Many who look at the splinters of Protestantism feel that the divisions are a sign of error. That because we could not be a united church during the 16-18th centuries, we are somehow an insolent people, and that our Roman cousins and Orthodox second cousins are right. Let me dispel this folly, Roman Catholics may appear united, but it is a unity in a false gospel of merit and penance (see Galatians 1:8-9, 2 Corinthians 11:3-4, Romans 10:9-10). In truth the Papists are not united, there are twenty plus sects or denominations that differ dramatically! There are Old Traditional Catholics who consider all Vatican II Popes as false popes or antipopes and desire for a return to Vatican I and the Old Mass, they are called Sedevacantists[Latin phrase sede vacante, which means "with the chair of Saint Peter vacant]. Charismatic Catholics abandon The Cult of the Virgin Mary, and embrace Reformed beliefs. Roman Catholics hold to Vatican II beliefs and reforms. In Eastern Orthodoxy there is schism, with Old Believers in Russian Orthodoxy who reject the reforms of the ROC which including shifting from two fingers to cross yourself to three fingers and more. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has broken from Russian Orthodoxy. Arminian Orthodox Church is Oriental Orthodox and so believes In the One Nature of Jesus over the Two Natures view of Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. So contrary to common belief, the Roman and Orthodox churches are not without splinters or schisms; they have split into many sects via reforms, we simply are less aware of these breaks because Protestantism has more documented histories of the splinters in Europe and the Americas via The Reformation writers.
The Apostle Paul actually encouraged schism or splintering to maintain the Truth in a sea of destructive heresies, “But, of course, there must be divisions among you so that you who have God’s approval will be recognized!” (1 Corinthians 11:19). When false gospels arise (Galatians 1:8-9) and seek to deceive people from a pure and simple devotion to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3) it behooves the Church to break off from the falsehoods and preserve the Truth in a new shoot or sect. This has been the mark of Protestantism, every time a corruption or neglect of the Scriptures emerges, a new shoot or vine emerges to transport the True Gospel. Schisms are not evil, and though I have been outspoken for ecumenicalism in the past, and I do long for greater correspondence and connection between denominations, I do not believe splintering is the enemy of ecumenicalism, but a safeguard by the Savior to ensure we do end up in another Babylonian Captivity. The splintering will even help in the coming antichrist age, for a One United Church of all denominations into one church would make it easier for the Beast to crush the saints (Revelation 13:7), but our many denominations will make crushing us take longer and thus perhaps some will escape his wrath.
Contrary to what some may think, sects and denominations is not even 16th century. In Scripture we are told about several sects of the Church:
“Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:12)
“ But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers.When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” (Acts 15:1-11)
At this council of Jerusalem there were Mosaic Churchmen who tried to impose the Law on the Gentiles and the Jewish Christians, but Paul, Barnabas and Peter refuted them.
“Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.” (Acts 6:1). Hellenist Christians exist today in Greek Orthodox Churches, teaching Greek and their culture along with their view of the Church.
In many cases the sects or splintering is condemend by Paul, “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree together, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be united in mind and conviction. My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: Individuals among you are saying, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,”a or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:10-13). However, to splinter and become a sect to preserve the True Gospel happens when people seek to inpose the Law or another gospel on you, then you must split and divide:
“For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace” (Galatians 5:4)
“I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” (Galatians 2:21)
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--/I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News, which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God's curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God's curse!” (Galatians 1:7-9)
“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.For if someone comes and proclaims a Jesus other than the One we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the One you received, or a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up with it way too easily.” (2 Corinthians 11:3-4)
What Paul argued against was disunity and factions over the Law and frivolous fights, “Do not get involved in foolish discussions about spiritual pedigrees or in quarrels and fights about obedience to Jewish laws. These things are useless and a waste of time/But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.” (Titus 3:9), “But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another” (Galatians 5:15), and “But reject foolish and ignorant speculation, for you know that it breeds quarreling..” (2 Timothy 2:23). These divisions the apostle rebuked, but if a division was to preserve the Gospel of Grace from the entanglements of the Law as in Acts 15:1-11, then such a division is actually God Ordained. The problem with the Reformation is in two thirds of the cases, divisions were over the minors (non-salvic): what you perceive at the Communion (Transubstantiation vs Symbolism), Hymns vs Pslams, and etc rather than the majors (must believe) of Trinitarianism, Christology, Evangelion, Solae Scriptura, and Soteriology. Divisions are acceptable if its to preserves a pure and simple devotion to Christ, but not over silly differences over what kind of bread to use at Communion (leaven or unleavened) or if you can have images or not in a chapel or church; these are minors and subjected to taste not Scripture.
There is much I cherish in the diverse Protestant Denominations. Our aim should be to prevent divisions and splintering over the minors and non-salvic matters. We should only splinter if it is a dispute over thecmajor matters of the faith such as Trinitarianism, Divinity of Christ, Humanity of Christ, Inerrancy of the Bible, and etc. In the Majors we may use apologetics and fight as Paul did to sway the deceived back to Biblical Orthodoxy, but if this fails we must splinter into another denomination or sect to preserve the Truth and not be corrupted by destructive heresies. Ideally if heresies appear in your church congregation, you should remove yourself (and family) from that church and appeal to the leadership and oversight. If error is not corrected by oversight, find another congregation. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment