Expert: Marvin Howard - 9/22/2004

Question
Do Churches of Christ believe in "Sola Scriptura?" If so, how do they justify such a belief, since the earliest Christians didn't have a complete "Bible", per se, and relied upon both oral tradition and the authority of those men commissioned by Christ to proclaim the gospel.


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Followup To
Question -
What do the Churches of Christ teach about life after death? Are
people alive as immaterial spirits or do they need a resurrected
body to live again?
Answer -
Hi!

Anthony, thank you for the question. It is slightly based on some misinformation, so I will clarifiy it. But, I do get the main idea of the information which you are seeking.

The church was in existence prior to any denomination, whether it be catholic or any other, and in so being has no extra-Biblical or anti-Biblical teaching of its own as each of the denominations do (c.f., Galatians 1:8-9). We are not one, nor are we like them. What we do is speak where the Bible speaks, and are silent where the Bible is silent. All we do is give you the scriptures about a subject, and demonstrate how they relate to all other scriptures on a subject with comments to show their correlation or applicability. So, the question I will answer is, "What does the scripture teach on life after death?" Of necessity, this is going to include information concerning the resurrection and judgement.

I do understand the confusion on the location and state of the dead. The location is a translational problem, though it should not be. The state of the dead is misunderstood, and therefore often incorrectly taught, based on false ideas concerning their location.

You see, many words were not as thoroughly translated as they should have been. False doctrines were well established by the time there was an English translation (or a translation into any language for that matter). Much of it had to do with supporting these false doctrines. However, scripture has survived, as promised. Even when some words were handled this way, there is enough context to decide proper meaning, as well as our having the ability to return to the original language and definitions.

Spiritually speaking, scripture uses five different words to express locations of souls in the afterlife. The English forms of these are Hades, Paradise, Tatarus, Heaven, and Hell.

Hades (when including both Paradise and Tatarus), Hell, Tatarus, and even the physical grave are often (if not exclusively) all translated as Hell. This is complicated further, as more times than not, heaven is used to refer to the physical sky than it is to the spiritual abode of God. Even in the Greek, Hades often simply refers to the actual, physical grave. Context must decide all of these.

Briefly, Hades is the general name for both Paradise and Tatarus. To get a glimpse of these, turn in your Bible to Luke 16:19-31. It is too long to quote here. It is the story of the rich man and Lazarus.

In both Paradise and Tatarus, we are awaiting judgment. We already know where we will go, based on our temporary location. The judgment is not the declaring of innocence or guilt, for that is already decided by Jesus' blood and our obedience to Him while we have opportunity. Rather, it is the official, and infinitely just, sentencing, along with the declaration of why we receive that sentence.

Once sentence is passed, we go to either Heaven or Hell. Compare this with someone being arrested. They go to the county lock up. After their trial, if the crime was serious enough, they go to federal or state prisons later. Both are jails. Yet, one is more severe, and of a longer duration.

I am going to give you some references for each of the five, that you may compare. Except for Paradise and Tatarus, this is by no means an all inclusive list. It is merely a sampling.

HADES:

Matthew 11:23
Matthew 16:18
Luke 16:23
Acts 2:31
Revelation 20:14

PARADISE:

Luke 23:43
II Corinthians 12:4
Revelation 2:7

TATARUS:

II Peter 2:4

HEAVEN:

Matthew 23:22
Matthew 28:2
Matthew 28:18
Mark 1:11
Mark 10:21
Mark 11:25
Acts 2:2
Acts 7:55

HELL:

Matthew 5:22
Matthew 5:29
Matthew 10:28
James 3:6

I mentioned above that the judgment is sentencing. Notice the following please:

Matthew 25:31-33, "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left."

The context continues, but only to tell who went where, and why. The point is, all will be judged at the same time. There will not be one judgment for the righteous, and another for the wicked, set apart by 1,000 years.

This is further evidenced by passages such as this:

II Thessalonians 1:7-10, "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day."

When (at the same time) He glorifies the saints, the wicked are sent into eternal damnation. There simply are not two different, eternal judgments in scripture.

