the calendar Start by calling local pastors, or hit a good library, or both. See what the church or group says about itself-and what unbiased histories say about it. We are simply doing what Jesus told us to do, searching for the truth that sets us free (John 8:31-32). To get you started, in the sidebar is a list of churches, with founders and dates and places of origin. Ask these investigative questions of church members or pastors: How old is the oldest known church or house of worship for your faith? We know that the very first Baptist church was built in Southwark, London, in 1633, for example. We can't expect church buildings to survive from the second century, roughly when scholars say early Christians first established separate public places for worship. But we know there are churches in Europe and the Holy Land that are well over 1,500 years old. So if a denomination has no church building older than those, such a fact would argue against its being Jesus' true Church. Does your church have ancient houses of worship in Bethlehem, Nazareth, or Jerusalem? If the answer is no, that will eliminate that church from consideration, since those places have had Christians from ancient times. Which church has centuries-old places of worship at the key sites of Jesus' life? We know the early Christians revered the place of Christ's birth, Golgotha (where Jesus was crucified), and the mount of our Lord's Ascension into heaven. These sites <do have very old church buildings, and learning which faith built those churches will be a strong clue as to the true Church. Because God gave us free will, we can choose to be a member of any church we want to, and we can always come up with some rationale for our choice. We can even do as many others have done imply start our own church! We could pick some Bible verses and claim to be a Bible-_base_d church, maybe even start a radio or TV ministry. But those who choose to delude themselves ignore the Lord's warnings against being in a false church. So we'd better continue with our investigation. Baptism An important hint is found in Matthew 28:18-20: All power on heaven and earth has been given to me. Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of time. This command of Jesus contains many important clues. His Church will baptize using the formula given above: in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Note these related verses: Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water [baptism] and the Spirit (John 3:5). In Acts, the listeners ask: a 'What are we to do then, brothers?' Peter said to them, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit' (Acts 2:37-38). Churches that don't teach the need for baptism (that don't teach that it washes away sin), or that claim it's only a symbol, are violating these _script_ures. Ask the pastor of a church you are investigating: Does your church teach the importance of baptism to get to heaven? If the answer is no, count that church out! Matthew 28:18-20 makes it clear -that he wanted a <worldwide or universal Church. Ask your subjects: Is your church worldwide? Again, since time is crucial in your investigation, you can move on if it isn't a universal Church. Consider another tip from Matthew 28:18-20. We know from history that the apostles didn't reach all nations. They all died before achieving that goal, something Jesus would have foreknown. That implies that he knew <others would have to carry on the apostles' mission. What you have heard from me entrust to faithful witnesses who will have the ability to teach others as well, Paul told Timothy (2 Tim. 2:2). To Titus, Paul said: For this reason I left you in Crete so that you might set right what remains to be done and appoint presbyters in every town as I directed you (Titus 1:5). In the first chapter of Acts, Peter is discussing replacing Judas among the Twelve. He says, quoting _script_ure, 'May another take his office.' Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men who accompanied us . . . become with us a witness to his resurrection (Acts 1:20-22, Ps. 109:8). Since Jesus said his Church would endure (Matt. 16:18), and these examples show that the early Church provided for faithful teachers, we can use that fact to locate the we Church of Christ. <How did the early Church appoint new leaders? In Acts 6 we read: At that time . . . the number of disciples continued to grow . . . So the Twelve called together the community of disciples saying . . . 'Brothers, select from among you . . . reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task' . . . the proposal was acceptable to the whole community, so they chose . . . They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid hands on them. (Acts 6:1-3, 5, 6). Paul, writing to Timothy about how he received his ministry, says: Do not neglect the gift you have, which was conferred on you through the prophetic word with the imposition of hands of the presbyterate (1 Tim. 4:14). Other verses (Acts 13:3, 14:22-23, 20:28, 2 Tim. 1:6, Heb. 5:1) make it clear that the laying on of hands was part of a prayerful ceremony in which disciples were ordained into a special office: as bishops (overseers), presbyters (priests), and deacons. So God's Word provides important additional facts: If a church doesn't use a laying on of hands-and if the line of authority for ordination doesn't come directly from the apostles it can't be the we Church. If a church can't honestly say it has a hierarchy of leaders (bishops, priests, deacons), then it can't be the Church Jesus established (Heb. 13:17, 1 Pet. 5:15). You could ask: Does your church ordain bishops, priests, and deacons by laying on hands? If no, then go! Are you saved? Well, shamus, if you've gotten this far in your investigation, you have already eliminated most churches, sects, and denominations from your list of possibles. You should feel good about that! But you know how the court system works: You have to have proof <beyond a reasonable doubt. So let's build an airtight case proving which is Jesus' we Church. No doubt, during your investigation you are finding pastors who try to ask <you questions or distract you from your purpose. It happens to detectives all the time. You may get a question like Are you saved? or a statement like Jesus gave us the Bible