The NIV BIBLE — Answering the Critics

The New International Version of the Bible — aka the NIV — is the default version used in the articles, videos and books here at Fountain of Life, although other translations are quoted fairly often. The reason this ministry uses the NIV is simply because 1. it’s written in easy-to-read modern English and 2. it’s currently the most popular version of the Bible as far as book sales go.

The NIV’s popularity is due to it being so readable, the result of a balance between the word-for-word approach in translating (e.g. the NASB) and the thought-for-thought method (e.g. the CEV). The traditionally popular King James Version (KJV) is strictly word-for-word. You can compare the more prominent English versions and their specified translation philosophy here.

The NIV was made by over a hundred scholars of an international, multi-sect team. The entire translation underwent three revisions in its creation process via three different scholarly teams, which — needless to say — eliminated a sectarian bent and loner eccentricities.

Criticisms of the NIV by KJV-Only Folks

Amongst Evangelicals is the small KJV Only crowd. These fine people believe that the KJV — originally published in 1611 — is the only acceptable translation of the Holy Scriptures for English-speaking people, even though it’s now grossly out of date as far as the changes in the English language go since that time. Apparently they think the LORD only ordains one translation of the Hebrew, Aramaic & Greek Scriptures per language group, which is absurd. This curious position suggests that English-speaking Christians are in bondage to this translation even though it’s over 400 years old and contains archaic verbiage that modern English-speakers can barely understand.

The reason I reference KJV Only folks is because they’re big on denouncing the NIV and criticizing it with petty or dubious claims. It’s almost as if they’re envious of the NIV’s success since it’s now the best-selling English version; and so they’re hell-bent on slandering it. Put simply, the NIV has become their spiritual boogeyman and their criticisms come off as curious tirades.

When people become known for regularly accusing someone of something, it’s not a good sign, particularly when their accusations prove hollow. Why? Because Satan is the ‘devil,’ which is translated from the Greek diabolos (dee-AB-ol-os), meaning “slanderer.” He is “the accuser of the brothers and sisters, who accuses them before God day and night” (Revelation 12:10). What genuine Christian wants to be associated with the practices of Satan?

The Appropriate Way to View Translations of the Holy Scriptures

In the Bible we observe the importance placed on Holy Scripture because the Scriptures are “God-breathed”:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

This shows us that Holy Scripture is God’s unchanging blueprint for authentic Judeo-Christian doctrine & practice and explains Paul’s Spirit-led rule for the churches: “Do Not Go Beyond What is Written” (1 Corinthians 4:6). The Scriptures are described as “God-breathed” because they were chronicled by people moved by the Holy Spirit:

Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. ²¹ For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 1:20-21

It is the original Hebrew & Greek Scriptures that are “God-breathed” whereas translations of these Scriptures into various languages around the globe are just that — translations. These translations of the original Scriptures are merely a tool for people worldwide to 1. grasp God’s Word in their own language and 2. share it with others who speak that language.

And so it is with English versions of the Bible. English, by the way, has become a lingua franca and is the largest language by number of speakers. You can see the stats here.

While I regard the original NIV as an outstanding English version of the Bible, which reveals why it’s the best-selling version today, I read/study different versions and regularly look up the original Hebrew & Greek. By saying the NIV is “an outstanding English version of the Bible” I’m not saying it’s the most technically accurate. Scholars usually cite the NRSV as the most accurate.

Naturally because the NIV is so readable and is the most popular version of the Bible in English it makes for a great tool to reach people with the truths of the Word of God. This is why the NIV is the default version at Fountain of Life.

Pointers on How to get the Most Out of Your Studies of the Scriptures

My humble advice to believers is to continue in God’s Word and put it into practice (John 8:31-32). Don’t use just one translation; compare the translations and look up the Hebrew & Greek words when questions arise concerning the meaning of a particular word or verse.

Everyone naturally has a favorite translation, but I encourage switching translations from time to time as far as regular reading goes. For instance, I’m currently using the NKJV for daily reading (for studies, however, I use several translations). This keeps things fresh and prevents any one translation from becoming a veritable idol. It also provides a more balanced view of what God’s Word says. KJV Only people, by contrast, put themselves in a confining box of explicitly trusting the translation work of 47 scholars from the Church of England over 400 years ago.

As far as looking up the Hebrew & Greek goes, lexicons and interlinear texts are readily available. I encourage the use of Bible Hub on the internet and other such sites, which provide free and easy access to these study helps. For instance, here is John 3:16 according to 28 prominent English versions on Bible Hub. From there you can conveniently click to any of the 28 versions offered and also access lexicons (e.g. the Strong’s) and interlinear texts via the tool bar at the top.

Criticizing Translations

Every single English version can be nitpicked, including the KJV. I could cite clear evidence of problematic translating in the KJV based on the sectarian bias of the Anglican translators, but I’m not going to do so. Instead, I humbly encourage believers to grow in God’s Word and put it into practice, year after year. Improve your studies — and your spiritual growth — by implementing the pointers noted above. You’ll be blessed.

Specific Criticisms of the NIV by KJV Only Types

A couple people wrote me to criticize the NIV. Here are the four criticisms:

‘One of the over one hundred scholars on the international, multi-sect translation committee was a lesbian.’
‘The NIV says in 2 Samuel 21:19 that David did not kill Goliath, but rather Elhanan, which is obviously inaccurate.’
‘The NIV has removed a lot of words/verses that are in the KJV.’
‘There have been several revisions of the original 1978 version.’

Let’s address all four issues…

‘A Lesbian Scholar Was on the Translation Committee’

Whether or not an active lesbian was one of the international scholars used in translating the NIV, I don’t know, but let’s assume it’s true for the sake of argument. The implication is that this lesbian woman would somehow make the NIV more homosexual-friendly. Yet notice how the NIV puts this relevant passage in the New Testament:

Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men ¹⁰ nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Obviously the NIV isn’t very homosexual-friendly. (And this is from the 2011 revised version).

I agree that a practicing lesbian shouldn’t have been on the translation team (whereas a repentant lesbian is a different story), but it’s clear that this woman had no ill-effect on the translation. Keep in mind that a professional translator of ancient texts — regardless of spiritual shortcomings — is commissioned to use his/her expertise to properly translate the manuscript in question. So, assuming the individual is genuinely scholarly, s/he is professionally obligated to translate the text accurately, whether s/he personally agrees with its content or not.

Also keep in mind that the NIV used over a hundred specialists in translating the manuscripts with three different teams checking each other’s work. If this particular woman offered input that wasn’t faithful to the best available texts, it would’ve simply been screened out. Problem solved.

This argument by KJV Only people can actually be turned against their beloved KJV. The NIV was translated by a team of over a hundred scholars from five different English-speaking countries —USA, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — which naturally gave the project an international scope. Moreover, these scholars were from myriad denominations—Anglican, Assemblies of God, Baptist, Brethren, Reformed, Church of Christ, Evangelical Free, Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Nazarene, Presbyterian, Wesleyan and others — which of course prevented the NIV from being sectarian. The 47 scholars used to translate the KJV, by contrast, all belonged to the Church of England.

Furthermore, isn’t it likely that there was a staunch Pharisaical religionist or three on the KJV committee? While lesbianism is a damning sin if practiced without repentance — physically or mentally (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) — Christ blatantly denounced the scribes and Pharisees as religious hypocrites, children of hell, blind fools, snakes and vipers in Matthew 23:13-33.

‘The NIV Says Someone Other Than David Killed Goliath’

Actually it doesn’t. The NIV rendition of 1 Samuel 17:49-50 (including the original NIV) plainly states that David slew Goliath, as well as other passages. So that’s a done deal. Yet this seems to be contradicted by the original NIV’s rendition of 2 Samuel 21:19 which states that Elhanan “killed Goliath the Gittite.” However, this is explained by the parallel account of 1 Chronicles 20:5 — which is noted in the footnotes of 2 Samuel 21:19 — plainly stating that Elhanan more specifically killed the brother of Goliath.

The issue was cleared up in the 2011 revision of the NIV, which renders the verse thusly:

In another battle with the Philistines at Gob, Elhanan son of Jair the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver’s rod.

2 Samuel 21:19

So where did this “mistake” originate? It’s simple: The phrase “the brother of” is not in the original Hebrew manuscript, as shown here.

This explains why the words “the brother of” are in italics in the KJV rendition of 2 Samuel 21:19, meaning these words are not in the original language and were added by the KJV translators for the purpose of clarification. In other words, the phrase “the brother of” is not in the original Hebrew and that is why the NIV translators didn’t include it. This is why other prominent English translations didn’t include the phrase either, such as the ESV, NASV and ISV. So, if we’re going to pick on the NIV for originally excluding this phrase we need to do the same with these other modern English versions. But, again, the original Hebraic rendition didn’t include the phrase. So what’s the problem?

Yet this raises a question: Why does God’s Word — the original Scriptures — omit the phrase “the brother of” in 2 Samuel 21:19 and give the explicit impression that Elhanan killed Goliath rather than David? Perhaps the LORD wanted to drive home the hermeneutical rule that Scripture interprets Scripture. Let me explain. We have several clear passages that say David slew Goliath, but there’s also this singular verse that contradicts this fact. Everything is cleared-up by simply interpreting Scripture with Scripture: The more detailed passages, like 1 Samuel 17:49-50, along with the parallel verse, 1 Chronicles 20:5, clarify that Elhanan killed the brother of Goliath, not Goliath himself. So this is a Divine lesson in hermeneutics.

As you can see, this front-running criticism of the NIV is totally bogus. If anything, the NIV’s original rendition of 2 Samuel 21:19 is more faithful to the original Hebrew than the KJV rendition since the KJV adds words that aren’t in the original text.

‘The NIV Has Removed a Lot of Words/Verses That Are in the KJV’

When comparing the NIV with the KJV, there are some “missing” verses. Yet the NIV always cites these phrases in the footnotes; so these verses are not actually missing (since they’re in the footnotes). But why were they omitted from the main text? Here’s why:

The KJV was originally published in 1611 and it was a great achievement for that period as the translators used the best sources accessible at the time. Yet one of its weaknesses is that the KJV translation committee of 47 scholars drew heavily from William Tyndale’s New Testament, which explains why 80% of Tyndale’s verbiage was transferred to the KJV. Tyndale utilized several sources in his translation. For the New Testament, he used Desiderius Erasmus’s Greek New Testament known as the Textus Receptus (i.e. “Received Text”), the third edition from 1522.

