The BIBLE-Word of God -Versus Errors of
"New Apostolic Church"
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---GOD---CHRIST---HOLY SPIRIT---
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"They received the WORD with all readiness of mind, and searched the SCRIPTURES daily, whether those things were so."
Acts 17:11
G O D
The Bible
PERSONALITY OF THE GODHEAD ... in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth
(Genesis 1: 1).
He is God; there is none else beside him (Deuteronomy 4:35). God isa Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus (I Timothy 2:5).
Go . . and teach all nations, baptizing them in thename of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).Jesus was baptized; the Spirit descended; the Father spoke
(Matthew 3:16-17). Come, let us go down, and there confound their language,that they may
not understand one another's speech (Genesis 11:7). From thetime that it was, there am I; and
now the Lord God, and his Spirit, has sent me (Isaiah 48:16).
Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).Jesus was baptized; the Spirit descended; the Father spoke
(Matthew 3:16-17). Come, let us go down, and there confound their language,that they may
not understand one another's speech (Genesis 11:7). From thetime that it was, there am I; and
now the Lord God, and his Spirit, has sent me (Isaiah 48:16).
- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God (John 1:1). When, as His mother, Mary, was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was foundwith child of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1: 18).
- Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14).
- God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the nations, believed on in the world, received up into glory (I Timothy 3:16).
- And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth (John 1: 14).
- No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him (John 1:18).
- And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of' holiness, by the resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:4).
- And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain (I Corinthians 15:17). Wherefore, he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25).
- This same Jesus . . . shall so come in like manner as youhave seen him go into Heaven (Acts 1: 11; cf. John 14:3; 1 Thessalonians4:13-18).
New Apostolic Church
I believe in God the Father, the Almighty, maker of heavenand earth.
The New Apostolic Church takes the historical Christianbelief when speaking about God in their creed of Faith.
J E S U S
C H R I S T
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New Apostolic Church
I believe in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God,our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, sufferedunder Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried, entered the realm ofthe departed, rose again from the dead, ascended into heaven, and sittethat the right hand of God, the Father Almighty, from whence he shall return.
Article of faith #4:
I believe that the Lord Jesus rules his church throughliving apostles until his return, and that he has sent them into the worldand still sends them with the commission to teach, to forgive sins in hisname and to baptise with water and the Holy Spirit.
- When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, he shall testify of me (John 15:26).
- When he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and ofrighteousness, and of judgment (John 16:8).
- When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth (John 16:13).
- The Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit, he shall teach youall things (John 14:26).
- His spirit that dwells in you (Romans 8:11).
- Be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18; see also I Corinthians 3:16; Ephesians 3:16).
- But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his (Romans 8:9; see also vv. 14, 16).
H O L Y
S P I R I T
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New Apostolic Church
I believe that the Lord Jesus rules his church throughliving apostles until his return, and that he has sent them into the worldand still sends them with the commission to teach, to forgive sins in hisname and to baptise with water and the Holy Spirit.
Article of faith #5:
I believe that all ministers in the Church of Christ arechosen and ordained into their ministries only by apostles and that all giftsand powers must come forth out of the apostle ministry; equipped with these,the community becomes a legible letter of Christ.
Article of faith #8:
I believe that those baptised with water must receivethe Holy Spirit through an apostle, to obtain the childhood in God, wherebythey become incorporated as members in the body of Christ.
When one looks at the articles of the New Apostolic Creed, we find an exclusive teaching on the Holy Spirit whereby only Apostles can dispense the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands of a true Apostle, this is called being “sealed”. The mark of a true Apostle is that he recognizes God’s chief Apostle and God’s true Apostles, which are only the Apostles ofthe New Apostolic Church. The Apostles are chosen by God and are active onlyin the New Apostolic Church. In regards to other Christians being indwelt with the Holy Spirit, this is a comment by the Media Secretary for the New Apostolic Church, Peter Johanning:
“Our understanding of the Holy Scriptures is that God gave a “regular” or “safe way of dispensing the Holy Spirit, e.g. through the apostle’s ministry. But God is almighty, there might be exceptions, He might give His Spirit to someone who has not come in contact with His apostles. To our understanding the sealing with the Holy Spirit is a prerequisite to receive grace on Christ’s return – “normally”/ ”regularly” it is spent by an apostle, but there might be exceptions.”
- There is none righteous, no, not one (Romans 3: 1 0).
- For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
- If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us ( I John 1: 10).
- If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us ( I John 1:8).
- Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law (I John 3:4).
- All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not unto death ( I John 5:1 7)
- Whatever is not of faith is sin (Romans 14:23).
- Therefore, to him that knows to do good, and does it not,to him it is sin (James 4:17).
