Growth in spite of controversies and heresies
Church growth in spite of controversies and heresies
Since the majority of the early church teachers shared the story of Jesus orally and since Jesus himself did not write down his teachings, it was inevitable that different interpretations of his message would arise.
In fact, the New Testament itself contains some of earliest records of misunderstandings and/or disagreements with theology.
The Book of Acts details a disagreement between the Apostle Paul and those leaders in Jerusalem over the issue of a person needing to convert to Judaism prior to accepting Jesus as Savior.
In 1st Corinthians Paul deals with a church splintered by the teachings of Apollos who provided a distinct contrast between himself and Paul. Paul wanted to purify the church, while several of the members preferred to retain the immorality of the population that surrounded them.
In 2nd Corinthians, Paul again deals with those in the church who would discredit his teachings. Paul recounts the characteristics and authority of his ministry.
In his Epistle to the Galatians, Paul offers a defense of justification by faith and warns against reverting to Judaism.
The Epistle of James deals with ‘practical’ religion, declaring that it manifests itself in good works, rather than a simple profession of faith.
The First Epistle of John and the Second Epistle of Peter both serve to remind believers to be alert to false teachings.
These are just a few of the many examples of early church leaders having to deal with either dissension of false teachings. Since there was no centralized governing structure in place, various theologies and dissensions would continue to appear over the next 300 years.
Until finally!
You have to wait until next week for the answer