In the centuries since 1611, myriad older scriptural texts have surfaced and were painstakingly examined by scholars. They concluded that the earlier manuscripts are more trustworthy. So contemporary translators have access to scriptural documents much nearer in time to the original manuscripts. As such, modern translations like the NIV actually offer superior biblical scholarship than was available in the early 1600s when the KJV was produced.

You can read details here.

The Non-Issue of NIV Revisions

The NIV was originally published in 1978 (and the New Testament in 1973). Here’s a list of its revisions:

A minor revision in 1984
A UK revision in 1995-1996 that featured gender-inclusive language
Minor edits in 1999
The TNIV in 2005 (aka Today’s New International Version), which included gender-neutral language
An extensive revision in 2011

I don’t get what the problem is with revisions. It’s necessary to periodically revise works in order to fix issues from previous renditions, not to mention keep relevant. Should they not correct issues? Should they not update to stay relevant while maintaining faithfulness to the original Scriptures?

Incidentally, the KJV has had myriad corrections since 1611. In its original form, it’s virtually unreadable to modern English speakers. Go here for details.

The Criticism of the Use of “Scholars”

An additional criticism — a very curious one — is the use of scholars in translating the NIV on the grounds that “scholars” are often the root cause of false doctrine in the Church. Yet we need qualified people to properly translate the Holy Scriptures. It’s not like we can use any Joe off the street. Furthermore, it’s not as if the NIV used just one scholar or one type of scholar (e.g. those from a sectarian perspective) to translate the original manuscripts.

Closing Thoughts

The KJV was fine for its time, but its day is long over. While it’s serviceable for reference in one’s studies — and I often use it in this regard (as a matter of fact, in 2023 I read through the entire KJV, some parts 2-3 times) — it’s no longer effective as far as public ministry goes, unless of course you’re exclusively serving people already familiar with the KJV. The archaic lingo and phasing is simply too alien to modern English-speakers. IMHO it should have been retired from public service in the early 1800s let alone the early 2000s.

I encourage readers to not give ear to the anti-NIV propaganda, mostly put forth by the KJV Only crowd. The NIV is a legitimate modern English version of the Bible, a meshing of the word-for-word approach and the thought-for-thought method. It’s may not necessarily be the most accurate English version, but it’s very readable and hence the most popular. The reason we use it for Fountain of Life articles & books is precisely because it’s the best modern version to use in order to reach/teach people, which is the mission of this ministry. The ESV is very good in this regard as well.

While I’m not a fan of the 2011 revision of the NIV, I wouldn’t call it a bad translation. Practically all of the prominent English translations — the NKJV, ESV, Holman, NASB, NRSV, etc. — are quality translations and trustworthy. They effectively convey God’s Word in the vernacular speech. Numerous believers died as martyrs to grant us this privilege (see this article for details).

While all of these translations are good, they can each be nitpicked. Some are more accurate than others while some are more readable. And everyone has a favorite. The original NIV has been my personal favorite since about 1985.

Lastly, someone wrote me and said “even James White says the NIV isn’t a good translation.” I don’t mean any disrespect, but who is James White and why should I care about his opinion, especially since I know from over three decades of experience that the NIV is without question a quality version of the Bible? Maybe this man — whoever he is — has a sectarian-based bias against the NIV. I have no idea, I’m just guessing. I’m skeptical that his issue is the original NIV itself because it’s such an exceptional translation; the proof is in the pudding.

Berean Spirit — What is it? How Do You Cultivate It?

Who Wrote the New Testament Books? Who Authorized them as Scripture Canon?

Bible—Is it Full of Contradictions? Does it Promote Slavery, Tyranny and Discrimination?

What Does “Do Not Go Beyond What is Written” Mean in 1 Corinthians 4:6?

What is “KJV ONLY”? What’s Wrong with It?

The Problem With Identity Politics—Including “Gender Identity”

Someone wrote me:

What’s wrong with identity politics? Why do you care? If people have the rights of a free citizen they are entitled to think they are whatever gender they want. You are actively suppressing others’ freedoms with your delicate sensibilities!

It is true that individuals have the freedom to create their own realities, and not just in America, but anywhere on earth, even in a prison cell. It’s a coping mechanism that can help people endure various circumstances.

In one sense, I don’t care what personal realities people create, unless it’s harmful to society one way or another. On the other hand, I care in cases where mental illness is involved because I hate psychological disorders and the sufferings thereof. I want to see people delivered and not in bondage, whatever form that may take.

As far as gender goes, it’s simple: Look down at your crotch and it reveals all. To deny obvious physical reality and DNA is mental illness, not something to be encouraged and embraced by our learning institutions and governing authorities. For instance, a proposed law in Vermont would make taxpayers fund children’s “sex change” surgeries; you can read about it here. When taxpayers are forced to finance the absurdities of a person’s neurosis it ceases to be an individual issue.

Yet we live in a free society, so if an individual is intent on having his/her genitals mutilated in order to (supposedly) become a different gender, that’s their prerogative. While I’m against the practice for obvious reasons, what these people do with their money and time is their business. The problem arises when citizens are forced to finance and even celebrate such misguided endeavors.

Another issue surfaces when citizens are required to refer to an obvious dude with feminine pronouns at the threat of committing a “hate crime.” Not to mention Lib “leaders” mandating free citizens to do things that go against their consciences, like penalizing bakers, photographers and t-shirt makers who refuse to perform certain jobs for legitimate religious reasons. Keep in mind that there are plenty of bakers, photographers and t-shirt designers out there who would love to take people’s money and perform the task in question.

Needless to say, when loony Lib identity politics are preached at our learning institutions as legitimate attitudes/lifestyles it negatively influences our kids, grandkids, their friends & our neighbors. In other words, this kind of lunacy can really screw them up, mentally & spiritually, with the corresponding societal domino effect.

Consider a man who claims to be “transfinancial,” which means a rich person trapped in a poor person’s body. Should taxpayers foot the bill so he can live according to his delusion? Should we purchase him a mansion, an expensive sports car and a yacht? Would it be a “hate crime” if you refused to give him money or address him as Lord Beasley?

While that is an amusing mock example, it’s zeros-in on the problem with identity politics in general. It punishes innocent people and forces them to assist in the delusions of mentally ill individuals. Or, just as bad, it compels honest folks to support the scam of those who use identity politics for personal gain. Fauxcahontas Warren is a good example of the latter. She used trace amounts of AmerIndian DNA to claim minority status and boost her career at Harvard and in politics. She’s 1/1024 Cherokee, by the way, less than the average American.

So identity politics are far from an individual issue. There are many legit reasons why citizens who aren’t perverse LIEberals should care and reject this kind of social insanity. They’re not “bigots” — as loony Lefties are prone to slander — they simply have common sense in regards to obvious reality (the way it really is).

Demonic Spirits — How to Deflect Them

Is Name-Calling Ever Appropriate?

(Pseudo) Science is the “New God” and Dubious Scientists are the “New Gods”

Understanding the Religion of LIEberalism

What Does “Do Not Go Beyond What is Written” Mean in 1 Corinthians 4:6?

Let’s read the verse in question along with the surrounding text:

This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. ²Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. ³I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. ⁴My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

⁶Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other.

1 Corinthians 4:1-6

The phrase “Do not go beyond what is written” appears in the text in a curious manner and so a little confusion in interpretation is understandable. This explains the Quest Study Bible’s carefully worded commentary:

The meaning of this phrase has long been debated. It probably refers to Scripture… Paul saw that wisdom and inspiration came from God.

In The MacArthur Study Bible brother John is more certain concerning the meaning of “what is written”:

God’s faithful servants are to be treated with respect only within the bounds of what is scriptural.

“what is written” refers to the God-breathed Scriptures in view of the immediate context and the context of the New Testament. Let me explain…

In verse 1 Paul describes himself & his team (e.g. Apollos) as “servants of Christ… those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed,” which is a reference to the mystery of God detailed elsewhere in Scripture (Ephesians 3:1-12 & Colossians 1:27, 2:2-3). In short, the mystery of God is Jesus Christ and everything surrounding his awesome message, which is the gospel or “good news.” It’s “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

Paul shared this message with the Bereans and they “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true,” which is one of the reasons they’re hailed as being “of more noble character” (Acts 17:10-12). This is a scriptural example of people following Paul & Apollos’ ministerial standard cited in 1 Corinthians 4:6—to not go beyond what is written. Scripture interprets Scripture.

Furthermore, the idea that “what is written” refers to the God-breathed Scriptures is the most obvious answer in light of other plain passages by Paul (2 Timothy 2:15 & 3:16-17). After all, what else could “what is written” legitimately refer to? If the plain sense makes sense don’t look for any other sense (lest you end up with nonsense).

Also, verse 2 says: “it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” Who is it that has “been given a trust”? Answer: Fivefold ministers in the body of Christ who are responsible for teaching & preaching God’s Word (Ephesians 4:11-13, James 3:1 & 1 Timothy 5:17). Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul insists that such ministers “must prove faithful.” Faithful to what? Faithful to the Holy Scriptures—God’s blueprint for authentic Christianity!

Consider the set-up of 1 Corinthians 4:1-6: In chapter 3 Paul addresses the issue of the various teachers at the Corinth fellowship and how some believers were picking favorite minsters, which was causing division as believers were developing little sects based around their favorite teachers. This segues into chapter 4 and Paul & Apollos’ ministerial guideline: Whoever you’re receiving from in ministry the rule stands: “Do not go beyond what is written,” which includes people like Paul who claim to be entrusted with “the mysteries God has revealed.” Paul appropriately applied this wise guideline to his own ministry.

It’s imperative for believers to understand that it’s not the human vessel and the charismatic disposition thereof that matters, but rather that which they teach (and live) that corresponds to the rightly divided Word of God, which is why Paul concludes with “then you will not take pride in one man (teacher) over another” (which is how the original NIV phrases the end of verse 6). In short, we should be looking to the authentic Word of God being conveyed through the flawed human vessel in question and not the individual, who’s merely a servant of Christ.

No matter how great a minister/ministry/movement/sect is in the body of Christ, we must focus on the properly-handled Holy Scriptures to determine doctrine and practice. This is the principle of sola scriptura, which is Latin for “by Scripture alone”—the idea that the God-breathed Scriptures are the sole source of authority for Christian faith and practice.

Berean Spirit — What is it? How Do You Cultivate It?

Who Wrote the New Testament Books? Who Authorized them as Scripture Canon?

