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The Faith Which Was Once Delivered
by: Lani W. Finley
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write
unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you,
and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith
which was once delivered unto the saints (Jude 1:3).
This scripture is frequently quoted by
Believers, who feel the need to regain the faith and doctrines of the
First Century New Testament churches. Primarily, because modern
Christianity has left many worshippers with the feeling that something is
missing in their theology. However, very few Believers have taken the
time to make an impartial and unbiased study of what doctrines and beliefs
were embrace by these first century Christians.
It is important for us to pay close attention
to the phrase “once delivered,” which Jude used in his instruction to the
churches. This phrase is crucial, and conveys a very important message to
all Christians. The Matthew Henry’s Commentary explains the significance
of these words.
It is the faith once, or at once, once for all,
delivered to the saints, to which nothing can be added, from which nothing
may be detracted, in which nothing more nor less should be altered. Here
let us abide; here we are safe; if we stir a step further, we are in
danger of being either entangled or seduced (from Matthew Henry's
Commentary Jude 1:3-7 PP3).
I am sure all Christians would agree with
Matthew Henry’s statement that the “faith once delivered,” should never be
altered or changed. Having said that, the question, which remains to be
answered is, Did the "faith which was once delivered" to the New Testament
saints include partaking of communion on the evening of the Fourteenth day
of Nisan, and observing the Feast of Unleavened Bread?
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are
unleavened. For even
Christ our passover is sacrificed for
us:
8
Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the
leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of
sincerity and truth1 Cor 5:7-8.
It is evident by
the Apostle Paul’s statement that he exhorted the gentile churches to
observe the Passover and to “keep the feast” of Unleavened Bread.
Nonetheless, is there any historical evidence, which proves that the first
century saints continued to observe these festivals?
Fortunately, historical evidence does exist in
the form of a letter, which Eusebius, a priest and noted historian of the
early Roman Catholic Church, preserved in his book,
The History of the
Church, (From
Christ to Constantine). Eusebius is so highly regarded as a
Catholic historian, that he has been hailed as, “the father of
ecclesiastical history – the first, the only historian of the Church
{Catholic Church} bordering on primitive times.”
In his collection of early church documents,
Eusebius preserved a very important letter, which was written by
Polycrates and sent to Victor of Rome. Polycrates was a bishop, who
presided over the churches in Asia Minor. Victor was an early leader of
the Roman Catholic Church and occupied the position that would become
known as, “The Pope.” In this letter, which was written over one hundred
years after the crucifixion of Jesus, Polycrates protested Victor’s demand
to replace Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread with the pagan-based
festival of Easter. Polycrates’ refusal to submit to Victor’s
demands is recorded in the following letter:
We for our part keep the day scrupulously,
without addition or subtraction. For in Asia great luminaries
sleep who shall rise again on the day of the Lord’s advent, when He is
coming with glory from heaven and shall search out all His saints – such
as Philip, one of the twelve apostles, who sleeps in Hierapolis with two
of his daughters, who remained unmarried to the end of their days, while
his other daughter lived in the Holy Spirit and rests in Ephesus. Again
there is John, who leant back on the Lord’s breast, and who became a
sacrificing priest wearing the mitre, a martyr, and a teacher; he too
sleeps in Ephesus. Then in Smyrna there is Polycarp, bishop and martyr;
and Thraseas, the bishop and martyr from Eumenia, who also sleeps in
Smyrna. Need I mention Sagaris, bishop and martry, who sleeps in Laodicea,
or blessed Papirius, or Melito the eunuch, who lived entirely in the Holy
Spirit, and who lies in Sardis waiting for the visitation from heaven when
he shall rise from the dead? All of these kept the fourteenth day of
the month as the beginning of the Paschal festival, in accordance with the
Gospel, not deviating in the least but following the rule of Faith. Last
of all I too, Polycrates, the least of you all, act according to the
tradition of my family, some members of which I have actually followed;
for seven of them were bishops and I am the eighth, and my family have
always kept the day when the people put away the leaven. So I, my
friends, after spending sixty-five years in the Lord’s service and
conversing with Christians from all parts of the world, and going
carefully through all the Holy Scripture, am not scared of threats.
