MARCION OF SINOPE
«The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous will come through trouble» (Proverbs 12:13).
INTEGRITY
In the summer of 144 A.C., Marcion of Sinope (c. 110—160), a rich Christian ship-owner, convened a meeting of church leaders in Rome. When they met, he suggested making a fundamental change to the church’s position regarding Judaism by using a strange argument: the God of the old Testament was not the same as the God of the New Testament, therefore, Christianity had nothing to do with the beliefs, the rituals and the God of Judaism. He even suggested that Jesus hadn’t been directly linked to the Israelite divinity. His strident anti-Semitic theology led him to make his own Scripture canon, in which he rejected all the Old Testament texts and only kept the gospel of Luke and the apostle Paul’s ten epistles. However, even those texts were edited by Marcion, eliminating references of Jewish elements. To the powerful businessman, Judaism was a religion that had a corrupt perspective of God.
Marcion had a tremendous influence in various Christian sectors. He was an eloquent man when speaking in public, charismatic and very skilled in doing business. Compared to him, the church leaders didn’t seem very competent. In addition, at the end of the 130’s A.C. he had donated a large sum of money to the church of no less than Ovo hundred thousand sertertius, that is, about fifty thousand denarius, a huge amount of money that had rarely ever been received by early Christianity. His ideas soon began to affect believers, until Marcion left the church and formed his own congregation, upset because church leaders didn’t accept his points of view. A short time later, the Christian leaders returned the money he had given them to avoid misunderstandings.
Throughout the history of God’s people, there have been individuals who have considered that their ideas are above Bible teachings. They’ve even come to believe that their charm, popularity, ancestry, influence or money, give them the right to impose their directives on the church. Like Marcion, they are followed by some people and, many times, establish their own groups from which they attack their Old brethren. Regarding that, the Apostle Paul says, «For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock» (Acts 20:29).
Remember today that the church will remain till the end and that «the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it» (Matthew 16:18). Ask the Lord to help you always stay within its ranks.
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Take From: Daily Devotions for Youth 2020
«A New You»
From: Alejandro Medina Villareal
Collaborators: Gezer Noria & Misael Morillo
Radio Joven Adventista
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