Bible—Is it Full of Contradictions? Does it Promote Slavery, Tyranny and Discrimination?

Sectarianism — What is It? What’s Wrong with It?

What is “KJV ONLY”? What’s Wrong with It?

KINGDOM OF GOD — What Does It Mean?

The “kingdom of God” literally refers to the rule of the LORD or spiritual reign of God.

The kingdom of God is essentially synonymous with the Church (Matthew 16:18-19), but only if “kingdom of God” is defined in a narrow sense, as in “a spiritual rule over the hearts and lives of those who willingly submit to God’s authority during this present age.”

Those who rebel against God’s authority and refuse to submit to Him are obviously not part of the kingdom of God (“the kingdom of God” being the Church in this current era). By contrast, those who acknowledge the lordship of Christ and gladly surrender to God’s rule in their hearts are part of the kingdom of God and therefore part of the Church.

This, of course, is separate from belonging to a particular sect of Christianity. In other words, all genuine believers are part of Christ’s Church — and therefore part of the kingdom of God — regardless of whether or not they function in this or that sect. While there’s the one true Church — which is the kingdom of God in this age of grace — there is no “one true sect,” regardless of what sectarian people may sincerely claim.

The Kingdom of God will reign to a large degree in this fallen universe during the millennial reign of Christ (when the devil & his filthy spirits are locked up in the Abyss) and over all physical creation in the eternal age of the new heavens and new earth (2 Peter 3:13 & Matthew 26:29).

For details see this article.

Paul’s “Thorn” — What Was It?

What was “Paul’s thorn”? Who gave it to him and why? Let’s read the passage:

To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

As you can see, Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was a “messenger of Satan” whose purpose was to torment him. In today’s vernacular this “thorn” could be described as a pain in the neck or pain in the butt. Why was he given this thorn? The answer is plainly stated in verse 7: to keep Paul from becoming conceited because of the many great revelations imparted to him. You see, apart from the Gospels and Acts, the New Testament is comprised entirely of epistles or letters and Paul wrote the majority of them. In other words, Paul was graced with more revelation than any other New Testament figure after Jesus Christ himself. Consequently, he was given a ‘pain in the neck’ to keep him from becoming arrogant.

For reasons that escape me there’s been quite a bit of controversy over what exactly Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was, some speculating that it was an eye disease, malaria or epilepsy. But such speculations are unnecessary since the text itself tells us precisely what it was — “a messenger of Satan” to torment Paul. Is that not clear enough? “Messenger” in the Greek is angelos, which literally refers to a messenger or ‘angel.’ Hence, Paul’s pain in the neck was a wicked angel of Satan sent to torment him. This was an unclean spirit that stirred up persecution and hardship for Paul wherever he went.

This makes perfect sense seeing as how Paul just finished listing the many great sufferings he experienced during his missionary journeys, including prison time, flogging, life-threatening occasions, scourged with 39 lashes five times, beaten with rods, stoned & presumed dead, thrice shipwrecked, adrift in the open sea, sleepless nights, hunger, thirst, lack of proper clothing, being out in the cold and escaping life-threatening persecution in Damascus in a basket let out through a window in the city wall (2 Corinthians 11:23-33).

Paul understood that the root source of these tribulations as he ministered from region to region was spiritual in nature — an unclean spirit sent by Satan — and he therefore prayed three times for the Lord to remove it, as shown in verse 12:8 (cited above). But the Lord essentially said ‘no’ and that His grace (favor) was enough for him because God’s power is perfected in human weakness rather than arrogance. This explains why Paul went on to “delight” in his weaknesses, persecutions and hardships because such things “keep [him] from becoming conceited.” This brings to mind a notable passage:

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

James 4:6 & 1 Peter 5:5

Since James and Peter were quoting Proverbs 3:34 this passage appears no less than three times in Scripture. Do you think the LORD is trying to tell us something? God refuses to give his favor to the arrogant; instead he actively opposes or resists them. He only gives his favor to the humble, which is why he declares in Isaiah 66:2, “ ‘This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.’ ” Consequently, God is very interested in you & me developing and maintaining a humble spirit, which means we don’t think we’re all that and a bag of chips. Of course this is hard to do when you’ve been granted such great revelations and visions as Paul was, not to mention the many awesome miracles & healings that came through his ministry; heck, even handkerchiefs that Paul touched were taken to the sick and demon-possessed, and they were healed or delivered (Acts 19:12)!

So Paul’s “thorn” was an evil spirit from Satan sent to hassle him with hardships & persecutions wherever he went on his missionary travels, which was allowed by the LORD to keep Paul from becoming arrogant.

Yet, it should be added, that Paul wasn’t a glutton for suffering since he knew the source of his many travails – an angel of Satan sent to torment him – and he prayed multiple times for the Lord to deliver him from this wicked harassing spirit. You see, Paul wasn’t some daft masochist lusting for suffering. On the contrary, he passionately sought deliverance. And even after realizing that the Lord was allowing the angel to stir up problems to keep him from becoming arrogant, he still didn’t submit to the sufferings in the absolute sense. In other words, yes, he realized that these sufferings were being allowed by God to keep him humble, and therefore delighted in them for that reason, but even then he did what he could to escape the travails. A good example is when he averted flogging by insisting upon his legal rights as a Roman citizen (Acts 22:22-29).

Related Topics:

Armor & Weaponry of God

Spiritual Warfare — Do You know What You’re Fighting For?

Spiritual Warfare — The Basics

Evil Spirits (Demons) — What Are They? What’s Their Purpose?

Is NAME-CALLING Ever Appropriate?

What does the Bible say about name-calling, especially the New Testament? Is it ever appropriate? And, if so, what are the wise guidelines.

While some believers think that name-calling is inherently mean-spirited and never appropriate, there are examples of righteous name-calling in the Scriptures. For instance, notice what John the Baptist called the corrupt religious leaders of Judea when he was baptizing at the Jordan River:

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹ And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Matthew 3:7-10

As you can see, John called these Pharisees and Sadducees “brood of vipers,” which means offspring of snakes! Keep in mind that the Lord later praised John’s greatness with no criticism of his righteous name-calling (Luke 7:28).

Jesus Righteously Called People Names on Appropriate Occasions

If you think what John said was radical notice what Christ called similar religious leaders in a single rant:

¹³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

¹⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ ¹⁷ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? ¹⁸ You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ ¹⁹ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? ²⁰ Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹ And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. ²² And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.

²³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. ²⁴ You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

²⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

²⁷ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

²⁹ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. ³⁰ And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!

³³ “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?

Matthew 23:13-33

This is a scathing rebuke filled with righteous name-calling, like “hypocrite,” “child of hell,” “blind fools,” “blind men,” “blind guides,” “whitewashed tombs… full of hypocrisy and wickedness,” “snakes” and “brood of vipers.” In a similar rant Jesus calls them “unmarked graves” (Luke 11:44). His favorite name is “hypocrites,” which he used six times on this occasion in Matthew 23. The word ‘hypocrite’ literally means “actor” and thus Jesus was calling these people “fakes.”

Was Christ out of line? Was he “not walking in love”? Was he being mean-spirited? NO, because “God is love” (1 John 4:16) and Jesus was/is God (John 1:1) and he never sinned (Hebrews 4:14-15). This is an example of tough love: The Lord was fed-up with the gross corruption of these arrogant religious leaders – after much patience & prayer, I might add – and so he boldly told them the truth. As the proverb says: “Open rebuke is better than hidden love” (Proverbs 27:5). Simply put, sometimes a frank ‘wake-up call’ or ‘pattern interruption’ is in order.

Elsewhere Jesus called Peter “Satan” for being an inadvertent mouthpiece for the devil (Matthew 16:22-23). Let’s keep in mind, however, that he also highly commended Peter in the very same chapter just a handful of verses earlier (17-19). This shows balance – Christ didn’t hesitate to commend people’s positive qualities, yet had no qualms about correcting folly or evil either. This is the equilibrium of gentle love and tough love.

On yet another occasion the Messiah blatantly called Herod a “fox” in a derogatory manner, which may have been a reference to a jackal, both animals common in Israel at the time (Luke 13:32).

Now, someone might claim that these examples are “technically Old Testament” since they involve John the Baptist and Christ before the latter’s death & resurrection and the subsequent birth of the Church. But this argument is bogus because the Lord verified in Luke 16:16 that the Old Testament ended with John the Baptist who prepared the way for the Messiah via a baptism of repentance (Luke 3:2-19). With the ministries of John and Jesus the kingdom of God was preached, not the Law and the Prophets. This explains why Christ spoke as if the Church was already in existence even though he didn’t die for our sins yet (Matthew 18:17). You could say that the Church was already alive but not birthed, like a baby in a mother’s womb. You can read more about this here.

Rare-but-Righteous Name-Calling by Paul

Let’s consider a couple examples where Paul was compelled to righteous name-calling, as led of the Holy Spirit.

Paul knew how to recognize legalists because he used to be one. Notice how he refers to legalists in this passage:

Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! ³For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh

Philippians 3:2-3 (NRSV)

Paul was warning the Philippian believers of legalists who taught that non-Jews had to be physically circumcised in order to be truly saved; they were obsessed with it. Notice that Paul doesn’t mince words here. He blatantly calls these legalists “dogs” and “evil workers”!

Calling someone a “dog” was even more offensive in biblical times than it is today. The term referred to people of low moral character.*

* For instance, “dogs” is used in the Bible in reference to homosexual prostitutes (Deuteronomy 23:18), wicked betrayers (Psalm 59:5-6), corrupt leaders (Isaiah 56:10), heathen (Matthew 15:26-27) and, in this passage, staunch legalists.

And how would you like to be called an “evil worker”? That’s pretty harsh, don’t you agree? This is recorded in God’s Word to show that legalism is utter wickedness in the LORD’s eyes. It cannot be tolerated; it must be confronted, exposed and corrected; and genuine believers should be warned for their protection.

This next occasion occurred on the island of Cyprus when Paul & Barnabas were sharing the Word of God with proconsul Sergius Paulus. Notice what happens:

But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. ⁹ Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, ¹⁰ “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? ¹¹ Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.”

Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. ¹² When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.

Acts 13:8-12

Paul doesn’t just call this deceitful trickster a “child of the devil” and “enemy of everything that is right,” but he also curses him with temporary blindness. Verse 9 shows that he was “filled with the Holy Spirit” when he did this, so we know he wasn’t out of line or walking out of love.

