This October commemorates the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Germany will be grid locked with pilgrims wanting to celebrate, and most of the Western Christendom will be celebrating in some measure. The Reformation's greatest achievement was to get the Gospel back to the people, and to make the Holy Bible available in the common tongue thanks to the advent of Printing Press (the equilvant today would be the Internet/Web). While many Reformed theologians and partisans will celebrate the trio of Martin Luther, John Calvin and Huldyric Zwingli, I argue that we should celebrate Christ Jesus, and if we are to mention the men responsible for getting the Bible to the masses, the real trio would be William Tyndale who translated the New Testament into English, John Wycliffe who translated the New Testament and Old Testament into English, and Martin Luther who translated the Bible into common German.
The motto of the Reformers was "Ad Fontes, back to sources." This was Renaissance mantra that was adopted by seculari who wanted to get back Cicero, Plate, Socrates, and etc.; and Martin Luther and other reformers adopted it since it captured the concept of getting back to the Sources of the Faith, The Scriptures. Later this would develop into the term Solae Scriptura or Scriptura Alone, which was a challenge to Papal Authority and asserting that the basis for all doctrine, theology, Christology, and tradition must come from the Authority of Scriptures, the words of Jesus Christ and His Apostles. Scripture Alone took Ad Fontes to a new level, instead of simply getting back to the sources, this was making the source for all Christian faith and how to measure what was orthodoxy or heterodoxy (heresy) via the Bible alone, not councils or popes, or any authoritarian group outside the canon of Scripture. This was revolutionary, and certainly was met with scorn and Roman reprisal in the Counter-Reformation.
However, has Scriptura Alone been preserved in most of the denominations today? Do Lutherans, Baptists, Presbyterians, and other churches founded by the Reformers hold to Scripture Alone to define what Christian life, faith, belief, practice, culture, and tradition should be? Let us inspect these denominations.
Lutherans have split into two sects, one being a progressive liberal pro homosexual church called The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the other being a traditional conservative branch called The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod'; Missouri Synod won't even allow Free Masons to be ordained. The problem is that the liberal pro-homosexual ordination sect of Lutheranism violates the Scriptures by ordaining practicing homosexual priests (see 1 Corinthians 6:9-10) and the Missouri Synod defends Transubstantiation, the idea that the bread and wine of the Communion (Eucharist) becomes the literal body and blood of Jesus, a doctrine of Roman Catholic Church that proliferated in 1215 A.D. (13th century), and became confirmed as Catholic dogma in 1551A.D. at Second Laternal Council of Trent, in very time of Martin Luther, and yet Luther defended this Catholic doctrine, despite burning all volumes of Roman Canon Law and attacking Indulgences and other grievances of the Catholic Church?!
The Presbyterians being founded by John Calvin contain Calvinism which adds a book to Bible, "The Ecclesiastical Exercises" and doctrine of TULIP (see my post on Calvinism), and the concept that Christians are chosen, they have no free will and there is no point to evangelize, which violates Jesus' commands, "He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation," (Mark 16:15), "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," (Matthew 28:19), "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth," (Acts 1:8), and "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." (Matthew 24:14).
The Moravians with Count Zinzendorf at Hans Hutt and the Pietists both emphasized simplicity, in a very Puritanical way such as restraint, frugality, and keeping quarters plain without adornment [like Cistercians]. Moravians had strange almost Edgar Allen Poe/Sleepy Hollow traditions verging on secret society sounding words like "lovefeast, Christingle (object), Moravian Advent Star, Daily Watchwords (readings, reminds you of Watchtower in Jehovah Witnesses!), Dead house (Wikipedia it, its creepy, its morgue but in community). I become concerned when any tradition is strange and not found in the Bible; the Moravian Advent Star isn't the Bethlehem Star, and the Daily Watchwords is just creepy. The Pietists like Puritans emphasize simplicity, denial of beautiful things, austerity, frugality, and self humility like the Cistercians Monks of the Medieval Times! Such Pietism, Puritan, and Monastic notions of simplicity and denial of things isn't Biblical (see Colossians 2:20-23, 1 Timothy 4:3-5), its an extreme doctrine and practice to curb the Lust of Eyes that never works (Colossians 2:23).
The Mennonite, Quaker, and Shaker denominations isolated themselves into communities that stuck in the 18th century, they reject modern technology, and yet the Apostles used the modern technology in their times like ships, the codex (prototype-book), and Roman Roads (modern invention at time) to cross the known world to preach the Gospel. Had the Mennonites and Quakers been in charge in the Apostle's times, the Gospel would never have gotten to corners of earth, and we might not even have written Holy Bible, because that would have been modern technology! Oral tradition was mainstay of the Apostle's Day, but they choose thank Christ to write it down everything!
Baptists deny the Holy Spirit Gifts, when it was Gifts of Spirit that saved thousands at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-24), and it is the Holy Spirit manifestations that are considered necessary at every meeting by the Apostle Paul, "What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. 33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace." (1 Corinthians 14:26-32). There are Southern Baptists who do practice the Gifts of Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-11), but they are sub sect, and not majority much like Charismatic Catholics in the Roman Catholic Church.
The Charismatic Denominations tend to error in becoming so dependent on hearing God they don't listen to Scriptures and thus become difficult to reprove, when Bible is meant to reprove, "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work," (1 Timothy 3:16-17) and the Pentecostals & Charismatics tend to not test the spirits and allow tomfoolery like "holy laughter" and "slain in spirit"; but Apostle John said to test the spirits, "Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here." (1 John 4:1-3).
Evangelicals tried to balance Scripture and Spirit, but they ended up supporting the Seeker Friendly Movement which compromised the Gospel for culture and being popular, and most Evangelical Church members are propagators of the Prosperity doctrine (follow Jesus and Money, contradicted by Matthew 18), Network Christianity (politics can save Christendom instead of Christ), and other traditions outside the spectrum of Scripture.
Anglicans almost did not make cut because it essentially Henry VIII's version of the Roman Catholic Church, with the Book of Common Prayer being equal to the Holy Bible. The errors of the Anglican Church range from preserving almost all of Roman Catholic dogma, and the current trend of supporting homosexuality, transgender issues, and other traditions outside Scripture.
The point is that most denominations deviate from Scriptures in some major way, and this should concern the Church (Body of Christ) at large!
Examine each denomination today and often one finds Solae Scriptura, Scripture Alone is in word only, while other extra scriptural traditions and church ideas prevail, often funded by rich people as in Evangelical churches. In truth most denominations have become Prima Scriptura, making Scripture and other traditions equal! It is quite hypocritical that most churches under Protestant stream from Evangelical to Charismatic will celebrate October 31st, 2017 as Five-Hundredth Anniversary of Reformation, a reformation that had Ad Fontes and Scriptura Alone as its mantras, and yet Scripture in the practices of the said churches is ignored and drowned out with doctrines of men, "These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh," (Colossians 2:23), "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 "For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." (2 Timothy 4:3-4).The church is widly compromising the integrity of the Holy Bible to fit in culturally, and this means that soon most Protestant Churches will look no different than corrupt and paganized Roman Catholic Church that had stirred so far off course from Gospel and the Apostles Teaching (), that they needed a Reformation. I argue we need another Reformation, and its the same reason as last time, Getting back to Scripture Alone as sole authority on what to believe regarding theology, Christology, doxology, eschatology, and beyond.
I find it quote ironic in an age when we have unparalleled access to the Holy Bible via Apps on tablets, smartphones, PCs, computers, and etc. (even for free) fewer and fewer people are reading the Scriptures and other traditions are rising. I believe the next Reformation will return to genuine Scriptura Alone for all Christian life (no more extra books, its always an extra book to Bible that makes everything go awry), be Spirit filled like Pentecost (including Gifts of Spirit 1 Corinthians 12:4-11), and will tear down the Church system and buildings that Constantine founded in 313-334 A.D. that has corrupted the church for sometime. Right now there is opportunity for believers to get Scripture literal, and to know what Holy Bible says. Stop listen to teachers alone, commentaries alone, and other theological/doxological books, and instead stick to the Scriptures Alone! Otherwise many will be deceived into the rising cults of Network Christianity, Seeker Friendly Movement 2.0 (Homosexuals ordained and welcomed without reform), Faith Movement (still kicking, and deceiving, "name it and claim it!"), Liberal Christianity (mythological Christianity), Christian Witchraft (New Age), Universalism/Interfaith Movement, Ecumenism, Chrislam, Secret Society Christianities and etc. Jesus told us in last days there would be "many false christs and false prophets who will preform signs and wonders to deceive if possible the elect." (Matthew 24:24). I believe that "if possible" isn't "if possible, as in as if, couldn't happen" and is instead the concept of "if possible, it is possible." To keep from deception we must be well versed in the Scriptures, testing all things, behaviors, culture, practices, supernatural powers, and life styles with the Holy Bible, and to be Spirit Filled and let Holy Trinity give us a sense of when something isn't Scriptural and to test the spirits. Amen.
In short, it is time to just read the Bible.
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