CHRISTADELPHIANS
-SINCERE
OR JUST SINCERELY WRONG?
***************
Christadelphians are very
diligent Bible students yet their studies lead
them into error
not truth.
HOW
COULD THIS BE
SO?
Not
always readily identifiable, their advertising appears in the daily
press inviting people to attend seminars, discussions or talks on the
coming
end of the world.
As
with many other cults, their emphasis on the “final days” can
impress and interest people who don’t know what the Scriptures say
about it.
They
reject all
Christian churches as not teaching correct salvation, and object to the
fundamentals of Christianity on almost all points which
they
see as a negation of
Bible teaching.
The
sect was founded by John
Thomas around
1840
in America.
We’ll look at what the
Christadelphians
believe against what the King James
Bible says, namely:
1.
The Trinity
2.
Jesus Christ
3.
The Holy Spirit
4.
The Devil
5.
The Atonement
6.
Heaven and Hell
7.
Salvation
8.
The Immortality of the Soul
“In
whom the god of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the
glorious gospel of Christ ...should shine unto them.” 2 Corinthians 4:4
BACKGROUND
'Christadelphians' diligent Bible
studies lead them into error not truth. How could this be so? Very
simple!
Without the illumination of the Holy Spirit error is inevitable. They
deny that
the Holy Spirit is a divine Person so it's not surprising that He will
deny
them. “when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into
all
truth.”(John 16:13).
Quite
simply, he doesn't dwell in them.
THE
TRINITY
They believe in one God and not three persons. They deny the Christian Trinity. They deny that Jesus is God or that the Holy Spirit is God.
WHAT’S
GOD GOT TO SAY ABOUT THIS?
“Go ye
therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the
Holy Ghost.” Matthew 28:19 “Looking
for
that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our
Saviour
Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:13
“For
there are three that bear
record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these
three are
one.” 1John 5:7
Comment: How
wrong can you be? Which Bible are they reading? When you're not
saved you don’t have the Holy Spirit. The Bible’s the only book whereby
you
must have been saved by the author to understand it.
JESUS
CHRIST
They teach that Jesus was not the eternal Son of God and that he had no existence prior to His birth by Mary. His nature is not sinless. He was merely a manifestation of the Father begotten by the Spirit. Jesus Christ is not to be worshipped in the same way as the Father.
WHAT’S
GOD GOT TO SAY ABOUT
THIS?
“...
for if ye believe not that I am he - (the
pre-existent One) -ye
shall die
in your sins.” John 8:24 “That all
men
should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that
honoureth not
the Son honoureth not the Father...” John
5:23 Comment:
The Scriptures clearly show that the Father, Jesus
Christ and the Holy Spirit to be all one and the same - one God yet
three
distinct Persons.
“For
there are three that bear
record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these
three are
one.” 1 John 5:7
|
|
Father |
Jesus Christ |
Holy Spirit |
|
Omnipresent |
Matt19:26 |
Matt 28:18 |
Ps 139:7 |
|
Called God |
1Peter1:2 |
John 20:28 |
Acts 5:3,4 |
|
Almighty |
Gen 17:1 |
Rev 1:8 |
Rom 15:19 |
|
Eternal |
Ps 90:2 |
Micah 5:2 |
Heb 9:14 |
|
Omniscient |
Rom11:33 |
Matt 9:4 |
1Cor2:10 |
|
Truth |
John 7:28 |
Rev 3:7 |
1John 5:6 |
|
omnipotent |
1Peter 1:5 |
Matt 28:18 |
Rom 15:19 |
|
Holy |
Rev 15:4 |
Acts 3:14 |
John 16:7-14 |
|
Lord |
Rom10:12 |
Luke 2:11 |
2Cor 3:17 |
|
Powerful |
Jer 32:17 |
Heb 1:3 |
Luke1:35 |
THE
HOLY SPIRIT
They
believe that the Holy Spirit is not a
personal God distinct from the Father, but the instrumental power of
the
Father, radiant from His person and presence.
WHAT’S
GOD GOT TO SAY ABOUT THIS? See
the above chart. Let’s let the Scriptures speak for themselves.
Comment: Jesus
Christ said that His
departure would bring the coming of the Holy Spirit, to “guide you into
all
truth.” (John16:13). As the Christadelphians
deny
that the Holy Spirit is a divine Person, it’s not surprising that He (
the Holy
Spirit) won’t guide them into truth. Without the illumination of the
Holy
Spirit, heresy and deception is inevitable. No illumination because
they have
no Holy Spirit who indwells the believer. No indwelling would bring us
to the
conclusion that they can’t be saved! Makes sense doesn’t it?
SATAN
They
believe he doesn’t exist. The devil is only the spiritual
personification of sin in the flesh.
WHAT’S
GOD GOT TO SAY ABOUT THIS? Obviously they haven’t read Job1:6-12
and Zechariah
3:1,2.
Comment: Now here’s the question, If Christ was without sin and Satan doesn’t exist, where did His temptation come from? See Matt4:1-11
THE
ATONEMENT
They believe that Christ’s death contained no expiatory (paying the penalty for) element. Christ didn’t die to appease the wrath of the Father. They believe that if the blood of Christ could be found it wouldn’t be of any spiritual value.