Righteous Name-Calling Should Always Be TRUE, Even if It’s Figurative

One thing we can get from these accounts is that righteous name-calling must be accurate. What I mean is that Paul called Elymas (el-OO-mass) a “child of the devil” and an “enemy of all that is right” because that is what Elymas was.

This, however, doesn’t mean that you can’t get creative and apply metaphors, like Paul did above with “dogs” and John the Baptist & Christ did when they referred to the corrupt religious leaders as “brood of vipers” and “snakes,” not to mention “whitewashed tombs” and “unmarked graves.” These names are appropriate because they’re figuratively true. The Messiah did the same with the devil & his filthy angels by referring to them as “snakes and scorpions” (Luke 10:19). Are Satan & his demons literally snakes and scorpions? No, but it’s a fitting figurative comparison.

Another thing we can get from Paul’s account is that he wasn’t rash with his radical actions. It’s implied that Paul simply got fed-up with Elymas’ devilish interference before resorting to name-calling and cursing. Keep in mind that Paul & his ministry team no doubt bathed the inhabitants of Cyprus in prayer before & after arriving to the island, with particular focus on political leaders, like the proconsul, à la 1 Timothy 2:1-4. When Elymas’ devious opposition was hindering their mission Paul could take no more and – filled with the Spirit – resorted to extreme tough love mode.

Needless to say, it’s always best to give grace & mercy a healthy chance before employing tough love measures. Not always, though, seeing as how John the Baptist implemented tough love on his initial meeting with the hypocritical religious leaders of Judea, as shown earlier (Matthew 3:7). Keep in mind, however, that John did this after years of intercession without seeing positive results. While this may not be stated, we know that righteous people of God are prone to pray for those in the area to which they are assigned (again, 1 Timothy 2:1-4). In any event, you have to be led of the Spirit. What do you feel within? Do you feel outrage in your spirit? Are you honestly fed-up with hypocrisy or corruption? Then do & say what you have to, by the Spirit. Speaking of which…

“Do Everything in Love,” Including Righteous Name-Calling

Someone might understandably ask: Isn’t calling people names – even if the names are accurate and fitting – automatically mean-spirited and walking out of love? Obviously not since we have these clear examples of godly New Testament characters doing so with the understanding that it’s the exception, not the rule. Let me rephrase that: It must be the exception, not the rule. After all, it was the exception and not the rule with Jesus and Paul, as well as other biblical characters. And they are our examples.

Also, it’s important to stress that everything we do must be done in love:

Do everything in love.

1 Corinthians 16:14

But how can name-calling be an act of love? Because it’s tough love with a righteous purpose. Observe the biblical definition of agape love, which means practical love or love-in-practice; in other words, it’s not a feeling:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

As with any biblical topic, we need to be balanced with love. This passage shows the full definition of agape love. As you can see, agape love is kind and is not rude, but it also doesn’t delight in evil; it rejoices with the truth, not lies; and it always protects. So when it says love is kind and love is not rude, this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t boldly confront evil when necessary as moved by the Spirit. This explains Christ’s “rude” actions when a Pharisee invited him to dine: When Jesus reclined at the table, the Pharisee observed that he failed to practice a traditional ritual (not commanded in the Law). This troubled the religious leader and the Messiah noticed:

Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. ⁴⁰ You foolish people!”

Luke 11:39-40a

You can read the rest of the passage in your own study time, but Christ goes on to frankly call the Pharisees “unmarked graves” (verse 44).

What we have to understand in this situation is that Jesus didn’t follow their washing ritual intentionally. Why? Because he wanted to set the stage for a necessary open rebuke. But how is this walking in love? Because love does not delight in evil but celebrates truth. As such, love boldly confronts evil when appropriate. And the Lord was led to do so on this occasion, which included calling the Pharisees an offensive name. This is an example for us (Ephesians 5:1 & 1 Peter 4:11).

Of course Spirit-led confrontation doesn’t always mean the person or persons will receive the correction. In this case, the Pharisees & Teachers of the Law responded by opposing Christ fiercely (verse 53), but the Messiah did what he was led to do regardless.

While ‘kindness’ can mean “niceness,” we have to understand that this is not all it means. Sometimes the kindest thing you can do for a person is to make a righteous judgment of his/her bad fruit and offer a much-needed wake-up call. Goodness is a fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) but sometimes doing what is good for a person or situation may not be very nice or lovey-dovey. For instance, when Peter sharply corrected Simon the sorcerer he wasn’t being nice, but he was definitely producing the fruits of love, kindness and goodness (Acts 8:9-24).

Similarly, Paul’s open reprimand of Elymas the sorcerer (Acts 13:8-12, cited above) may not seem very loving to modern Westernized readers, but nothing could be further from the truth. Paul did this deceitful trickster the kindest thing possible – he told him the awful truth in order to spur repentance. It can’t be argued that Paul wasn’t producing fruit of the spirit because the text plainly states that he was “filled with the Holy Spirit” when he judged and reprimanded the magician (verse 9). Righteousness is also a fruit of the spirit (Ephesians 5:9 & Philippians 1:11). You see, sometimes doing the right thing may not necessarily be the culturally polite thing.

Christ’s radical cleansing of the Temple is Exhibit A, which he did twice, once at the beginning of his ministry (John 2:13-17) and 3.5 years later near the end (Mark 11:15-18). The ‘snakes’ who were driven out on the earlier occasion obviously slithered their way back into the Temple area in the ensuing years and so it was necessary for Jesus to cleanse the Temple a second time. You might have noticed that I just used appropriate name-calling.

On that note, let’s consider these two conflicting proverbs:

⁴Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.

⁵Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.

Proverbs 26:4-5

The fact that these two contrasting statements lay side-by-side shows that the contradiction was intended. Some fools should be ignored while others should be answered in like manner. It depends on the type of fool with whom you’re dealing, the situation and other things, like how much grace you’ve already applied and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

John the Baptist, Jesus Christ and Paul the Apostle Implemented Righteous Name-Calling on Occasion

It’s interesting that the God-Breathed Scriptures record three of the greatest figures of the New Testament — John the Baptist, the Lord Christ and Paul the apostle — utilizing righteous name-calling on infrequent occasions. Think about it:

The Kingdom of God started with John (Luke 16:16), who prepared the way for the Messiah via a baptism of repentance (Luke 3:2-19). Christ emphasized John’s greatness in Matthew 11:11.
Jesus, of course, is the Head of the Church, the Cornerstone of Christianity (Colossians 1:18 & Ephesians 2:20).
And Paul had the greatest New Testament revelation after the death & resurrection of Christ; he wrote the most epistles by far, which detail vital instructions & revelation for the worldwide Church.

The Rightwing Fascism of the 1^st Century and the Leftwing Fascism of Today

Legalism and libertinism are two sides of the same bad coin. We observe this in this passage by Solomon, the wisest man of his day:

Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise—why destroy yourself? ¹⁷ Do not be overwicked and do not be a fool—why die before your time? ¹⁸ It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all extremes.

Ecclesiastes 7:16-18

To be “overrighteous” or “overwise” refers to legalism whereas being “overwicked” or a “fool” refers to libertinism. Both are equally corrupt conditions and should be avoided at all costs. Solomon says “it is good to grasp one and not let go of the other,” which indicates that the truth lies somewhere in between the two. This can also be observed in the Parable of the Prodigal Son with the prodigal representing libertinism and the older son representing legalism. For biblical insights see this article.

The Pharisees, Teachers of the Law & Sadducees that conflicted with Christ during his earthly ministry were legalists and were basically what we would now call rightwing fascists. In America Today (and Western civilization in general) the problem isn’t rightwing fascism, but rather leftwing fascism. You can observe this in many ways: Conservatives afraid to openly support Christianity or a conservative politician due to the threat of violent persecution; afraid to say such-and-such is a sin because they might lose their job; taxpayers forced to fund baby-killing & the sales of body parts; wise voices being prohibited at universities and on social media; shoving sexual perversion down our throats as legitimate lifestyles; etc. In summer 2016 when Obama gave his executive order to legally permit mentally ill men to use the women’s restroom it was the last straw. Conservatives in American finally had it with liberal fascism, which paved the way for the Trump/Pence election.

My point is that the rightwing corruption of the religious leaders of Judea provoked John the Baptist & the Messiah to righteous name-calling. In the same way, the outrageous Leftwing wickedness in modern America provokes a similar response in disciples of Christ.

That’s why I don’t have a problem with President Trump amusingly mocking Elizabeth Warren as “Pocahontas.” She has no one to blame but herself since she used trace amounts of AmerIndian DNA to claim minority status and boost her career at Harvard and in politics (she’s 1/1024 Cherokee, by the way, less than the average American).

(Please no comments on Trump because it’s irrelevant whether you like him or not. I’m politically Independent, à la Joshua 5:13-15, and just citing a modern example of justified name-calling. Warren desperately needed someone to call her out on her self-benefiting falsehood. It was a humbling wake-up call, like when John the Baptist & Christ confronted the corrupt religious leaders of Judea, not to mention humorous).

Due to liberal fascism and their constant lies & slander, I sometimes amusingly refer to liberals as LIEberals. One glaring example of their fallacious ideology is their insistence that Bruce Jenner – now known as Caitlyn Jenner – is a woman, even though he still has male DNA. Anyone who disagrees with their absurd claims, like this one, and simply shares the truth is persecuted and branded a “bigot,” “misogynist,” “homophobe,” “xenophobe,” “transphobe,” “Islamophobe” and similar clichéd terms.

I also occasionally refer to the Democrat Party as the Demonic-rats (or Demoncraps), obviously with a wink of amusement. Why? Because they’re clearly Satan’s favorite political party in America in light of the fact that they’re anti-Christ, anti-Christian, pro-thug, anti-cop, pro-lawless, pro-strife, pro-perversion, pro-deviance, pro-baby killing (including letting abortion survivors die on the table), pro-silencing conservative voices and more.

Is occasionally calling liberals ‘LIEberals’ and Democrats ‘Demonic-rats’ mean-spirited or simply stating the obvious truth in a frank and amusing manner? As long as it’s the exception and not the rule I don’t see a problem with name-calling like this in view of how bad libertinism (i.e. lawlessness or hedonism) and liberal fascism have become in the USA and other Western countries. Again, this is opposite to the way it was at the time of Christ in Israel. Back then the problem was legalistic fascism; today its libertine fascism. John the Baptist and the Messiah were justified in their rare name-calling and so are disciples of Christ today in confronting liberal fascists.