- The teaching in the New Apostolic church is oneof exclusivity in regards to how one receives the Holy Spirit. The New ApostolicChurch waffles a bit on the issue of some of the things that have been donein Church history outside of the NAC and whether the people involved wereindwelt with the Holy Spirit. An example would be Martin Luther where theywould admit he was inspired or prompted by the Holy Spirit but as for beingindwelt their doctrine and creeds would say no.
S I N
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New Apostolic Church
to forgive sins in His name and to baptise with water and the Holy Spirit”.
- We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7).
- You were not redeemed with corruptible things . . . but with the precious blood of Christ (I Peter 1: 1 8-19).
- Unto him that loves us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and has made us a kingdom of priests unto God and his Father (Revelation1:5-6).
- Without shedding of blood is no remission (Hebrews 9:22).
- Made peace through the blood of his cross (Colossians 1:20).
- This man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God. . . . For by one offering he has perfected forever them that are sanctified (Hebrews 10: 12, 14).
- Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, and your house (Acts 16:31).
- But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the children of God, even to them that believe on his name (John 1:12).
- He that believes on him is not condemned; but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the . . . only begotten Son of God (John 3:18).
- He that believes on the Son has everlasting life; and he that believes not the Son shall not see life (John 3:36).
- Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5).
- For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not ofyourselves, it is the gift of God-not of works, lest any man should boast(Ephesians 2:8-9).
- Justified freely . . . through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24).
- Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes (Romans 10:4).
- The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
- Those who sleep in the dust . . . shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame, and everlasting contempt (Daniel 12:2).
- And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment (Hebrews 9:27).
- And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. . . . And the dead were judged out of those things . . .written in the books, according to their works (Revelation 20:12).
- The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven . . . in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel. . . ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10).
- If your foot offend you, cut it off; it is better for youto enter lame into life than, having two feet, to be cast into hell, intothe fire that never shall be quenched (Mark 9:45).
- This forgiveness is usually done at communion at the “Apostle’saltar” (Now the altar of Grace or of Christ). Church members generally readilyadmit that they and their apostles fail and constantly are striving to becomeovercomers.
R E D E M P T I O N
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New Apostolic Church
Upon death, the New Apostolic church teaches that thesoul does not go to Heaven but to the realm of the departed with differentholding areas. The New Apostolic church teaches human works and ceremoniesplus the works of Jesus for redemption.
S A L V A T I O N
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New Apostolic Church
Though Jesus Christ died on the cross forforgiveness of sins, New Apostolics are taught that by believing in thisalone, salvation cannot be secured. To become a Christian one must firstbe baptized (as an infant or in their church). Only those who are baptizedin such a manner qualify to be “sealed” whereby a living New Apostolic apostlewill perform this duty in which the Holy Spirit is then dispensed to theperson. This also does not guarantee salvation and one must strive throughgood works (for the church) to be part of the 144,000 that Jesus will returnfor (the “firstlings”). The goal is to be part of this first resurrection.The New Apostolic is left never quite knowing their spiritual status.
Upon death, the New Apostolic church teaches that thesoul does not go to Heaven but to the realm of the departed with differentholding areas. The New Apostolic church teaches human works and ceremoniesplus the works of Jesus.
Within the New Apostolic Church, there must be two morepoints made in regards to salvation:
1- The Gap
2- Service For the Departed
The Gap in the New Apostolic church is the teaching that after the death of the last of the original apostles, salvation was not possiblebecause God had given this commission to baptize, make disciples, dispensethe Holy Spirit and forgive sins to the apostles. The “Gap” signifies thetime period from then until the re-institution of this special apostolic ministryin 1830 where the New Apostolic Church traces its beginnings in Germany.It was actually a break from the Catholic Apostolic church.
The Service for the Departed in the New Apostolic Churchis a teaching that first offers a second chance for salvation for the soulsof those who have departed. They offer as a start and reason for this servicethe passages in 1 Peter 3:19-20 that they claim show Jesus preaching thegospel to departed souls.
The New Apostolic publication Our Family Vol.. 42 No. 1states that the practice happened as early as 1870 for the dispensing of theHoly Spirit to people who were dead. Holy Communion was performed for thedead in 1886 and finally the Chief Apostle Bischoff officially instituted the services in the early 1950’s. During these services, now held three times a year, they believe that God gives the Chief Apostle the “keys” to open the”realms” where the departed are and to offer salvation and communion to thesesouls. This is what the New Apostolic Church of North America saysin regards to the scriptural basis for the Service for the Departed:
The doctrine of Service for the Departed is based on theteaching of Jesus Christ and His Apostles. The most powerful proofthat souls in eternity can be helped is that Jesus Christ entered eternity,immediately after His victory on the cross, to preach the gospel to thosewho were in captivity there. “For this reason the gospel was preachedalso to those that are dead, that they might be judged according to men inthe flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.” (See 1 Peter 3:19,20and 4: 6) That Jesus Christ would preach the gospel to these soulsis demonstration of His longing to minister to them and proof that they canbe helped. This was the first time that service was rendered to thedeparted.