Better people than I have said: “We must obey God rather than men.”(
p. 231)
This document is invaluable when it comes to
establishing the beliefs and observances of the first Christian churches.
This letter provides undeniable proof, that more than 100 years after
Jesus died, true Christians were still observing communion on the
fourteenth day of Nisan and also putting leavening out of their homes
during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, as commanded by Jesus Christ in
Exodus 13:6-7.
However, in order to attract more heathen
worshipers to the quasi-Christian religion of Rome, the imperial religious
powers blended pagan customs with the death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ and demanded that the pagan festival of Easter replace God’s
holy feasts. This was proposed in 325 A.D. by the Council of Nicea and
decreed as law, by the Roman Emperor Constantine. This is confirmed in
the Encyclopedia Britannica (11th edition, Vol. VIII, pp. 828-829):
"There is no indication of the observance of
the Easter festival in the New Testament, or in the writings of the
Apostolic Fathers. . . . The first Christians continued to observe the
Jewish [that is, God's] festivals, though in a new spirit, as
commemorations of events which those festivals had foreshadowed. Thus the
Passover, with a new conception added to it, of Christ as the true Paschal
Lamb and the first fruits from the dead, continued to be observed.
"A final settlement of the dispute was one
among the other reasons which led Constantine to summon the council at
Nicaea in 325. At that time the Syrians and Antiochenes were the solitary
champions of the observance of the 14th day. The decision of the council
was unanimous that Easter was to be kept on Sunday, and on the same Sunday
throughout the world...
Constantine also declared that anyone who
continued to keep God’s feasts were Judaiziers and encouraged the people
to ostracize them from the community. In time, the constant pressure from
Constantine and his military power prevailed, and the pagan festival of
Easter gradually replaced the commanded assemblies of God.
It is true that Constantine stopped Christians
from being martyred. However, he did so to gain popularity among the
Christian population, in order to increase his base of political
supporters. Although he claimed to be a Christian, the fruits of his
actions proved differently. He killed his own son, in order to protect
his selfish desire for complete control and power. Several years later,
and supposedly for the same reason, he ordered his wife suffocated, while
she was relaxing in a Roman steam bath.
During his reign as Emperor, Constantine
continually attacked neighboring countries, killing multitudes of people.
He committed these heinous acts, in order to increase his power,
possessions and satisfy his insatiable ego. He is also responsible for
blending pagan customs with Christian themes, which resulted in the
creation and forced observance of such holidays as Christmas and Easter.
Constantine refused baptism until confined to his death bed around the age
of 64. Just before his death, he requested to be baptized by Roman
bishops, in order to escape God’s judgment for his innumerable sins. Only
upon his death-bed and after a lifetime of murder, bribery, lies and
corruption did He think of escaping eternal death, by calling on the
sacrifice of Jesus.
History proves that Constantine was a cunning
and ruthless dictator, who corrupted the truth of God and used this new
theology to attract pagan worshippers. He is the father of most modern
Christian doctrines and customs. If we continue to follow these customs,
then we have placed his doctrines above those of God. Do sincere
Believers really want to place their eternal salvation in the hands such
an evil and wicked Roman Emperor?
As we have discovered,
it was not God’s
free-gift of grace in Christ, which eliminated His ordained feasts from
Christianity, but the imperial powers of Rome. If a Believer is
sincere about worshipping in concert with the First Century New Testament
Christians, and truly desires to “earnestly contend for the faith which
was once delivered unto the saints,” then he must be willing to
abandon all man-made religious customs and agree with the words of Polycrates, “We Must Obey God Rather Than Men.”