Just keep in mind that righteous name-calling is the exception and not rule; and everything must be done in love as led of the Spirit – including what we do in the name of tough love. But please don’t mistake occasional righteous name-calling with cuss-oriented mudslinging or out-of-control brouhahas, which are carnal and unwise. Discord (strife) and fits of rage are decidedly of the flesh, as detailed in Galatians 5:19-21. See also 2 Corinthians 12:20, 2 Timothy 2:24, Titus 3:9-11, Proverbs 17:19, Proverbs 20:3 and similar passages.

Lastly, if you’re debating someone, focus on logical reasons that support your argument and not ad hominem tactics. Let the other side be guilty of the opposite. Remember, people resort to ad hominem antics when they’re losing the debate. That said, there’s a time & place for righteous name-calling, albeit rare. Sometimes a ‘pattern interruption’ is precisely what’s necessary and (hopefully) effective in a situation.

Gentle Love and Tough Love

Spiritual Growth is Like Climbing a Mountain

Legalism — Understanding its Many Forms

Libertinism — What’s Wrong with It and How to Walk FREE

Ministerial Pitfalls and Abuses

Ministerial Abuse — The Diotrephes Spirit vs. the Davidic Spirit

The Four Types of LOVE in the Bible

Does Matthew 16:18-19 Support the Idea of a POPE?

Catholics often cite Matthew 16:18-19 to support their belief in the earthly supremacy of the Pope as the leader of the Church, as well as the idea of papal succession. Is this accurate? What do the God-breathed Scriptures say?

What Did Jesus Mean by “On this Rock I Will Build My Church”?

The Messiah made this well-known statement after asking his disciples if they knew who he truly was. Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (verse 16).

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Matthew 16:17-19

This is honestly flimsy evidence to support something as important as the earthly supremacy of a bishop (Pope) in Rome over Christ’s worldwide Church, not to mention the Catholic doctrine of papal succession.

Let’s first define the word “Church”: In the Greek this word is ekklesia (ee-KLEE-see-ah), meaning “called out of ” or “the called-out ones.” It refers to people who have been called out of the darkness of this world and consecrated to the LORD via responding in faith & repentance to the good news of the message of Christ (Acts 20:21) and the ensuing spiritual rebirth (1 Peter 1:3,23 & James 1:18). The worldwide Church is synonymous with “the body of Christ” (Colossians 1:18) and is also called “God’s household” or “the household of God” in Scripture (1 Timothy 3:15). The Church includes every genuine believer who’s experienced spiritual regeneration regardless of what sectarian tag they favor (John 3:3,6 & Titus 3:5).*

* Always remember this about sectarian tags: Putting a label of ‘corn’ on a can of beans doesn’t make the can of beans a can of corn.

So what is the “rock” on which Christ said he would build his Church? It’s not Peter whose name in Greek, petros, means “stone.” The “rock” on which Jesus will build his Church is petra in the Greek, meaning “large rock” or “bedrock.” When you’re driving down an interstate highway and pass through a section with sheer rock cliffs on either side it’s obvious that the road-workers literally blasted through a big hill or mountain. When I see this I often marvel at the solid mass of rock underlying the topsoil. This is petra or bedrock. Christ figuratively said his Church would be built on such bedrock—an incredible mass of solid rock. What is this “rock”? It’s the revelation of the fact that Jesus is the Christ or Messiah, which literally means “anointed one.” It’s a revelation because Jesus said it was “revealed” to Peter by Father God.

What’s the big deal about having a revelation that Jesus is the Christ? Please understand that “Christ” is not the last name of Jesus. “Christ” is translated from the Greek word Christos (khris-TOS), which means “anointed one” and comes from the Hebrew mashach (maw-SHAKH) meaning “anointed” or “chosen one.” A good example of this Hebrew word used in reference to Jesus in the Scriptures is Psalm 45:7.

“Jesus” was simply the name the angel Gabriel gave to Mary, as shown in Luke 1:31. This name was specifically given because ‘Jesus’ is the transliteration of a Hebrew term meaning “Yahweh [God] saves” (or “Yahweh is salvation”). So ‘Jesus’ is the Lord’s God-given proper name while ‘Christ’ is his title, signifying that Jesus was sent from God as humanity’s King and Deliverer. With this understanding, ‘Jesus Christ’ means “Jesus the Anointed One” and could be translated as “God saves through His Anointed One.”

While the meaning of mashach—“anointed”—literally refers to the pouring of oil, it can also refer to one’s separation unto God, even if literal oil is not actually used (Hebrews 1:9). You see, when someone was promoted to a position of authority in the Old Testament, oil was smeared on the person’s head to signify being consecrated (separated) for God’s work. See 1 Samuel 10:1 for a good example. Anointing was a ritualistic act indicating God’s choosing (e.g., 1 Samuel 24:6). Kings, priests, and prophets were all set apart for the LORD’s ministry in this manner.

I explained all that so you’ll fully grasp what Peter was saying when he answered Jesus’ question. When Peter replied “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” he was acknowledging that Jesus was the anointed prophet that God would raise up as the savior of the world. This was prophesied repeatedly in the Hebraic Scriptures (e.g. Genesis 3:15, Deuteronomy 18:18, Isaiah 7:14 & 9:6). In short, Peter had a revelation that Jesus was humanity’s Savior. And this revelation is the “bedrock” upon which Christ would build his Church, his “called-out ones.”

This makes perfect sense when you understand that it’s this very revelation—this belief inspired by God—that prompts people to embrace the gospel and enables them to be reconciled to the Creator through spiritual regeneration and, hence, obtain eternal life (John 3:3,6,16,36). You can only be a “called-out one” — a member of Christ’s Church — if you have this revelation, like Peter. As such, it’s the bedrock upon which Christ builds his church. Anyone who doesn’t have this revelation can’t be a “called-out one” and therefore the Lord cannot use that person to build his church. Are you with me? This explains this passage:

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God

1 John 5:1

Since you have to believe that Jesus is the Anointed Savior in order to be “born of God,” this revelation is the rock upon which Christ builds his Church, his called-out ones.

Why did Jesus emphasize Peter’s name, petros? Because, although Peter was a little “stone,” he would become a part of the bedrock of the Church of Jesus Christ, which is comprised of all genuine believers regardless of sectarian tag. We’re all little “stones” that together make up the bedrock of the Church, Christ’s body on earth! Peter explained this by the Spirit in his first epistle where he said the Church is built of “living stones” who, like Peter, confess that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God, and Christ is the “chief cornerstone” (1 Peter 2:5-7).

Christ adds in verse 18 that the “gates of Hades” would not overcome his Church. The “gates of Hades” was a colloquial Jewish phrase for death, which makes sense since Hades (or Sheol in Hebrew) is the realm of the DEAD and consequently a person would have to die to go there. Jesus was saying that even death, Satan’s ultimate weapon (Hebrews 2:14-15), could not stop the Messiah from birthing and unleashing his Church. And it didn’t. He was raised to life and the rest is history.

Furthermore, death has no power to destroy the Church, period. Every Satanic attempt to wipe out believers and stop the Church’s spread has failed; in fact, the blood of martyrs has always served to advance God’s kingdom rather than diminish it (e.g. Acts 7:59-8:4). In addition, when a spiritually-regenerated believer physically dies their soul doesn’t go to Hades/Sheol, the realm of the DEAD, but rather goes to be with the Lord in heaven to await his or her bodily resurrection (Philippians 1:20-24, 2 Corinthians 5:1-10, 1 Thessalonians 5:10, Revelation 6:9-11 & 7:9-17).

The Pope May Be the Leader of the Catholic Sect, but He’s Not the Supreme Earthly Leader of Christ’s Church

The God-breathed Scriptures simply do not support the idea of a supreme & infallible human leader of Christianity on earth nor the doctrine of papal (apostolic) succession, which is the idea that the (supposed) supreme earthly authority of the papacy is transferred from pope to pope. The best biblical support Catholics can come up with is Matthew 16:18-19, which they milk for details that the rest of the New Testament refutes.

Actually, it is the Mighty Christ who is the worthy infallible Head of the worldwide Church (Colossians 1:18, 2:10 & 2:19), as well as the Foundation (Acts 4:11-12 & 1 Corinthians 3:11); and fivefold ministers — e.g. pastors and teachers — are under-shepherds who lead in a servant-like fashion (Galatians 2:1-14, Ephesians 2:19-20, 4:11-15 & 1 Peter 5:1-5).

Since this is so, some obvious questions surface: If Christ is the head of the worldwide Church, why do believers need a pope? If it is heresy to deny papal supremacy, as Catholics claim, then all early believers after Christ’s death & resurrection were heretics since there was no pope. Since Christ had completed the work of reconciling believers to God, why would we need further mediation from a pope & his associates?

No where in the Bible are believers encouraged to follow some supreme & infallible bishop (aka Pope) in Rome. Other than Matthew 16:18-19, the best support Catholics can concoct is 1 Peter 5:13, which is pretty feeble evidence, to be honest. Whether Peter became the bishop of Rome or not, there’s zero biblical evidence that this position was to have primacy over the worldwide Church. In other words, the doctrine of the earthly supremacy of the papacy is unscriptural, which is a huge problem when you consider that the God-breathed Scriptures are the LORD’s blueprint for authentic Christianity. In other words, the Bible is the basis for all Christian doctrine & practice and any corrections thereof (2 Timothy 3:16-17 & 1 Corinthians 4:6).

A good example of why this is so important can be observed in pope Francis’ statement that God is okay with a person practicing homosexuality plus his support for “gay” civil unions (go here and here for verification), both of which contradict what the God-breathed Scriptures clearly say on the topic (1 Corinthians 6:9-11), not to mention the official doctrine of the Catholic sect. This is Exhibit A on why it’s not a good idea to consider a fallible human being from a dubious sect to be the unquestionable earthly leader of the worldwide Church and (supposedly) infallible concerning doctrine. Francis was certainly wrong on these counts.

Lastly, for insights on Matthew 16:19 and the principle of “binding & loosing” see this article.

Who Wrote the New Testament Books? Who Authorized them as Scripture Canon?

Why Didn’t Catholics Want People Having Access to Scripture?

Church of Christ — What Is It?

When Did the New Testament Start? When Did the Church Begin?

Sectarianism — What is It? What’s Wrong with It?

Religion and Christianity — What’s the Difference?

Godliness and Religion—What’s the Difference?

Do Believers Need a “Spiritual COVERING”?

Legalism — Understanding its Many Forms

What Is “BACKSLIDING”?

