What It Means to Belong to the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church

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What does it mean to belong to the holy, catholic church? Roman Catholics have used the term catholic to justify their claims that they're supposedly the one true Church that was founded by Jesus Christ in 33 A.D. However, they need to answer on how close are they to Biblical doctrine when stuff like praying to Mary, the Rosary as a repetitious series of prayers, celibate priesthood (and no 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 doesn't order priestly celibacy, Roman Catholics need to examine 1 Timothy 3:1-7), and worse, salvation of faith plus works is nowhere Biblical. In truth, they're just taking Scriptures out of their context in order to make doctrines not found in the Bible! The more I read the Bible - the more I couldn't agree with my former faith of Roman Catholicism which I thought I could reform only to leave it because it couldn't be reformed! The Roman Catholic institution is catholic (in the sense that they have a central organization) but they are not holy and apostolic because they add to the Word of God! They are not the catholic church found in the Apostles' Creed!

What does the word catholic really mean and how did we get that word? The word catholic which is used in the Apostles' Creed (in earlier translations) is simply known as a synonym for universal. The word catholic is derived from "kath" and "oles" which says all throughout. The Church itself is all throughout Judea. As mentioned earlier, Acts 9:31 talks about the church not in Rome but in Judea. The church is all throughout Judea with the words "kath" and oles". To be describes as catholic is to be all throughout. It was through those words that the word catholic was derived from. As Ignatius of Antioch says, "Where the bishop is there is the catholic church." Ignatius of Antioch wasn't talking about Roman Catholic bishops. Rather, the word bishop was used as a synonym for pastor or overseer in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. God required the bishops and deacons to also be godly monogamous husbands (and extramarital affairs disqualify such people to remain as pastors) aside from being men of integrity. The Church founded in 33 A.D. is catholic because it goes all throughout to the ends of the earth with a catholic truth found in the Scriptures. The Church is governed by Scriptures and not the other way around! The Church would never even hide the Scriptures from the public. Rather, everyone who is part of this holy catholic church was encouraged to read the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). 

The French Reformer John Calvin in his great classic "The Institutes of Christian Religion" wrote in one volume titled, "The Holy Catholic Church". Wait, didn't he oppose the Catholic Church? It's the Roman Catholic institution not the holy catholic church of the Bible. Notice that I spelled catholic with a small letter c and not as Catholic as Roman Catholics would identify themselves as. The late D. James Kennedy would later update his book "Why I Believe" with a chapter called "Why I Believe in the Holy Catholic Church". The word catholic has been used several times not to affiliate one's self with the Roman Catholic institution but to show one's membership in the universal church. This church is catholic because it's all throughout. There may be no Pope for the Evangelicals or Baptists but you can see how it works. There may be no central organization for Christians unlike the Roman Catholic institution (the Vatican), Jehovah's Witnesses (The Watchtower), or Mormons (Salt Lake City) but there's this spirit of oneness in all who are in Christ Jesus. The Roman Catholic institution may claim to be one yet the history of division has been long resulting in its off-shoots like the Orthodox churches and the Philippine Independent Church 

Now, one can say how can Evangelicals or Protestants and Baptists belong to the one true Church if there are many Christian denominations? These organizations are divided organizationally but they are one spiritually. The Church itself is founded as the Body of Christ (Romans 12:5, 1 Corinthians 10:27, Colossians 1:24, Ephesians 4:12, 5:23, and Hebrews 13:13. Christ is the Head of the Church and there is no visible head such as the Pope. There is no central organization here on Earth and neither did Peter claim that he was such. Rather, Peter addressed the others as simply fellow elders (1 Peter 5:1). Although Peter was the first ordained pastor yet he didn't pastor the whole church worldwide. Rather, local churches were established. We have the local New Testament churches which are all part of the Church, the Body of Christ. How do we know that the Church is one in the Spirit in spite of denominational differences? Let me give you this example. I'm a Baptist and you may be a Presbyterian. John MacArthur is a Reformed Baptist and the late Robert C. Sproul Sr. is a Presbyterian. Matthew Henry is a Presbyterian yet his writings were commended heartily by Charles Haddon Spurgeon for centuries past.  I don't believe Baptists are Protestants maybe except for Reformed Baptists. However, I still embrace Protestant Christians as brothers and sisters when they show evidence of being truly born again. David Cloud of Way of Life may not be a Calvinist but still embraces any Calvinists who are truly born again. There may be some doctrinal differences but soteriologically it's all the same.

This unity in the Church (in spite of the lack of an earthly central organization) all sums up to adhering only to Biblical truth. The summary is to believe in the Holy Trinity, that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God (otherwise you're trusting in another Jesus which won't get you saved), that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, that you must receive Jesus Christ as one's Lord and Savior, that Jesus Christ died for the sins to pay for its penalty because we can't save ourselves, that this salvation is by faith alone that results to good works, the infallibility of the Scriptures as the final authority in faith in matters, and that all men are sinners in need of God's grace. That's what it means to be a Christian - to have Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior because you're a sinner and you can't save yourself. These Christian churches end up still as one because of the unity in the truth and not in superficial unity. In the end, unity in the Church means division against the world yet unity in Christ Jesus!

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