(When St. Paul said, "we have ONE faith", we should know what kind of faith that is and compare our faith with the quality of faith they demonstrated. )
Ignatius (108/140 AD), bishop (overseer) of Antioch and a companion of the apostle John, was arrested for his Christian testimony. Before his martyrdom in the Roman arena where he was torn apart by lions and wild beasts for his faith, he wrote the following...
"It is necessary, therefore, to not only be called by the name ‘Christian’ but to actually be a Christian. ...If we are not ready to die in the same manner of His suffering, His life is NOT in us” (John 12:25)
"Let there be the breaking and dislocating of my bones and the severings of my limbs. Bring on the mutilation of my whole body. In fact, bring on all the diabolical tortures of Satan. Only let me attain to Jesus Christ! ... I would rather die for Jesus Christ than to reign over the ends of the entire earth."
If our faith is not of the same quality as that of the Apostolic fathers, we might NOT BE of that ONE FAITH. Could it possibly be that we have "another" faith and, perhaps, a different gospel than what the Apostolic writers declared? If we are of "another" faith, are we assured of eternal life, or could we be fooling ourselves?
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