WHAT’S
GOD GOT TO SAY ABOUT THIS?
“...as the
Son of man came ... to
minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Matt20:28
“ ... being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” Romans 5:9 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” 2Cor5:21 Comment: Are these people reading the Bible or a Phantom comic? See also Isaiah 53:5 “But he was wounded for our transgressions...”.
HEAVEN
AND HELL
Heaven
doesn’t exist and the earth is where
the saints will dwell. Hell is only the grave and not a place of
torment.
Eternal punishment is just theological fiction.
WHAT’S
GOD GOT TO SAY ABOUT THIS?
Man
has a distinct soul, is conscious after death and hell is a place of
everlasting suffering.
See Philippians1:21-23; 2 Cor 5:8; Luke
16:19-31; Rev 6:9-10; Rev 20:10-15.
“And
these shall go away into *everlasting
punishment: but the righteous into life *eternal.” Matt 25:46 ( *aionios)
Comment:
People want to pick and
choose! Everyone wants eternal life but no-one wants eternal
punishment, yet
the Greek word (aionios) for the words 'eternal' and 'everlasting' in Matt 25:46 means exactly the same thing
i.e.
forever, without end, stretching out to infinity! How many ways can you
say it?
The
people that populate hell will be the ones who never believed it
existed.
Also see Matt10:28; Luke 12:4-5;
SALVATION
Water
baptism is essential for salvation, but only after accepting and
believing all
their doctrines - also necessary for salvation.
WHAT’S
GOD GOT TO SAY ABOUT THIS?
“He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting
life...” John 3:36
“by grace are
ye saved through faith...” Eph 2:8,9
“But to him that worketh not...” Romans
4:4,5
Comment: What about the thief on the cross with Jesus? He couldn’t jump off and get water baptized could he? But Jesus clearly states that he would be with Him in paradise that day. The thief got saved minus water baptism!
THERE
ARE ONLY TWO RELIGIONS
1. The
DIY’ers - the “Do-It Yourselfer's”. Man tries to be his own Saviour.
2. The
CHDIFU group - the
“Christ-Has-Done-It-For-Us” people who rely on Christ's finished work
on the
cross for salvation.
The
Christadelphians remind me of the man who
was about to jump off the Eiffel Tower without a parachute. People
rushed up to
him trying to get him not to do it. They begged and pleaded with him,
to which
he confidently replied, “I just don't believe in gravity!” and he
jumped. On
the way down he was heard to say, “Oops! I think I've made a mistake!”
You
can't believe it can you? Who would dare
to enter heaven relying on their own resume or as the Bible puts it 'our
own righteousness'. Scripture abounds with
the fact that man’s righteousness are nothing but filthy rags. NOTE!
Not
their unrighteousness but their absolute best is a stinking dung heap
in God's
nose!
There’s
the Scriptures, there’s the rules,
there’s the way to enter heaven - what could be more simple. The
original
DIY’er was Cain, the son of Adam. He knew what the deal was, he knew
that God
required blood sacrifice to make amends. Why would he be surprised and
upset
that God rejected his fruit and vegies that he’d grown himself with the
sweat
of his own brow?
Why
would he be upset with Abel?
It’s
been
the same ever since - the DIY’ers have been killing the CHDIFU group.
Did you
know that it has been conservatively estimated that the Roman Catholic
(Cain-tholic) church - the DIY’ers, has systematically exterminated
70-90
million people who have opposed her. Cain has the martyrs blood
dripping off
him everywhere.
Now
the Christadelphian
church may not have gone this far with persecution, but in God's eyes
they are
doomed because they insist on saving themselves. They insist on
bringing their
“fruit and vegies” to God as a means of appeasing Him. Why, if the car
manufacturer says only put petrol into the fuel tank would people keep
on using
a sugar and water solution, or sewerage or crushed dust and honey
in an attempt to make the car drive? Why not follow the
manufacturers instructions?
SATAN
USES THE BIBLE TOO!
Satan
doesn’t
dare use anything other than the Bible - the KJV is his chief tool. It
is to be
noted that all cults and heresies use the Bible as their manual and can
prove
their doctrine by misapplying the Scriptures. (The Mormons pride
themselves
that they use the KJV but they use it as a starter motor is used in a
car.
You’ll notice that they refer to the KJV at the start of a conversation
only to
lay it aside and then go to the Book of Mormon.) The Christadelphian is
very
tenacious once contact has been made - not too ready to let his
`victim' go.
Their activities are directed at drawing people away from orthodox
churches
rather than reaching the outcast and the unsaved with their message.
This is very
similar to the Seventh Day Adventists who ride the coat-tails of true
Christian
missionaries in order to draw the believer away.
As
with the
cults of Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Christadelphians focus
largely on
'end of
the world events' and can
appear knowledgeable to those who don’t know their Bibles. They are all
similar
in their approach (which is the same as the Roman Catholic church) in
that
salvation can only be had through their system of religion.
"MAKING
THE WORD OF GOD OF NONE EFFECT THROUGH YOUR
TRADITION..." MARK 7:13
By Harley Hitchcock
www.
AustralianBibleMinistries
.com