Backsliding is explained by God in this reference to the Israelites after they were delivered from slavery in Egypt, but had problems going forward with the LORD:

“But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.”

Jeremiah 7:24

So “backsliding” is stubbornly following evil inclinations and thus going backward spiritually rather than forward.

You’ll notice that God said “they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts.” So this is a commentary on the condition of the hearts of these particular Israelites and doesn’t mean that every person’s heart on earth is evil, which is a myth often heard in sermons. Christ Himself said that the condition of a person’s heart is determined by what he or she allows to be stored there, whether good or bad (Luke 6:45). You can read more about this here.

Let’s look at some other references to backsliding from Jeremiah:

“Your wickedness will punish you;

    your backsliding will rebuke you.

Consider then and realize

    how evil and bitter it is for you

when you forsake the Lord your God

    and have no awe of me,”

declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

Jeremiah 2:12

In this next verse the LORD laments how the Israelites turned their backs on their Creator by engaging in idolatry:

“They say to wood, ‘You are my father,’

    and to stone, ‘You gave me birth.’

They have turned their backs to me

    and not their faces;

yet when they are in trouble, they say,

    ‘Come and save us!’ ”

Jeremiah 2:27

Jeremiah goes on to say:

for their rebellion is great

and their backslidings many.

Jeremiah 5:6c

They turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline.

Jeremiah 32:33

And Isaiah said to the rebels of Judah & Jerusalem:

They have forsaken the Lord;
they have spurned the Holy One of Israel
and turned their backs on him.

Isaiah 1:4c

Thankfully, God offers the remedy to backsliding:

“Return, faithless people;

I will cure you of backsliding.”

Jeremiah 3:22a

So the answer to backsliding is to return to the LORD because the only cure to backsliding is relationship with God. How do you get the darkness out of a dark room? Turn on the light. It’s the same principle. You don’t drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying in the water. So get out of the water and reignite your relationship with the Lord.

Unlike the Israelites, New Covenant believers have a superior covenant (Hebrews 8:6), spiritual regeneration (Titus 3:5) and the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 1:14). So we have far less of an excuse to stay in a backslidden state than the Israelites.

If you’ve backslid by following evil desires, you can return to the LORD by simply ‘fessing up:

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:8-9

When we confess our sins – to God directly (Hebrews 4:16), not to a Catholic priest – the LORD is faithful to forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ‘Forgive’ means to dismiss the charge altogether whereupon God throws the offense into the sea of forgetfulness (Micah 7:19). When you humbly ’fess up, add something like: “Thank you, LORD, for forgiving my sin and cleansing me of all unrighteousness! Amen. God is good!”

If you’re struggling with backsliding, the key to freedom is learning how to walk in the spirit, which you can read about here.

Related Topics:

Your Thoughts RUN Your Life!

Heart – Is it “Desperately Wicked”? (It Depends)

Libertinism — What’s Wrong with It and How to Walk FREE

Spirituality — How to be Spirit-Controlled Rather than Flesh-Ruled

Is Christianity a “Relationship with God”?

Once Saved Always Saved?

GRACE — What Is God’s Grace? How Do You Receive It? How Do You Grow In It?

False Grace — “Hyper-Grace Cotton Candy”

Roman Catholicism – Is It the “Original Church”? (No)

If you’re familiar with the New Testament you know that it does not support the idea of sectarianism as far as the worldwide Church goes, i.e. the body of Christ. You see, you’re either a believer (a genuine Christian) or you’re not. The tag you choose to go by is irrelevant. What’s going on inside you is the important thing, not the sectarian label with which you might identify. I’m not saying it’s wrong to join a particular sect/camp – assuming it honestly tries to be biblical – but it is wrong to arrogantly think that your sect has a patent on truth and is the “one true church,” which smacks of both arrogance and cultism.

Quasi-Christian groups like the Jehovah’s (False) Witnesses and Mormons do this, of course, but so do mainline sects and others. A few years ago a Lutheran minister wrote me and insisted that his denomination was the one true church and all other sects were not pure in doctrine like his camp. He may not have put it in these precise terms, but it was what he actually believed.

The Roman Catholic Church makes a similar claim with the boast that their sect is the only one that can trace its lineage to the 1^st century apostles, like Peter, whom they say was the first bishop (“Pope”) of Rome. There’s only one biblical passage that might imply this (1 Peter 5:13), but – whether Peter was or was not the bishop of Rome – there’s zero biblical evidence that this position was to have primacy over the worldwide Church. In other words, the doctrine of the earthly supremacy of the papacy is unscriptural, which is a huge problem when you consider that the Bible is God’s blueprint for authentic Christianity.

In this article we’re going to see that…

Arguing based on physical lineage is not grounds for legitimacy in Christianity.
Faithfulness to the God-breathed Scriptures is the true basis for authenticity.
The Catholic Church – as we know it – didn’t even exist until like the 5^th century and the late 4^th century at the earliest; and, as such…
The New Testament Scriptures were not written by the “Catholic Church fathers” nor originally verified by them.

Arguing Based on Physical Lineage Is Not Grounds for Legitimacy in Christianity

Both John the Baptist and Christ utterly shattered the argument of legitimacy based on lineage. Before the Messiah’s consecration to public ministry, John was baptizing people at the Jordan River with a baptism of repentance in preparation for Jesus’ soon-to-come ministry:

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Matthew 3:7-10

John knew beforehand that these partisan religionists were going to argue for their legitimacy based on their hereditary connection to Abraham, but John shot this idea down in flames before they even had the audacity to voice it.

After Christ entered into public ministry, the issue of fatherhood came up in a discussion with the Pharisees and other Hebrews. They asked who Jesus’ father was and he answered:

“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”

John 8:19

They then proceeded to argue their legitimacy based on being children of Abraham and children of God:

³⁹ “Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. ⁴⁰ As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. ⁴¹ You are doing the works of your own father.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. ⁴³ Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. ⁴⁴ You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

John 8:39-44

The fact that these unbelieving Jews could trace their heritage to Abraham was irrelevant. Their attitude, beliefs and actions revealed the truth – the reality – of their spiritual condition, not their physical lineage.

They then shifted their argument from physical to spiritual lineage, insisting that God was their father. So the Messiah frankly told them: “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God” (verse 42). Now, keep in mind that Jesus was/is the Living Word of God (John 1:1-3). The Living Word of God – Christ – is always in agreement with the written Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16). Both are called “truth” in the Bible, that is, reality, the way it really is (John 14:6 & 17:17). If God was truly their father they would also love the Word of God, both the Living Word and the written Word. But this clearly wasn’t the case with the Pharisees & their ilk because they hated the Messiah so much they wanted to murder him.

Furthermore, they were seriously in error in their doctrines (teachings), which Jesus stressed when he instructed his disciples:

“Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Matthew 16:6

The disciples mistakenly took the Lord literally and so Christ clarified:

How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ¹²Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Matthew 16:11-12

This didn’t mean that the Pharisees and Sadducees were wrong on every point of doctrine, of course, very few false religious groups are wrong about everything. But both of these sects of Judaism were off on enough important points that Christ warned the disciples to guard against their teachings in general. One problem with both groups is that they were perversely legalistic. Furthermore, the Pharisees deviated from Scripture in favor of tradition or philosophizing (Matthew 23:16-22, Mark 7:1–23, & Luke 11:42) while the Sadducees argued that there was no resurrection of the dead and neither angels nor demons (Acts 23:8). Needless to say, each of these flawed mindsets would negatively affect a disciple’s spiritual health.

All of this demolishes the idea of legitimacy based on physical lineage; it also establishes that…

Faithfulness to the God-breathed Scriptures Is the True Basis for Authenticity

Anyone who is of God will love the Living Word – Jesus Christ – who came from the Father, as well as love the written Word because the Living Word and the written Word are in agreement. Both are “truth” (John 14:6 & 17:17). This explains a rule that Paul & Apollos had in their service: “Do not go beyond what is written” (1 Corinthians 4:6) (see this article for details).

This wise principle corresponds to something Jesus stressed:

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

John 8:31-32 (NRSV)

Knowing the truth – that is, reality, the way it really is – is dependent upon devotion to God’s Word and “continuing” in it (which means not giving up after a season and not settling into an arrogant know-it-all rut). This explains why the noble Bereans went directly to the Scriptures to verify if Paul’s message was true or not (Acts 17:10-12). They didn’t go to their sect’s doctrinal hand-scroll, but to the God-breathed Scriptures. They understood that the Scriptures are the LORD’s blueprint for authentic Christianity.*

* You can read more about the noble Berean spirit here.

By contrast, those who go beyond God’s Word will not know the truth and therefore will not be set free by it. Such people will find themselves in bondage in one form or another, including religious bondage. This is always the case with those who go beyond what is written and add this or that to the Holy Scriptures, which is blatantly denounced in God’s word (Deuteronomy 4:2, Proverbs 30:6 & Revelation 22:18-19). It’s something the Pharisees regularly did.

If you want clear proof that the Scriptures are God’s established pattern for authentic Christianity look no further than this passage where Paul instructs his protégé Timothy:

and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:15-17

According to this text, what is it that that’s going to make Timothy — and, by extension, any believer — wise? The Holy Scriptures! It goes on to explain why this is so: Because “all Scripture is God-breathed,” which simply means that the writers whom the LORD chose to chronicle Scripture “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). As such, Scripture is “useful” for several things: “teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” It’s through the rightly divided instruction of Scripture and the corrections & training thereof that we are “thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Of course we understand that the Holy Spirit within the believer helps in accomplishing this (John 16:13 & 1 John 2:27). But notice that nothing is said about an infallible pope or an elaborate religious hierarchy being necessary to make you wise through teaching you, correcting you and training you. Yes, fivefold ministers (that is, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors & teachers) are instrumental in the healthy spiritual growth of disciples (Ephesians 4:11-13), but only according to their Spirit-led faithfulness to the God-breathed Scriptures in their loving teachings, exhortations, corrections and example!

Anyone who deviates from the God-breathed Scriptures by either adding unbiblical doctrines & practices or omitting vital material is not a genuine man or woman of God, no matter how authentic they claim to be. Whether or not their lineage can be traced back to the 1st century Church is irrelevant. This applies to groups as well. If a sect boasts of being the “one true Church,” but their doctrines & practices are grossly unbiblical, it tells you everything you need to know — flee for your spiritual welfare! Christ said: “LEAVE THEM; they are blind guides” (Matthew 15:14).

