How to Stay Above Deception Part 10

THE CHURCH REFORMATION

By Apostle Felix

I give you the name Peter, a stone. And this truth of who I am will be the bedrock foundation on which I will build my church—my legislative assembly, and the power of death will not be able to overpower it! Matthew 16: 18

The church has gone through so many transitions that need studying. From the day of Pentecost to date, the church has survived many theological assaults that had threatened the existence of the church. Of course, some clergy men and women claim not to be theologians, but that does not make sense at all. It’s like an individual operating on people in the hospital but yet denying being a medical doctor. It is the study of medicine that qualifies one to be a medical doctor. The study and rightly dividing of the word of God is critical to doctrinal uprightness.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth 2 Timothy 2: 15

Through the years of the church existence, the sixty-six books of the Bible have had several interpretations. It is these interpretations of the Bible that have influenced today’s church doctrines and its practices. The church has experienced so many splits over doctrines and practices over the years. In most instances, splits occur due to doctrinal disputes. The first split that happened between the west Roman Catholic and the East Orthodox church was over the doctrinal disputes. And then the most significant split that took place in 1517, that initiated a reformation that began protestant movement was over theological disputes. The Protestant movement was started by Martin Luther. Its emphasis was salvation through faith in Christ. It denounced salvation through works as purported by the Catholic church.

Pentecostalism started after the protestant movement had spread and many people had started reading the Bible by themselves. The church started realizing the need of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This was because, the Protestants did not believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit with an evidence of speaking in tongues. The Pentecostalism emphasized a direct personal experience of God through the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost an event that is mentioned in Acts 2: 1, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the church. It adheres to the inerrancy (The Bible has no errors) of the Bible and the accepting of Christ Jesus as Lord and personal Saviour. Pentecostalism is distinguished in its use of spiritual gifts, mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12.

We will continue with Pentecostalism in the following devotion…