For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4:1-4)
Corruption Foretold
Christianity has gone through many levels of corruption. This process of corruption in the Church was often gradual, such as when philosophical ideas slowly trickled in, and sometimes rapid, such as when Constantine claimed the name of Christ in the 300’s AD.
It has been said that when the Good News was first preached in Judea and Galilee it involved a spiritual covenant relationship between God and the believers through Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:26-29). Then, when Christianity spread to Greece it became an idea; when it came to Rome it became an institution; and finally, when it came to America, it became an enterprise.
This simple account contains a great deal of truth. While there are many ways we can characterize the falling away, the essence of what happened was that followers of Christ turned their backs on the clear, true and divinely-inspired teachings of scripture, and began to rely increasingly on the teachings of fallible men, whether this involved human philosophy or political expediency. The gospel given by God through Christ was pure and undefiled until theologians, philosophers and Gnostics began to confuse it with their abstractions (2 Cor 11:1-4; Col 2:8-10). Likewise, the ecclesia of God was on a good course until it was taken over by the establishment and changed from the Body of Christ into an pagan institution (Rev 17:1-8).
Listen to God’s Entire Word
As we not only have the infallible testimony of the Bible, but also the convincing witness of history, we are without excuse before God. The evidence is there for those who would seek it. We should all strive to return to the original form of worship, the covenant relationship with God through His son, Jesus Christ. We need to accept the one, true faith given to us by God in His word. And so, let us continue to turn to the word of the living God and to “contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 3)
Here are some articles on important, fundamental teachings of God’s Word: