The Peace of True Gospel

In past five years I have spent considerable time involved with many denominations ranging from Eastern Orthodoxy to Baptist. During my studies and time spent in these different circles I have come to a conclusion. There is peace in Protestantism. This is not a partisan post, or to shame Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. I am merely pointing out the fact that after five years of even attending masses and a Orthodox vigil, after spending time in minds of Augustine of Hippo and Antony of Egypt, I have come to this conclusion. Right now there is exodus from Protestant churches to Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism. I have had two friends personally leave Evangelicalism for Catholicism, and recently Hank Hanegraaff the Bible Answer Man became Eastern Orthodox. I have talked about this trend, why young and old are flocking to the High Churches, I broke it down into the reasons like community, and reverence. However, from my own experience I discovered that these churches did not sooth the soul, but did it harm. While intellectually they appeal, you get Bernard of Clairvaux and Francis of Assisi, you get Nicholas and Nilus, but the exchange is not equal. In Protestantism, which I have made case for it being a return to Early Church in theology, doctrine, and practice (see post The Triumph of Protestantism), there is an easiness of soul that "God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it," Ephesians 2:8-9), "On the contrary, we believe it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are," (Acts 15:11), "and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus," (Romans 3:24), "So then, it does not depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy," (Romans 9:16), "made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!," (Ephesians 2:5). The Five Solaes of By Grace (Acts 15:11, Ephesians 2:8-9), Through Faith (Romans 10:9-10, Acts 15:9-10), in Christ Alone (Acts 4:11,12, John 6:40, John 3:16), Scripture Alone as authority (2 Timothy 3:16), and God Be the Glory Alone (Revelation 19:1) is a model of faith that is simple and without restrictions. The fact is that the consensus of New Testament is saved by Grace through faith (trusting, believing) in Jesus Christ (John 6:40, John 3:16, Romans 10:9-10). This is agreed to by all the Apostles. Paul makes the case in his Epistle to Romans, Colossians, Philippians, Galatians, and beyond, the Apostle Peter or St. Peter defends Grace instead of works at Council of Jerusalem, "So the apostles and elders met together to resolve this issue.At the meeting, after a long discussion, Peter stood and addressed them as follows: “Brothers, you all know that God chose me from among you some time ago to preach to the Gentiles so that they could hear the Good News and believe. God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith (John 6:40, Romans 10:9-10). So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke (see Matthew 11:28-30) that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-9)." (Acts 15:6-11).

Protestantism is reaching critical mass because despite the theology, doxology, and Christology being correct, the actual administration and way the churches are run isn't ideal. Pastors have become celebrities with platforms rather than pulpits, and the Constantinian strain survives despite Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, Zwingil, and the rest of Reformers best intentions. But the alternative is less than ideal. To shake off a pastor who is monopolizing with his sermon, people choose a priest who has autocratic powers over their spiritual, psychological, and physical lives. The turn to High Churches, particularly Catholicism and Orthodoxy is a major leap, it is like going from Freedom of Speech to Pre Approved Speech, from Democracy to Communism, from Independence and Free Will to Codependence and Submission to another's will. On paper and first glance this does not appear to be the case, and I am sure my Catholic friends would rebuke me, but the point is that both Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy are Early Medieval Churches which have Medieval methods of control. Eastern Orthodoxy dates to 323-336 A.D. when Constantine took over the church and ruined it (see Eusebius The History of Church, last chapter). Roman Catholicism is similar it broke away or schism from Orthodoxy in 1054 A.D., and went on to become an empire in its own right, where at one point the Pope ruled Europe's soul and the hearts of all Europeans as well as temporal power. Now sadly there is a new Protestantism that looks rather like Papacy called Network Christianity, and I do not support it. It has tinge of Preterism, a belief we can build a Christian world like Byzantines did, but Scripture contradicts it, "And the beast was allowed to wage war against God's holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation," (Revelation 13:7), "I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?," (Luke 18:8), "At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other," (Matthew 24:10), "Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons," (1 Timothy 4:1), and "You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved." (Matthew 10:22).


Protestantism has peace because we believe the True gospel, that Jesus Christ did enough to forgive our sins, "Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit" (1 Peter 3:18), and "so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him." (Hebrews 9:28).We know only grace, God's free gift and unmerited favor has set us free from sin and its power. We aren't on the endless treadmill of penance and works, nor do we explain away doctrines with the mysteries clause of Orthodoxy, but rather we revert to trustworthy source of the Holy Scriptures (Holy Bible, 2 Timothy 3:16) and make that as foundation and measure for sound doctrine, as well as discerning via the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 1 John 4:1-6, John 14:26). Catholicism has over hundred other books besides the Bible to discern doctrine by, there is Canons (60+books of 700-1000pg volumes), the Catechism (around 1200pgs), and the Book of Common Prayer. Eastern Orthodoxy adds the Desert Fathers (Apostolic Fathers), and their own canons. It is dizzying when I studied them, and confusing to say the least, Catholics emphasize merit and strange Medieval cults like Virgin Mary for intercession (which contradicts scripture) while Orthodox try to be mysterious by calling everything a mystery, secret, and hidden manna, if they can't explain a simple passage in Scripture (which is even self explanatory) they say "The mystery of God is beyond us.." which smacks of Gnosticism, a cult in 4th century that got into witchcraft and secret societies that violate Scripture and more importantly Jesus' words, ""I have spoken openly to the world," Jesus replied. "I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret," (John 18:20) and "Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan's so-called deep secrets, 'I will not impose any other burden on you./But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching ('deeper truths,' as they call them--depths of Satan, actually). I will ask nothing more of you" (Revelation 2:24).

