Why I am Not A Roman Catholic - The Slow Rise of False Traditions

Let me just rehearse for you just a thumbnail sketch of where the church was when the apostles were here. The church was conquering. It was conquering the world not through social activism but through personal renewal and regeneration and supernatural life. When people got saved back then they renounced the world they left it behind, they burnt their magic books. They left their immoralities. They left their occultic ways. They renounced paganism and they turned in newness to Christ and they suffered for it. Things were really amazing. The church was flourishing. People were being saved every day; people were living holy lives. People were seeing the power of God. The apostles were ministering and they were writing letters. Yes, they had problems and they had questions, but it's very simple. As he says in verse 3,

'...the simplicity and purity of Christ.'

What was the simplicity? Well, Paul gave his testimony he says 1 Cor 15…in other words; the whole gospel was based on the scripture. Period. And it was simple. You made a choice between Jesus Christ or eternal damnation in hell. It was a very simple choice. Many people chose both. It was a simple gospel.