Other judgments we read about happen nation to nation. In both the Old and New Testaments, we see the same such apocolyptic language used for any of the "nation judgments."

When He speaks of His return, all that goes out the window. There will only be one sign for that. It's not a blood red moon, stars falling, or anything like that. It is simply that man will be saying, "Peace and safety." (I Thessalonians 5:3) This is the judgment from which there will be no escape. In all of the rest, there will be some that will escape, even though the flight will be hard. Even the physical description of the land is handled differently. Instead of barren and desolate being used, "...the elements shall melt with fervent heat..." (be completely done away) according to II Peter 3:10-12. It is going to be awfully hard, even for God, to do something on earth when it no longer exists.

There is no scripture substantiating both rapture and judgment together. The word rapture us not even found in scripture. Therefore, there can be no correlation between the two.

We examined above about His coming. I want you to examine with me these passages dealing with the kingdom (supposedly yet to be established until His coming), and the tribulation (which is supposed to happen after the rapture according to the doctrine).

John 18:36, "Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence."

Luke 9:27, "But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God."

Collossians 1:13, "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated [us] into the kingdom of his dear Son:"

Revelation 1:9, "I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ."

In each of these, please note, the kingdom and the tribulation are already here. They are not events which are still future to us. Yet, the kingdom is supposed to come with the rapture, and the tribulation after. Both of these, according to John in the last reference above, were already in existence in the first century. Surely we cannot tell John, and Jesus who instructed him, they are mistaken or don't know about that which they are speaking.

Each time someone tries to teach the doctrine of the millineum, this is exactly what they are saying.

Jesus, Himself, flatly denied any sort of an earthly kingdom, confounding the "worldly" wisdom of men. This is much to the chagrin of many would be teachers. Follow this logically if you will.

In John 18:36, we have Jesus telling Pilate His kingdom (Greek bas-il-i'-ah - which according to the Greek Lexicon is "not to be confused with an actual kingdom, but rather the right or authority to rule over a kingdom") will not be on earth (Greek kos'-mos - try it with the English "c" in place of the "k," and you have its meaning). To put it in simpler terms, Jesus told Pilate He would not rule over His kingdom from earth, as it was a different type of kingdom: His reign will always be from heaven. Many will point to the word "now" and try to show a time contrast with the future. Not so, as the word also carries a meaning of "henceforth" indicative of "from this time, forward." (Note the last word, "hence," which demands this meaning of the word "now.")

The millineum is a work of fiction. There is one reference to a period of 1,000 years relating to Christianity.

Revelation 20:1-7, "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,"

People use this small, seven verse passage as the basis of the doctrine. There is only one way to do it. It must be lifted out of context. Please note the following:

Revelation 1:1, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:"

This is the introduction of the book. If it is not understood, the rest of the book will be misunderstood. John said Revelation was signified. This is the verb form of the word, "sign." Revelation was given in signs, or figurative language! Every millinialist (pre, pro, and mid all), whom I have encountered, understands that the beast, and other such things like it, are figurative. Yet, to fit a preconceived notion, thay make this one sign (figure) literal, and they do it disregarding the introduction. It is the absolute height of fallacy.

There is much more in scripture showing this is an addition of man. I cover it more indepth on my site; split into two sermons. They may be viewed at:

http://www.grocities.com/preacherman_1962/archive5.html

http://www.geocities.com/preacherman_1962/archive6.html

With Jesus' denial of any form of earthly, physical rule in John 18:36 (above), the need for physically resurrected bodies is done away. Yet, refuting the need, by itself, isn't enough to refute the actuality.

I Corinthians 15:42-44 & 50, "So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption."

You don't want a physical body in the resurrection, for such will not get into heaven. Paul didn't want one either, and taught against it.

After physical death, the state of mankind is always spiritual, and we see in the illustration of the rich man and Lazarus that the spirits are concious and aware of where they are and what is happening around them.