Scripture tells us that Jesus Christ is “Lord of boththe dead and the living.” (See Romans 14:9) He would that all wouldbe saved (See 1Timothy 2:4). The souls in eternity are part of that“all”. He told His disciples, “Most assuredly I say to you, the houris coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God;and those who hear will live.” (John 5:25) Ministering to these soulsin spiritual misery and captivity is perfectly consistent with the natureand intention of Jesus Christ. He wants to minister to all souls. He has proven that He can.
The Apostles of Jesus Christ continue this ministry today. It was the commission of Christ that His Apostles continue in all of theworks which He began. In the Service for the Departed, the sacramentsof the church are dispensed to living proxies for the blessing and benefitof the departed. The faithful in the world wide congregations prayand intercede for these departed souls that they are able to find grace. There is a great outpouring of compassion and invitation from the livingin favor of the departed. Again, this is perfectly within the mindand spirit of Jesus Christ.
We understand that there are many indiscernible mysteriesregarding eternity. But there are certain truths to which we hold. We believe that eternity is not simply divided between heaven and hell; thatgood people go to heaven and bad people go to hell. Can mankind reallybe divided that simplistically? Rather, eternity is comprised of manyrealms. Souls enter those realms, upon their physical death, dependingon the condition / development of their soul. Jesus Christ gives usan insight into eternity with His explanation of the state of Lazarus andthe rich man in eternity. They find themselves in very different realms. The rich man is in torment. Lazarus is in fellowship with Abraham. Lazarus is not in heaven. We consider heaven to be that place, preparedby Jesus Christ, where we can be forever together with Him (See John 14:1-3).This text from John provides further illumination of eternity in that, besidesthis place that Jesus is preparing, there are many other mansions (realms)in the Father’s house. Revelation also affords us glimpses into eternitywhere we see different realms and various spiritual conditions revealed (SeeRevelation 6:9-11). Even the Old Testament gives us a hint of the diversityof eternity’s realms. Commenting on the death of Moses and Aaron, we readthat Moses was gathered to his people and Aaron to his people (See Deut.32:50). On first consideration we would say that each was gatheredto their own family members in eternity until we consider that Moses andAaron were of the same family, they were brothers. Could it mean thatboth were gathered to their own spiritual kind?
Our celebration of Service for the Departed is in no waycontradictory to Old Testament prohibitions against spiritualism and callingup the dead (See Deuteronomy 18:10,11). There is a tremendous differencebetween necromancy and ministering to souls in eternity. Jesus didnot defy biblical prohibition when He went into eternity to minister to soulsor when He called Lazarus out of the tomb. These were not acts of darknessor superstition but rather acts of love and compassion. It is loveand compassion that motivates us in the Service for the Departed. Soulsin eternity need to receive the treasures of Jesus Christ. Their conditionis not hopeless. They are not beyond the loving reach of the Lord. He began this ministering in eternity. The Apostles of Christ and believingsouls continue it. “Holy Baptism with water is part of the spiritual rebirthand a prerequisite for receiving the Holy Spirit”.
Conclusion:
The New Apostolic Church teaches that salvation is granted to those who follow Christ’s teachings through His ordained apostles. These teachings are of infant baptism and later, Holy Sealing by a New Apostolic Apostle. Then one must strive to be worthy and that would include following and belief in the New Apostolic Church creed. Only through the New Apostolic Church can these requirements be met because they alone have the true apostles and thus the true church.the New Apostolic church teaches that they are God’smouthpiece on earth today. The Bible is not considered infallible and inerrantand the Bible they use includes the Apocrypha and the books of Esra III andEsra IV. The Bible is correctly interpreted only through the living apostlesthat make this otherwise dead historical book alive. God may make changesor ordinations that differ with the Bible through His apostles. It is commonwithin this group to have generations of followers and one is often “born”into the church in a sense.
The following is a recent quote from New ApostolicDistrict Apostle Latorcai who assisted the Chief Apostle Richard Fehr ina service recently held in New York on December 15, 2002.
District Apostle Latorcai: “Here the absolute truth,Godly truth, is spoken at the altar of our heavenly Father. There’s NOWHEREelse in this world or heaven or anywhere else where this altar is established and this absolute Godly truth is spoken to us, and when we accept this Godly truth, it will make us free.”
