Walk in the footsteps of Christ
Luke writes that
once, Jesus asked himself: «When the Son of Man
comes back, will he find the faith on earth?» (Luke 18:8). With these words, Jesus did not mean whether people
would say to put faith in him, but if at his return, he would find someone who
knew and lived in the true faith, the genuine faith that the apostles taught
personally and through their writings.
The fact is that
after the first century, following the death of the apostles and the first
disciples, the Jewish-Christian communities abandoned the unitary character of
the Congregation and isolated themselves. Meanwhile, the
disciples from the other nations got divided into many sects, and those who
attributed themselves authority over Christianity, introduced into the apostolic
teaching some philosophical concepts and principles, which made it interesting to
educated pagans, but distorted the true message and deprived it of meaning.
Besides, to fight a desertion of believers and in an
effort to establish, consolidate and defend the universality of a post
apostolic creed and a rising temporal power, the Church undertook a path that eventually
led it to adopt a rigorous dogmatism in its doctrine and morals.
In contrast with
this approach, Paul warns the disciples of all time: «Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, so do not let yourselves be deluded
by diverse stories and teachings». (Hebrews 13:8...9) These words express his concern because already in his
day, some disciples who excelled in oratory or in scholastic instruction,
matching themselves to those who on Pentecost day received the Spirit and the
gifts, misled the disciples through their interpretations of doctrine. Distressed
by this trend, Paul writes: «When one comes
preaching another Jesus, a different one from he who we preached to
you, or if it is about receiving a
different spirit from that which you received or of accepting a different good news from that which you accepted, you to
listen him with pleasure. I do not
price myself inferior to these high-apostles, since if I'm not very cultivated
in speech (so they said
of him), I am cultivated in knowledge, as we have
shown in front of you in all circumstances» (2Corinthians 11:4…6), but «these false apostles are deceitful operators
disguised as apostles of Christ, and this
is not surprising because also Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, it is not then surprising if his servants disguise themselves as
servants of righteousness. But their end shall be according to their works». (2Corinthians 11:13...15)
In regard to
these things, Peter predicted: «as there were
false prophets among the people, there
will also be false teachers among you, who
will covertly bring in destructive heresies and disown the Lord who rescued them, bringing upon themselves an
unexpected ruin. And many will follow them in their
corruption, and because of them, there will be injurious speaking of the way of
truth, because in their greed, they will deceive you with
false words». (2
Peter 2:1...2) And Paul urges the disciples «not to go beyond what is written, so that no one might feel superior to the others»,
(1Corinthians 11:4:6) and advises them to remain in the true faith or doctrine with these
words: «Examine
yourselves whether you are in the faith» (2Corinthians 13:5) «because there is one Lord (Jesus), one faith (one single
teaching), one
baptism (that received in the
name of Jesus), and one God, who is the
Father of all, (Yahuh, the source
of all which exist and of all life)».
(Ephesians 4:5...6)
The fact of going
beyond what Scripture says, has since then spread
among the millions of people associated to the countless denominations that recognize
themselves Christian, a hybrid doctrine, polluted by pagan traditions and
subjective interpretations. However, the
genuine faith is only one, that
of the apostolic times, and this faith should remain unblemished because it is the fruit of God's spirit.
John wrote:
«Beloved, I do not write to you a new teaching
but an old one that you have from the beginning. This ancient teaching is the word you heard, which is always current for all».
(1John 2:7) Besides, while
describing his vision of the Revelation, declares that Jesus tells those who
represent the elders over God’s Congregation: «I do not impose you any other weight than to remain firmly attached to what you
already have, until I come back».
(Revelation 2:24…25) His
command is therefore in force until his return.
Christ’s disciples should know the promises of
God to his people, the promises that were foretold through the ancient prophets and the
words of Christ, and that after Pentecost, were explained and spread by the apostles.
The fact of never going beyond what Scripture says, uncovers to us the true faith or sound doctrine,
which is always current for all those
who want to walk in the footsteps of Christ.