So, you see, the false doctrine of "soul sleep" came about out of necessity based on the false doctrines of the rapture, the millineum, and the required physical body resurrection they demand to fit the preconceived notions.

I hope I have handled your question well. If I only managed to muddy the waters for you, please let me know, and I will attemt to clarify further.

In His Service,
Marvin Howard
preacherman_1962@yahoo.com
preacherman_1962@bellsouth.net
http://www.geocities.com/preacherman_1962

Answer
Hi!

Anthony, yes, we do believe in the Bible alone. It is easy to see why when shown.

Let's begin with the birth of the church before any power grabs were successfully made. Notice this in the first sermon ever preached.

Acts 2:22, "Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:"

The miracles done by Christ were for the purpose of showing He was from God: He was approved BY His miracles. We also find this. The context is I Corinthians chapters 12 - 14. These chapters are about the spiritual gifts. It is quite lengthy, so I will cite only a few of the pertinent passages. You are welcome to see if I removed them from their context. Before we go further, I must ask a rhetorical question. Can something imperfect make another thing perfect? Of course, not.

II Timothy 3:16-17, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."

Notice, scripture is profitable that man may be perfect. Scripture can make man perfect, so scripture itself must be perfect. With that thought in mind, let's get back to I Corinthians.

I Corinthians 12:4-11, "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will."

Notice, in verse 8, the gift of knowledge is given to some as a gift. This knowledge is a miracle. We find the church at Corinth was having problems with its members claiming superiority because of the types of gifts they had. Paul is about to put them in their place in this matter.

The rest of the chapter explains why all gifts were equally important. All people in the church had different functions, but the church could not do without any of them yet. The same is true today, yet with fewer functions as some have been replaced with something better.

Let's look next, in chapter 13. We find that love (charity) is greater than all of these. Notice with me please the following passage.

I Corinthians 13:2, "And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing."

Paul makes sure that the special gift of knowledge is kept in the mix.

I Corinthians 13:8-13, "Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."

The church had just been born a few years prior to this. Paul analogizes the church to the state of a human as it grows. It was still an infant. The knowing (knowledge), along with all the other spiritual gifts, was to end. When? When the church became as a man, or grew up. It would put away childish things. What childish things are mentioned here? All of the miracles, or special gifts of the Spirit.

When would the church at Corinth know this had happened? When that which (not He who) was perfect came. The scripture claims for itself perfection, as we saw in II Timothy. Is it here? Yes. Then, did the miracle of knowledge vanish? Yes. Remember, this is not talking about ordinary knowledge, as it is listed with the tongue speaking, etc.

God used this gift as one of the credentials to show that which was spoken was from Him. Today we have the perfect, or complete, form of His divine revelation; the scripture. Today, the Bible acts as our credentials. If we speak what it says, we speak with God. If we speak differently, we are against Him. All of the additions of man from mechanical instruments, to incense, to a continuous sacrifice instead of one which was once for all, are new doctrines. And, all who practice such fall under the condemnation of Galatians 1:8-9.

Anyone who says they believe the Bible plus anything, when the Bible plainly implies plus nothing, fail to believe part of the Bible. If you fail to believe one part, how can you believe any of it? If one part is incorrect, how can you even know that Jesus lived and died? You can't.

For more information on the life of spiritual gifts, please see:

http://www.geocities.com/preacherman_1962/archive3.html

Please understand, the church is neither catholic nor protestant. We are simply Christians. We are not the protesters between us and catholicism. Catholicism left us in quiet protest as they began to add things which they should not. Then, they began persecuting Chistians as heretics when we wouldn't comply with their false notions. I have nothing against them as people. I have much against their doctrine where it contradicts Christianity. One of their false doctrines caused the death of my brothers (twins 2 years before me). I have made it my avocation to make sure I know what God says, and can show where others in contradiction are wrong.

To view a chart showing where these divergences occured, please see:

http://www.geocities.com/preacherman_1962/ChurchHistory.html

In His Service,
Marvin Howard
preacherman_1962@yahoo.com
preacherman_1962@bellsouth.net
htp://www.geocities.com/preacherman_1962