“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).
“I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).
It is not a zero sum issue. Christ left both. And by “church” He did not leave any of the modern-day “churches” that may claim some special place in God’s economy.
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).
“I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).
It is not a zero sum issue. Christ left both. And by “church” He did not leave any of the modern-day “churches” that may claim some special place in God’s economy.
As to what the “church” is, this is but one of many good references that summarize the biblical (rather than human religious doctrine) teaching:
Literally the canon wasn't chosen until the 4th Century when the Church council made their decision -- and those books that you describe as Apocryphal were in there. They remain in the Catholic Bible as part of the canon, as they have always been.
Others (Luther et al.) have included the Apocrypha for non-Scriptural background. The error comes when religions or denominations conflate it with Scripture.
We are in perilous times on every front, including especially and paramountly spiritually. Of course, while none of this is “new” in the sense that the spiritual war between Almighty God and satan ever since the latter’s fall from Heaven, it is apparently coming to a crescendo if the level of depravity, perversion and apostasy is any indication.
That is the main reason why it is so important that people hear the truth of the Scriptural (rather than the encrustations placed on it by religions, denominations and “nondenominational” churches) Gospel so they can fairly choose which path they take.
Sadly, as God tells us in Matthew 7 most will choose the world that includes the myriad religious traps of false “gospels:”
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
I comment here not to be argumentative but because I am constrained and impelled by God to speak His Truth given to us in His Word.
Anything that contradicts His Word, whether religious doctrine or not and whether or not well-intended, must give way. This point is lost on more and more “christian” churches that forget the parable of the rich young ruler. Jesus spelled out plainly what was required for the man to be one of His followers but the man could not let go of his worldly things. See Mt. 19:16-22
These worldly things today include the many sinful and perverse social issues (abortion, homosexuality, misgendering etc.) that more and more churches are avoiding , primarily out of concern they will offend and cause to leave (with their pocketbooks) their most “generous” demographic—50-60 year olds who have children/grandchildren who are involved in some way in these matters as millennials and Gen-zers.
You will clearly be very happy with the Xi Jinping’s translation and claim it to have even greater authority than Luther and his biblical deconstructionist buddies developed. The Magisterium just floats around until a sociopathic priest or communist leader comes along to straighten it all out for those right thinking people.
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).
“I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).
It is not a zero sum issue. Christ left both. And by “church” He did not leave any of the modern-day “churches” that may claim some special place in God’s economy.
As to what the “church” is, this is but one of many good references that summarize the biblical (rather than human religious doctrine) teaching:
https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-1-what-church-various-scriptures
Literally the canon wasn't chosen until the 4th Century when the Church council made their decision -- and those books that you describe as Apocryphal were in there. They remain in the Catholic Bible as part of the canon, as they have always been.
Others (Luther et al.) have included the Apocrypha for non-Scriptural background. The error comes when religions or denominations conflate it with Scripture.
We are in perilous times on every front, including especially and paramountly spiritually. Of course, while none of this is “new” in the sense that the spiritual war between Almighty God and satan ever since the latter’s fall from Heaven, it is apparently coming to a crescendo if the level of depravity, perversion and apostasy is any indication.
That is the main reason why it is so important that people hear the truth of the Scriptural (rather than the encrustations placed on it by religions, denominations and “nondenominational” churches) Gospel so they can fairly choose which path they take.
Sadly, as God tells us in Matthew 7 most will choose the world that includes the myriad religious traps of false “gospels:”
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
I comment here not to be argumentative but because I am constrained and impelled by God to speak His Truth given to us in His Word.
Anything that contradicts His Word, whether religious doctrine or not and whether or not well-intended, must give way. This point is lost on more and more “christian” churches that forget the parable of the rich young ruler. Jesus spelled out plainly what was required for the man to be one of His followers but the man could not let go of his worldly things. See Mt. 19:16-22
These worldly things today include the many sinful and perverse social issues (abortion, homosexuality, misgendering etc.) that more and more churches are avoiding , primarily out of concern they will offend and cause to leave (with their pocketbooks) their most “generous” demographic—50-60 year olds who have children/grandchildren who are involved in some way in these matters as millennials and Gen-zers.
You will clearly be very happy with the Xi Jinping’s translation and claim it to have even greater authority than Luther and his biblical deconstructionist buddies developed. The Magisterium just floats around until a sociopathic priest or communist leader comes along to straighten it all out for those right thinking people.