The Eastern Orthodox are seeing an uptick of coverts from Protestantism, an increase of 15% in their churches as 2023. The Roman Catholic Church is trying so hard at ecumenicalism as to celebrate The Reformation and call Christians brothers who can partake in The Host of the Eucharist. There is a concentrated effort to either remove our differences, or seduce people with bad church history and tradition they ‘claim’ is the ancient church. It is intriguing that after celebrating the 500th Anniversary of The Reformation in 2017, that we are seeing people fall for the Byzantine Church or Roman Church, the most notable loss being The Bible Answer Man himself, who interestingly after joining the Eastern Church contracted brain cancer, and it is likely the reason the late Rich Mullins was taken home was he was being seduced by Catholicism and was considering converting.
What makes people stray from Protestantism? Is if the candles and golden icons? The centralized government of the Papacy and ‘supposed rich history? People tend to romanticize these false churches, they ignore the grumpy and cold Eastern priests who block people from knowing Christ, “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,” (Matthew 23:13) and turn a blind eye to the blood soaked fingers of The Harlot Rome, “I could see that she was drunk—drunk with the blood of God’s holy people who were witnesses for Jesus. I stared at her in complete amazement,” (Revelation 17:6) in inquisitions, massacres, and crusades. People become seduced because three reasons: church history, church fathers & scholars, and church structure. People wrongly believe Protestantism is only five centuries old, its mantra was Ad Fontes, “back to the sources,” The Holy Scriptures, which meant back to Early Christianity. The Reformation was a revival of the Christianity that had been hidden under the coattails of Constantine, Popes, and Byzantine mosaics. It was a return to authentic Christianity, to by Grace we are saved (Ephensians 2:8) through faith (Philippians 3:8-9) in Christ Alone (Acts 4:10-13). To reform means to, “to amend or improve by change of form or removal of faults or abuses,” and it was through a return to the form of Christianity in The New Testament. The key was to go back to the teachings of the apostles, “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42) not the church fathers, popes, scholars and mystics who added traditions contrary to the Gospel and Scriptures (Galatians 1:8-9, 2 Corinthians 11:3-4). People had been seduced away from Apoatle Paul’s true words, “I count all things lost but knowing Christ,” (Philippians 3:8) to knowing Augustine, Plato, Aquinas, and what they thought about Scripture; people fell in love with commentators rather than the words of Christ, “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”
And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.” (Mark 7: 8-13). The church fathers and scholars are major seducers, I was captivated by Thomas A Kempis, a French Monk and His Devotio Moderna work The Imitation of Christ till I was delivered by The Holy Spirit from its influence. We want to believe people like Anthony of Egypt, Athanasius of Alexandria, Jerome, Clement, Chrysostome, Origin, Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, Francis of Assisi, Hildengard of Bingen, Mother Theresa of Avila, and etc are sages of our Savior, but they are misguided like the pagan philosophers Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Seneca, Cicero, and etc. Do not model your soul and spiritual life on the church fathers and pagan philosophers! Instead stick to the teachings of the apostles (Acts 2:42), which are God Breathed, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3:16), and from the Holy Spirit, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:20-21). All the tomes of these famous thinkers, philosophers, and patristic and scholarly fathers cannot claim to be God breathed! Why would you settle for rotten bread with some crust when you can have the Manna from Heaven?! Why eat apples with worms and mold, when you can have fruit from the Tree of Life?!
People are also seduced by the structure of Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches because of its hierarchy and system of church government. Part of allure of this hierarchy is many Protestants come from autonomous churches, which have no oversight, not even a board like in Presbyterian churches, the pastor then is free of being held accountable. But we see no such church government as seen in Orthodox or Roman Catholic Church with Jesus who said, “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 Christ. The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted,” (Matthew 23:8-12) and “But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them, and those in high position exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wants to become prominent among you shall be your servant, and whoever desires to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many..” (Matthew 20:25-28). Bishops were lords in the middle ages and still live like lords. The church governments of these swollen churches are riddled with abuses, and these supposed men of god live on alms of the poor duped into spending their money on trinkets, blessings, and traditions of men. Worse the sexual abuse scandals, and how the pope, cardinals, and bishops have handled the despicable behavior to quote the Lord, “Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting.” (Daniel 5:27). There is word that the sexual abuses are happening in The Eastern Orthodox Churches as well, but the people are afraid to report them in countries where it could mean punishment for whistle blowing.
Stay Protestant. I know Evangelicalism is having an identity crisis over political power, and many traditional Protestant Churches have split over the ordination of homosexuals. But the alternatives are false hopes, false churches, and false christs. We genuine Protestants hold to the teachings of the apostles (Acts 2:42), to The Holy Scriptures, Old and New Testaments. We are for Scripture Alone as our authority, which is God because Scripture is God breathed! Why would you settle for corrupt interpreters who cloud the Holy Bible with commentary and their man made tradition, “ Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” (Colossians 2:8), and “Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels (Catholic & Orthodox St Michael), going on in detail about visions (ecstasy of of Teresa for example), puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind.” (Colossians 2:18). We have been set free by The Truth, why would you want half truths and lies? Why would you settle for doctrines of men?, “And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7) when we have the doctrines of God in Scripture!
It is no mistake that Biblical illiteracy is on the rise as people fall for Rome and the Eastern Church. We are headed into a digital Middle Ages, when people prefer visuals and images, but it is The Scriptures that have sound theology, sound doctrine, and sound Christian living advice. The Ecumenical snares of Rome are set and the East enchants with its icons and incense as Christians don’t know their Bibles and can be deceived! Make no mistake, this is the Neo Counter-Reformation; the forgoing of the written word for digital movies, images, speakers, and etc is the Medieval Church returned where people know not the true words of Christ and His Apostles, but instead trust YouTube teachers, pastors, and other speakers who are the new patristic fathers sent to lull you into this comfortable static. We are losing our Reformation in this digital age, as bibles are set down and the old tropes of Rome and the East beckon through the digital mediums. We are slowly sliding backward, the voices of Luther, Calvin, Zwingli are crying out! The apostles Paul, Peter, James, and John are crying out from The Scripture! Do not be swayed! Stay Protestant! Stay Solae Scriptura! Its not only the genuine Church at risk, but your faith! For in The Harlots Rome and Byzantium is a false gospel of grace plus works, when as the apostle Peter said, and Paul, and John, its grace through faith!, “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. So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke 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,” (Acts 15:7-11), “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace,” (Romans 11:6), “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,” (Titus 3:4-5), “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast,” (Ephesians 2:8-9), “For it is my Father's will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day,” (John 6:40), “Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified,” (Galatians 2:16), “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law,” (Romans 3:28), “And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith,” (Philippians 3:9), “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose,” (Galatians 2:21), and “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1-2).
If you do not know the Bible, then you do not know the real Jesus Christ, for who He is, what He did and how to know Him and be saved is in The Bible. There are many false christs like Roman Catholic one that demands works, the mystical Byzantine-Eastern Orthodox one, the Mormon one, Reverend Sung Yumg Moon, and etc. Only Scripture reveals the Real Jesus, and with pwople becoming biblically illiterate, they are not only losing the apostle’s teaching, but Jesus Himself!
Beware of The Neo Counter Reformation and the return to the Medieval Church, for if you go back, you will find the True Gospel locked away once more and you will be under a heavy yoke, “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger/ alt trans: They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden,” (Matthew 23:4), when you were under a easy one, “Come unto me, all that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30). Amen.
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