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humorous headline about the passing of John Paul II reads: Heaven Less
Opulent Than Vatican, Reports Disappointed Pope. The headline jabs lightly
at the serious matter of men making what they want out of God’s kingdom.
No doubt about it, Karol Józef Wojtyla, Holy Father and Sovereign
Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, did many good works. He ruled over
many pious devotees. He was the head of a kingdom that has fed many hungry
mouths, sheltered many homeless bodies, and saved many unborn children.
But it is an earthly kingdom, a kingdom of silver and gold, stone walls
and political influence. It is a kingdom whose foundation rests on shifting,
sinking sand. “But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the
precepts of men” (Matthew 15:9). The kingdom of Christ is not of this world
(John 18:36, Romans 14:17).Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets
and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your
children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and
you were unwilling. Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!”
(Matthew 23:37-38).
Communion with Christ is not handed down through the sacraments of a church institution. “Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27). “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Far from working through the church as a separate entity, Christ connects each believer directly to Himself, making each a part of the church (Acts 2:47, 1 Peter 2:5). The Catholic Church relies on a few appointed men who are “authoritatively appointed to do homage to God”, as “intermediaries between man and Divinity,” for the act of worship (“Priest,” New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen). Bible leadership does not branch through a church hierarchy down to a mass of institutionally-dependent laity. “And do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ” (Matthew 23:10). In Christ’s church, all citizens are “a holy priesthood” (1 Peter 2:5, 9), offering up sacrifices of praise to God (Hebrews 13:15, cf. John 4:23-24), placed under no restrictions such as abstinence from marriage or dietary restrictions (1 Timothy 4:1-3, Colossians 2:20-21; compare with entries on ABSTINENCE, CELIBACY OF THE CLERGY, Catholic Encyclopedia). The
written words of the apostles and prophets is the church’s all-sufficient
law (1 Tim. 3:15-17), and its local leaders lead by example of obedience,
not original mandate (1 Peter 5:1-3). The church is built on the foundation
of Christ as Lord (1 Corinthians 3:11). All authority in the church, visible
and invisible, belongs to Christ; “He is also head of the body, the church;
and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself
might come to have first place in everything” (Colossians 1:18, Matthew
28:18). If only general goodness and sincerity were enough to turn aside
the fact of the severe consequences of apostasy, we might look with greater
comfort on the death of the pope. As truth stands, we are sadly led
to conclude that John Paul II has indeed passed from the opulent halls
of Vatican City to a place that is significantly less comfortable.
DIRECT BIBLE QUESTIONS TO: Mitchell Stevens, acts2216@midsouth.rr.com |