Group Guide
This Week's City 7:
2. Are there sources outside the Bible that confirm the Biblical account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? Many Roman and Jewish historians have confirmed that the apostles died as martyrs for preaching that they saw Jesus risen from the grave. No one dies for something they know to be a lie.
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)
Ice-Breaker:
- Have you ever been to a Catholic church?
Discussion Questions:
- This week we dove into the age of christendom, or medieval Christianity. In this age, we saw a number of growing issues and corruption in the Roman Catholic church. They began to err in some pretty substantial ways, one of which being their believe in transubstantiation and sacramentalism. Transubstantiation is the belief the the elements of bread and wine in communion, after being prayed over by the priest, become the LITERAL blood and body of Jesus. And sacramentalism is the belief that the sacraments, like communion and baptism, are necessary for salvation. This puts the priest in quite the position as it comes to people's faith in God. In fact, it was believed (and still is in the Catholic church) that priests were the mediators between God and man. Why don't we, as Christians, NEED a mediator between us and God (the answer is... because JESUS already did that for us:)? What are the dangers in elevating a human being to this position in our lives?
- Another major issue of the age of christendom was the church's belief in purgatory. This is believed to be a place of purification or punishment after death that souls pass through before entering heaven. And people that are still living can perform "indulgences" for themselves or for loved ones believed to be in purgatory, which are good works or a financial gift given in order to reduce the punishment for sins while IN purgatory. But these beliefs are completely contradicted by Scripture. If we are to believe the Bible, which clearly teaches that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone, and that Jesus died once and for all to pay the penalty for our sin, how does this whole concept of purgatory begin to create some issues? What are the dangers involved in believing we can do good works to benefit ourselves or even loved ones that are deceased?
- Another major issue with Roman Catholic beliefs was the infallibility of the Pope. This would mean that the Pope cannot err when defining a doctrine or a Christian faith of morality. This puts how the Pope interprets scripture or new rules he decided people should follow are on the same level as scripture itself. This basically turns the Pope into some sort of deity. What are the dangers of elevating a man in this way? Why is it important to not add or take away from the Scriptures?
- Finally, the Roman Catholic church began to err in their veneration of Mary. This is the practice of honoring, showing devotion to, and even praying to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. This eventually leads to seeing Mary as a co-redeemer with Jesus. This implies Mary had a subordinate but essential participation in the redemption of souls because of her free consent to give life to Christ, through which she shared his life, suffering and death. Recent Popes have backed off from that term saying Jesus is the only redeemer. However, they still say things like Mary is the “path” to Jesus. If you are trusting in MORE than Jesus to save you, are you really trusting in Jesus to save you?
- The rise of all these issues, and many more, eventually led to the rise of the REFORMERS. These were men like John Wycliffe, Martin Luther and John Calvin that spent their lives turning people back to the basics of sound doctrine and away from the heresies of the Catholic church. We have these men (and others) to thank for bringing the church back to the truths of Scripture and salvation through our one and only mediator and savior, Jesus Christ. He died so we wouldn't need a priest or a Pope. We don't need someone to stand between us and God. We don't need a sacrament or financial donation or any other good work to save us. Here's a quote from Marin Luther as he stood trial for standing against the Catholic church: "Unless I am convinced by Scripture and by plain reason and not by Popes and councils who have so often contradicted themselves, my conscience is captive to the word of God. To go against conscience is neither right nor safe. I cannot and I will not recant. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me." This should be the heart's cry of every believer in today's culture. How might your life look differently if it was true for you? That unless Scripture says it, you don't believe it, and that your conscience is captive to the Word of God? How do you know if it is?
Prayer Topics:
- That we would be held captive by Scripture alone.
- That we would be convinced by Scripture alone.
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