Now let’s relate all of this to our topic, the claim that the Catholic Church is one-and-the-same as Christ’s original Church of the 1^st century; in other words, “the one true church.” If the Catholic Church were truly of God then they would love both the Living Word and written Word, which means that they would agree with the Word. Unfortunately, this is simply not so. The Catholic Church has numerous doctrines & practices that don’t comply with God’s Word, to put it mildly; we’ll look at many of them momentarily.

I want to stress here that this does not mean that every person identifying as a “Catholic” is unsaved and damned to everlasting destruction in the lake of fire. As I said before, the sectarian label a person chooses to go by isn’t as important as what’s going on in his/her heart. Does the individual have saving faith or not? Is s/he reconciled to God or not? These are the questions that are important, not the tag s/he goes by. That said, is it wise for a genuine believer to stay in a sect that advocates doctrine & practices that blatantly deviate from Holy Scripture? The obvious answer is “no” because these unbiblical things would eventually have a negative effect on the spiritual growth of the believer. This is different than saying that God couldn’t raise someone up in the midst of Catholicism to confront this sect with their error, like Martin Luther did in the 1500s.

The Catholic Church – as We Know It – Didn’t Even Exist Until Like the 5th Century; and the Mid 4th Century at the Earliest

How can the Catholic Church be the original Church of Christ in the 1st century when it didn’t even exist until almost 400 years later? Let me explain…

The origins of the Roman Catholic Church were forged at the Council of Nicaea in Asia Minor (Turkey) in 325 AD. At this council the dubiously-converted Roman Emperor Constantine, who mixed Christianity with paganism, attempted to unite Christendom because he envisioned Christianity uniting the deteriorating Roman Empire. While some good things came out of this historic council, like upholding the doctrine of Christ’s divinity, it mixed Christianity with politics and the corresponding temptations of power and corruption thereof. Later in that century Christianity became the official state religion of the Roman Empire, which is essentially when Catholicism was born.

The Roman Church fell into increasing error. Christ & the apostles warned of this in the Scriptures (Matthew 7:15-23, Acts 20:28–32, 2 Corinthians 11:13, 2 Peter 2:1 & Jude 1:4). Faithful believers had to operate more and more ‘underground,’ much as they do today in Communistic nations that have their compromised State-approved Christian religion and the invisible underground Church that meets secretly, which is the real Church.

The acceptance of Augustine’s false doctrines in 431 AD at the Council of Ephesus was the prologue to a thousand year dark age wherein all kinds of absurd unbiblical doctrines & practices were embraced by the Roman Church and accumulated. These amassing corruptions are what prompted the great Protestant Reformation in the 1500s.

All the books of what is known as the New Testament were already listed in the Muratorian Canon circa 170 AD, except for Hebrews, James, 1 Peter and 2 Peter, plus the mini-epistles 2 John and 3 John. This was 155 years before the Council of Nicaea.

I realize that the Roman Catholic Church claims it began with Peter, whom they say was the first pope — that is, bishop of Rome — but the proof is in the pudding of Scripture, which is God’s established pattern for authentic Christianity. And nowhere in the God-breathed Scriptures will you find support for doctrines & practices like these:

The papacy, a supreme human leader of Christianity on earth. Actually Christ is the head of the church (Colossians 1:18, 2:10 & 2:19) and fivefold ministers, e.g. pastors and teachers, are under-shepherds who lead in a servant-like fashion (Acts 15:1-23, Galatians 2:1-14, Ephesians 2:19-20, 4:11-13 & 1 Peter 5:1-5).
Apostolic succession, the idea that the (supposed) supreme earthly authority of the papacy is transferred from pope to pope (ditto).
Papal infallibility concerning declaration of dogmas (official teachings, aka doctrine), which is easily refuted. It’s the God-breathed Scriptures that are infallible, not a particular human leader in the Church (Isaiah 8:20 & 40:8, John 10:35, Acts 17:10-12, 20:32 & 2 Timothy 3:15-17).
Equating extrabiblical traditions with the authority of Scripture (Mark 7:8).
Mary veneration that smacks of worship, as well as the mythology built around Mary centuries after the biblical canon was completed. Whilst Mary was highly favored of God and rightly considered blessed by all generations (Luke 1:28 & 1:48), she’s not to be worshiped, which both the apostles and holy angels utterly rejected (Acts 10:25–26, 14:13–15, Revelation 19:10 & 22:9). Worship is for God Alone. For details go here.
Praying to dead saints or Mary (Matthew 6:9, Romans 8:26-27, 1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 4:16, 7:25). Nowhere in the Bible are we instructed to pray to someone who physically died; in fact, we are commanded not to do this (Leviticus 20:27 & Deuteronomy 18:10-13). Nowhere does the Bible suggest that believers who have passed away are praying for people on earth. This article details the believer’s intermediate state in heaven and the activities thereof. Only the omnipotent, omniscient LORD can hear all the millions of prayers on earth and address them accordingly and adequately.
Obsession with religious statues in worship — which smacks of idolatry — even though the Bible forbids the use of images in worship (Exodus 20:4–5). Interestingly, the Catholic Church summarizes the second of the Ten Commandments as “you shall not have other gods beside me,” but they outrageously omit “you shall not make for yourself a carved image” and “you shall not bow down to them or serve them.” Why? Obviously because the Catholic Church has a long history of borderline idolatry with its use of statues and iconography in worship, so they just cut out the part of the Scripture passage they didn’t like!
Confession to priests. Actually all believers are priests of God (1 Peter 2:5-9, Revelation 1:6 & 5:10) and we are to confess directly to the LORD (1 John 1:8-9 & Hebrews 4:16) and other believers as led of the Spirit, particularly those we’ve offended (James 5:16). Of course you have to be wise in the latter because false believers or carnal believers will use negative data against you, e.g. gossip/slander.
Infant baptism, which isn’t taught anywhere in the New Testament because a person has to willingly choose Christ (Romans 10:9-13) and, of course, infants are incapable of doing this.
Celibacy mandated for Church leaders (1 Timothy 3:2).
The damaging false doctrine Amillennialism, which teaches that there will be no millennial reign of Christ (Revelation 20:1-7) and — ludicrously — that we are now simultaneously in the Church Age, the Tribulation and the Millennium.
Transubstantiation, the curious claim that the bread & wine at the Lord’s Supper celebration literally morphs into the body and blood of Christ.
The absurd granting of indulgences, which amounts to earned forgiveness. Indulgences were aggressively marketed & sold prior to the Reformation to fund the rebuilding of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, Rome. To Reformers, it smacked of the sale/purchase of salvation or the forgiveness of sins. Indulgences are still practiced to this day in various ways, e.g. plenary indulgences granted to Catholics who, say, watch a Christmas benediction on TV.

All of these extra-biblical errors were made up as they went along and became “tradition,” which Catholics wrongly consider equal with Scripture.

The doctrine of Purgatory could also be added to this list, at least as far as the idea of purgatory being some kind of middle destiny between eternal life and everlasting destruction, as well as the premise that God assists purifying believers after death in response to the actions of people who are alive on earth. Both of these concepts are unbiblical and therefore the doctrine of Purgatory — as far as these ideas go — is a false doctrine. Yet, to be fair, there are some elements of the doctrine of purgatory that actually relate to the biblical doctrine of the Judgment Seat of Christ. In short, concocting the doctrine of purgatory was unnecessary because we already had the scriptural doctrine of the Judgment Seat of Christ. See this article for details.

Christendom tends to give Catholicism a pass on these unbiblical items because the Roman Church is so huge and goes back to the approximate time of Augustine, but imagine if any non-Catholic group adopted these kinds of doctrines/practices today; it would be scandalous because they’re so outrageously unscriptural.

These blatant problems with Catholicism shouldn’t be interpreted to mean that someone who identifies as a Catholic cannot be a genuine believer. I’ve met several Catholics over the decades who struck me as sincere believers. God is not interested in the tag people go by, but with what’s going on in their hearts. For instance, if you put a label of corn on a can of beans, it wouldn’t make the beans a can of corn.

That said, the LORD is concerned about what people believe because belief corresponds to faith, which determines their salvation and spiritual growth, depending on the specific data the person believes, whether it’s true or false, scriptural or unscriptural. Obviously if what a Christian believes is unbiblical, it will naturally have a negative impact on his/her relationship with God and spiritual growth. This is why the above twelve issues with Catholicism (and more) need to be exposed and purged from a Christian’s belief system, whatever label s/he goes by. This is why I’m exposing them here, not to be mean to Catholics.

The New Testament Scriptures Were Not Written By the “Catholic Church Fathers” Nor Originally Verified by Them

Since the Roman Catholic Church — as we know it — didn’t even exist until the 5th century, or the mid 4th century at the earliest, the New Testament Scriptures from the 1st century were neither written by Catholics nor authorized by them. For details see this article.

Meeting at God’s Blueprint for Christianity

All Christians — whatever sectarian tag they choose to go by — have to honestly meet at the blueprint for Christianity — God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16) — and what it clearly & consistently teaches from a New Covenant perspective based on sound hermeneutics.

Physical lineage is of no consequence in the body of Christ (Galatians 3:28); it’s spiritual lineage that matters (Galatians 5:6 & 6:15). And anyone spiritually regenerated by the Holy Spirit thru Jesus Christ can trace their lineal descent to the 1st century Church because those early believers were born-again of the same Spirit thru the same Lord (John 3:3,6 & Titus 3:5).

Who Wrote the New Testament Books? Who Authorized them as Scripture Canon?

Why Didn’t Catholics Want People Having Access to Scripture?

Legalism — Understanding its Many Forms

Sectarianism — What is It? What’s Wrong with It?

Religion and Christianity — What’s the Difference?

Godliness and Religion—What’s the Difference?

What’s the Bible say about Mary and Mary Veneration?

Why Is This World So Messed Up?

Everyone born into this world eventually discovers that we live in a really messed up reality, a world plagued by lies, pain, disease, aging, death, grief, immorality, perversion, confusion, corruption, injustice, abuse, hostility and war. I remember a song from the late 80s that honestly addressed the topic with the singer asking at the close: “Why is this world so (bleeped) up?!”

What is God’s answer in the Bible? How did humanity and the earth get to where we are?

First, the good news…

There’s a New World Coming!