Jesus said the Kingdom of God belongs to little children, "But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these," (Luke 18;16), and "Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 18:2-4). A little child believes simply, trusts completely, and cannot understand complex theories and theology contained in endless volumes of books. The fact that the Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches cannot explain their doctrines and faith without four page paragraphs to 1200pg books is indicative that something is wrong. The Apostle Paul, the most scholarly of the Apostles said this, "When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified," (1 Corinthians 2:1-2), "But as for me, may I never boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world," (Galatians 6:14), "but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to both Jew and Gentile who believe, Christ is power and wisdom of God," (1 Corinthians 1:23-25), "you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved," (Romans 10:9-10), and "Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!  I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!" (Philippians 3:2-11). Pretty simple, Paul even said he counted his seminary education as Pharisee as worthless (Philippians 3:2-15). If it is so simple according to Jesus Christ himself and the Apostles, then why did Catholic and Orthodox Churches complicate it, simple.. control. There is saying on counseling, "if you confuse them you control them." This is exactly what happens with all those volumes of canon law and commentaries, they make reading material so dense, that no member is going to know it unless they spend most of their week reading the material, and most people have busy lives. It would take a theologian and apologist to sit down and mark up how canon law, desert fathers, and volumes are man made traditions (Mark 7:7, Colossians 2:23 ESV) is in contravention of Scripture which are God breathed (1 Timothy 3:16). Aside from confusing and controlling people, these priests and high churches also want to rob people of rest in Christ (Hebrews 4:3, Matthew 11:28-30) and security of salvation (Romans 10:9-10). They are actually who the Apostle Paul encountered that are false apostles, "But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed. But I don’t consider myself inferior in any way to these “super apostles” who teach such things. I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I’m not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every possible way. But I will continue doing what I have always done. This will undercut those who are looking for an opportunity to boast that their work is just like ours. These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve," (2 Corinthians 11:3-6, 12-15), "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed," (Galatians 1:8-9, cross ref Acts 15, Romans 10:9-10 and John 6:40), these also are Pharisees Jesus confronted, "Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters.And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your Father. And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah. The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either. “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are! What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel! “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish,and then the outside will become clean, too. What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness. “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed. Then you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would never have joined them in killing the prophets," (Matthew 23:8-12, 15, 24-30), and they want to keep people insecure so that they need them, when all Christians are a royal priesthood according to St. Peter, "But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests,a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light." (1 Peter 2:9).

Protestantism has peace because we believe the real Gospel (Romans 10:9-10, John 6;40), that Jesus alone saves us and we don't have to do anything but confess this and believe in Jesus (Romans 10:9-10, John 6:40). We then are under grace, and can live this life without disgrace and shame, while the other churches want you to be grovel and prove yourself with filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), manmade religion (Colossians 2:23 ESV), manmade tradition posing as God's law (Mark 7:7 NLT). The Peace of Protestantism is we know we are saved (Romans 10:9-10, John 6:40, as in believe), and we see God not as taskmaster who is distant but a loving God (1 John 4:8) who wants to be close to us and share life with us. Catholicism and Orthodoxy make priests and dead people intermediaries and intercessors, which violates necromancy clause (Deuteronomy 18:11, 1 Samuel 28:8), and Scripture, "For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus," (1 Timothy 2:5). The truth is that the True Church is found now in Protestantism, those Trinitarian Protestant circles who preach the Scriptures, make disciples, and believe the Gospel is simple (John 6:40, John 3:16, Romans 10:9). While our Catholic and Orthodox contemporaries go around with edgy nerves and terror of judgement, we enter God's rest and know He has already done enough  for us (John 19:30). We now live for Him not out of some work based reciprocation, but out of love and relationship with God as Adam once did.

I want to warn that there is a dangerous sect of Protestantism, there are those who are not Trinitarian and who deny the deity of Christ, these are called Nontrinitarianism, and Deists . Jesus is clearly God (John 1:4, John 1:6, John 3:16, John 17:2-23, Colossians 2:9, Titus 2:13, Hebrews 1, Hebrews 2, Revelation 19:11-19, Revelation 1 and Revelation 2), and the Trinity is substantiated by Scripture (John 15:26, Matthew 28:19, Luke 3:21-22, Genesis 1:26, John 17:20-23, John 20:21-22+John 10:30, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Colossians 2:9, and many more). For Jesus has to be God take away our sins (Hebrews 1, John 14, John 1:1-20, Colossians 2:9). Also beware of wave of Universalism in the Methodist Churches, and compromise of most Lutheran and Presbyterian Churches into the ordaining of homosexuals who are still practicing sin. Always test everything with Holy Bible (2 Timothy 3:16) and the Holy Spirit (1 John 4:1-6).