Further District Apostle Latorcai says:
“I have thought, maybe I shouldn’t say it, but I’m going to say it. If the truth can not be spoken anymore, brothers and sisters, fromthis altar, and not accepted by us as God’s children in this wonderful family…maybe I shouldn’t make this statement but I’m going to make it anyway… thenit is no longer God’s word. It might as well be anywhere else. That is Godlytruth. Yes, sometimes it hurts, but, when we accept it, then it shall makeus free.”
R E T R I B U T I O N
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New Apostolic Church
The New Apostolic Church’s teaching onretribution is not very clear though they believe all are sinners and inneed of continual forgiveness and that even those that die in their sinswithout accepting Christ will be given another opportunity. Retribution oftentimes within the New Apostolic church is spoken of in terms of retributionfor not being faithful to the New Apostolic church and its Apostles. Infact in the booklet Questions and Answers Concerning the New Apostolic Faith(1995) question number 225 regarding leaving the New Apostolic Church is “the falling away from the living faith”. This being the greatest of allsins and some have taught in the past that this sin cannot be forgiven inthis world or the one to come. Though not as common today, some New Apostolicyouth are warned about the retribution that occurs from God, to those thatskip the “Divine Services’. Stories of car accidents or tragedy havebeen said to surely await those that missed the services without good reason.
These are wordsof retribution and New Apostolic church control by NAC District Apostle Krausin a letter to every New Apostolic family in the United States and Canadain 3-22-1989. An excerpt:
- “ Why do we in the New Apostolic Church have forgivenessof sin,“ the celebration of the Holy Communion, and the participation in the coming of Christ? - In order thatwe be cleansed, forgiven, reconciled and that the inherited characteristicsfrom our ancestors will be tamed and disengaged. Our heavenly Father certifiedthis fact with the beautiful words… And their sins shall be rememberedno more… If our heavenly Father is willing to act nobly toward us, then He expects the same of each and every one of us, His children,who are called for this Royal Highness and for this nobility. He, who does not do this and goes to HolyCommunion, participates in his own judgment, which is a very, very serious matter. If this is taken lightly and notfollowed, the Lord Jesus said… It would be better if they have never been born… What led the betrayer to a self-accusing end to the point thathe committed suicide? He judged the man of God, Jesus, andhad no right to do so.
A new Apostolic member, a so-called scholar forthe Royal Highness that waits for him, has only one thing to fulfill and that is: TO DO WHAT HE IS TOLD. HE HAS ABSOLUTELYNOTHING TO SAY.
If God would permit His children, forwhom the highest price is paid, to intervene with their own ideas, then thefirst step would be mass confusion, as we have it in this worldtoday. We pray: Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. So all those in heaven have nothing to say: Only the Spirit of God decideswhat is to be done. The opposite of Democracy, which brought a mass confusionin our time it, is Autocracy. We looked it up in the dictionary and therethe word Autocracy is described as the divine will This divinewill reigns in the godly undertaking in our Church, and is protected by our Chief Apostle to thehighest degree, which we support with all our life. The will of man is poison toward the willof God, and we have no room for poison in our Church.
To those who do not agree with theabove, I can only say that the Lord Jesus congregated them into a group bythemselves and hegave them a special name: He called them FOOLS.”
The Apostle Kraus had much more tosay but the entire letter was a warning and a call to remain faithfulto Jesus through the only way possible, throughcomplete unquestioning obedience to the New Apostolic Church and its leadership.
- The New Apostolic Church believes:
- - in the omnipotent God, who created the world and rules in eternity
- that the soul is immortal that mankind possesses a free will, permitting them to decide for or
against God
- that God has made the means of salvation available to all mankind in the divine plan of redemption, which aims at saving fallen mankind
- in God's incarnation in Jesus Christ, His Son
- in the sacrificial death of the Son of God upon the cross, which enabled man to be reconciled with God
- in Christ's resurrection and ascensionand the mission on which He sent His Apostles, to preach the Gospel to all nations
- that it is necessary to be endowed with the Holy Spirit by an Apostle in order to have fellowship with God, theFather and His Son
- in the Second Coming of Christ atthe First Resurrection, when He will take unto Himself & (John 14: 3) all those who have accepted His teaching that Jesus Christ will set up the Millennium, during which period the evil one will have no power over mankind, that all human beings on earth and in the beyond will be offered grace and redemption in the Last Judgment, at which those who did not have part in the First Resurrection will bejudged according to their works and that the redeemed will enjoy everlasting fellowship with God.
Quotations are from standard writings and leading teachers of the sects. Intitials in parentheses are abbreviations of aforementioned book and magazine titles. Scripture quotations are from the New Scofield Reference Bible(New York: Oxford University Press, 1967). Outline and statement summariesare a compilation from various reference works and authors.
Please see suggested readings.
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