Our Creator is well aware of how messed up life is in this current world. I say “current” because the LORD promises something very comforting – a perfect future world:

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Revelation 21:1-4

This is a reference to the coming eternal age of the new heavens and new earth. God fully knows how hard it can be in this world and encourages us to look forward to this magnificent eternal age-to-come:

But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

2 Peter 3:13

In this coming glorious universe everything that’s currently wrong with our world will be made right. Instead of aging, pain & death we’ll have powerful, immortal bodies; instead of sinful natures we’ll have thoroughly spiritual natures; instead of shame, glory; instead of falsities, injustice, corruption, hate and war, there will be universal truth, justice, righteousness, love and peace. You can read more about it here.

I’m bringing this up to stress that God knows how bad it is on earth and promises a new heavens and new earth where all the problems of this one will be a distant memory. You must get ahold of this if you want to get through this current temporary life without pulling your hair out in fretfulness. I also want to point out that if this world was not severely messed up there wouldn’t be a need for a new one. In other words, this current world isn’t supposed to be perfect and blissful. If it were, there would be no need for a new one. Are you with me? The very fact that this world is so messed up verifies the truth of Scripture. The Bible point blank refers to the current state of our world as “the present evil age” (Galatians 1:4).

But how did this world get so messed up in the first place? What can explain the cosmic conflict between good and evil? A conflict so universal that every human being experiences this war in their very members practically every day! It’s in our governments, our families, our work places, our schools, our universities, our assemblies, our stories, our art, our music and our movies – it’s palpable everywhere!

The Great War of the Three Realms and How it Began

The three realms are Heaven, Earth and the Underworld (Philippians 2:9-11 & Revelation 5:2-3). Heaven is God’s spiritual abode where his throne is located. The physical universe, which includes the earth, was created from the LORD’s invisible realm (Hebrews 11:3). After Satan & his corrupt angels rebelled and were kicked out of Heaven, the Underworld was created. The Underworld is simply the dark heavenlies that parallel the Earth & Universe from which the devil & his demons operate (Ephesians 6:12).

Once Satan fell he focused on taking humanity down with him and he was successful in misleading the first man, Adam, by duping his wife, Eve (Genesis 3). Ever since, there has been a cosmic war between Heaven and the Underworld with humanity & this Earth caught in between these two forces of good and evil.

Before Satan’s fall & casting from Heaven along with a third of the angels, he was originally Lucifer — aka “Morning Star” or “Shining One” — the most attractive, talented and honored angel the LORD had created (Isaiah 14:12). Lucifer was a guardian cherub handpicked by God for the privilege of guarding — i.e. covering — God’s throne in Heaven, similar to the cherubim who were assigned to guard the Garden of Eden after Adam & Eve were banished (Genesis 3:24).

Ezekiel 28:12-19 shows that Lucifer had an intrinsic musical anointing and dwelt in the presence of the Almighty. When God created the Earth & Universe the angels “sang together” and “shouted for joy”. Satan’s rebellion occurred sometime after this because there had to be an Earth and the corresponding Underworld for him to fall to and inhabit (Luke 10:18). Again, the “underworld” is simply the spiritual dimension that undergirds the Earth & Universe. Not being physical beings, the devil and his fallen angels operate from this spiritual realm to negatively influence the physical world. See this article for insights.

Job 38:4-7 shows that “all the angels shouted for joy” when the Earth was created. The word ‘all’ is kol (kohl) in the Hebrew, meaning “the whole.” The Hebrew for ‘angels’ in this verse literally means “the sons of God,” a phrase used to describe angels elsewhere in Scripture, including the devil & his filthy angels (e.g. Genesis 6:2-4 & Job 1:6, 2:1). The fact that angels are described as “the sons of God” in Scripture implies that they were created in the image of God, like human beings. You can read more about this here. My point is that all the angels rejoiced when God created the Heavens and the Earth (Genesis 1:1), which would include Lucifer and his subordinates before their rebellion and ouster from Heaven.

Yet in Genesis 3:1-15 we observe Satan, after his fall, possessing a serpent-with-legs in order to tempt the first woman. This shows that Lucifer and his cohorts rebelled and were cast from Heaven sometime after the creation of the Earth & Universe, but before the devil’s duping of Eve, which means sometime between Genesis 1:31 and Genesis 3:1.* We don’t know the exact expanse of time between these two events, but it could’ve been years. In any case, this shows that Satan’s rebellion occurred shortly after the creation of human beings.

* This is the young Earth perspective, which I believe is the most biblically faithful position on the age of the Earth/Universe. Gap theorists, who embrace the old Earth model, place the fall of Lucifer & his fallen spirits sometime between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. For details, see this article.

We know that Lucifer’s insurgency was due to pride:

¹³ You said in your heart,

    “I will ascend to the heavens;

   I will raise my throne

      above the stars of God;

   I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,

      on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.

¹⁴I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;

       I will make myself like the Most High.”

Isaiah 14:13-14

These five “I will” statements reveal Satan’s arrogance — he wanted to be God rather than be God’s servant. This was the first sin ever committed, the first sin to enter God’s creation. And notice that sin is traced to what’s going on in one’s heart, which is corroborated by Christ in the New Testament (Mark 7:20-23). No wonder Jesus emphasized this in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28).

Lucifer was not satisfied with his extraordinary blessings and privileges. Instead, he wanted to be God and so, after his defeat, he naturally tempted Adam & Eve with the same basic sin that led to his downfall (Genesis 3:1-5). But there’s more to this story, way more…

Lucifer was possibly having problems with the concept of serving before God created Adam & Eve, but once humans were created and he caught wind of the fact that angels were commissioned to serve people (Hebrews 1:14) his pride couldn’t handle it, particularly when he found out that human beings were created in the likeness of God, like the angels. And, worse, that they were expressly created to be co-heirs with Christ, seated with Him at the right hand of the Father, a privilege and position not granted to angels (Romans 8:17, Hebrews 1:13 & Ephesians 2:6). Lucifer’s envy went into overdrive and thus he orchestrated his doomed revolt.

Lucifer thus became Satan, which means “Adversary” or “Enemy.” Knowing God’s character, the LORD gave Satan & his foul cronies time to repent, but they were incorrigible. Since angelic spirits possess intrinsic immortality (Luke 20:34-36), God couldn’t annihilate Satan & his fallen angels and so sentenced them to eternal separation from God’s kingdom and therefore created the lake of fire as their eternal habitation (Matthew 25:41).

This is when the devil – which means “slanderer” – accused the LORD of being unloving and unjust. God consequently allowed a universal demonstration to all the angels – faithful and fallen – to prove both his great love and perfect justice by allowing the Enemy to tempt human beings, which would result in humanity’s fall. This would pave the way for God to implement his wonderful plan of redemption through the suffering & sacrifice of Christ, which offered forgiveness, reconciliation & eternal life for any human being who humbly repented and received God’s graciousness (Acts 20:21), which was something the devil & his cronies were foolishly unwilling to do.

Hence, God’s sentence on the fallen angels was temporarily suspended until this universal demonstration was completed. This “demonstration” to spiritual powers can be observed in this passage:

8Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, 9and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Ephesians 3:8-12

“The rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms” refers to angelic authorities, which includes “the rulers… the authorities… the powers of this dark world and… the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

In the meantime the devil & his underlings are doing everything they can to thwart God’s demonstration. For anyone who might object to the idea of a dispute between God and the devil and the corresponding exhibition on Earth, the Bible details just such a scenario on a smaller scale in the book of Job (Job 1:8-12 & 2:3-7).

Satan’s top priority, of course, is to keep as many people from eternal salvation as possible (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). Apparently he thinks that if he can prevent enough people from acquiring redemption, the Creator will be forced to bend his justice, which would set a precedent and thus grant Satan & his demons a possible acquittal.

I know this is heavy, but it reveals the big picture of what’s going on behind the scenes and explains our messed up Universe and the ongoing war between good and evil. All the pieces the puzzle fit. Mull over the data and decide for yourself. Thankfully, this is a temporary war and God’s kingdom wins in the end. Thus all the humbly repentant are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth, the home of righteousness (2 Peter 3:13).

Amen.

RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS

Satan (the Devil) — Liar, Slanderer, Thief, Murderer

The Fall of Man (Humanity) and Slavery to Satan

The Basics of Christianity

IMMORTALITY — Only Available Through the Gospel

The Five Earths of the Bible (and the Eight Ages)

The NIV BIBLE — Answering the Critics

Criticisms of the NIV by KJV-Only Folks

The Appropriate Way to View Translations of the Holy Scriptures

Pointers on How to get the Most Out of Your Studies of the Scriptures

Criticizing Translations

Specific Criticisms of the NIV by KJV Only Types

‘A Lesbian Scholar Was on the Translation Committee’

‘The NIV Says Someone Other Than David Killed Goliath’

‘The NIV Has Removed a Lot of Words/Verses That Are in the KJV’

The Non-Issue of NIV Revisions

The Criticism of the Use of “Scholars”

Closing Thoughts

The Problem With Identity Politics—Including “Gender Identity”

What Does “Do Not Go Beyond What is Written” Mean in 1 Corinthians 4:6?

KINGDOM OF GOD — What Does It Mean?

Paul’s “Thorn” — What Was It?

Is NAME-CALLING Ever Appropriate?

Jesus Righteously Called People Names on Appropriate Occasions

Rare-but-Righteous Name-Calling by Paul

Righteous Name-Calling Should Always Be TRUE, Even if It’s Figurative

“Do Everything in Love,” Including Righteous Name-Calling

John the Baptist, Jesus Christ and Paul the Apostle Implemented Righteous Name-Calling on Occasion

The Rightwing Fascism of the 1st Century and the Leftwing Fascism of Today

Does Matthew 16:18-19 Support the Idea of a POPE?

What Did Jesus Mean by “On this Rock I Will Build My Church”?

The Pope May Be the Leader of the Catholic Sect, but He’s Not the Supreme Earthly Leader of Christ’s Church

What Is “BACKSLIDING”?

Roman Catholicism – Is It the “Original Church”? (No)

Arguing Based on Physical Lineage Is Not Grounds for Legitimacy in Christianity

Faithfulness to the God-breathed Scriptures Is the True Basis for Authenticity

The Catholic Church – as We Know It – Didn’t Even Exist Until Like the 5th Century; and the Mid 4th Century at the Earliest

The New Testament Scriptures Were Not Written By the “Catholic Church Fathers” Nor Originally Verified by Them

Meeting at God’s Blueprint for Christianity

Why Is This World So Messed Up?

There’s a New World Coming!

The Great War of the Three Realms and How it Began

The Rightwing Fascism of the 1^st Century and the Leftwing Fascism of Today