The universal faith of the whole world is that Christ is the Son of the Living God. This faith is no different in Rome as it is in Ephesus, or Antioch, or Jerusalem. The faith doesn’t emanate from Rome, nor does Scripture say this. If it were not possible for Rome to embrace heterodox teaching, then why would Paul himself warn the Roman Christians about this very thing in his letter? If there was some mystical gift given to Rome exclusively that she would not fall from the faith, such a warning would be meaningless. Yet it stands there as an apostolic teaching regardless of vainglorious attempts by a Church body to teach its own superiority and indefectibility. It’s that very hubris that led her down the road of embracing false doctrines.
Whoa! One thing at a time, my friend! How about we start with this:
The universal faith of the whole world is that Christ is the Son of the Living God. This faith is no different in Rome as it is in Ephesus, or Antioch, or Jerusalem.
First, may I say (respectfully) that you haven’t actually responded to what St. Paul said, and so I think you are missing some crucial points here. For example:
- St. Paul is addressing a very specific Church (Rome), and he makes some very specific and unique statements regarding that Church.
- Since these statements are inspired statements, they must surely be given for our instruction, edification, and salvation. So I’m certain we can find some agreement on that score, yes?
So come now, let’s look a just what the saintly apostle has to say about the Great Church at Rome. You might be surprised. We can start with this inspired statement:
“To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” Rom. 1:7
First of all (and this could not be more obvious), we see *how different *this statement of apostle is from the whole world of Protestantism!
Listen again.
“To all in
Rome who are
loved by God.”
Do you not see how different,
how infinitely different, this is from Protestant
contempt of the same Church at Rome!
“To all in Rome
who are loved by God.”
Just ponder those words for a few minutes. Then compare / contrast them with those of Luther, Calvin et al in regard to the Roman Church! And then ask yourself, who really should I believe, the
Inspired Word of God, or some *self-appointed *reformer?
Now again, I would remind you that Paul is here addressing, not the church at “Ephesus, or Antioch, or Jerusalem,” but specifically
the Church at Rome.
So *Rome alone *is the focus of attention here.
Now listen to this next statement, again,
written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is
spoken of throughout the whole world.
Rom. 1:8
Now just stop for a moment and think about the significance of that
inspired statement.
Do you not see that, even
prior to Paul’s having written this epistle, the faith i.e., the
beliefs and doctrines of the Roman Church, had already been
universally proclaimed and been universally received? Moreover, “if the Church of Rome’s faith was not correct, or even complete, St. Paul would not be thanking God for it, nor would it have gained acceptance ‘throughout the whole world.’” {1}
Thus we have a Biblical witness to the fact that all of early Christendom,* even before the New Testament was written,* was already acknowledging and honoring (as did St. Paul himself) the faith of the Great Church at Rome!
- Adam S. Miller, The Roman Catholic Church: A Divine Institution or a Human Invention?, 2006, Tower of David Publications, p. 8.
lulu.com/content/335642
Now there’s more to say, but it’s late, and I want to give you time to ponder what’s been said. I’ll try to respond more tomorrow.
And I myself, in Rome, heard it said openly in the streets, “If there is a hell, then Rome is built on it.” That is, “After the devil himself, there is no worse folk than the pope and his followers.”
*Against the Roman Papacy, An Institution of the Devil *( Wider das Papstum zu Rom vom Teuffel Gestifft, A. D. 1545)
Luther’s Works, Church and Ministry III, American Ed., Helmut T. Lehman, Eric W. Gritsch, eds., Augsburg Fortress Press, 1966, Vol. 41:279. ISBN 0800603419 ISBN 9780800603410.
en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Martin_Luther
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