We must take notice of one condition that prevailed after the Roman Catholic Church came into being. We know how the Roman Church was filled with heresy, idols, filthiness, and sins. Why did no brothers or sisters in the church stand up to deal with the situation for eleven hundred years? Could it be that no brothers or sisters had seen the heresies? Could it be that they had not seen the idols? Could it be that they had not seen the filthy sins?
In the eleven hundred years following the fourth century, there were definitely some who saw the heresies, idols, and filthy sins, but not one dared to deal with them! They feared that once they dealt with these things, they would immediately break the “unity.” “The church is one,” they said. “If we begin to deal with the idols, the church will be divided.” They felt that the sin of worshipping idols was great, but the sin of ruining the unity was even greater. Therefore, even though they rejected the worship of idols themselves, they did not speak out. They feared that speaking out might ruin the unity. They knew of the heresies and they knew of the idols; moreover, they hated the heresies and they hated the idols. But even more, they hated to destroy the unity. Therefore, they simply avoided the heresies and idols; they dared not evoke any word, message, or action that might ruin the unity. For a period of one thousand one hundred years no one made any move; they continued to keep the unity of the church.
At the time of the Reformation, Martin Luther had no thought of forming another church. He thought that doing such a thing would be a serious sin. Therefore, at the beginning his thought was to improve the Roman Catholic Church; the idea of forming another church was not in his mind. It was the inevitable force of history that brought about the formation of another church. Luther only wanted to improve the Roman Catholic Church; he had no intention of forming a new church.
Here we see one thing: The Roman Catholic Church believes in the unity of the church throughout the world. It believes that only one church should exist in the whole world. That is the reason, during the long history of Rome, that the children of God basically forgot that the “churches” were plural in the Bible. They only wanted the church in the singular. Even when Luther arose, he only saw a united church on the earth. He did not see that God has churches in the Bible. Thus, the unity that was upheld is something manifested in one church-the international, worldwide, universal church. Regardless of where this church stands, it is always the Church of Rome. In Shanghai it is the Church of Rome; in Moscow it is the Church of Rome; in London it is the Church of Rome; in Berlin it is also the Church of Rome. Wherever it is, it is always the Church of Rome. It does not call itself the Church of Rome; its proper title is the Catholic Church, the Universal Church. We call it the Church of Rome because we know it comes out of Rome. It calls itself the Catholic Church because it is unified and universal; it includes everyone. In China it is called the Catholic Church. The word catholic in Latin simply means universal and general, with no distinction in race or region. No matter where it is, it is always one-one in England, one in Japan, and one in Russia. As long as it comes out of Rome, it is called the Catholic Church. As a result, there is only “one church” on earth.
We must study the Scriptures carefully and accurately before God to ascertain whether or not the church on earth is one church. If it is only one church, we must say that the local church is wrong, and even the many denominations in Protestantism must also confess that they are wrong. If there is but one church, we all have to go back to Rome; if we do not, we are wrong. Therefore, we must study the Scriptures to see whether or not we are wrong.
I know there are some Protestant friends who have said that the church on earth is one and that our churches in different localities are wrong. According to them, the church is always one. Please note that their word condemns them. If the church is one, there is no reason for any of their denominations to exist. If the church is one, then regardless of where it is, it must be the Church of Rome. According to numbers, the Church of Rome is the largest, according to history, it is the oldest church, and according to organization, it is one. If there should be only one church, that is, if the church of God or the church of Christ should be singular, then this would be the scriptural way. We should all return to Rome. However, the Bible does not teach this.
In the last century, John H. Newman, a contemporary of J. N. Darby, was a famous English clergyman. He was not only pious, but he had an excellent mind and wrote many books. He was considered one of the most famous persons in the Anglican Church. The hymn “Lead, Kindly Light” was composed by him. He believed that there was only one church in the world, so he started a movement in the Anglican Church to return to Rome. Of course, he was unsuccessful, because Revelation 2 and 3 clearly show that Sardis cannot go back to Thyatira. He thought that it was logical to leave the Anglican Church and join the Roman Church since there was only one church. After being received as a member of the Roman Church, he was promoted to the position of cardinal over England. A cardinal is next in rank only to the pope. He was not only a bishop but a cardinal. There was only one cardinal in England; he was the archbishop of a large region. When a pope passes away, the new pope is chosen from among the scores of cardinals. Many people have expressed regret for Newman, but in reading his books, I feel that his beginning was consistent with his end. I do not say that he was right, but his behavior matched his doctrine. He believed in only one church; therefore, he went back to Rome. One should not believe in one church and yet remain in the denominations. One should not confess that the church is one and be a pastor in the Anglican Church or an elder in the Presbyterian Church. Newman was thoroughly consistent and uncontradicting. His end harmonized with his beginning. In this regard many people in the denominations cannot compare with him.
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